Anna Rosina Gambold Explained

Anna Rosina Kliest Gambold (1762 - 1821) was an American Moravian missionary and diarist.

Born Anna Rosina Kliest in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Gambold was educated in the single sisters' choir of her community. Beginning in 1788 she was the head teacher of the Seminary for Young Ladies in her birth town, remaining in the role until 1805. There she taught numerous subjects including natural science; later she was the first to make a botanical survey of northern Georgia;[1] [2] in March 1819 an article she had written, in which she had cataloged flowers from along the Conasauga River denoting their scientific names and the uses of the plants in Cherokee medicine and culture, was published in the American Journal of Science and Arts.[3] [4] She married John Gambold in 1805, and moved with him to Springplace, Georgia to evangelize among the Cherokee people. In Springplace the couple established a school. They were, however, hampered in their efforts at missionary work by the complexities of the Cherokee language. Eventually, as part of the removal of the Cherokee from their ancestral lands, the mission was shuttered by the government of the United States. Anna Rosina kept a diary of her time in Georgia;[1] it has been edited and was published in 2007.[5] Kliest died in Springplace and is buried at the mission cemetery there.[3] [6]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Susan Hill Lindley. Eleanor J. Stebner. The Westminster Handbook to Women in American Religious History. 2008. Westminster John Knox Press. 978-0-664-22454-7. 86.
  2. Gilmour. Ronald W.. December 2002. Foundations of Southeastern Botany: An Annotated Bibliography of Southeastern American Botanical Explorers Prior to 1824. Castanea. en. 68. sp1. 5–142. 10.2179/0008-7475(2002)sp1[5:FOSBAA]2.0.CO;2. 86263026 . 0008-7475.
  3. Web site: Vann House highlights work of Anna Gambold during two days of events at North Georgia historic home. 18 April 2018 . 21 August 2018.
  4. McKinley . Daniel L. . Anna Rosina (Kliest) Gambold (1762-1821), Moravian Missionary to the Cherokees, with Special Reference to Her Botanical Interests . 1994 . Transactions of the Moravian Historical Society . 28 . 59–99 . 41179795 . 0886-1730.
  5. Web site: The Moravian Springplace Mission to the Cherokees, 2-volume set - University of Nebraska Press. 21 August 2018.
  6. Web site: SpringPlace Moravian Mission Cemetery (Tombstone Tuesday). blog.southerngraves.net. 4 October 2016 . 21 August 2018.