Hidden in Plain Sight – some remarkable maps of Wachovia/Forsyth County/Winston-Salem
A few months ago, I attended a lecture at the Moravian Archives in Winston-Salem. While there, I had the opportunity to see several manuscript and printed maps of Forsyth County displayed on the walls of the Archives.One of the more remarkable of those maps is a manuscript map of Forsyth County, drawn by E. A. Vogler in 1863:
Vogler’s map provides an invaluable record of land ownership in Forsyth County as of 1863. Virtually every tract of land and its owner outside the confines of Salem and inside the confines of the original Wachovia Tract are shown on this remarkable map. In 2011, one researcher wrote, “Unfortunately, Vogler never completed his map so a few census districts are almost entirely empty.” However, one must know Vogler’s intent to know whether or not his map was complete. The “almost entirely empty” Forsyth County districts on Vogler’s map are those wholly or mostly outside the confines of the original Wachovia Tract (see below).
If Vogler’s intent was to show current, i.e. 1863, land ownership within the original Wachovia Tract, then his map appears complete. Was that Vogler’s intent? The answer likely can be found in the Moravian Archives. Looks like another visit is in order unless someone can enlighten us via the “What’s on your mind?” comment box below.
I need to see this map in person! I have ancestors who had homesteads in the “Broadbay” district at the time of this map.
Can you please tell me if the land owners’ names on the maps indexed and alphabetized someplace? Also do you know if there was any kind of a “connection” between this Moravian community and the Springplace Moravian Indian Mission in NW Georgia?
(2020 reply via email, now posted here)
Volume 1 of “Records of the Moravians among the Cherokees” tells the story of the “connection” between the NC Moravians and the Springplace Moravian Mission they founded in Georgia. (There are now ~9 volumes of that series.)
Here is a description of Volume 1 from this web site:
https://www.oupress.com/books/9782285/records-of-the-moravians-among-the-cherokees
In the mid-eighteenth century, members of the Moravian Church, which had its origins in Central Europe, began conducting mission work among the Cherokee people. Their archives, now housed in North Carolina, include valuable records of their contact with the Cherokees. Drawing from these archives, these two volumes offer a firsthand account of daily life among the Cherokees during the years 1752–1805. Although written by missionaries and from their perspective, the documents contained in these volumes — ranging from reports and minutes to diaries and correspondence — provide great insight into Cherokee culture, society, customs, and personalities during this period.
Volume one describes initial contact between the Moravians and Cherokees during the French and Indian War and the Revolution, exploratory visits by Moravian missionaries into the Cherokee Nation, and the founding of a mission — called Springplace — in northern Georgia.
Subsequent volumes in this series will continue the story through Removal, the Civil War, and to the close of the nineteenth century.
As far as an index of land owners’ names found on the E. A. Vogler manuscript county map, I’d be surprised if there wasn’t, but I don’t have the answer. I suggest that you contact the Moravian Archives in Winston-Salem, moravianarchives@mcsp.org .
An 1876 published map of Salem & Winston (not the whole county) by E. A. Vogler has an index of town lot owners on the far left (Winston) and on the far right (Salem). However, these indices are by lot number and are not alphabetical. The Moravian Archives in Old Salem has a full-size facsimile for research use (donated by a member of the WPC Map Society), and reportedly 3 originals hidden away in their vault.
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Is it possible for this map to be photographed by grid and published online? It would be invaluable to so many. Please consider!
Possible? Yes. Probable? Not likely in the near future. I don’t think digitizing maps is currently on the radar of the Moravian Archives in Winston-Salem.