Franz Heinrich Kleinschmidt
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Franz Heinrich Kleinschmidt (1812–1864) was a German missionary and
linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Lingui ...
who worked in southern Africa, now in the region of Namibia. He founded the missionary station and town of Rehoboth and together with
Carl Hugo Hahn Carl Hugo Hahn (1818–1895) was a Baltic German missionary and linguist who worked in South Africa and South-West Africa for most of his life. Together with Franz Heinrich Kleinschmidt, he set up the first Rhenish mission station to the Here ...
set up the first Rhenish mission station to the
Herero people The Herero ( hz, Ovaherero) are a Bantu ethnic group inhabiting parts of Southern Africa. There were an estimated 250,000 Herero people in Namibia in 2013. They speak Otjiherero, a Bantu language. Though the Herero primarily reside in Namibia, t ...
in
Gross Barmen Gross Barmen ( German: Groß Barmen) is a historic settlement and a recreational spa on the Swakop River in central Namibia, north of Windhoek. It is situated on the District Road 1972, 25 km south-west of Okahandja in the Otjozondjupa Regio ...
. Kleinschmidt is known for his scientific work on the
Nama language The Khoekhoe language (), also known by the ethnic terms Nama (''Namagowab'') , Damara (''ǂNūkhoegowab''), or Nama/Damara and formerly as Hottentot, is the most widespread of the non- Bantu languages of Southern Africa that make heavy use ...
.


Education and time in Cape Colony

Kleinschmidt was born on 25 October 1812 in the village of Blasheim, today a suburb of Lübbecke, then in the Kingdom of Prussia. He was a trained carpenter and blacksmith. Kleinschmidt became a missionary with the
Rhenish Missionary Society The Rhenish Missionary Society (''Rhenish'' of the river Rhine) was one of the largest Protestant missionary societies in Germany. Formed from smaller missions founded as far back as 1799, the Society was amalgamated on 23 September 1828, and i ...
, which sent him to Southwestern Africa in response to the request of
Jonker Afrikaner Jonker Afrikaner ( 1785, ''Roode Zand'' near Tulbagh, South Africa – 18 August 1861, Okahandja) was the fourth Captain of the Orlam in South West Africa, succeeding his father, Jager Afrikaner, in 1823. Soon after becoming ''Kaptein'', ...
,
chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the bo ...
of the
Oorlam The Oorlam or Orlam people (also known as Orlaam, Oorlammers, Oerlams, or Orlamse Hottentots) are a subtribe of the Nama people, largely assimilated after their migration from the Cape Colony (today, part of South Africa) to Namaqualand and Da ...
tribe residing there. He arrived in Windhoek in October 1842. When Wesleyan missionaries arrived in 1844, also at the invitation of Jonker Afrikaner, Kleinschmidt and his colleague
Carl Hugo Hahn Carl Hugo Hahn (1818–1895) was a Baltic German missionary and linguist who worked in South Africa and South-West Africa for most of his life. Together with Franz Heinrich Kleinschmidt, he set up the first Rhenish mission station to the Here ...
moved northwards into
Damaraland Damaraland was a name given to the north-central part of what later became Namibia, inhabited by the Damaras. It was bounded roughly by Ovamboland in the north, the Namib Desert in the west, the Kalahari Desert in the east, and Windhoek in ...
in order to avoid conflict with them. Hahn and Kleinschmidt arrived at Otjikango on 31 October 1844. They named the place ''Barmen'' (today
Gross Barmen Gross Barmen ( German: Groß Barmen) is a historic settlement and a recreational spa on the Swakop River in central Namibia, north of Windhoek. It is situated on the District Road 1972, 25 km south-west of Okahandja in the Otjozondjupa Regio ...
) after the headquarters of the Rhenish Missionary Society which was located in
Barmen Barmen is a former industrial metropolis of the region of Bergisches Land, Germany, which merged with four other towns in 1929 to form the city of Wuppertal. Barmen, together with the neighbouring town of Elberfeld founded the first electr ...
, Germany (today part of Wuppertal), and established the first Rhenish mission station to the Herero there. At that time Jonker Afrikaner oversaw the development of the road network in South-West Africa. Hahn and Kleinschmidt initiated the creation of a path from Windhoek to Barmen via Okahandja, and in 1850 this road, later known as
Alter Baiweg Alter may refer to: * Alter (name), people named Alter * Alter (automobile) * Alter (crater), a lunar crater * Alter Channel, a Greek TV channel * Archbishop Alter High School, a Roman Catholic high school in Kettering, Ohio * ALTER, a command in ...
(''Old Bay Path''), was extended via
Otjimbingwe Otjimbingwe (also: Otjimbingue) is a settlement in the Erongo Region of central Namibia. It has approximately 8,000 inhabitants. History The area was already a temporary settlement of some Herero in the early 18th century. Their chief Tjiponda c ...
to
Walvis Bay Walvis Bay ( en, lit. Whale Bay; af, Walvisbaai; ger, Walfischbucht or Walfischbai) is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies. It is the second largest city in Namibia and the largest coastal city in the country. The ci ...
. This route served as an important trade connection between the coast and Windhoek until the end of the century. Their missionary work was not very successful, and while Hahn visited Europe between 1853 and 1856 to gather support for his endeavors, Kleinschmidt moved back south to the Nama communities, where he founded the mission station and town of Rehoboth in 1845. Kleinschmidt was fluent in
Khoekhoegowab The Khoekhoe language (), also known by the ethnic terms Nama (''Namagowab'') , Damara (''ǂNūkhoegowab''), or Nama/Damara and formerly as Hottentot, is the most widespread of the non- Bantu languages of Southern Africa that make heavy use ...
(also called Nama or Damara/Nama). Together with the missionary Vollmer he translated the Bible into this language in 1853 and published a Dutch–Nama dictionary in 1855. In August 1864
Oorlams Oorlams (also: ''Oorlands'', ''Oorlans'') is a dialect of Afrikaans spoken in the Republic of South Africa and Namibia, by the Oorlam people. It is considered to be either an Afrikaans-based creole language or a dialect of Afrikaans proper. Oo ...
attacked Rehoboth. Kleinschmidt fled to
Otjimbingwe Otjimbingwe (also: Otjimbingue) is a settlement in the Erongo Region of central Namibia. It has approximately 8,000 inhabitants. History The area was already a temporary settlement of some Herero in the early 18th century. Their chief Tjiponda c ...
but died there of exhaustion on 2 September 1864. He was married to Hanna née Schmelen, daughter of his colleague
Heinrich Schmelen Reverend Johann Heinrich Schmelen, born Johann Hinrich Schmelen (7 January 1776 – 26 July 1848) was a German missionary and linguist who worked in South Africa and South-West Africa. Traveling through the area of today's northern South Africa ...
.


References


Footnotes


Literature

*(af) De Kock, W.J. 1968. Suid-Afrikaanse Biografiese Woordeboek, volume I. Pretoria: Nasionale Raad vir Sosiale Navorsing, Departement van Hoër Onderwys. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kleinschmidt, Franz Heinrich 1812 births 1864 deaths People from Lübbecke German Lutheran missionaries Lutheran missionaries in Namibia Burials in Namibia 19th-century Lutherans