The Ephrata Cloister project is now open for business

Maria,
it seems that for the most part, they were celibate, i.e. not going to be much genealogy there.

Shmuel, about one-third of the colony were married couples. Toward the end of the Cloister's life, the remaining members were absorbed int various German Adventist groups.

Granted, with the remaining members being celibate, this will be a smaller project.

http://www.cocalicovalleyhs.org/
Maria , Here is the link to the Cocalico Historical Society in Ephrata.
I was in Ephrata PA (visiting from Texas) last fall, searching for some of my Herbst relatives. I went to the historic Bergstrasse Cemetery. I think all my Herbst family were Lutherans, but if you find the name Herbst connected to the Cloisters, please let me know. The staff at the Cocalico HS was very helpful. Also, the Historical Society in Lancaster is fantastic. Small world. Mary

Thank you so much, Mary, for the link. I'll check it out.

I'm in CA but I have family in PA, not far from Lancaster. One of these days I'll make a trip back East and cemetery tromps and museum days will be included in the visit.

Mary,

I took a quick peek. Great link!

In 1741, David Nitschmann and Count Zinzendorf led a small community to found a mission in the colony of Pennsylvania. The mission was established on Christmas Eve, and was named Bethlehem, after the Biblical town in Judea. There, they ministered to the Algonquian Lenape. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania is today the sixth largest city in Pennsylvania. Later, colonies were also founded in North Carolina, where Moravians led by Bishop August Gottlieb Spangenberg purchased 98,985 acres (400.58 km2) from John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville. This large tract of land was named die Wachau, or Wachovia, after one of Zinzendorf's ancestral estates on the Danube River in Austria. Other early settlements included Bethabara (1753), Bethania (1759) and Salem (now Winston-Salem) (1766).

In 1801 the Moravians established a mission to the Cherokee Nation in present day Murray County Georgia that remained until their forced removal to Oklahoma, and remained active there through the end of the American Civil War in 1865. The mission was transferred to the Danish Lutheran Church and continues now as the Oaks School in Oklahoma.

The start of far-flung missionary work necessitated the setting up of independently administered Provinces. So, from c1732,[4]:7 the history of the church becomes the history of its provinces.

Eventually, the Moravian missions in Australia and Greenland were transferred to the local Presbyterian and Lutheran Churches respectively.

http://kulikauskas.net/moravianheritage/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolaus_Ludwig_Zinzendorf

http://www.lancasterhistory.org/
http://www.lmhs.org/

Here's more Lancaster County links. Great stuff in their collections. I found the document at the center that my 3rd great-grandmother's brother was accused of being a horse thief, found not guilty :) Three horses were valued at over $400, a fortune in 1824.

Niels, when you are ready to start your own project Zinsendorf would be a great choice.

If you are ever in Ephrata on a Friday night, check out the Green Dragon Market. There is separate parking for cars and Amish buggies. Really a fun experience. .

My sister-in-law grew up in that area, in Slatington. She doesn't think it odd at all, just normal for that part of PA.

Christopher Beeler and his wife Catherine were householders at Ephrata in its early days. Catherine left her husband and family of three children and joined the convent as Schwester Esther (Bohlerin). Christopher and his children eventually left with the widow Schule and her children. Schwester Esther remained all her life, and her daughter Catherine lived there as well. I would like to find dates and any other details of these people and events. Mary Beeler Stapleton