Name David der | Died 1758 | |
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David Nitschmann der Wagner, or David "Father" Nitschmann, Sr., (1676, Zauchtenthal/Suchdol nad Odrou - 1758, Pennsylvania) was a Czech-born Moravian missionary and carpenter.
He moved to Herrnhut in 1725. He next traveled to St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands as a Moravian missionary, where his wife Anna (nee Schneider) died. Finally he moved to the British colony of Pennsylvania in North America where he died in 1758. He is buried in "God's Acre" cemetery in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He is sometimes considered the founder of Bethlehem, but that is not correct, although he was a leading figure in the early days. He is sometimes referred to as "Father" David Nitschmann, to distinguish him from the other famous David Nitschmanns. He was the father of Anna Nitschmann, second wife of Count Zinzendorf. Tradition has it that Zinzendorf unofficially adopted him as his father.