Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center - The Christopher Sauer, Jr. Diary and Account Book

About This Collection

The manuscript diary was recorded by the Germantown printer and Church of the Brethren pastor, Christopher Sauer, Jr. (1721-1784). Written in German script, the diary, although small, contains a wealth of genealogical information on the early Church of the Brethren in Pennsylvania, as well as important personal information about Sauer, Jr., including accounts concerning his printing business and a short entry regarding his being brought to a provisional continental court on suspicion of being a spy for the British during the American Revolution. In the words of Brethren scholar, Dr. Donald Durnbaugh: “in his [Sauer’s] diary are included brief sketches of his life history and that of his family. Though terse, they are informative.”