Brons, Bernhard, Jr. (1831-1911)
Bernhard Brons, Jr., b. 15 October 1831 in Emden, d. 8 June 1911 at Gronau at the home of his son-in-law J. van Delden. Bernhard Brons was the oldest son of Isaak and Antje Brons and was one of the most capable leaders of the German Mennonites of his day. In his parental home he developed an inexhaustible pleasure in work and a successful career in the field of business as well as congregational affairs. He was deacon of the Emden church from 1872 until the end of his life. He played a prominent part in the founding of the Vereinigung der Mennoniten-Gemeinden im Deutschen Reich, and devoted his best gifts to its promotion. With wise counsel and generous hand in complete agreement with his mother he worked for the strengthening of Mennonite consciousness. He was a pillar not only of his home church in Emden, but of the entire German Mennonite brotherhood. With poetic turns in word and deed he most emphatically advocated his conception of Mennonitism, which resembled the Dutch idea. He served in various organizations for the general welfare of the city, the Kant Society, as well as in politics. For 14 years he served Emden well as a member of the city council. He lost his two sons through death, one of them early, the second at the age of 22 years of heart trouble. Only a daughter survived, who faithfully nurtured her spiritual inheritance with her like-minded husband.
Bibliography
Doopsgezind Jaarboekje (1913): 21-36 with portrait.
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. I, 273.
Keller, Ludwig. "Bernhard Brons." Monatshefte der Comenius-Gesellschaft (1910): 95 ff.; (1911): 185-189.
| Author(s) | H van der Smissen |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1953 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
van der Smissen, H. "Brons, Bernhard, Jr. (1831-1911)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1953. Web. 30 Oct 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Brons,_Bernhard,_Jr._(1831-1911)&oldid=161241.
APA style
van der Smissen, H. (1953). Brons, Bernhard, Jr. (1831-1911). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 30 October 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Brons,_Bernhard,_Jr._(1831-1911)&oldid=161241.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 437. All rights reserved.
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