David Nitschmann (Wagner)
David Nitschmann (to distinguish people with the same name in the Moravian tradition usually with the surname Wagner , father Nitschmann or also David Nitschmann V .; born September 18, 1676 in Zauchtenthal ; † April 14, 1758 in Bethlehem (Pennsylvania) ) was a German Moravian missionary of the Moravian Brethren .
Live and act
Nitschmann moved to Kunevald in 1704 , where his son Johann was born in 1712 and his daughter Anna in 1715 . He worked as a lay preacher for the Bohemian Brothers persecuted in Moravia and was imprisoned several times for this reason. His nephew of the same name , who later became bishop , persuaded him in 1725 to emigrate with his family to Herrnhut , where Moravian refugees had founded the Brethren the previous year. As a trained Wagner, he took on a lot of carpentry work when building the settlement. In 1734 he went on a missionary trip to the Caribbean island of Saint Croix , where his wife Anna died in 1735. Nitschmann returned to Herrnhut in 1737, but moved to Pennsylvania with his nephew and daughter Anna in 1740 , where he was involved in building the Bethlehem settlement in 1741. In 1750 he received the citizenship of Pennsylvania.
literature
- Hermann Arthur Lier: Nitschmann . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 23, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1886, pp. 712-714 (in the family article).
Web links
- Short biography
- Transcription of Nitschmann's autobiography in the Bethlehem Digital History Project
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Nitschmann, David |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German-Moravian missionary of the Moravian Brethren |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 18, 1676 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Zauchtenthal |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 14, 1758 |
| Place of death | Bethlehem, Pennsylvania |