Maria Beaumont and Moravian Memoir

February 20th, 2021 |

What is a Memoir?  

A lebenslauf, or memoir, tells the story of someone’s life in their own words. In 18th and 19th century Moravian communities, lebenslaufs would focus on the individual’s spiritual journey. While the lebenslauf was written by its subject, it was rarely a complete depiction of their life. When we look to memoirs to learn more about the lives and experiences of Early Moravians in Bethlehem, we must keep a few things in mind. 

• The memoir was not a private document. Instead, it was shared with the congregation and even sent to Moravian communities in other countries. 
• Moravian memoirs were not necessarily written at the end of a person’s life. In fact, the author might write their memoirs in their 20s or 30s. [1]
• Moravian memoirs followed a specific format and were meant to focus on a person’s journey in faith. 
• Many Moravian memoirs are in German Script, a particularly challenging format to translate. To this day, a large number of memoirs await translation, leaving many stories untold.
• Not everyone wrote their own memoir. Maria Beaumont’s memoir was written on her behalf, from her bedside. 

Maria Beaumont’s Memoir 

Like many Black and Afro-Moravians in Bethlehem, Maria’s story remains out of focus due to a lack of documentation, inaccurate and conflicting accounts, and few translated materials reflecting the experiences of Black people in early Moravian Bethlehem. Additionally, when Maria is not the author of her own story, we must question what drives the writer to prioritize or omit details. Maria’s memoir writer, for example, leaves out any mention of her race, not only erasing part of her identity, but also a key detail in what brought her to Bethlehem. 

Two sketches [1787] by Maria Beaumont as they appear in a group of pencil drawings, pencil on paper, FemSem 359, Moravian Archives, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. 

In her journal article, “Maria Beaumont Race Caribbean Wealth at the Early Nineteenth-century Moravian Boarding School for Girls in Bethlehem,” author Catherine Bancroft pieces together Maria Beaumont’s life by cross referencing written accounts of the school with her memoir, a sensational text written in a novelists’ style by a student of the school, and various archival materials. Bancroft’s text outlines major events, and addresses anecdotes of Maria’s life. [2]

Maria in St. Croix 

Maria and her sister Betsy were born in St. Croix to a white man, Benjamin Yard, and a Black woman. Maria’s mother has not yet been identified and it is unclear whether she was an enslaved woman. When her father married into a wealthy St. Croix Plantation family, the sisters were sent to the Boarding School for Girls in Bethlehem in 1787 by their grandfather-in-law. During this time, it was not uncommon for children of different races and economic backgrounds to attend Moravian schools and receive the same education in languages, reading, writing, arithmetic, and the arts. The Moravian Young Ladies’ Seminary was becoming well-known in the former colonies, with daughters of elite men like General Nathaniel Green and wealthy planters in the South and Caribbean enrolling in the school.  

Music book from the collection of the Moravian Museum, Bethlehem with Maria Beaumont’s signature. Possibly copied by her hand 

Maria in Bethlehem 

Maria requested to stay and join the Moravian community in Bethlehem after five years at the school. Maria moved into the Single Sisters’ House and began teaching piano lessons and hand-copying music to support herself. She was regarded as the best pianist in Bethlehem and was hired to teach music at her alma mater in 1803 at the age of 25. Maria Beaumont remained at the school until her death in 1816. 

By 1804, one year after Maria joined the faculty, the Moravian Young Ladies’ Seminary decided to end admission for children of color, influenced by the increase in southern girls attending the school. The school that welcomed Maria and her sister would no longer accept students like her, instead prioritizing students who traveled to the school, often even bringing enslaved servants to assist them with settling in. A student of the school even alleged that Maria’s death was brought on by a racist verbal attack from one of her students rather than the reported cause- gall bladder colic.

Detail of a membership catalog of the Bethlehem Single Sisters’ Choir, January 1800, pen on paper, BethSS 30, Moravian Archives, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. 

What comes next?  

Though we have a summary of milestones in Maria’s life thanks to conflicting biographical accounts, there is much work to be done to uncover the experiences in between these milestones. Maria’s signature in a book of handwritten music and the flowers she drew as a child give us glimpses of Maria that are not part of her memoir. We are reminded that at one time, Maria’s music moved through the halls of the Single Sisters’ House. It is important to ensure that her history in Moravian Bethlehem is not only preserved, but that it is widely accessible and a continued part of the stories we tell about early Moravian Bethlehem and the people who made this city what it is today.  

Maria Beaumont’s signature in a music book from the collection of the Moravian Museum, Bethlehem 

This June, join us for a new exhibition out of the Gemeinhaus titled The Moravian Legacy. The Moravian Legacy is an exhibition that explores the continued impact of Moravian settlement in Bethlehem, and connects themes including equal education, innovation, and the arts from the early settlement to Bethlehem today. The exhibit also challenges dominant historical narratives around early Moravian Bethlehem and asks what is left out and how that informs our understanding of the lasting impact of the early years of Moravian Bethlehem on our community today.    

Resources

[1] Faull, Katherine M. Moravian Women’s Memoirs Their Related Lives, 1750 – 1820, Syracuse Univ. Press, 2009.

[2] Bancroft, Catherine. “Maria Beaumont Race and Caribbean Wealth at the Early Nineteenth-Century Moravian Boarding School for Girls in Bethlehem.” Journal of Moravian History, vol. 13, no. 2, 2013, pp. 158–96.

(Thank you to Scott P. Gordon for bringing this text to our attention. It is heavily referenced for this blog post.)

Maria Beaumont’s memoir is housed at the Moravian Archives Bethlehem, but transcriptions are not available online. Additional memoirs of Black and Afro-Moravians can be found online at The Bethlehem Digital History Project and The Moravian Lives Database. Content Warning: the linked memoirs are full transcriptions of historical documents. Some include language that is dehumanizing and offensive today.

The Hidden Town Project at Old Salem, the Moravian settlement in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, discusses perception and bias in familiar histories.

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