Genealogical Research

Yes! You can do family research at the Moravian Archives.

There are two ways to find us:

1. From U.S. 52 take the Stadium Drive exit going west following the signs to Salem College and Old Salem. At Salem Avenue go straight into the Salem College Fine Arts parking lot, where you may park. The Davis Center is the new building next to the graveyard. Walk up the brick steps to the main entrance on the south side of the Davis Center facing away from the graveyard.

2. From Church Street in Salem walk through the portico of Cedarhyrst (the big castle-looking building that is home to Provincial offices). The Davis Center is behind Cedarhyrst. Come in through the main entrance.

Once at the Archives you have available some 12,000 memoirs of members of the Moravian Church. You can research those in English or English translation by consulting the file cards referring to our memoir collection.

A memoir is an account of a church member’s spiritual life here on earth, usually compiled by the attending minister at the time of that church member’s death. A memoir adds personality to the bare bones statistics of birth, death, marriage, etc.

Also at the Moravian Archives are the published Records of the Moravians in North Carolina. These are twelve volumes of translations of church diaries and other documents that contain a wealth of genealogical information as well as accounts of daily life in the Moravian settlements of Wachovia, the tract of land the Moravian Church purchased in 1753.

Genealogical researchers may also consult the genealogy volumes compiled by other family researchers. These volumes are in our research library and are available for study at the Archives on request.

Further research into the church registers of births and baptisms, marriages, deaths and burials, etc., is done by the Archives staff at $15.00 an hour. We research an inquiry, then provide a typewritten report of our findings. We do not photocopy our documents. Mail your inquiry to Moravian Archives, 457 S. Church Street, Winston-Salem, N.C. 27101. Please state in your inquiry that you are aware of our charge of $15.00 an hour.

An application for "Research To Be Done By The Arhives Staff" can be found here.

Other sources of local genealogical information are:

• The North Carolina Room of the Main Branch of the Forsyth County Public Library at 660 W. Fifth Street, which has a helpful genealogy collection.
• The Forsyth County Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 5715, Winston-Salem, N.C. 27113, which has published several useful volumes.

A map of the city and other information can be obtained from the Chamber of Commerce, 500 W. Fifth Street, Winston-Salem, N.C. 27101, telephone 336-725-2361. You may also want to write the local museum organization: Old Salem, Inc., Drawer F, Winston-Salem, N.C. 27108, telephone 336-721-7300.