Salm (Haute-Alsace, France)
Salm (Salmer), a former small Mennonite congregation in the Bruche Valley of Upper Alsace, about 50 miles southwest of Strasbourg in the Vosges Mountains, now extinct. It is not clear when the congregation was established; certainly it existed at the time of the expulsion of the Mennonites from Markirch in 1712, possibly already in the 17th century. A second group, closely related to Salm, located at Blanc-Rupt, which separated from Salm after the middle of the 19th century as a result of a schism. The Dutch [[Naamlijst der tegenwoordig in dienst zijnde predikanten der Mennoniten in de Vereenigde Nederlanden|Naamlijst]] of 1769 mentions that it was formed by Swiss emigrants with Christian Ringe(n)berg as elder. The Naamlijst of 1775 states that Jakob Kupferschmidt (d. 1813) served as its elder from 1766, Hans Rube also being an elder and Peter Gerber a preacher. The names of the same ministers are found in following Naamlijsts, but not in those of 1793 and after; then Christian Ringenberg is again named as its elder. Other known elders with dates were Michel Saltzmann (1759), Hans Guengerich, Jogi Mosimann, Christian Gerber (d.1824), Andrée Shirch (1822), Nicolas Augsburger (d.1890), Pierre Sommer (d.1878), Hans Beller (d.1892), Joseph Beller (1874, d.1910), Henri Neuhauser (ord. 1882). In 1837 it numbered 60 souls, children included. In 1881 it still existed, then numbering 50 souls, with three elders, one preacher, and one deacon. When the congregation disappeared is not certain.
After the death of Elder Augsburger the congregation relocated its worship somewhat south of Salm at a place called Les Quelles. The congregation known as Bénaville was formed in 1924 from former members of the Salm congregation. The book by Alfred Michiels, Les Anabaptistes des Vosges (Paris, I860), describes the Salm Mennonites, including a visit in the home of Elder Augsburger.
Bibliography
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. I, 561.
Mannhardt, H. G. Jahrbuch der altevangelischen Taufgesinnten oder Mennoniten. 1888: 37.
Naamlijst der tegenwoordig in dienst zijnde predikanten der Mennoniten in de vereenigde Nederlanden. Amsterdam, 1731, 1743, 1755, 1757, 1766, 1769, 1775, 1780, 1782, 1784, 1786, 1787, 1789, 1791, 1793, 1802, 1804, 1806, 1808, 1810, 1815, 1829.
Sommer, Pierre. "Assembler de Salm (Les Quelles-Benaville)." Christ Seul. 1932: 5 ff.
| Author(s) | Nanne van der Zijpp |
|---|---|
| Harold S. Bender | |
| Date Published | 1959 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
van der Zijpp, Nanne and Harold S. Bender. "Salm (Haute-Alsace, France)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Salm_(Haute-Alsace,_France)&oldid=93442.
APA style
van der Zijpp, Nanne and Harold S. Bender. (1959). Salm (Haute-Alsace, France). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Salm_(Haute-Alsace,_France)&oldid=93442.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 408. All rights reserved.
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