Lehrerleut
{{Short description|Branch of the Hutterite denomination}}
The Lehrerleut, also Lehrerleit, are a branch of the Hutterites that emerged in 1877. They are the most traditional branch of the Hutterites.
History
Thirteen Hutterite families under the leadership of Jacob Wipf (1835–1896) emigrated from Johannesruh, Ukraine, to South Dakota in 1877. After their arrival, they formed the Lehrerleut by establishing a community of goods at Elmspring Colony near Parkston, South Dakota, thus following the example of the Schmiedeleut and the Dariusleut.John A. Hostetler: Hutterite Society, Baltimore, MD, 1974, page 111, 115. The group's leader was a teacher (German: Lehrer), hence their name Lehrerleut ("teacher people").{{Cite news|url=http://www.hutterites.org/the-leut/origins-leut/|title=Origins of Leut|date=2012-03-20|work=Hutterites|access-date=2017-12-01|language=en-US}}
Shortly after World War I, two Hutterite conscientious objectors from the Lehrerleut branch, Joseph and Michael Hofer, died in an American prison. This and growing anti-German sentiment caused the emigration of all four Lehrerleut colonies to Alberta, Canada, in the following years.{{cite web|title=World War 1 |url=http://www.hutterites.org/history/world-war-1/|website=Hutterites.org|publisher=Decker Colony School}} In 1945, the Lehrerleut started to form new colonies in Montana, thus returning to the United States.
Demography
In 1957 there were 20 Lehrerleut colonies in Alberta, 3 in Saskatchewan and 8 in Montana. In 1973 the total number of Lehrerleut colonies was 61.John A. Hostetler: Hutterite Society, Baltimore, MD, 1974, page 366. According to the "2004 Hutterite Phone Book" there were 69 Lehrerleut colonies in Alberta and 30 in Saskatchewan. An additional 44 colonies were in Montana, all together 143.The 2004 Hutterite Phone Book, Canadian Edition, James Valley Colony of Hutterian Brethren: Elie, Manitoba. Rod Janzen and Max Stanton report in their book of 2010 that there were 139 Lehrerleut colonies, 72 in Alberta, 32 Saskatchewan and 35 in Montana.Rod Janzen and Max Stanton: The Hutterites in North America, Baltimore, MD, 2010, page 55.
References
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Further reading
- John A. Hostetler: Hutterite Society, Baltimore, MD, 1974.
- Rod Janzen and Max Stanton: The Hutterites in North America, Baltimore, MD, 2010.
- John Lehr and Yosef Kats: Inside the Ark: The Hutterites in Canada and the United States, Regina 2012.
External links
- [http://www.hutterites.org/ hutterites.org], the website of the Hutterian Brethren (Schmiedeleut 1)
Category:Hutterites in the United States