By 1903 Moravian Bishop Joseph Levering had begun work on a long-planned project. Establishing himself in Nazareth’s Whitefield House, a space long associated with the church, he was getting to work on his monumental project, the history of the Moravians in Bethlehem and the development beyond their era to a secular, industrial city. It was a huge undertaking but one Levering had embraced with enthusiasm.
Levering had first seen the light of day in Harrisburg in 1849. His family were among those following the tide of migration and settlement that pushed west. By 1859 they had settled in Illinois, and the 10-year-old was studying the roots of the faith that would guide his later life. Eleven years later he had entered Moravian College and Theological Seminary.
As the 1870s moved on, Levering also moved on to congregations in Ohio and Wisconsin with his wife Martha Whitesell and eventually his daughters. They arrived in Bethlehem in September of 1888 where Levering was named a bishop. Here he also was asked and agreed to take up the task of Provincial Archivist. Perhaps it was here that he first envisioned his project…