Eastern West Indies Records Preservation and Digitization Project

FAIN: PW-259118-18

Moravian Archives (Bethlehem, PA 18018-2757)
Paul M. Peucker (Project Director: July 2017 to September 2021)

The conservation treatment and digitization of eight volumes (3,566 pages) of Moravian Church records focused on missions on the Caribbean islands of St. Croix and Antigua from the late 18th through the mid-20th centuries.

The Moravian Archives in Bethlehem, Pa. (MAB) is seeking a HCRR Implementation grant of $265,359 to preserve and digitize selected records from the Eastern West Indies (EWI), held by the Moravian Archives and based on existing guidelines for prioritization of treatment and digitization. The goal of the project is 1) To provide conservation treatment for these selected records in order to allow future use of these records 2) To digitize these records 3) To provide wide public access to their content by uploading the digitized material to an appropriate digital platform.

Associated Products

Religious Collections as Primary Sources for Caribbean History: A Case Study of the Moravian Church Archives in Bethlehem, PA (Book Section)
Title: Religious Collections as Primary Sources for Caribbean History: A Case Study of the Moravian Church Archives in Bethlehem, PA
Author: Paul Peucker
Author: Thomas McCullough
Editor: Jeannette A. Bastian
Editor: John A. Aarons
Editor: Stanley Griffin
Abstract: The essay discusses the character and objectives of Moravian record keeping in general and specifically in the Caribbean. The essay lists the various categories of records created by Moravians in the Caribbean and describes both potential and limitations of the material held by the Moravian Archives for scholars of the Caribbean.
Year: 2018
Primary URL: http://https://litwinbooks.com/books/decolonizing-the-caribbean-record-an-archives-reader/
Publisher: Litwin Books
Book Title: Decolonizing the Caribbean Record: An Archives Reader
ISBN: 978-1-63400-05

(Updated) Finding aid of the Records of the Moravian Church in the Eastern West Indies (Database/Archive/Digital Edition)
Title: (Updated) Finding aid of the Records of the Moravian Church in the Eastern West Indies
Author: Lothar Madeheim (original finding aid)
Author: Paul Peucker (revisions)
Author: Thomas McCullough (revisions)
Abstract: Finding aid for the records from the congregations and the central administration (later Provincial Helpers' Conference) of the Moravian Church in the Eastern West Indies (St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. John, Antigua and St. Kitts).
Year: 2019
Primary URL: https://www.moravianchurcharchives.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/EWI-1.pdf
Access Model: open access

Revitalizing the Caribbean Record: A Discussion of the Work and Humanities Values of the Eastern West Indies Collection (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Revitalizing the Caribbean Record: A Discussion of the Work and Humanities Values of the Eastern West Indies Collection
Author: Thomas McCullough
Abstract: From 2014 to the present, the Moravian Archives, Bethlehem (MAB) has addressed poor access and physical conditions of its Eastern West Indies Collection (EWI), a 120-linear foot collection of records from Moravian congregations in the Caribbean region. The fragile records, transferred to Bethlehem in the 1960s and 1970s, are now in the process of being conserved and digitized, thanks to generous grants in 2018 from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). A selection of these records – documenting Moravian life and worship in St. Croix, St. Thomas, St. John, Trinidad, Tobago, Dominican Republic, Antigua and St. Kitts – are soon to be accessible online through the Digital Library of the Caribbean. Perhaps owing to limited access conditions, the EWI Collection constitutes a significant but underutilized source body of minutes, correspondence, personnel records, membership records, diaries, school records, linguistic materials, memoirs, and finances. The coinciding conservation and digitization projects warranted improved understandings and descriptions of such records by MAB archivists. During this time, unique opportunities were discovered and considered for researchers working in the fields of Caribbean studies, Moravian studies, and digital humanities. Using unique examples from the Collection, this paper aims to encourage new scholarship and start a conversation with scholars about future opportunities, namely "Citizen Science" crowdsourcing projects, made possible through the 16,814+ images soon to be freely accessible online.
Date: 10/12/2018
Primary URL: https://www.moravianchurcharchives.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/EWI-1.pdf
Primary URL Description: Program of the conference
Conference Name: Sixth Bethlehem Conference on Moravian History & Music

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