Joseph Bimeler letter to Peter Kaufmann, June 8, 1844   Save
Peter Kaufmann Papers
Description: Letter from J. M. Bimeler (by Christian Weibel) to Peter Kaufmann, acknowledging receipt of Bibles and spelling books and ordering more Bibles. He repeats his statement from his letter of April 31, 1844, of a preference for Bibles that embrace the Apocrypha. The letter also requests a catalog of books on hand at Kaufmann's establishment. Led by Joseph Bimeler (sometimes spelled Bäumeler) in 1817, a group of Lutheran separatists left Germany and eventually established the small community of Zoar in Tuscarawas County, Ohio. The group formed the Society of Separatists of Zoar, in which each person donated his or her property to the community as a whole, and in exchange for their work, the society would provide for them. After decades of economic prosperity, the unity of the village declined, and by 1898 the Zoarites disbanded the society. Peter Kaufmann was a German immigrant and intellectual. He arrived first in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1820; in 1826 he became professor of languages at the Harmony Society town of Economy, Pennsylvania. In 1827, Kaufmann led the establishment of Teutonia, a utopian community in Columbiana County, Ohio, and published its weekly titled "Teutonia: The Herald of a Better Time." Following this he moved to Canton, Ohio, where he became translator and editor of "Der Vaterlandsfreund und Geist der Zeit" under Solomon Sala. Additionally, Kaufmann wrote a number of books on education, as well as a German almanac. He was also an influential Democrat, counting President Van Buren among his friends, and knew Ralph Waldo Emerson. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: MSS136_B07F01_18_01
Subjects: German Americans; Education; Books; Zoar (Tuscarawas County, Ohio); Printing industry and trade--Ohio
Places: Zoar (Ohio); Tuscarawas County (Ohio)