Note:  For this internet revision 2002, I 
wish to give a special acknowedgement
of Brother Dr. John Palo, for additional 
biographical information from his 1994 
book New World Mystics. Please see 
Bibliography for further information on 
the availability of this book for further 
reference concerning Early American 
Rosicrucians.

In order to explain exactly what Ephrata represented, it will be necessary to discuss many things about Beissel himself, because although many of the local Rosicrucians followed to Ephrata and became members there, the group was primarily a large number of non-Rosicrucians—who looked to Beissel for the foundations of their belief system.  The Rosicrucians at Ephrata established the Zionitic Brotherhood under which they continued their work under the leadership of Conrad Mathaii, who personally remained at the Wissahickon site where the Brotherhood built a monastery.
 
 
 
 

We will also discuss Peter Miller [1710-1796], a Rosicrucian from Germany, who followed his friend Conrad Weiser to Ephrata.  Miller  later led the Ephrata Cloister after Beissel’s transition or death, and during the American Revolution especially, the Cloister made several important contributions under his leadership.  Peter Miller became a very good friend of General George Washington, and made significant personal contributions during the revolutionary period, for which he continues to be recognized by the state government of Pennsylvania. 

With this, we will now begin to explain the Early American Rosicrucian ancestry.