n.a record of membership, baptisms, confirmations, marriages, burials and/or other ritesPeckham 1945, 16He pointed out that besides the formal birth records, filed according to law, the state often has to accept semi-official sources when nothing else is available, such as church registers, school reports, census records, and genealogies.Fishbein 1987, 229Church registers would thus be more valuable than a survey of the economic status and opinions of congregants.Deutrich 1961, 401–402Since the Moravian centers were required to maintain detailed records of their activities, the materials contain important diaries kept by local ministers, letters, memoirs, and manuscript music, as well as the usual church registers and related records.