Adelaide Fries
Encyclopedia
Adelaide Lisetta Fries was the foremost scholar of the history and genealogy of the Moravians in the southern United States
. She made important contributions to the field as archivist, translator, author and editor.
Fries was born in Salem (now Winston-Salem
), North Carolina
, the elder of two daughters of John William Fries (1846–1927) and Agnes Sophia (de Schweinitz) Fries (1849–1915). She never married, and lived with her parents in Winston-Salem until their deaths.
In 1911, the Provincial Elders' Conference of the Moravian Church in America, Southern Province, appointed Fries as archivist of the Southern Province, and granted her the use of a warehouse in Salem as repository and offices. She immediately began collecting, organizing, translating and publishing records, a work that continued until her death. Fries was never satisfied that the warehouse was a safe repository, and over the years her friends and supporters raised enough money to convert the former office of the Vorsteher (business manager) of the Salem community into a fireproof repository. The archives moved into the new building in 1942.
One of Fries' best-known books is The Road To Salem (1944), an account of the life of Anna Catharina (Antes) Ernst (1726-1816). Written in the first person, the book is based on Ernst's autobiography and on the diaries and records kept by leaders of the Moravian Church in Georgia
, Pennsylvania
, and North Carolina
. Another well-known book, The Moravians in Georgia, has entered the public domain and is available online. Forsyth County was revised and updated in 1949, and a further revision and update was issued in 1976 under the oversight of J. Edwin Hendricks of Wake Forest University
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. She made important contributions to the field as archivist, translator, author and editor.
Fries was born in Salem (now Winston-Salem
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to...
), North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, the elder of two daughters of John William Fries (1846–1927) and Agnes Sophia (de Schweinitz) Fries (1849–1915). She never married, and lived with her parents in Winston-Salem until their deaths.
In 1911, the Provincial Elders' Conference of the Moravian Church in America, Southern Province, appointed Fries as archivist of the Southern Province, and granted her the use of a warehouse in Salem as repository and offices. She immediately began collecting, organizing, translating and publishing records, a work that continued until her death. Fries was never satisfied that the warehouse was a safe repository, and over the years her friends and supporters raised enough money to convert the former office of the Vorsteher (business manager) of the Salem community into a fireproof repository. The archives moved into the new building in 1942.
One of Fries' best-known books is The Road To Salem (1944), an account of the life of Anna Catharina (Antes) Ernst (1726-1816). Written in the first person, the book is based on Ernst's autobiography and on the diaries and records kept by leaders of the Moravian Church in Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, and North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. Another well-known book, The Moravians in Georgia, has entered the public domain and is available online. Forsyth County was revised and updated in 1949, and a further revision and update was issued in 1976 under the oversight of J. Edwin Hendricks of Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University is a private, coeducational university in the U.S. state of North Carolina, founded in 1834. The university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina, the state capital. The Reynolda Campus, the university's main campus, is...
.
Books
- Forsyth County (1898)
- Historical Sketch Of Salem Female Academy (1902)
- The Moravians in Georgia, 1735-1740 (1905)
- The Mecklenburg Declaration Of Independence As Mentioned In the Records of Wachovia (1907)
- Der North Carolina Land Und Colonie Etablissement (1910)
- The Pflegerin (1914)
- The Town Builders (1915)
- An Early Fourth Of July Celebration (1915)
- Records of the Moravians in North Carolina (1922-1954): Volume I (1752-1771), 1922; Volume II (1752-1775), 1925; Volume III (1776-1779), 1926; Volume IV (1780-1783), 1930; Volume V (1784-1792), 1941; Volume VI (1793-1808), 1943; Volume VII (1809-1822), 1947; Volume VIII (1823-1837), 1954 (Volume VIII completed by Douglas LeTell Rights).
- The Moravian Church: Yesterday and Today (1926)
- North Carolina Certificates of the Revolutionary War Period (1932)
- Some Moravian Heroes (1936)
- Moravian Customs: Our Inheritance (1936)
- Index To Memoirs Filed In the Salem Moravian Archives (1938)
- Distinctive Customs and Practices of the Moravian Church (1941)
- Graveyard Registry of Friedland Moravian Church (1941)
- The Road To Salem (1944)
- Parallel Lines In Piedmont North Carolina Quaker and Moravian History (1949)
External links
- The Moravians in Georgia, 1735-1740 (1905), by Adelaide L. Fries (Project GutenbergProject GutenbergProject Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...
Release #570)