John Boehm

January 25, 1683 (age 66)

Boehm was schoolmaster of the Reformed congregation at Worms March 11, 1708 - November 22, 1715, and at Lambsheim, a short distance southwest of Worms, from then till 1720, when he emigrated with his family to Pennsylvania. He settled as a farmer in Whitpain Township, Philadelphia (later Montgomery) County, and, being devoted to the Reformed Church, gathered his German neighbors together and conducted services for them. At the earnest entreaty of friends who urged that he could not justify his refusal before God, he finally, with some misgiving, assumed the pastoral office. The territory that he covered in his ministerial visits extended from the Delaware to the Susquehanna and from Philadelphia to the Blue Mountains; every month, he wrote in a letter of July 9, 1744, he traveled over 100 miles preaching the gospel and administering the sacraments. Boehm served the congregations of Falkner Swamp, Skippack, and Whitemarsh (1725); Conestoga, the older Tulpehocken congregation, and Philadelphia (1727); Egypt, probably (1734); Cocalico (1735); Oley (1736); the second Tulpehocken congregation (1738); Providence (1742); Coventry (1746); and Whitpain (1747); but he was not allowed to carry on this work in peace. In 1727 the Rev. George Michael Weiss, university educated and regularly ordained, appeared on the scene, denounced Boehm as a mere farmer unfit for the duties of the ministry, and attempted, with some success, to wrest his congregations from him. Boehm and his friends, recognizing that his position was irregular, appealed to the Classis of Amsterdam, which ruled that Boehm's call to the ministry was lawful and his acts valid but stipulated that he should receive ordination. He was accordingly ordained in New York on November 23, 1729, by the Dutch Reformed clergymen, Henricus Boel and Gualtherus Du Bois. Weiss thereupon professed to be reconciled but later resumed his poaching on Boehm's preserves. Trouble of another sort came with Count Zinzendorf's visit to Pennsylvania in 1741. An honest sectarian, Boehm saw the results of his long, body-breaking labors melting away before the Count's unionistic movement and resisted furiously. His Getreuer Warnungsbrief an die Hochteutsche Evangelisch Reformirten Gemeinden und alle deren Glieder in Pensylvanien (1742) was part of his counter-propaganda. As old age came upon him, he found his duties increasingly onerous and begged the Dutch Church authorities for aid. This came at last in the person of Michael Schlatter, who visited Boehm, September 7, 1746, the day after his arrival in Philadelphia. On September 29, 1747, the Coetus of Pennsylvania was formed; at its second meeting the next year Boehm was elected president. By this time he had given up all his congregations except the one Schlatter had organized for him in Whitpain Township. Seven months later he died unexpectedly at his son's home at Hellertown. His funeral sermon, it would have chagrined him to know, was preached by a Mennonite. He was buried in the church now named for him in front of the pulpit under the altar. As a successful farmer, he left a respectable estate.

John Philip Boehm

Edit Profile

clergyman educator farmer

Background

John Boehm was born in 1683, at Hochstadt, Main-Kinzig-Kreis, Hessen, Germany, the son of the local Reformed pastor, Philip Ludwig Boehm, and his wife Maria. He was baptized November 25, 1683.

Career

Boehm was schoolmaster of the Reformed congregation at Worms March 11, 1708 - November 22, 1715, and at Lambsheim, a short distance southwest of Worms, from then till 1720, when he emigrated with his family to Pennsylvania. He settled as a farmer in Whitpain Township, Philadelphia (later Montgomery) County, and, being devoted to the Reformed Church, gathered his German neighbors together and conducted services for them. At the earnest entreaty of friends who urged that he could not justify his refusal before God, he finally, with some misgiving, assumed the pastoral office. The territory that he covered in his ministerial visits extended from the Delaware to the Susquehanna and from Philadelphia to the Blue Mountains; every month, he wrote in a letter of July 9, 1744, he traveled over 100 miles preaching the gospel and administering the sacraments.

Boehm served the congregations of Falkner Swamp, Skippack, and Whitemarsh (1725); Conestoga, the older Tulpehocken congregation, and Philadelphia (1727); Egypt, probably (1734); Cocalico (1735); Oley (1736); the second Tulpehocken congregation (1738); Providence (1742); Coventry (1746); and Whitpain (1747); but he was not allowed to carry on this work in peace. In 1727 the Rev. George Michael Weiss, university educated and regularly ordained, appeared on the scene, denounced Boehm as a mere farmer unfit for the duties of the ministry, and attempted, with some success, to wrest his congregations from him. Boehm and his friends, recognizing that his position was irregular, appealed to the Classis of Amsterdam, which ruled that Boehm's call to the ministry was lawful and his acts valid but stipulated that he should receive ordination. He was accordingly ordained in New York on November 23, 1729, by the Dutch Reformed clergymen, Henricus Boel and Gualtherus Du Bois. Weiss thereupon professed to be reconciled but later resumed his poaching on Boehm's preserves.

Trouble of another sort came with Count Zinzendorf's visit to Pennsylvania in 1741. An honest sectarian, Boehm saw the results of his long, body-breaking labors melting away before the Count's unionistic movement and resisted furiously. His Getreuer Warnungsbrief an die Hochteutsche Evangelisch Reformirten Gemeinden und alle deren Glieder in Pensylvanien (1742) was part of his counter-propaganda. As old age came upon him, he found his duties increasingly onerous and begged the Dutch Church authorities for aid. This came at last in the person of Michael Schlatter, who visited Boehm, September 7, 1746, the day after his arrival in Philadelphia. On September 29, 1747, the Coetus of Pennsylvania was formed; at its second meeting the next year Boehm was elected president. By this time he had given up all his congregations except the one Schlatter had organized for him in Whitpain Township. Seven months later he died unexpectedly at his son's home at Hellertown. His funeral sermon, it would have chagrined him to know, was preached by a Mennonite. He was buried in the church now named for him in front of the pulpit under the altar. As a successful farmer, he left a respectable estate.

Achievements

John Boehm was founder of the German Reformed Church in Pennsylvania, now part of the United Church of Christ. From 1725 to 1740, he established twelve churches, requiring each to adopt a constitution which governed the voting rights of its members and created rules for discipline and money management. This was an early example of democratic governance.

Works

Life and Letters of the Rev. John Philip Boehm, Founder of the Reformed Church in Pennsylvania, 1683-1749 Life and Letters of the Rev. John Philip Boehm, Founder of the Reformed Church in Pennsylvania, 1683-1749

book
- Life and Letters of the Rev. John Philip Boehm, Founder of the Reformed Church in Pennsylvania, 1683-1749
  (This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)

Connections

Boehm was married to Anna Maria Stehler; his second wife was Anna Maria Scherer of Lambsheim.

Father:: Philip Ludwig Boehm
Mother:: Maria Boehm
Spouse:: Anna Maria (Stehler) Boehm
Spouse:: Anna Maria (Scherer) Boehm
Daughter:: Anna Maria (Boehm) Moser
Daughter:: Johanna Sabina (Boehm) Bitting
Son:: John Philip Boehm
Son:: Anthony William Boehm

Main Photo

School period

College/University

Career

Achievements

Membership

Awards

Other Photos

Connections

Connections

book

Life and Letters of the Rev. John Philip Boehm, Founder of the Reformed Church in Pennsylvania, 1683-1749

John Philip Boehm

Background

Career

Achievements

Works

book

Connections

Born

Died

Nationality

Religion