Der Wahrheitsfreund

Der Wahrheitsfreund

Type	Weekly (Wednesdays)[1]
Format	31 by 46 inches (79 × 120 cm)[1]
Owner	Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati
Publisher	Benziger Brothers
Founded	1837
Language	German
Ceased publication	1907
Headquarters	Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Circulation	14,400 (1875)[2]
Sister newspapers	The Catholic Telegraph
OCLC number	631796295

Der Wahrheitsfreund or Der Wahrheits-Freund (“The Friend of Truth”) was the first German-language Catholic newspaper in the United States^[3] and one of four German newspapers in Cincinnati, Ohio. Published by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati, proceeds went to the St. Aloysius Orphan Society.

History

At the time of the paper’s first issue on July 20, 1837,^[4] the Diocese of Cincinnati covered the entirety of Ohio and its English-language weekly, The Catholic Telegraph, had circulated for several years. The Wahrheitsfreund’s founder, vicar general John Henni, served as editor from its founding to his appointment as the first Bishop of Milwaukee in 1843.^[5] By 1875, the paper had 14,400 subscribers.^[2] In 1907, the Wahrheitsfreund merged with Rev. Joseph Jessing's Ohio Waisenfreund (Ohio Orphan's Friend).^[6]

Notable people

Editors

• Most Rev. John Henni (1837–1843)
• John James Maximilian Oertel (?–1846)^[7]
• Joseph A. Hemann publisher from 1850–1863
• H. Baumstark (c. 1877)^[1]

Writers

• Rev. Francis Xavier Pierz (1854–after 1862^[8]) – missionary to the Ottawa and Ojibwa

See also

• Cincinnati Volksfreund
• Cincinnati Volksblatt
• Hochwächter A Cincinnati newspaper critical of the Catholic church

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Geo. P. Rowell & Co's American Newspaper Directory, 1877. New York City: George P. Rowell & Company (UNT Digital Library). 1877. p. 243. http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc9257/m1/235/. Retrieved 2011-07-10. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Geo. P. Rowell & Co's American Newspaper Directory, containing Accurate lists of all the newspapers and periodicals published in the United States and Territories, and the Dominion of Canada, and British Colonies of North America, 1875. New York City: George P. Rowell & Company (UNT Digital Library). 1875. p. 249. http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc9259/m1/263/. Retrieved 2011-07-10. 
3. ^ McCann, Mary Agnes (1920). "The Most Reverend John Baptist Purcell, D.D., Archbishop of Cincinnati (1800-1883)". The Catholic Historical Review (American Catholic Historical Association) 6: 183. ISSN 0008-8080. JSTOR 25011687. 
4. ^ Fortin, Roger Antonio (2002). Faith and action: a history of the Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati, 1821–1996. Columbus, Ohio: Ohio State University Press. ISBN 0814209041. http://books.google.com/books?id=T6WOJBt-xWcC&pg=PA82. "Under the editorship of [John] Henni, the first publication of Wahrheitsfreund was on July 20, 1837. Its surplus funds were regularly paid to the St. Aloysius Orphan Association. … By midcentury it was one of four German language newspapers in Cincinnati." 
5. ^ "Henni, John Martin 1805 - 1881". Dictionary of Wisconsin History. Wisconsin Historical Society. http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=2368&search_term=martin. 
6. ^ O'Brien, M. P. (1913). "Cincinnati, Archdiocese of (Cincinnatiensis)". The Catholic encyclopedia: an international work of reference on the constitution, doctrine, discipline, and history of the Catholic Church. 3. Encyclopedia Press. p. 774. http://books.google.com/books?id=qrgTAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA774. "In 1837 [the Rev. John Martin Henni] founded the ‘Warheitsfreund’, the first German Catholic paper in the United States. In 1907 it was merged with the ‘Ohio Waisenfreund’." 
7. ^ Meehan, Thomas F. (1913). "John James Maximilian Oertel". Catholic Encyclopedia. //en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/John_James_Maximilian_Oertel?oldid=2138007. 
8. ^ "Notes". Jacobs Prairie, Minnesota: St. James Church. 2010-04-07. http://stjames.stclouddiocese.net/Notes.html. Retrieved 2011-07-10.