Bernhard Müller, known as Count de Leon (born March 21, 1788, Kostheim, Germany - died August 29, 1834,

Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana Natchitoches Parish ( or ) is a List of parishes in Louisiana, parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 37,515. The parish seat and most populous municipality is Nat ...

), was a German Christian mystic and

alchemist Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...

of uncertain origins.

Biography

Müller wrote to the

Harmony Society The Harmony Society was a Christian theosophy and pietist society founded in Iptingen, Germany, in 1785. Due to religious persecution by the Lutheran Church and the government in Württemberg, the group moved to the United States,Robert Paul S ...

(and other

communes A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the United States as well as numerous leaders in Europe) in 1829 proclaiming himself to be the "

Lion of Judah The Lion of Judah (, ) is a Jewish national and cultural symbol, traditionally regarded as the symbol of the tribe of Judah. The association between the Judahites and the lion can first be found in the blessing given by Jacob to his fourth son ...

" and a

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...

in possession of the

Philosopher's stone The philosopher's stone is a mythic alchemical substance capable of turning base metals such as mercury into gold or silver; it was also known as "the tincture" and "the powder". Alchemists additionally believed that it could be used to mak ...

. As well as giving himself numerous fictitious names and titles, like Count de Leon, Archduke Maximilian von Este, and Proli, he claimed that he and his followers were the true Philadelphians and were ready to make a home for themselves with the Harmonites in Old Economy, Pennsylvania. The Harmonites, being religious searchers looking for a hopeful sign, and eager to justify their own religious prophesies, agreed to the visit, and in 1831, Müller arrived with his entourage of forty people (including a Dr. Göntgen). Soon, Müller and the Harmony Society's leader,

George Rapp John George Rapp (; November 1, 1757 – August 7, 1847) was the founder of the religious sect called the Harmony Society and a number of associated communes. Born in Iptingen, Germany, Rapp became inspired by the philosophies of Jakob Böhme, ...

, grew tired of each other and began to argue. Sensing the dissatisfaction that some Harmonites were feeling towards the Society's custom of

celibacy Celibacy (from Latin ''caelibatus'') is the state of voluntarily being unmarried, sexually abstinent, or both. It is often in association with the role of a religious official or devotee. In its narrow sense, the term ''celibacy'' is applied ...

, Müller was able to use that to his advantage and get about a third of the Harmonites to be on his side in the ensuing argument. However, the majority of the Society decided to keep

as their leader. In the end, a settlement was reached with the dissenters, and all who wished to leave the Harmony Society during the schism were given $105,000 as a group. In 1832, after leaving Old Economy, Pennsylvania, with about 250 former Harmony Society members, Bernhard Müller and his followers started a new community in Phillipsburg (now

Monaca, Pennsylvania Monaca ( ) is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 5,625 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located northwest of Pittsburgh and is part of ...

) with the money they obtained in the compromise with the Harmony Society. Here they established the New Philadelphian Congregation of the New Philadelphia Society, having constructed a church, a hotel, and other buildings. They renamed this community Löwenburg (Lion City). However, the Harmony Society soon made legal claims against the New Philadelphia Society. Perhaps because of ongoing litigation, and other financial problems, Müller's group decided to sell their communal land in Pennsylvania in 1833. Some community members stayed in Monaca in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, while others followed Müller and his family down the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

on a

flatboat A flatboat (or broadhorn) was a rectangular flat-bottomed boat with square ends used to transport freight and passengers on inland waterways in the United States. The flatboat could be any size, but essentially it was a large, sturdy tub with a ...

. Soon they started a new colony at

Grand Ecore, Louisiana Grand Ecore is an unincorporated community in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is located on LA-6, north of the city of Natchitoches on the Red River of the South. The community is part of the Natchitoches Micropolitan Statisti ...

, twelve miles north of Natchitoches; and there, in August, 1834, Müller died of yellow fever or

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

and was interred in Natchitoches Parish. A number of his followers remained in Louisiana and practiced communal living for some years after that. When Müller died, a congressman successfully proposed a bill donating a tract of land to his followers, and Germantown Colony was formed. In 1835, the remaining group, led by Müller's widow, Countess Leon, moved from Grand Ecore to a place that is now called Germantown, which is located northeast of

Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the largest town in population between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district () of Minden-Lübbecke, situated in the cultural region ...

, in what was then Claiborne Parish.David James, III, "Germantown: Once Thriving and Socialistic", ''Minden Press'', July 7, 1958, pp. 1-2 Here, all property was owned in common and observance of religious principles was required. Though the colony was not very large, only about thirty-five people, it worked together and prospered. The

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

led to the end of the Germantown Colony, partially because of their disapproval of the war and the financial losses they suffered as a small pacifistic community during wartime, and because of the economic hardships of the war era in general. The colony disbanded in 1871, after nearly four decades of operating on a communal basis, and then Webster Parish was created from Claiborne Parish."Respect for the Past, Confidence in the Future", Webster Parish Centennial, 1871-1971, pp. 13-14 The Countess then moved to

Hot Springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

Garland County, Arkansas Garland County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 100,180. The county seat is Hot Springs, Arkansas, Hot Springs. Garland County comp ...

, where she died in 1881. The preservation of the Louisiana settlement is maintained by the Germantown Colony and Museum, now operated by the State of Louisiana. Not long after Müller and his closest followers left Monaca, Pennsylvania, in 1833, a new religious speaker named William Keil showed up in that area in the early 1840s. Keil was able to attract some followers who were former Harmony Society and New Philadelphia Society members, and his group eventually moved away and settled the communal town of Bethel, Missouri, in 1844. By 1850, Bethel had a population of 650. However, the construction of the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad threatened Keil's

theocracy Theocracy is a form of autocracy or oligarchy in which one or more deity, deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries, with executive and legislative power, who manage the government's ...

. From 1853 to 1856, Keil led his followers westward over the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail crossed what ...

, and eventually settled the town of Aurora, Oregon. Keil died in 1877, and his community was dissolved in 1883. The Harmony Society, on the other hand, in Old Economy Village, Pennsylvania, lasted until 1905. It was dissolved in 1906.

Images

Image:CountdeLeonHouseMonacaPA.jpg, The house where Bernhard Müller lived from 1832 to 1833 in

. Image:NewPhiladelphiaSocietyMonacaPA.jpg, The New Philadelphia Society's church, founded and led by Bernhard Müller from 1832 to 1833, in Monaca, Pennsylvania. Image:MVI 2599 Countess' House at Germantown.jpg, The house where Müller's widow lived from around 1835 to 1871 at the Germantown Colony near

Minden, Louisiana Minden is a small city in and the parish seat of Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 11,928. The Main Street district of Minden ...

References

Sources

Account of the Harmony Society and its beliefs

''History of Beaver County, Pennsylvania and Its Centennial Celebration''
by Joseph Henderson Bausman (1904) Volume II, pp. 797–801

*

External links

Karl John Richard Arndt collection of Bernhard Muller and the Harmony Society
at th
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Yale University. {{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, Bernhard 1788 births 1834 deaths 19th-century Christian mystics Clergy from Mainz German emigrants to the United States Christian occultists German alchemists People from Monaca, Pennsylvania People from Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana 19th-century alchemists

Biography

Images

See also

References

Sources

External links