Call Number:

MC.975.07.080

Repository:

Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections

Extent:

0.08 linear ft. (1 volume)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

"An Account of the Origin and Progress of the Christian Society of Friends at Minden" (HC.MC.975.07.080), Quaker & Special Collections, Haverford College, Haverford, PA.

Date:

1823 (inclusive)

Creator:

Schmidt, Frederick

Form:

manuscripts (documents)

Abstract:

Frederick Schmidt's "An Account of the Origin and Progress of the Christian Society of Friends at Minden" provides a historical and semi-autobiographical narrative of Schmidt and his Friend John Rasch, and their involvement in the Society of Friends in present day Germany. The narrative particularly focuses on John Rasch's efforts to begin a community of Quakers in Minden, Germany, in the late 18th to early 19th centuries. The narrative also discusses Schmidt's own trials in adhering to a pious spiritual life during his early adulthood, his life at the Hessian court, and his discovery and eventual convincement to Quakerism.

Frederick Schmidt was born and grew up in Hessia (present day Germany). His father was a gardener for the court of the House of Hesse, and Scmidt worked for the court as a gardener as well, begining in his late teens or early twenties. Schmidt became religious in his teens, eventually finding the Society of Friends, and becoming convinced in the late 18th century. His friend John Rasch, also a young convinced Quaker, helped to establish a Quaker community in Minden, Germany. At the request of Friends in Minden, Schmidt wrote a history of the community in "An Account of the Origin and Progress of the Christian Society of Friends at Minden" in 1823.

This collection is comprised of the single volume handwritten volume of Frederick Schmidt's "An Account of the Origin and Progress of the Christian Society of Friends at Minden." The volume provides a historical and semi-autobiographical narrative of Frederick Schmidt and his Friend John Rasch, and their involvement in the Society of Friends in present day Germany. The narrative particularly focuses on John Rasch's efforts to begin a community of Quakers in Minden, Germany, in the late 18th to early 19th centuries. The narrative also discusses Schmidt's own trials in adhering to a pious spiritual life during his early adulthood, his life at the Hessian court, and his discovery and eventual convincement to Quakerism.