Need info on first German Settlers in NC!! (Winston-Salem, Hickory: for sale, house)

[Bobb]

Hello,
I am searching for any kind of German artifacts of early German Settlers in North Carolina, especially around Catawba County/ Hickory Area. I am interested in pottery, Paintings, Clothes and so on. I am about to open a German Heritage Museum - small, but there is always potential!
I am grateful for any help and info!
Thank you!

[Niftybergin]

I don't entirely understand your post or what you're looking for. However, you might want to re-post your question in the Winston-Salem forum, as Salem was NC's first large German/Moravian settlement, founded in the 1760s. There were also settlements along the Yadkin river.

Have you looked into Bethabara Park near W-S? It's a historic park...preservation of a Moravian settlement.

(See the things you learn from reading historical fiction? Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series is set, in part, in Colonial NC, circa 1766-1776, and while her primary protagonists are Scottish, they're in frequent communication -- for trade, etc. -- with the Moravians of Salem.)

[NCgirl]

The Moravians were not German. They were from the area now known as the Czech Republic.

[Bobb]

NCgirl - that's not entirely correct neither - they mostly came from Saxony, actually a church and area I happen to know, because I grew up in Saxony. )
Niftybergin - I am looking for stuff to display - hope this helps to understand what I am looking for.... to buy or just for display w/ the families or owners name posted.
Thanks to the both of you for your help!!
Niftybergen - I have been to Old Salem. It's just very hard to find things from the German settlers here in Catawba County. Thanks again!

[anifani821]

Originally Posted by Bobb

NCgirl - that's not entirely correct neither - they mostly came from Saxony, actually a church and area I happen to know, because I grew up in Saxony. )
Niftybergin - I am looking for stuff to display - hope this helps to understand what I am looking for.... to buy or just for display w/ the families or owners name posted.
Thanks to the both of you for your help!!
Niftybergen - I have been to Old Salem. It's just very hard to find things from the German settlers here in Catawba County. Thanks again!

Have you talked to the people at the historical museum in Catawba County? There may be some family heirlooms - such as cradles, spinning wheels, pottery and tools, but I don't know . . . my family (Swiss) settled here in the early 1700s . . . and there just isn't anything floating around that we are aware of . . . I have known of families in Catawba County that had items supposedly from the 18th C but those things are usually stashed away and bones of contention with Wills, LOL . . . and not something family members would want out of their sight. Some of the Lutheran churches have kept family Bibles . . . but again - these are holdings that no one is likely to relinquish.

[Bobb]

Originally Posted by anifani821

Have you talked to the people at the historical museum in Catawba County? There may be some family heirlooms - such as cradles, spinning wheels, pottery and tools, but I don't know . . . my family (Swiss) settled here in the early 1700s . . . and there just isn't anything floating around that we are aware of . . . I have known of families in Catawba County that had items supposedly from the 18th C but those things are usually stashed away and bones of contention with Wills, LOL . . . and not something family members would want out of their sight. Some of the Lutheran churches have kept family Bibles . . . but again - these are holdings that no one is likely to relinquish.

Thank you for your reply!
I was told to get in touch with the museum. I will try. Yeah, tell me about it, you can find WW2 stuff, which I am not looking for, that's about it.
I would love some pottery or letters, but it's so darn hard to find.

[anifani821]

Originally Posted by Bobb

Thank you for your reply!
I was told to get in touch with the museum. I will try. Yeah, tell me about it, you can find WW2 stuff, which I am not looking for, that's about it.
I would love some pottery or letters, but it's so darn hard to find.

It is VERY hard to find and w/ so many families being here for generations, people have inherited what items are still in existence, and are not likely to relinquish them. I would also check w/ any antiques dealers in the area as sometimes people have gotten items at estate sales and auctions.

However . . . I used to refinish furniture and sell collectibles back when I was in college, and I did see some mid-19th C items for sale in the early 70s. By the end of the 70s, that stuff was just not being sold any longer as families were realizing the value of things such as crockware used to make kraut and old spinning wheels. There just never has been much to find that was made prior to 1850, b/c so much was destroyed during the Civil War. The bulk of items I have located are basically late 19th C and early 20th C.

[southbound_295]

This might help you.

Yesteryear-Early Davidson County Settlers

It might be easier for you to get items from PA & clearly label them as such, but state that the same would have been used in NC.

[etacarinae]

Maybe a trip to Morrow Mountain State Park would be in order. There is a site known as the Kron House that , according to the website , was home to the Kron family from Dusseldorf that settled in the area in the 1600s. They were'nt the first , but you may find it helpful. Visit www.montgomerycounty.comfor more info. To get there , take Albemarle road to Albemarle and follow the signage.

[mullman]

I've used this book for some of my research:

History of the German Settlements and of the Lutheran Church in North and South Carolina.