A Historical Account of The Harmony Society's Oil and Lumber Opertions in Warren County, 1854 - 1895

Abstract

The origins of The Harmony Society date back to the latter decades of the eighteenth century in Germany. There a young weaver named George Rapp began to preach a faith which deviated from the established Lutheran religion. He held meetings in his home and quickly built up a band of followers. At one time he declared he had enlisted 2,000, and that is probably a fair estimate. In 1787 he was called before the church council to explain why his followers did not attend regular services and pay a tithe. While nothing came of this investigation, Rapp decided that the freedom he needed for his "united brother people” could only be found in America.