Liesl Boeckel’s grave in God’s Acre

THE INSCRIPTION

ELIZABETH BOECKEL

BETTER KNOWN AS
LIESEL BECKEL

BORN DEC. 16, 1754

DIED OCT. 1, 1831

NURSED GEN LAFAYETTE

FROM SEPT. 17, 1777 TO

OCT. 18, 1777

SHE BECAME THE
VILLAGE NURSE

Liesl Boeckel, one of the main characters in The Bookmark, is a Moravian woman who cared for the Marquis de Lafayette during his convalescence in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, after he was wounded at the Battle of Brandywine. She is buried in the Moravian cemetery called God’s Acre, which is located right in the center of Bethlehem’s historic district.

Low-lying gravestones in God’s Acre

Background

Established over two hundred and fifty years ago, God’s Acre is said to be the oldest perpetually-maintained cemetery in the country. The peaceful refuge is discreetly tucked away just above the hubbub of Main Street. Its most distinguishing characteristic is the placement of the tombstones with each one laid flush with the earth, emphasizing the Moravian belief that everyone is equal in life and in death. In The Bookmark, these gravestones are described as “rows of low-lying tablets—like a garden of worn stepping-stones marking a bumper crop of souls.”

Contrary to its name, God’s Acre is actually a little over three acres in size. The evocative term comes from the German word Gottesacker, which means God’s Acre but was intended to represent the field of the Lord where bodies of believers would be planted to await the Resurrection. 

Another unusual aspect of the cemetery is the way the graves are organized. For the first twenty years, the Moravian community of Bethlehem lived under a unique social order they called their choir system. This choir system had nothing to do with music but referred to groupings of people based on age, gender, and marital status There were choirs for every stage of life. Choirs for children, for Single Sisters, Single Brothers, Married Brothers, Married Sisters, and for Widows.

As an eighteenth-century Moravian, you would have done everything with your choir, including going to school, eating your meals, attending church services, and even sleeping with your choir in special choir houses. And at the end of your life, you would have been buried in God’s Acre alongside your fellow choir members. I’ll write more about this unusual lifestyle in a separate blog, but it truly was a cradle to grave system. Walking through God’s Acre, you can clearly see how the graves are grouped according to choir.

Historical marker at God’s Acre

History

The very first person to be buried in God’s Acre was a young man from New York named Johannes Müller. Seeking to join the Moravian Church, Johannes traveled to Bethlehem in 1742, but unfortunately, became ill and died soon after. Count Zinzendorf, who is known as the father of the Moravians, happened to be visiting at the time, and when he learned of the young man’s death, he decided to establish a cemetery for the community. Count Zinzendorf chose a serene, wooded location, which he consecrated when he conducted the burial service for Johannes.

God’s Acre continued to be used until it ran out of space in the early twentieth century and provides a resting place for 2,716 souls.

Famous Inhabitants

Many famous Moravians are buried in God’s Acre, including Bishop David Nitschmann who purchased the five hundred acres of land that became the city of Bethlehem, his uncle David Nitschmann Sr. who is said to have chopped down the first tree for the building of the town, and John Heckwelder, a missionary who achieved international recognition as an expert on American Indians. However, this blog is devoted to those individuals who history tends to disregard, so let’s take a closer look at some of them.

Moravian Women

The most prominent Moravian woman in God's Acre is Juliana Nitschmann (unrelated to the Nitschmann men above). Juliana was already a revered member of the church when she and her husband received the call to come to America in 1749. In fact, when she left London, the congregation gave her the title "Mother of Pennsylvania." As a sign of respect, her grave is located at what was then the center of God's Acre.

Anna (Demuth) Lawatsch was such an impressive speaker that it is said Count Zinzendorf fell on his knees and asked her to please allow him to preach beside her. Anna helped establish the town of Lititz, Pennsylvania, and later led a pilgrimage to North Carolina, where the resulting Moravian settlement would eventually become the city of Winston-Salem.

Many Moravian women led tumultuous lives. Susanna Louisa Partsch, a famous missionary, survived life with an abusive stepfather only to face a massacre at the hands of the Delaware Indians. She escaped by jumping out the window of a burning building and hiding in a hollow log. Mariana Hoech was captured by American Indians and “given in marriage,” but she also managed to escape and eventually returned to Bethlehem.

American Indians

Many American Indians are buried in God’s Acre. James McDonald Ross, the son of a Cherokee chief, fought for the Union Army during the Civil War and died in a southern internment camp. When the officials at the camp refused to bury James’s body because of his ancestry, his father arranged for the body to be transported back to Bethlehem and buried in God’s Acre.

A Mohican Indian known as Tschoop is one of the cemetery’s most famous residents because of his connection to James Fenimore Cooper. When Cooper began research for his book on the French and Indian War, much of that history had been forgotten or tainted by those who regarded American Indians as heathen savages. However, Moravian missionaries had kept thorough, and relatively non-judgmental, accounts of their interactions with American Indians, and it was in these writings that Cooper apparently discovered Tschoop who would become the inspiration for the fictional character Chingachgook in The Last of the Mohicans.

Nonbelievers and Scoundrels

Non-Moravians are buried in a section of the cemetery known as Stranger's Row. Moravians never turned away anyone who needed to be buried, and this included visitors, Revolutionary War soldiers, and even well-known scoundrels. One colorful example is Jacob Schoen from Switzerland who was, according to Moravian records, "unreliable in his disposition" and "inclined to lead others astray." He had even been "dismissed several times from the Church at Christiansbrunn and elsewhere, but always returned begging for readmission."

Perhaps the most scandalous pair in the cemetery are the Rice brothers, John and Owen. Seemingly above reproach, John was president of the Northampton Bank in Allentown, and Owen was a merchant and prominent lay member of the Moravian Church. However, when the bank failed in 1843, it was discovered that the men had been dipping into the coffers of both the Northampton Bank and the Moravian Church to fund their own speculative investments.

Liesl’s Grave

Liesl’s gravestone is slightly different from those around it. As described in The Bookmark, the grave looks bigger and newer. Hers also has a more detailed inscription and the modern spellings of Elizabeth and Beckel. Most likely, her stone was replaced in the late twentieth century when members of the Central Moravian Church began funding new stones. Although well-intentioned, the project was soon halted because of concerns that historical information was being lost. Whatever the origin of Liesl’s gravestone, the inscription confirms that she was a nurse and that she did take care of Lafayette.

Discover More

For more information about God’s Acre, take Historic Bethlehem’s Death & Dying tour, which is usually offered during the fall, or consider any of these historic tours:

https://historicbethlehem.org/visit/historic-bethlehem-tours

At the turn of the twentieth century, God’s Acre became a popular subject for postcards and stereopticon cards. To take a look at some of these old photos, see the link below: 

https://historicbethlehem.wordpress.com/2012/10/12/gods-acre

For general information about the Moravians and the founding of the city of Bethlehem, visit the Moravian Museum (you might even see me there!):

https://historicbethlehem.org/?historic-site=moravian-museum

References

“At Rest in God's Acre” by Frank Whelan, The Morning Call, May 28, 1995 

Marker Quest at pamarkers.blogspot.com

Moravian Women’s Memoirs by Katherine M. Faull

The Moravian Church Archives website: Digital Collection Spotlight #12: God’s Acre Posted October 27, 2020