LANCASTER CO^STXTY. 321 



held by many about them, namely, that they are con- 

 vents or nmnieries, such as are found in the Roman 

 church. In order to give the reader their origin, we 

 must refer him back as early as 1727, and hi the last 

 century. It was at that period, when the emigrants 

 from Bohemia and Moravia, from the latter of which the 

 society lias its name, settled on the estate of Count Zin- 

 zendorf, in Saxony. At that place, they built their first 

 town called Herrnhut, which means in English, "The 

 Lord's protection." Having united with the great 

 object in view, to be a congregation of the Lord, to keep 

 sacredj in holy union, those doctrines contained in the 

 Holy Scriptures, and to promote, not only their own wel- 

 fare, but also that of their fellow men, it became neces- 

 sary to adopt some method or system. Among others 

 was that of dividing the congregation into different 

 classes, namely : the class of the married persons, the 

 classes of single brethren and sisters, the classes of 

 widowers and widows, the classes of boys and girls, be- 

 tween the ages of twelve and eighteen, and the classes 

 of children of both sexes. This classification they con- 

 sidered necessary for the well-being of the spiritual and 

 temporal welfare of their members, but always subject 

 to such alterations and improvements as they should 

 deem proper to make from time to time, or even to dis- 

 continue the same if not found applicable. After some 

 years of their existence in Saxony, it occurred that a 

 great many persons applied to be admitted as members of 

 the community; among these were many single persons 

 of both sexes, for whom employment, as well as a home 

 had to be provided, which in their peculiar situation was 

 often attended with difficulty. The plan of building 

 houses for them., was then adopted, namely: one for the 

 smgle men, and one for the single women, v/hich they 



