Moravians in the Midwest

The Moravians, a church group following the practices of John Hus, came to the Midwestern states of Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, North Dakota, Michigan, and Minnesota, seeking religious freedom. Their official name is "Unitas Fratrum" or Unity of the Bretheran, but they are NOT the same as the group called the Church of the Bretheran.

The Moravians claim to be the oldest Protestant church, since they predate the Lutherans by about one hundred years. The Moravians take their name from the province of Moravia, a Czech area, formed before 1722. After 1722, many Germans joined the Moravian church, including my ancestors because the group moved from the Czech provinces to the more religious tolerant German provinces. They first arrive in the U.S. in 1740 and continue to move westward as a missionary force.

The Family History Library Catalog lists some 390 titles connexted to the Moravians, including Brown County, Wisconsin cemeteries, Washington County, Iowa cemeteries,
United Bretheran Church, Alexis, Illinois, church records of the Zion congregation of Jackson township, Will County, Illinois and the Obituary index for Sugar Grove, Illinois.