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THE SOCIETY FOR THE HISTORY OF THE GERMANS
IN MARYLAND: A CHRONICLE
By ERNEST J. BECKER
Back in the eighteen-eighties, when
the Society for the History of the
Germans in Maryland was founded,
"Germanism," as a distinct element
in the community life of Baltimore,
was still a robust and vital force.
Its leaders were men who for various
reasons had emigrated to the United
States in the forties, fifties and sixties,
and who now, at middle age or past it,
held a high and sometimes dominant
place in the business and professional
life of the city. The ardent wish of
these first generation Germans was to
keep Germanism alive, to preserve its
language and traditions in the new and
at times hostile surroundings in which
it had its being. It was, to be sure, a
losing battle that they were to fight,
but in the eighteen-eighties it was still
being waged manfully and in the main
successfully. But a second, and even
a third, generation of men and women
of German stock, born here, and heirs
to American institutions and customs,
were taking its predestined place in
the community. For these men and
women the English language, some-
times side by side with German in
home, school and church, but chiefly
English elsewhere, was becoming in-
creasingly and rapidly the main in-
strument of communication, and was
destined to displace the old tongue
almost completely within the next
two decades. And with the loss of its
language, Germanism as the first
generation of Germans had known
and valued it could not survive.
In the eighteen-eighties, however,
that time had not yet come, and this
ardent wish of the oldsters to keep
their cause alive found its chief ex-
pression in the founding of charitable
institutions to take care of their in-
digent and aged, in German schools
and churches, newspapers and peri-
odicals, and above all in the creation
of innumerable societies—so many, in
fact, that it became a current saying
that wherever as many as three Ger-
mans got together they started a
society.
These societies most often took the
form of the social organizations so
dear to the German heart: singing
societies, Turnvereine, and purely so-
cial clubs like the Germania.¹ On the
cultural side, except for the musical
organizations, the output was meager
and short-lived. The one notable ex-
ception was the Society for the His-
tory of the Germans in Maryland,
which today (1952) can boast of
sixty-six years of only occasionally
interrupted activity, a record un-
equalled by any similar organization
in the country.
It was on January 5, 1886, that " a
number of Gentlemen met at the
rooms of the Maryland Historical
Society to consider the desirability
and feasibility of organizing a Society
for the History of Germans in Mary-
land." ² Among those present at this
1
Cf. Dieter Cunz, A History of the Germania Club of Baltimore City, (Baltimore, 1940); for a con-
sideration of German societies in general cf. Cunz, The Maryland Germans, (Princeton, 1948), 321 ff.
2
Minutes of the first meeting, 1886. Much of the material for this article is drawn from the
successive minutes of the Society and its Executive Committee. The early minutes are very full, frequently
including the full text of papers read, and summaries of informal addresses made by members of the
Society at its monthly meetings. Later, when the Executive Committee took over the routine business of
the Society, a summary of its proceedings during the year was presented at the Society's annual meeting
held in February of each year. The formal addresses which were made at these meetings were either
summarized in the minutes of the next year's meeting, or printed in part or in full in the successive reports,
or in special brochures. Other matter in the minutes includes reports on civic and cultural occasions in
which the Society took part, such as the Carl Schurz Memorial Celebration, the Goethe celebration, and
many others. Special pages were inserted in memory of prominent members of the Society who had died
in the preceding year, and obituary notices were printed in several of the reports.
[9]
meeting, in addition to Louis P. Hen-
nighausen, Dr. W. S. Landsberg, Pro-
fessor Charles F. Raddatz, and Ed-
ward F. Leyh—the men who had sent
out the invitation for the meeting—.
were such prominent German citizens
of Baltimore as Christian Ax, George
W. Gail, the Reverend Doctor John
G. Morris, Charles Weber, C. Moale,
the Reverend Benjamin Sadtler, Dr.
Emil Bessels, " and others." Unfortu-
nately, the minutes of this first meet-
ing fail to list " the others," and so
the roster of the founding fathers
must remain incomplete. The high
character of the rest testifies to the
solidity of the auspices under which
the new society was launched.
Dr. John G. Morris was elected
temporary chairman at the first meet-
ing, and president at the next, a posi-
tion which he continued to hold until
his death at the age of ninety-two.³
The object of the Society, as stated
by the chairman at the first meeting,
was "to collect and publish in proper
form the share which the German
settlers of Maryland have borne in
the development of the country."
That object has been held to un-
swervingly throughout the Society's
life, and never more strongly than
today.
At the second meeting on January
19, 1886, a constitution was adopted
and ordered printed "in both Eng-
lish and the German languages."
Among the signers were such out-
standing people as the Reverend
Henry Scheib, pastor of Zion Church,
Dr. John C. Hemmeter, Dr. Edward
Deichmann, principal of the boys'
school founded by him,
4
Dr. Louis H.
Steiner, librarian of the Enoch Pratt
Free Library, Basil Sellers, teacher,
and of course the founders of the
Society. The Society made its first
public appearance August 16, 1886
when the DeKalb monument in An-
napolis was unveiled. Jean DeKalb,
a general in the Revolutionary War,
was a German by birth. Since he had
led Maryland troops in the battle of
Camden (1780) his official monu-
ment was erected in the Maryland
capital. On this occasion the Society
for the first time stepped before the
public.
5
In the years that followed, the
Society met religiously once a month,
except in the three hot summer
months. A library of several hundred
books and pamphlets was collected to
form the foundation for the large col-
lection now housed in the Enoch
Pratt Free Library in Baltimore.
6
The first invited speaker to address
the Society was Dr. Louis H. Steiner,
who spoke on the early German set-
tlers in Frederick County. The cus-
tom of inviting distinguished scholars
in the field was thus established, and
has been followed by the Society to
the present time.
7
From the very
beginning the Society counted among
its members a good number of men
3
John Gottlieb Morris, D. D., LL.D., was born in York. Pa., in 1803. His father was a native of
Württemberg. He was educated in the Classical Academy at York, at Princeton University and Dickinson
College. Trained for the ministry by the Reverend Samuel S. Schmucker at New Market, Va., he completed
his theological studies at the Gettysburg Theological Seminary in Gettysburg, Pa. In 1826 he was admitted
to the ministry by the Synod of Maryland and Virginia. He became pastor of English Lutheran Church,
Baltimore, in 1827; librarian of the Peabody Institute, Baltimore, 1860-1863. In 1863 he became pastor
of Third Church, Lutherville, Md., where he remained for six years. He was an officer in many organizations,
and died October 10, 1895.
4
For an account of the German schools in Baltimore, cf. Dieter Cunz, Maryland Germans, 208 ff. Also
Ernest J. Becker, " History of the English-German Schools in Baltimore," Society for the History of the
Germans in Maryland, Reports, XXV (1912), 13-17.
5
First Report of the Society (1887), p. 21; also Dieter Gum, "DeKalb and Maryland," Reports,
XXV (1942), 18-22.
6
The collecting of a library of books, pamphlets, newspapers and other material concerning the
Germans in Maryland was a major endeavor of the Society from its beginning. As the material grew in
volume, it was in 1905 lodged in the basement of the Hopkins Place Savings Bank, and in 1918 transferred
to the Aged Peoples' Home at 1940 West Baltimore Street, where the meetings of the Society were held
for many years. In 1935, through the courtesy of the then librarian, Dr. Joseph L. Wheeler, it was given a
permanent home in the Maryland Room of the Pratt Library. There it remains at present, and may be
consulted under library conditions. A catalog was prepared and printed in 1907, supplanting a partial list
of some years earlier. That catalogue, aside from its rather unscientific get-up, soon became obsolete, as no
continuing record was made of subsequent acquisitions. To remedy the matter, a complete card index by
author and subject has now been supplied by Professor Dieter Cunz of the University of Maryland. This
index is also stored in the Pratt Library. Its preparation was a big piece of work, for the competent doing
of which the Society should be most grateful to Dr. Cunz.
7
For a partial list of the addresses, many of which have been published in the reports, see the
appendix to this article.
[10]
who had distinguished themselves in
the field of historical research, such as
Julius Goebel, Marion Dexter Learn-
ed, Adalbert J. Volck, Louis P. Hen-
nighausen, Albert B. Faust and
others. The Society also established
contact with leading German-Ameri-
can historians outside of the state, by
inviting them to become correspond-
ing members. Anton Eickhoff (1827-
1901) and Heinrich Armin Ratter-
mann (1832-1923) were the first who
were honored by corresponding mem-
bership.
It was at the third meeting of the
Society that its first officers were
officially elected. They were:
President: REV. JOHN G. MORRIS
Vice Presidents: LOUIS P. HENNIGHAUSEN
and
CHARLES WEBER
Treasurer: EDWARD NIEMAN
Executive Committee: D®. LOUIS H. STEINER,
EDWARD
F. LEYH, HENRY BECKER, DR.
CHARLES
C. BROMBAUGH, PROFESSOR
CHARLES
F. RADDATZ.
At this meeting also, the constitution
was adopted. At the next, held on
March 16, Professor Raddatz reported
that the seal of the Society with the
motto "Ohne Hast, Ohne Rast"
8
inclosed by a wreath of ivy leaves,
the whole surrounded by the name of
the Society and the year of its or-
ganization had been adopted and pur-
chased. This seal, the work of Pro-
fessor Raddatz, has adorned the pub-
lications of the Society ever since.
There was a healthy growth in
membership in these early years of
the Society, and the names of many
of the foremost Baltimore Germans
appear on its rolls. At the close of
the second year, membership in the
Society had reached seventy-nine,
and that number varied but little one
way or the other for many years.
Attendance at the meetings was light,
rarely exceeding twenty, and often
less. But the regulars continued on
with undiminished enthusiasm, and
the meetings were invariably worth-
while. Among the names that appear
most frequently as contributors of
valuable items of interest are those of
Louis P. Hennighausen, whose store
of information regarding the Germans
in Maryland seemed inexhaustible;
Edward F. Leyh; and Dr. J. G. Mor-
ris. Many others contributed their
bits to the general fund, so that much
valuable material for the history of
the Germans in Maryland will be
found scattered through the minutes
of these meetings. The most impor-
tant are preserved in the successive
Reports.
9
During the first twenty
years the publications of the Society
were bi-lingual; in almost each of the
early volumes there was at least one
contribution in German. After 1908
all articles were written and published
in English.
At the February meeting in 1893 a
resolution was passed to hold an
annual collation in connection with
subsequent February meetings, and
the first such dinner meeting was held
on February 22, 1894, with seventy
members present. This became a
regular practice of the Society there-
after, and has since become the only
open meeting regularly held by the
Society, all routine matters being han-
dled by the Executive Committee.
10
At the meeting on February 8, 1887,
the Secretary, the Reverend Fred-
erick Ph. Hennighausen, submitted
8
" Wie das Gestirn
Ohne Hast
Aber ohne Rast
Drehe sich Jeder
Um die eigne Last." (Goethe, Zahme Xenien.)
9
Initially these Reports were issued annually, with the first number in 1887. The last "Annual
Report," the fifteenth, appeared in 1901. From that date on they appeared at irregular intervals. The
16th Report was issued in 1907, but it contains also brief statements regarding the Society's annual business
comprising Reports 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22; thus instead of being numbered merely 16, this volume ought
to be entitled: Reports 16-22. From 1907 to 1929 no Report was issued. Number 23 appeared in 1929,
No. 24 in 1939, No. 25 in 1942, No. 26 in 1945, No. 27 in 1950. Cf. "German Printing in Maryland,
1768-1950" by Felix Reichmann, Society for the History of the Germans in Maryland, Reports, XXVII
(1950), 26.
10
The early meetings of the Society were held in the rooms of the Maryland Historical Society. Later,
they were transferred to the rooms of the Germania Club, and still later to the Aged Peoples Home. At
present (1952) the annual meetings are held in a hotel or restaurant, while the Executive Committee meetings
are held wherever it happens to be convenient.
[11]
the Society's first Report, which was
a model of its kind. Tribute should
be paid to Pastor Hennighausen, who
remained the Society's secretary for
twenty years, and whose full and
beautifully written minutes form the
chief source of information regarding
the Society's early activities. The
first Report covers ten folio pages.
Fifty copies of it were printed for
circulation.
For the next two decades or so the
Society continued in the even tenor
of its way with little change in pur-
pose, procedure, or size. Dr. Morris,
who had been the Society's President
since its foundation, died on October
10, 1895, and Dr. Benjamin Sadtler
was elected to fill out Dr. Morris'
unexpired term. The officers elected
on February 22, 1896, in addition to
Dr. Sadtler as president, Pastor
Henry Scheib, first vice-president;
Louis P. Hennighausen, second vice-
president; and Robert M. Rother,
treasurer. Mr. Rother, president of
the Hopkins Place Savings Bank, was
to remain treasurer until his death in
1930.
The closing years of the century
saw the publication of the first major
work of the Society, Herrmann Schu-
richt's History of the German Ele-
ment in Virginia, published between
1897 and 1900 in the Reports XI,
XII, XIII, and XIV of the Society.
11
Dr. Sadtler died on April 28, 1901;
and in the same year the Society lost
one of its most active members since
its founding, Edward F. Leyh, the
able editor of the Deutsche Corre-
spondent. Mr. Louis P. Hennig-
hausen, also a charter member of the
Society, and closely associated with
many German organizations, suc-
ceeded Dr. Sadtler as president, and
held the position until 1907, when he
resigned because of the pressure of
other interests. He was, however, re-
instated in 1912, and remained as
president until his death in 1917. In
the interim between Mr. Hennig-
hausen's two terms of office, the posi-
tion of president was held by the
writer of this sketch.
From the turn of the century
through the years of the first World
War, and for some years after, mem-
bership in the Society was at a low
ebb. Many of the old members died
or resigned, and new members were
few. The attendance at the monthly
meetings dwindled to a few loyal
retainers who kept the torch from
going out. Even at the annual colla-
tion meetings the attendance was
small. On February 21, 1911, for in-
stance, the Society celebrated its
twenty-fifth anniversary in the rooms
of the Germania Club. The speaker
was a distinguished Baltimorean of
German descent: Dr.Albert B. Faust
of Cornell University, the author of
the prize-winning work on The Ger-
man Element in the United States.
12
Only eight members beside the offi-
cers turned out on that important
occasion.
During the years of the First World
War the Society continued to hold its
regular meetings, but its activities
were, as was to be expected, largely in
abeyance during that period and for
some years thereafter.
13
As was also
to be expected, the sympathies of the
members were, at least until the ac-
tive entry of the United States into
the war, rather out-spokenly pro-
German. There were some, however,
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