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A stalwart of the Moravian community in Salem, N.C., Christian Ludwig Benzien was connected in spirit and blood with some of the most prominent of American Moravians. The Benzien manuscript is a complex document comprised of occasional poetry, hymns, and songs written largely, but apparently not exclusively, by Christian Ludwig Benzien.

The Benzien manuscript is a complex document comprised of occasional poetry, hymns, and songs written largely, but apparently not exclusively, by Christian Ludwig Benzien. A Moravian minister, the son and step-son of ministers, Benzien was also a talented poet in German, and his work shows the evidence of a highly developed literary and musical aesthetic, deeply interconnected with an equally highly developed spiritual devotion.

Most of the works were written in celebration or commemoration of special days set aside throughout the year, including Christmas and New Years, birthdays, childbirths, arrivals and departures, Lord's Suppers, and Love Feasts. The volume provides insight into the Moravian religious world view, and perhaps even more into their social and familial relations through sensitive depictions of the nature of friendships between men (and women), family members, and members of church organizations -- particularly the various choirs with which Benzien was associated.

The manuscript appears to have been transcribed in about 1810-1815 by Dorothea Sophia Bötticher, and is written in two hands, entirely in old script German.

This volume was produced by Peter McGivney as a gift for his sister, Julia A. McGivney. Its entries are largely copies of popular song lyrics and some poetry. Many focus on sentimental themes like remembrance, familial relationships, love, death, and religion. A few patriotic titles were included. Peter McGivney elaborately decorated and illustrated the volume with paintings, pencil drawings, pen-and-ink embellishments, printed scrapbook die-cuts, and calligraphic titles and borders. He drew numerous patriotic images, including American flags, shields, eagles, Union soldiers, and a portrait of George Washington. Flowers, leaves, birds, and landscapes feature prominently, along with depictions of women. He drew several illustrations of hands holding calling/visiting cards filled out with the names of friends and family members. One watercolor illustration of an African American man accompanies the lyrics of a minstrel song.

This volume was produced by Peter McGivney as a gift for his sister, Julia A. McGivney. Its entries are primarily copies of popular song lyrics and some poetry. Many focus on sentimental themes like remembrance, familial relationships, love, death, and religion. Some patriotic titles are also included. Titles like "Little Low Cabin" and "Half Way Doings" were likely minstrel songs, and include racist dialect. One is accompanied by a watercolor painting of an African American man in striped pants and a blue overcoat standing at a table with a Bible on it and a whitewash bucket on the floor.

Peter McGivney elaborately decorated and illustrated the volume with paintings, pencil drawings, pen-and-ink embellishments, printed scrapbook die-cuts, and calligraphic titles and borders. He drew numerous patriotic images, including American flags, shields, eagles, Union soldiers, and a portrait of George Washington. Flowers, leaves, birds, and landscapes feature prominently, along with depictions of women. He drew several illustrations of hands holding calling/visiting cards filled out with the names of friends and family members.

• "The Lady’s Yes," by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
• "Write Me a Letter [from] Home," by Will S. Hays
• "[Darling] Minnie Lee," by Dexter Smith
• "Ella Ree," by Charles E. Stewart
• "God Bless My Boy at Sea," by T. Brigham Bishop
• "Little Robin, Tell Kitty," by Frank Howard
• "Killarney," by E. Falconer
• "Sunny Days," by Edwin Ransford
• "Remember Me," by M. W. Balfe
• "We Parted by the River Side," by Will S. Hays
• "The Last Rose of Summer," by Thomas Moore
• "Lottie Lee," by C. T. Lockwood
• "Kiss the Little Ones," by W. F. Wellman, Jr.
• "Kiss Me Mother E'er I Die," by W. Dexter Smith, Jr.
• "To a Beloved Woman," translated from Sappho
• "Driven from Home," by Will S. Hays
• "Bessy O'er the Lea" [e.g. "Darling Bessie of the Lea"], by George Cooper
• "Our Own," by Margaret Elizabeth Sangster
• "[When] The Corn is Waving, Annie Dear," by Charles Blamphin
• "A Woman's Question," by Adelaide Anne Proctor
• "Daisy O'Lynn," by M. H. McChesney
• "I'll Remember You Love in my Prayers," by Will S. Hayes
• "Don't be Angry With Me, Darling," by W. L. Gardner
• "The Good Bye at the Door," by J. E. Carpenter
• "Love On," by Eliza Cook
• "Sweet Genevieve," by George Cooper
• "When the [Autumn] Leaves are Falling," by J. E. Carpenter
• "Mother, Is the Old Home Lonely," by Arthur W. French
• "The Golden Side," by Mary Ann Kidder
• "Wait Till the Moonlight Falls on the Water," by Sam Bagnall
• "The Bells of Shadow" [e.g. "The Shandon Bells"], by Francis Mahony
• "Annie of the Vale," by G. P. Morris
• "My Pretty Jane," by Edward Fitzball
• "Silver Threads among the Gold," by Eben E. Rexford
• "When I Saw Sweet Nellie Home," by John Fletcher
• "Come Like a Beautiful Dream," by George Cooper
• "What Will I Do Without Thee," by Elmer Ruan Coates
• "Star of the Evening," by James M. Sayles
• "The Good Bye at the Door," by J. E. Carpenter
• "Memory Bells," by Henry Tucker
• "I Love the Merry Sunshine," by J. W. Lake
• "Every Home has Lost a Darling," by George Cooper
• "Wilt thou say Farewell Love," by Thomas Moore
• "A Sweet Face at the Window," by W. C. Baker
• "Faded Flowers," by I. H. Brown
• "The Blind Girl," by Joshua Swan
• "What Will I Do Without Thee," by Elmer Ruan Coates
• "Why Was I Looking Out," by Claribel
• "God Save the Flag," by Oliver Wendell Holmes

• "Fair Maid of Perth"
• "Arabella Dolora"
• "A little Puss"
• "Rebecca at the Well"
• "E Pluribus Unum"
• "Excelsior"
• "The French Iron Clad Solferino"
• "Volcano of Turrialba (Mexico)."
• "View of Paknam on the Memam. Farther - India"
• "The Rose of Orleans"
• "The Queen of Flowers"
• "Marriot's Aerial Steam Carriage. 'Avitor.'"
• "Love in Winter"
• "Dressing for the Masquerade"
• "William Penn first Settler of Pennsylvania 1675"
• "The Tambourine Player"
• "Love in Summer"