of church life. Kelpius was also a composer, and is sometimes called the first Pennsylvanian composer, based on his unproven authorship of several hymns in The Lamenting Voice of the Hidden Love. The 70-page hymnbook which he is believed to have composed is the earliest extant musical manuscript compiled in the thirteen British colonies. It is likely that he wrote the text, though the tunes are mostly based on German songs; four come from Christian Knorr von Rosenroth's Neuer Helicon (Nuremberg, 1684), and another four are from other German sources dated 1690 and later. The harmonies show considerable musical talent and skill. The English translations in the collection are attributed to his disciple Christopher Witt, an Englishman who joined the mystics. Witt is said also to have built them a pipe organ, said to be the first privately owned organ in North America. Literary references Kelpius has featured in a few scattered references in literature. The novelist George Lippard mentions "the monks of the Wissahikon" in his The Rose of Wissahikon. John Greenleaf Whittier borrowed from one of Lippard's short romances, based more on what should have been than on what actually happened, to include Kelpius in his 1872 poem Pennsylvania Pilgrim: The novel Woman in the Wilderness by Jonathan D. Scott has a quite different tone. Scott imagines Kelpius shortly before his death offering this advice to a fellow seeker of wisdom: "... how precious are friendships and how difficult are goodbyes! ... grow into a full life of joy as well as wisdom. ... I beg you not to defer your life in expectation of some promised tomorrow, for our gift is the present." References Notes Further reading "Kelpius, Johannes". Grove Music Encyclopedia. Miller, Randall M and William Pencak, eds. Pennsylvania: a History of the Commonwealth. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State Univ Pr, 2002. Scott, Jonathan. The Woman in the Wilderness. (Though a novel, notes support the historical events and separate them from created or imagined events. Evokes the context of Kelpius' life in a clear and meaningful way.) Kelpius, Johannes. "A Method of Prayer. A Mystical Pamphlet from Colonial America." Edited and translated by Kirby Don Richards, Ph.D. Philadelphia: Schuylkill Wordsmiths, 2006. External links Kelpius Society - historical organization based in Philadelphia passtheword.org 1871 map of Wissahickon / Fairmount Park - notes Kelpius Spring by so-called Cave of Kelpius 1876 map of Wissahickon / Fairmount Park -