Nazareth Hall School for Boys account books

Table of Contents

Summary Information

Background note

Scope and content note

Administrative Information

Related Materials

Controlled Access Headings

Collection Inventory

General accounts

Goods and services accounts

Summary Information

Repository

The Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Creator

Nazareth Hall.

Title

Nazareth Hall School for Boys account books

ID

1521

Date [bulk]

Bulk, 1785-1840

Date [inclusive]

1785-1870

Extent

7.0 Linear feet ; 112 volumes, 5 boxes

Author

Finding aid prepared by Megan Sheffer Evans.

Language

English

Abstract

Nazareth Hall School for Boys was founded by the Moravian Church in Nazareth, Pennsylvania in 1759. At first, the school only accepted the sons of Moravian clergy, but they opened their enrollment to other boys in the community by 1762. The school was forced to close temoporarily due to financial difficulty in 1779. In 1785, Nazareth Hall re-opened as a boarding school with a revised curriculum that emphasized classical education as well as vocational training and religious instruction. In 1862, students were organized into a uniformed cadet company and military drill was introduced as part of a routine of physical education. Shortly thereafter, Nazareth Hall gained a reputation as a military academy which it mainted until the school's closure in 1929. This collection documents certain aspects of the school's finances, especially the personal billing accounts for certain students and accounts with local craftsmen and laborers who provided services to the school. Also included are general account books for the school and two volumes of history lesson recitations.

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Background note

Nazareth Hall School for Boys was founded by the Moravian Church in Nazareth, Pennsylvania in 1759. Moravians had been a presence in colonial Pennsylvania since the 1740s, establishing missions in frontier communities in an attempt to evangelize the native Lenape. In 1741, the Church bought a 5,000 acre tract of land in Nazareth from Anglican minister George Whitefield. The Manor House, which eventually became the center of the school campus, was built in 1755 and was originally intended as a home for Count Nicolaus Zinzendorf, a bishop of the Moravian Church. Business matters in Europe prevented the bishop from moving permanently to Nazareth so another use was sought for the building. In 1759, a pre-existing Moravian boy's school from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania was moved to Nazareth and took up residence at the house which was renamed Nazareth Hall. At first, the school only accepted the sons of Moravian clergy who were aged seven to twelve years, but they opened their enrollment to other boys in the community by 1762. The school was forced to close temoporarily due to financial difficulty in 1779.

In 1785, Nazareth Hall re-opened as a boarding school with a revised curriculum under the leadership of the Reverend Charles G. Reichel, who served as pricipal of the school for seventeen years. The school emphasized classical education as well as vocational training and religious instruction. In 1862, principal of the school Reverend Edward H. Reichel organized his pupils into a uniformed cadet company and introduced military drill as part of a routine of physical culture. Shortly thereafter, Nazareth Hall gained a reputation as a military academy which it mainted until its closure in 1929.

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Scope and content note

The Nazareth Hall School for Boys account books date from 1785 to 1870, with bulk dates of 1785 to 1840, and consists of assorted financial ledgers from the Nazareth Hall School for Boys in Nazareth, Pennnsylvania. The school was founded by the Moravian Church in 1759 and originally operated as a day school for the sons of Moravian clergy, becoming a boarding school in 1785. Eventually, enrollment expanded to include other boys from the surrounding community. Curriculm focused on a classical educatuion but also included vocational training and religious insctruction.

This collection documents certain aspects of the school's finances, especially the personal billing accounts for certain students and accounts with local craftsmen and laborers who provided services to the school. Also included are general account books for the school and two volumes of history lesson recitations. The collection is divided into two series: Series I. General accounts and Series II. Goods and services accounts. These series are arranged chronologically.

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

 The Historical Society of Pennsylvania ; 2016

Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Provenance

Purchased, 1948.

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Related Materials

Related materials

At the Historical Society of Pennsylvania: Ewing Jordan papers, 1846-1877 (collection 1194)

Ritter family papers, circa 1840-2004 (collection 3677)

At the Moravian Church Archives (Bethlehem, PA):

Nazareth Hall collection

At the Winterthur Library (Winterthur, DE):

Nazareth Hall 1793-1828, collection 1432, Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera

At University of California, Santa Barbara Library Department of Special Collections:

Black wax home recording of boys attending Nazareth Hall boarding school, Nazareth, Pennsylvania, April 1, 1914 (cylinder 13164) http://www.library.ucsb.edu/OBJID/Cylinder13164

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Controlled Access Headings

Geographic Name(s)

• Moravian Boarding School in Nazareth Hall
• Moravians--Pennsylvania--Nazareth--History.
• Nazareth ( Pa.)--History.
• Nazareth Hall School for Boys

Subject(s)

• Boarding schools--Pennsylvania--Finance.
• Boarding schools--Pennsylvania--History.
• Military academies.
• Moravian Church--History--19th century.
• Moravian Church--Pennsylvania--Education.
• Moravian Church--Pennsylvania--History--18th century.

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Collection Inventory