View source for Petter, Rodolphe Charles (1865-1947)

[[File:MLA2003-0280.jpg|300px|thumb|right|''Petter family living in a tent cabin near Fonda, Oklahoma, while church was being built; <br />
L-R: Marie Petter, Rodolphe Petter, ? (standing), Chief Mower, ?, ?, Valdo Petter, daughter of Mower, daughter of Mower, ?, ?.<br />
Source [http://www.bethelks.edu/mla/holdings/scans/ Mennonite Library and Archives]. Photo 2003-0280'']]
Rodolphe Charles Petter: a missionary ([[General Conference Mennonite Church (GCM)|General Conference Mennonite]] [GCM]) to the [[Cheyenne People|Cheyenne]] Native Americans in [[Oklahoma (USA)|Oklahoma]] and [[Montana (USA)|Montana]]; was born 19 February 1865, at Vevey on Lake Geneva, Switzerland, the son of Louis Petter. He attended the local and other schools and the Basel Missionsschule (1883-89). While in military training he became acquainted with a Mennonite, Samuel Gerber, visited the [[Jura Mountains|Jura Mountain]] Mennonites, and heard about the mission interest of the Mennonites in America. [[Sprunger, John A. (1852-1911)|J. A. Sprunger]] of Berne, Indiana, who was on a tour of the Swiss Mennonite churches, suggested that he consider work among Native Americans. On 14 May 1890, he married [[Petter, Marie Gerber (1869-1910)|Marie Gerber]]. On 7 August they landed in New York to become missionaries to the Cheyenne under the mission board of the General Conference Mennonite Church. They spent the year 1890-91 at Oberlin College, Ohio, and in 1891 began their work at Cantonment, Oklahoma. After his first wife's death he married [[Petter, Bertha Elise Kinsinger (1872-1967)|Bertha Elise Kinsinger]] of Trenton, Ohio, 28 November 1911, who was also a missionary to the Cheyenne.  In 1916 the Petters took over the Cheyenne mission field at Lame Deer, Montana, where they were active until his death on 6 January 1947.

Petter was one of the most outstanding missionaries and linguists working among Native Americans. He created a dictionary of the Cheyenne language (see bibliography), reduced the Cheyenne language to writing, produced a grammar, and translated Bunyan's <em>Pilgrim's Progress, </em>portions of the [[Old Testament|Old Testament]], and the entire [[New Testament|New Testament]]. He became a nationally known ethnologist, and his numerous works are found in all leading libraries in this field. His reports about his mission work were published primarily in <em>Christlicher Bundesbote </em>and <em>[[Mennonite, The (Periodical, 1885-1998)|The Mennonite]]. </em>The Rodolphe Petter Collection is on display in the Bethel College Historical Library.
= Bibliography =
<strong>Books by Petter</strong>

Petter, Rodolphe.  Assetosemeheo heamoxovistavatoz no hosz Maheoneeszistotoz = “<em>The Pilgrim's Progress” and Some Bible Portions. </em>Cantonment, OK: Printed for the Interest of the Mennonite Mission Among the Cheyenne Indians, 1904. 264 pp.

Petter, Rodolphe. <em>Cheyenne Grammar</em>. Newton, Kansas: Mennonite Publication Office, 1952. 70 pp.

Petter, Rodolphe. <em>English-Cheyenne Dictionary: Printed entirely in the interest of the Mennonite Mission among the Cheyenne Indians of Oklahoma and Montana</em>. Kettle Falls, Washington: The Mennonite Mission among the Cheyenne Indians of Oklahoma and Montana, 1915. 1126 pp.  Web version: [http://www.bethelks.edu/mla/holdings/scans/petter_dict/ http://www.bethelks.edu/mla/holdings/scans/petter_dict/]

Petter, Rodolphe. <em>Hosz Maheo Heeszistoz: Portions of the Old and the New Testaments, </em>translated and arranged by Rodolphe Petter. Cantonment, OK: Mennonite Mission, 1913. 145 pp.

Petter, Rudolphe.  <em>Maheo Henitae-Histanovestoz: Zeoxtoese-Hesetovaomohettoz Vovoe-Histanova na Maheonoxtoenoe-Manhastova </em>= <em>The kingdom of God: in its development from the creation down thru the history of Israel: Literal and Paraphrastic Translations from the Old Testament Together with Their New Testament Connections</em>. Lame Deer: R. Petter,1926. 282 pp.

Petter, Rudolphe.  <em>Nivova-Pavhosto = The Four Gospels, </em>translated by Rodolphe Petter. Lame Deer, 1928: 273 pp.

Petter, Rudolphe.  <em>Pavhosto--the Gospels of Luke and John / translated from the original text by Rudolphe Petter</em>.  Cantonment, OK: R. Petter, 1912.  295 pp.

Petter, Rudolphe.  <em>Zemona hoemao maheon-hoestomohestova. Zeēnano ninitaehaman na nivostanevstomanehaman Jesus Maheonxostaanasz</em>. (<em>The New Testament in Cheyenne</em>). / Trans. by Rev. Rodolphe Petter, from the Greek, with careful comparison with the Latin Vulgate, and other versions.  New York: American Bible Society, 1934. 666 pp.

Petter, Rodolphe. <em>Zesenemeoxtox: Cheyenne Songs.</em> Kettle Falls, WA: Mennonite Mission, 1916. At least seven editions. pp. 40.

Petter, Rodolphe.  <em>Zistxuistō, or, Cheyenne reading book.</em> Quakertown, Pa.: U.S. Stauffer, printer, 1895. 36 pp.

Petter, Rodolphe Charles and Petter, Bertha Elise Kinsinger. <em>Einiges aus meinen Missionserfahrungen in den vergangenen Jahren</em>. [Lame Deer, Mont.: R.C. Petter], [1936?]. 72 pp.

Petter, Rodolphe Charles and Petter, Bertha Elise Kinsinger. <em>Reminiscences of past years in mission service among the Cheyenne</em>. [s.l.: s.n., n.d.]. 79 pp.

<strong>Books and Articles About Petter</strong>

Petter, Mrs. Rodolphe. "Kurze Lebensgeschichte Dr. Rodolphe Charles Petter." <em>Christlicher Bundesbote </em>(April 1, 1947): 10.

Petter, Rodolphe Charles. "How I Became a Missionary." <em>Mennonite Life </em>X (January 1955): 4-13.

"Nachruf des Dr. Rodolphe Petter, Apostel der Cheyennen Indianer." in <em>Bundesbote Kalender </em>(1947): 1-32.

Unruh, D. J. "Rodolphe Petter, Absent from the Body, Present with the Lord." <em>The Mennonite </em>(January 1947): 5.

<em>Who's Who Among the Mennonites </em>(1943): 191.
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