Exincourt (Franche-Comté, France)
Exincourt is a village (commune) near Montbéliard, France, where a Mennonite school enjoyed a brief but active existence. Isaac Rich, who had received his education at Wadsworth, founded it to provide religious instruction for the Mennonite children of the vicinity who had to attend Catholic schools. Gradually, however, the care of orphaned and neglected children became its more important task. They were accepted regardless of creed and supported without charge or for a small sum contributed by friends until they reached the age of 14 years. At first the school was located at Etupes, a village 15 minutes from Exincourt; then Rich leased the stately manor house in Exincourt and transferred the school into it.
Through the energetic interest of the founder, who frequently attended the conferences of the Hessian-Palatine Mennonites to promote his cause, the school received generous financial support from the Mennonites of France and South Germany, though it was not accepted as a charge of the general conference. The school flourished. Six years after its modest beginning it supported 40 children and had an annual expenditure of 12,000 francs. Then there was a sudden collapse. On the night of 28 June 1876 Rich was suddenly arrested on account of moral lapses and was sentenced for life to New Caledonia, where he died penitent on 6 May 1878.
Bibliography
Doopsgezinde Bijdragen (1872): 111-116.
Gemeindeblatt der Mennoniten (1870-1876).
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. I, 622.
Mennonitische Blätter (1870-1876).
| Author(s) | Christian Neff |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1956 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Neff, Christian. "Exincourt (Franche-Comté, France)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Web. 25 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Exincourt_(Franche-Comt%C3%A9,_France)&oldid=94572.
APA style
Neff, Christian. (1956). Exincourt (Franche-Comté, France). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 25 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Exincourt_(Franche-Comt%C3%A9,_France)&oldid=94572.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, pp. 281-282. All rights reserved.
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