Johann Christian Strenge (October 24, 1757 – 1825) was an American

fraktur Fraktur () is a calligraphic hand of the Latin alphabet and any of several blackletter typefaces derived from this hand. The blackletter lines are broken up; that is, their forms contain many angles when compared to the curves of the Antiqu ...

artist. The only son of Johann Henrich Strenge and his wife, Maria Catharina Romer, Strenge was a native of the village of in

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...

. He became one of many Hessians who served the British crown in the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

, Strenge enlisted in 1776 and, under the command of

Johann Rall Johann Gottlieb Rall (also spelled Rahl) (December 27, 1776) was a German colonel best known for his command of Hessian troops at the Battle of Trenton during the American Revolutionary War. Early life and education Rall was born as a so-called ...

, arrived in New York in August of that year. Taken prisoner in the aftermath of the

Battle of Trenton The Battle of Trenton was a small but pivotal American Revolutionary War battle on the morning of December 26, 1776, in Trenton, New Jersey. After General George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American m ...

, he was later released to the British. By the time his military unit had been discharged in 1783, he had deserted. He moved to Hempfield in Lancaster County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

; he married and had a daughter, but both wife and child died. With his second wife he would have five children. The family moved in the 1790s to East Petersburg, Pennsylvania, where he began a teaching career; he taught at least one term in

Chester County Chester County may refer to: * Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States * Chester County, South Carolina, United States * Chester County, Tennessee, United States * Cheshire or the County Palatine of Chester, a ceremonial county in the North Wes ...

as well. He worked as a

scrivener A scrivener (or scribe) was a person who could read and write or who wrote letters to court and legal documents. Scriveners were people who made their living by writing or copying written material. This usually indicated secretarial and admini ...

as well, and in 1811 was named justice of the peace. Although he himself had been baptized in the

Reformed Church Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...

, Stenge was a schoolmaster for the

Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

community, which informed the style of his fraktur; he produced writing samples, family records, Bible entries, bookplates, and a variety of presentation pieces. From

Christian Alsdorff Christian Alsdorff (died 1838) was an American Fraktur artist. Nothing is known of Alsdorff's origins, and no record of his birth has been discovered. For many years he was a schoolmaster; his name appeared in a history of Lancaster County, Penns ...

he learned the tradition of making books of musical notation. He also made baptismal records for

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

and

Reformed Reform is beneficial change Reform may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine *''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...

neighbors. His presentation pieces incorporate symbols such as birds and hearts, as well as sayings. Strenge also produced complex love letters designed for young men to give to young women; also surviving is an image of the Crucifixion. His paintings are distinguished by their color scheme, incorporating bright oranges and reds. One of Strenge's love letters is held by the

American Folk Art Museum The American Folk Art Museum is an art museum in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, at 2, Lincoln Square, Columbus Avenue at 66th Street. It is the premier institution devoted to the aesthetic appreciation of folk art and creative expressions of ...

. Three pieces are in the collection of the

Winterthur Museum Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library is an American estate and museum in Winterthur, Delaware. Pronounced “winter-tour," Winterthur houses one of the richest collections of Americana (culture), Americana in the United States. The museum and es ...

References

1757 births 1825 deaths American male painters Fraktur artists Schoolteachers from Pennsylvania Painters from Pennsylvania 18th-century American painters 18th-century American male artists 19th-century American painters 19th-century American male artists German emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies Hessian military personnel of the American Revolutionary War People from Kassel (district) People from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania People of colonial Pennsylvania American justices of the peace 18th-century American educators 19th-century American educators {{US-painter-stub