Peter Kaufmann contract with Solomon Sala, March 14, 1831   Save
Peter Kaufmann Papers
Description: Indenture contract between Peter Kaufmann of Springfield, Ohio (identified in the contract as being in Columbiana County), and Solomon Sala of Canton, Ohio, concerning the editorship of "a Jackson German Newspaper" (i.e. "Der Vaterlandsfreund"). Kaufmann was indentured to Sala for one year as editor and translator of the newspaper. The contract lays out Kaufmann's duties and what Sala will provide Kaufmann, including food and pay. The contract was witnessed by Saunders Van Rensselaer of Canton, Ohio. Peter Kaufmann was a German immigrant and intellectual. He arrived first in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1820; in 1826 he became professor of languages at the Harmony Society town of Economy, Pennsylvania. In 1827, Kaufmann led the establishment of Teutonia, a utopian community in Columbiana County, Ohio, and published its weekly titled "Teutonia: The Herald of a Better Time." Following this he moved to Canton, Ohio, where he became translator and editor of "Der Vaterlandsfreund und Geist der Zeit" under Solomon Sala. Additionally, Kaufmann wrote a number of books on education, as well as a German almanac. He was also an influential Democrat, counting President Van Buren among his friends, and knew Ralph Waldo Emerson. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: MSS136_B03F02_01_01
Subjects: Indentured servants; Newspaper editors; Newspapers; German Americans; Printing industry and trade--Ohio
Places: Canton (Ohio); Stark County (Ohio); Springfield (Ohio); Columbiana County (Ohio);