Lost in Translation: How a Ephrata Cloister Letter Needed a Governor’s Approval

Unusual Tale of Lancaster County’s Past

Did you know that a Latin letter written in Ephrata once caused an international mail crisis?

In 1774, Peter Miller—prior of the Ephrata Cloister’s Brotherhood and Pennsylvania’s first Secretary of State—decided to help a friend by writing a letter to Germany. But instead of composing it in German, he chose Latin.

That simple decision nearly doomed the letter.

At the time, Germany refused to accept any mail from the American colonies if there was even a hint of suspicious or “off-color” content.

Because the letter was written in Latin, colonial officials couldn’t verify its contents. As a result, special permission from Pennsylvania’s Governor was required before it could be sent overseas.

There was just one problem. No one in the Governor’s office—including the Governor himself—could read Latin.

It looked as if Miller’s friend’s message would never reach his family in the old country.

Enter Edward Shippen III, one of Lancaster’s most prominent colonial figures. Shippen translated the letter word-for-word, confirming that it contained nothing improper. With the mystery resolved, the Governor finally approved its delivery.

Thanks to Shippen’s linguistic skills and a little patience, the letter safely made its way to Germany.

This unusual tale from Lancaster County’s past comes from the March 1951 issue of Lancaster magazine and Brett Snyder‘s archives at PastPaper.com.

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Resources

• Lancaster Magazine – March 1951, Vol. 1 No. 3

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