Franz Heinrich Kleinschmidt
Franz Heinrich Kleinschmidt (born October 25, 1812 in Blasheim , † September 2, 1864 in Otjimbingwe ) was a Lutheran theologian and was the first to do missionary work with the Nama in what was later to become German South West Africa . With the translation of Luther's catechism, he created the first printed work of the Khoekhoegowab .
Life
Kleinschmidt was the son of the shoemaker Karl Ludwig Kleinschmidt and his wife Cathrine Maria geb. Warmanns. After an apprenticeship as a carpenter and almost three years of military service in Luxembourg until 1837, he also acquired knowledge in the hospital as a surgical assistant and in pharmacy. In 1838 Kleinschmidt met Carl Hugo Hahn in Elberfeld .
Kleinschmidt went to South Africa as early as 1839 and was the future son-in-law of Heinrich Schmelen in Komaggas, where he received his ordination on May 22, 1842 . He came to Bethanien on August 30, 1842 - this day is considered to be the beginning of the Nama mission of the Barmer Rhenish Mission Society . In October 1842 he met in Windhoek one or two months before Carl Hugo Hahn. They were the first missionaries of the society and worked in Windhoek until October 3, 1844, from where they reported on the activities of Jonker Afrikaner . In 1844, Kleinschmidt and Hahn founded the Groß Barmen mission station near Okahandja , which is now a thermal bath. From 1845 Kleinschmidt worked in Rehoboth . Initially, Christian missionary work met with little success. Hugo Hahn pointed out in 1857 that "he had been unsuccessfully preaching the Gospel in their language to the Herero for ten years", and his colleague Johann Jakob Irle later reported that the first Omuherero was not baptized until September 1858. In July 1863, Kleinschmidt was replaced by Peter Heinrich Brincker in his missionary work in Otjimbingwe .
Franz Heinrich Kleinschmidt died as a result of fleeing after a raid by the robber tribes led by Jan Jonker Afrikaner on Rehoboth.
family
Kleinschmidt married on May 23, 1842 Johanna (Hanna) geb. Schmelen, the daughter of the missionary Heinrich Schmelen and his wife Zara Schmelen, born Hendrichs (approx. 1793–1831), born in Bethanien in 1819 . She died on December 18, 1884 in Otjimbingwe and was buried there next to her husband.
Franz and Johanna Kleinschmidt had 8 children:
- Johanne Marie Kleinschmidt (1843–1926), (married to missionary Baumann)
- Elisabeth Kleinschmidt (1844–1913), (married to missionary Hegner)
- Katharine Albertine Kleinschmidt (1847–), (married to missionary Björklund)
- Johannes Kleinschmidt (1849–1907)
- Heinrich Kleinschmidt (1851–)
- Friederika Kleinschmidt, (married Rautanen)
- Ludwig Kleinschmidt (1857–1929), farmer and translator a. a. for Theodor Leutwein
- Wilhelm Kleinschmidt (1858–)
literature
- Franz Heinrich Kleinschmidt - a missionary life from South Africa . Rhenish missions No. 81, Barmen 1897
- Walter Moritz: Jonker Afrikaner and Missionary Kleinschmidt - Between Rehoboth and Otjimbingwe. Diary, letters, reports 1839–1864 . Issue 19 of the series: "From the old days in the southwest"; ISBN 99916-68-24-1
Web links
- Klaus Dierks : Chronology of Namibian History
- Walter Moritz: Jonker Afrikaner and missionary Kleinschmidt between Rehoboth and Otjimbingwe , literature excerpt (Namibiana book depot)
- Namibiana Book Depot: Short biography
Individual evidence
- ↑ (en) Klaus Dirks: Biographies
- ↑ Source: Frank Becker (ed.): Rassenmischehen - Mischlinge - Rassentrichtung, P. 245
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kleinschmidt, Franz Heinrich |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German Lutheran theologian and missionary |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 25, 1812 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Blasheim |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 2, 1864 |
| Place of death | Otjimbingwe |