author
Adelaide L. (Adelaide Lisetta) Fries
1871–1949
A pioneering archivist and historian, she devoted her life to preserving the story of Moravian communities in the American South. Her work turned fragile church records and local history into books that researchers still rely on.
1 Audiobook
The Moravians in Georgia, 1735-1740
by Adelaide L. (Adelaide Lisetta) Fries
About the author
Born in Salem, North Carolina, in 1871, Adelaide Lisetta Fries became one of the most important historians of the Moravians in the southern United States. She studied at Salem Academy and College and built a career as an archivist, translator, editor, author, and genealogist, combining careful scholarship with a deep knowledge of her community.
In 1911, she was officially appointed archivist of the Moravian Church, Southern Province, a role she held for nearly forty years. She is especially remembered for editing and publishing major historical works drawn from Moravian records, helping make early North Carolina and church history accessible to later readers.
Her writing included books on Salem, Forsyth County, and Moravian history, and her research earned wide respect during her lifetime. She died in 1949, but her reputation as a patient and foundational historian has lasted well beyond her own era.