✣ God's Acre ✣
ππ’π©π¦π€ π£π¦π«π‘ π‘π¦π’ ππ¬π‘π±π’π« π‘π¦π’ π¦π« π‘π’πͺ βπ’π―π―π« π°π±π’π―ππ’π«; π£π¦π’ π―π²ππ’π« π³π¬π« π¦π₯π―π’π― ππ―ππ’π¦π±, π‘π’π«π« π¦π₯π―π’ ππ’π―π±π’ π£π¬π©π€π’π« π¦π₯π«π’π« π«ππ π₯. - ππ£π£π’π«πππ―, ππ¬π₯. 14, 13 “Blessed are they who die in the Lord, from henceforth they rest from their labor and their works follow after them.” Revelation 14:13
Moravians designated their burial grounds with an ancient Germanic term, Gottsacker, or God’s Acre. While the original cemetery was, in fact, about an acre in area, the term intended to refer more figuratively to a Field of God. Theologically speaking, the deceased were considered to be planted like seeds, patiently awaiting their physical resurrection upon Christ’s return. Emmaus’ God’s Acre was originally a diamond-shaped plot situated at the end of Third Street. Its orientation set it apart from the surrounding city grid. The northeastern point of the original cemetery can still be discerned in the way that Adrain Street awkwardly jogs over when intersecting with South Third. A small obelisk marks the location of the original log church, which was erected in 1742 and dismantled in 1749. (The current Emmaus Moravian Church is located on Main Street and was built in 1834.) A polished metal sign lists the names and plot numbers of those at rest. The archway is a more recent addition to commemorate a prior one that succumbed to vandalism. The cemetery also used to be demarcated by a low stone wall, but no longer.
The church and neighboring graveyard were initially multi-denominational. It was shared by Lutheran and Reformed congregations. However, once the town’s founders converted to the Moravian faith, a new order was imposed and extended even to the configuration of the dead. Emmaus officially became a closed village designated for Moravians, or Gemein Ortt, in 1758. Both of the founders, Sebastian Henry Knauss (1714-1777) and Johan Jacob Ehrenhardt (1716-1760), are interred here, although their original gravemarkers were later replaced with newer models. Of the initial 44 members of the Moravian church, 14 are buried here.
Moravians were separated into choirs based on their gender, age, and marital status, so their positions in death were a continuation of their lives in the church. Although a community very fond of music, the term choir in this case refers more generally to a group. Some of the earliest graves predate the new order, but once the Moravian Congregation was established in 1747, it adhered to the following scheme: “beginning in the northwest corner is Row 1 with graves for boys; in Row 2 lie men, as also in row 3; Rows 4 and 5 are for women; Rows 6 and 7 for girls; Rows 8 and 9 again for women; Row 10 for men again; and Rows 11 and 12 again for boys” (Barba 165). It seems this plan persisted until area construction in the 1970s-80s necessitated that some graves be moved. ➺ 1: Revered Sven Roseen (1708-1750) ➺ 2: Anna Catharina Schiff Harlacher Kopp (1693 - 1756) ➺ 3: Andreas Eisenhart (1715-1770) ➺ 4: Anna Maria Leibert (1772-1773) ➺ 5: John Bernhard Wuensch (1720-1776) ➺ 6: Rebecca Merk (177? - 1777) ➺ 7: Elisabeth Knausz (1775-1779) ➺ 8: Sophia Giering (1762-1793) ✣ Memorials for Black & Indigenous People at God's Acre ✣
The latest two memorials in God's Acre belong to African American men. The first is that of Theodore Clymer (1844-1878) in plot 349. His father was named William, and his mother Julia Harris was a formerly enslaved person, but beyond that little is known of him. His original grave-marker did not even bear his name, only the appellation "Unknown Colored Union Civil War Veteran." He was later properly identified by the Daughters of the American Revolution, who comissioned the newer memorial. According to Legends, Myths and Ghost Tales from Emmaus, PA, Theodore’s grave marker was originally located at the southeast corner of God’s Acre. When the township decided to lay a new road, Minor Street, skimming that section of the cemetery, they attempted to exhume and move his body to a more interior area, however no remains were found below the headstone. Construction workers ultimately discovered a casket containing what was believed to be the body of a black Union soldier in the path of the new road, which was technically outside of God’s Acre in a Potter’s field. The casket and body were relocated below Theodore’s headstone, now situated in a central part of the cemetery. The second African American, Allen Sims (1828-1897), is buried in plot number 350, a short distance from Theodore.
By contrast, two Indigenous girls number among the earliest to rest in this cemetery. They are buried in Row 6 close to one another in plots numbered 6 and 7. Unfortunately, I was only able to locate a headstone for Rebecca in the latter plot. Her birth date is unknown, but she died May 7, 1749, just a few days after her baptism. Hanna's death date is unclear. The plaque and some documents record it as April 3, 1748, however this conflicts with other data which state she was baptized on the 24th of that same month. According to author Maryann Miller, both girls died of smallpox. Emmaus historian Preston Barba offers some information about them:
We can only surmise that they had been brought here by Christian Indians from Bethlehem and placed in the Kindergarten of the Anstalt, or boarding school. Little Hanna, buried in Grave No. 6, was baptized by Bishop Cammerhoff on April 24, 1748, when she was four years old. Her godmothers were Rosina Muenster and Sister Mueller. Through some discrepancy the death register states she was buried on April 3 by Brother Anton Wagner, 'as the first seed sown' from the Anstalt. In Grave No. 7 is buried the Indian girl Rebecca. She was baptized by Brother Gottlieb Pezold, May 3, 1749, departed 'into the wounds of Jesus' on May 7 and buried on May 8. (166)There were rumoured to be other Indigenous people buried in the northeast corner, but there are no formal records of them.
The first interment occurred in 1743, a year after the adjacent church was built, and the cemetery was in use throughout Emmaus’ time as a closed community for Moravians. At a certain point, the survival of the town required that they welcome non-Moravians to settle there. As the town again became multi-denominational, so did the cemetery. However, it was not long before burials ceased at this location and other nearby graveyards were used instead. With the exception of the previously-mentioned African American men, the latest burials occurred in the 1870s. Although the prone arrangement of the headstones is intended to reflect humility and equality before God, some still follow the stylistic trends of their time and include embellishment and some relief carving. Emmaus ceased to be a Moravian enclave around 1830-1835, so the more fashionable examples may belong to those outside the church. ➺ 1: Elizabeth Ehrenhardt Leibert(1745-1801) ➺ 2: Maria Magdalena Knauss Clewell (1761-1803) ➺ 3: Catharina Andreas Christ (1757-1819) ➺ 4: Susanna Saeger Ehrenhard (1763-1819) ➺ 5: Tilghman(?) Jacob Schantz (1831-1831) ➺ 6: J. Georg Jobit (1774-1851) ➺ 7: Anna Maria Jobst (1805-1859) ➺ 8: Baby Girl DeEsch (1861-1861) ➺ 9: John L. Everett (1840-1865) ➺ 10: Caroline Wilcox (1867-1869) ✣ Additional resources: ✣ ➺ Barba, Preston A. They Came to Emmaus: A History. Lehigh Litho, Inc. 1960. 165-170. ➺ Miller, Maryann. Legends, Myths and Ghost Tales from Emmaus, PA. Trafford Publishing. 2012. 43-45. ➺ Find A Grave ➺ WayMarking ➺ Moravian Church and God's Acre ➺ About Historic Emmaus PA ➺ 1803 House is Symbol of Emmaus Origins. The Morning Call. August 30, 1987. ➺ Emmaus has tales to tell, too, about its Moravian roots. The Morning Call. November 23, 2007. ➺ Emmaus Historical Society ➺ Images of Emmaus ➺ Emmaus Moravian Church: Heritage ➺ May 2022 Newsletter of the Emmaus Historical Society ✣ Third & Adrain Streets Emmaus, PA 18049 • Emmaus Borough, Lehigh County ✣
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