Sachse, Julius Friedrich, 1842-1919

Julius Friedrich Sachse, a second generation German-American, was an accomplished late 19th century historian of the Germans in Pennsylvania and an important photographer. His particular interest in the Ephrata Community, whose cloister he helped save from the wrecker's ball, bore fruit in several publications, including The German pietists of provincial Pennsylvania... 1694-1708 (Philadelphia, 1895), The German sectarians of Pennsylvania... (Philadelphia, 1899-1900), and The music of the Ephrata cloister (Lancaster, Pa., 1903).

In October, 1890, Sachse was hired by the Pennsylvania historian, Samuel W. Pennypacker, to make a transcript of a manuscript on the Ephrata sisterhood. The original manuscript was apparently prepared in about 1745 and includes a full description of the women of the Ephrata Community, their organization, daily activities, clothing, records of deaths, and biographical information. It can be seen, in a sense as a companion to Brother Lamech's Chronicon Ephratense... (Lancaster, Pa., S. H. Zahm, 1889).

From the guide to the Chronicon of the Ephrata Sisterhood, 1890, (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)