VAN VLECK, Jacob, Moravian bishop, born in New York city, 24 March, 1751 ; died in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 3 July, 1831. In 1772 he went to Germany in order to complete his education in the Moravian theological seminary of that country, and he returned after an absence of seven years. He labored among the young men of the church at Bethlehem, and subsequently was appointed secretary of the provincial or governing board. In 1789 he went back to Germany as a delegate to the general synod. On returning in the following year he accepted the principalship of the girls' boarding-school at Bethlehem, which post he resigned when he was appointed senior pastor of the church at the same place. Subsequently he served as pastor at Nazareth, Pennsylvania, as principal of the boys' boarding-school, and as pastor of the church at Lititz, Pennsylvania On 7 May, 1815, he was consecrated to the episcopacy at Bethlehem, having been appointed president of the executive board of the southern province. In this office he continued until 1822, when failing health constrained him to retire. He enjoyed universal confidence, and his influence among the young was very great.--His son, William Henry, Moravian bishop, born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 14 November, 1790; died there, 19 January, 1853, was one of the three graduates of the first Moravian theological seminary in America. He served with success in the Moravian churches of Philadelphia and New York city, and also as principal of the boys' boarding-school at Nazareth, Pennsylvania He was consecrated to the episcopacy, 20 November, 1836, at Bethlehem, and appointed president of the executive board of the southern province and pastor of the church at Salem. In 1848 he attended the general synod that convened at Herrnhut, Saxony, and in the following year resigned the presidency of his district and retired to Bethlehem. Bishop Van Vleck was a graceful and captivating preacher, a wise and gentle ruler, and a man of saintly character. He exercised a great influence.--William Henry's son, Henry Jacob, Moravian bishop, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 29 January, 1822, for twenty-five years labored as a teacher in the schools of the church, and in 1864 entered the Moravian ministry. He was consecrated bishop, 18 September, 1881, at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and resides at Gnadenhuetten, Ohio.