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Acknowledgments A book this long in coming has amassed a debt not easily repaid. Debt can be a heavy load, but this one is borne on a buoy of gratitude for the many people who have supported me. Institutions have supported my research and writing, archivists have aided my search, colleagues have offered suggestions and discussed parts of the text at various stages, friends and family have read, given encouraging criticism, and encompassed me with kindness and support. For all that I am profoundly grateful! Some of the most pleasant research days of my life have been spent at the Moravian Archives in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The magnolias outside the large windows are beautiful in all seasons, from the tiny cat’s paw buds in March to late summer foliage. Trees are excellent company, and so are the archive’s kind and knowledgeable staff. Vernon H. Nelson has gone out of his way to aid me and suggest items of value to my research, as well as offering me room and board while in Bethlehem. Tack så mycket för all din hjälp! He and the late Lothar Madeheim helped with translations of some of the trickier bits of handwriting, and Lanie Graf aided me during the last stages of searching for illustrations. In addition, Rose Nehring took me to see some of the actual places that I have written about in this book. We enjoyed a rainy and foggy day crossing Blue Mountain, weather conditions often described in the Meniolagomekah diaries as the inhabitants traveled to not-so-nearby Gnadenhütten, Nazareth, or Bethlehem. Archivists and librarians at Riksarkivet and Kungliga Biblioteket, Uppsala Universitetsbibliotek, American Philosophical Society, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Oklahoma Historical Society, Bartlesville Public Library, Western History Collection, New York Public Library, Van Pelt Library, Rutgers University Library, and not least De la Gardieskolan in Lidköping have also been exceedingly helpful, for which I am profoundly grateful. Significant financial support has come from Kungliga Vitterhetsakademien , Birgit och Gad Rausings Stiftelse för Humanistisk Forskning, Humanistisk-Samhällsvetenskapliga Forskningsrådet (HSFR), and Växjö University. A Fulbright Research Scholar Grant enabled me to spend a se- 250 Acknowledgments mester at the Institute for Research on Women at Rutgers University. This allowed me to work out the fundamental structure and argument of the book, as well as establish contact with University of Pennsylvania Press. I am most grateful to Nancy Hewitt for inviting me to Rutgers, and to Beth Hutchison and Marlene Importico who facilitated my stay at the IRW. Kiran Asher and Juliana Barr shared good food and companionship with me, lent me their cars, and engaged with me in animated discussions about feminist research. Thanks also to Paul Israel, among other things for introducing me to BtVS, and to David and Debi Belden for friendship, lively discussions, and solace. I have also benefited tremendously from opportunities to present parts of the book at various seminars and conferences. I am particularly grateful to Bernard Bailyn, Pat Denault, and the participants at the 1998 International Seminar on the History of the Atlantic World at Harvard University; to Karen O. Kupperman and the Atlantic History Seminar at New York University ; and to several SKOGH (Swedish Women’s and Gender Historians) conferences in Sweden. Several people have gone beyond professional courtesy and interest to aid me in this project. For their generosity and friendship I thank Rita Dockery who befriended a lonely Swede, and pointed me in the direction of some of my most important sources, Julie Stewart who generously allowed me to use her home as a base when in Philadelphia, Carla and Allen Messinger who provided me with a place to stay, fed me, and took me on road trips to learn about the land of the Lenapes, such as a memorable trek along the line of the Walking Purchase. Juliana Barr, Dag Blanck, and Cecilia Trenter have all endured my rantings and insecurities and only offered encouragement in return. It has been an honor to work with the editors and staff at University of Pennsylvania Press. Daniel K. Richter initially encouraged the manuscript and offered invaluable support and comments and Kathleen M. Brown has been an outstanding editor with sharp and inspirational observations. The manuscript has also benefited from insightful readings and remarks by Nancy Shoemaker, Juliana Barr, and Nicky Michael. My ties to Oklahoma, the land of the red people, remain forever tight through Cheryl Jones Fur. Over the years she has discussed...

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