Talk:Bernhard Müller

Kostheim
BTW: Kostheim was not Germany in 1799 it was french....--Symposiarch (talk) 08:53, 7 June 2008 (UTC)


 * Yes, but no one is actually sure as to what year Bernhard Müller was born (hence the circa 1799 mention on his date of birth, a date which was listed as a possible circa date on this German language website.) Müller may have been born before the French Revolutionary army occupied Mainz in 1792.  I think it's a good possibility he was born before that time, and I'll explain why in a moment.  Also, he may have been born elsewhere too, because so little is really known about him.  What is known is that he spoke German and spent time in Germany, for example, in Frankfurt am Main in 1816, he predicted that Christ would appear in human form, and in Würzburg the same year, he was arrested, detained and interrogated along with some of his followers.  If that is so, then he would've been 17 years old at that time, if he was really born around 1799, which has me thinking that he was probably born a decade or two earlier than 1799.  Maybe 1789, or 1779.  Who knows?  It seems he may have made certain claims in order to fulfill certain "prophesies" believed by some folks at that time.  Some things about this man are shrouded in mystery, not only because of the length of time since the events surrounding him occurred, but also because it seems he claimed a lot of "mystical" things about himself that weren't provable or couldn't be backed up by evidence.  At any rate, in 1831, Müller visited the Harmony Society, a religious, pietist, communal group of German immigrants lead by Johann Georg Rapp who had settled in Economy, Pennsylvania, in the United States.  The rest of that story can basically be read on the main page of this article as well as various pages relating to the history of the Harmony Society.  I don't know if this clears anything up or not, but I hope it shows the subject in light of the times in which he was a part.  Thank you for your interest and participation with this article.


 * Here's an English translation of the German language website I linked above:
 * MÜLLER, Bernhard, born c. 1799 in Kostheim, † 1834 in Louisiana. Occultist, mystic, alchemist, Freemason, town founder. - About the origin of Bernhard Müller, there are several speculative assumptions. According to a statement from the Frankfurt Journal, he was said to be the son of the couple, Adam Müller and Helen Balzer from Kostheim at Mainz. There, however, the birth of Bernhard Müller in the registers of the parishes was never proven.  According to another source, the magazine Die Gartenlaube, Helen Balzer had her son as a result of an illegitimate connection with Prince-Bishop Karl Theodor von Dalberg (1744-1817).  The most adventurous version comes from Bernhard Müller personally:  According to an old prophecy from the Renaissance, which supposedly relied on biblical origins, a great world reformer would come from the Italian House of Este. On Good Friday, March 21, 1788, he claimed that this prophecy was fulfilled when he, Maximilian Bernhard Lewis, who described himself later as Count Leon, was born.  He claimed to have a twin sister, who supposedly was the third wife of Emperor Franz of Austria  (Emperor Franz's third wife was Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este).  In order to nullify the prophecy that he was rescued as a baby by a conspiracy of dark powers, he claimed his parents had been deported from Italy to Kostheim.  He claimed to have been separated from his adoptive parents during the revolutionary wars, and had since to prove himself independently in life. Bernhard Müller gave his life to various acronyms. The most famous included Graf or Count Leon (Count de Leon), Lion of Judah, or the Archduke Maximilian d'Este. Also known as "Duke of Jerusalem" or abbreviated as "Proli" he appeared in esoteric circles.  In 1810, Müller wrote to Napoleon I (1769-1821), regarding the imminence of the end of French hegemony in Europe.  The Emperor then issued a bounty on Müller, who then went into hiding and moved into secret societies. Müller was a Freemason and was active in a Frankfurt lodge. Only men were allowed into the secret society. He hoped for an improved clarification of Christianity in his time, and for nobler educational advancement of mankind and better conditions. In addition, Müller operated at Frankfurt for a commissioner Zickwolf, a personal opponent of Goethe's friend Johann Jakob Willemer (d. 1838). Occupied by the elite lodge, Müller came into close contact with Karl Wilhelm, Prince of Nassau-Usingen (1735-1803) and Louis X, the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (1753-1830, Grand Duke Ludwig I), and other wealthy noble Hessian dynasties. After the Landgrave's suspicions that Müller might be a French spy, had him dropped as one of his closest confidants. Presumably Müller financed, together with the support of some benevolent families, the large rural property which he purchased near Offenbach.  Müller developed a distinctive messianic sense of mission. For the year 1816, he had predicted in Frankfurt that Christ would appear in human form on the Main. The temple would be built, and the millennium would start.  In Würzburg, he was arrested in the same year along with other followers, and imprisoned in the fortress there and interrogated. Two Capuchin monks, under Müller's influence, predicted the end of the world, and stirred up the local Catholic population with sermons containing apocalyptic content.  Wurzburg remained a place of activity for Müller, in spite of repressive measures from authorities. In July 1822, he was again arrested at the behest of local authorities because they feared a political conspiracy. For four years, Müller had to answer in a process that turned out to end in his favor: None of the accusations - revolutionary machinations and pseudo-religious deception of the population - could be proven against him.  The following are (briefly) the theories of Müller:  In the year 1816, the glory of God should reveal itself on earth, and a sixth time period should begin.  The true Christians will be equipped with special "knowing" powers and worldwide influence.  The sixth time period initially starts with riots and revolutions. Then follows a world court in which the "Organ" - by which Müller saw himself - would be among the judges. At the end of the court all nations and countries are to be united in one kingdom, which would stand for 120 years under the rule of the "Organ". A new order would be established, and all the people of this society would become saints, mystically united in worship and service. Daily life in the new society would be strictly regulated, with certain times for all applicable operations. Even the stages of life are pre-structured: Marriage not before the age of thirty, and at the age of ninety years a father of a family leaves his wife, in the last years of his life (at one more span of thirty years!) to consecrate God.  Private property would be abolished and replaced by collectivism and common economy. The sciences would flourish, especially alchemy. Gold would be available in quantity, and the secrets of its production would be disclosed. Solomon's Temple would be built again, and Christ would appear in human form and take the reigns from the hands of the institution forever.  On March 21, 1829, when an earthquake occurred in Spain and the Sultan left Constantinople, devout followers in Europe and esoteric groups fell under the spell of eschatological expectation. Müller claims to have personally received an order from God, regarding the end time (to initiate the Second Coming).  He believed that the truth was revealed to him, so he sent 72 copies of his ideas to as many European dynasties as possible, as well as the Pope in Rome and scholars such as Friedrich Wilhelm von Schelling (1775-1854) in Munich and Daniel Amadeus Neander (1775-1869) in Berlin. The princes did not correspond to Müller's request for publication and dissemination of his messages, but decided to proceed under the leadership of Bavaria against the unpopular prophet.  A twenty-five strong Hessian Infantry Regiment surrounded his property in Offenbach and stormed it. Ludwig II (1845-1886), however, agreed to release Müller after he had promised to leave the country forever. Thus, he went to America. Earlier he had declared that Christ would reveal himself in North America, and there the true church would form. From America the strength would proceed, "All Europe will remain so long in possession of the Antichrist, as the fourth wrath bowl comes, and in the meantime all churches destroyed will have to arise again and banish him, extirpate him, and redeem and save the children of God, so that then a Shepherd and a Sheep barn will come into the City of God" (Arndt, Life, 1940, 36). An "Apostolic Letter" was written by Göntgen, Müller's subaltern private secretary. Dr. Johann Georg Göntgen was the chief librarian of the Frankfurt library and secretary of their museum society.  He was blindly devoted to the Count, and later immigrated to America with him. The letter arrived for the Rappites at Economy in Pennsylvania. Johann Georg Rapp (1757-1847), for whom the Rappites are named, was the founder of the Harmony Society. Rapp had emigrated as a radical Pietist with about seven hundred followers in 1803 from Württemberg to Pennsylvania. They founded Harmony in 1805, the settlement in Beaver County, PA. The community was organized based upon early Christian ideas. There was community property and community buildings, and they mostly lived celibate. Then the Rappites expanded in 1815, after moving to Indiana, but sold New Harmony to Robert Owen (1771-1858), and returned to Pennsylvania, where they set up near Pittsburgh, the municipality of Economy. When Müller's letter, the "Apostolic Letter", along with his seal, which bore biblical symbols, arrived on September 24, 1829, the religious settlers were called together and read the text to all community members. They had recently sent money to German Pietists who were determined to build a new Temple in Jerusalem. In this respect a great willingness for news from the distant homeland was eagerly received.  Rapp's adopted son, Frederick Reichert Rapp, was instructed to get in touch with Göntgen, but Göntgen did not reply.  In October 1831, another letter came to the settlers which said that the Count Leon as the "Lion of Judah" (according to Revelation 5:5) already landed in America with 46 followers after 50 days crossing from New York and have in mind an immediate encounter with the Rappites. The journey went through Albany, Buffalo and Erie as far as Pittsburgh. Before the Count arrived at Economy, Dr. Göntgen was sent ahead of him as Privy Secretary of State, as was a Mr. Nettelroth as Majordomo and Baron. This cleverly staged arrival strengthened the Rappites' belief that their settlement offered protection to those who took refuge from the miseries of the last days. In the two years between the arrival of the first letter and the arrival of the Count, Rapp had preached that the expected guests would usher in a new era. The Count would arrive with his followers, the true Philadelphians in the refuge. Thus the community was in feverish expectation. On October 18, 1831, the Count arrived with other traveling companions from allegedly high European houses, and they were initially welcomed warmly. But Bernhard Müller was not fully able to meet the expectations of the audience even in his initial welcoming speech at the Harmony Society church, and Rapp replied that it was questionable whether the millennium that Müller had predicted was actually happening. The apocalyptic posturing of Müller and his strange costumes, with several gold chains and a tailored suit, did not meet favorably with all Rappites, who were followers of quietism and humility. Toward the end of 1831, Frederick Rapp came to the conclusion that they were harboring false apostles. Especially on the issue of celibacy, no agreement could be made with the zesty Müller.  The announcement that the Count would arrive with six million crowns proved to be untrue.  In an attempt to get the arrogant Count to leave, Rapp presented him with a bill for the cost of his stay. It amounted to exactly 1,817.36 dollars.  In January 1832, the Count, who had been joined by about 250 Rappites, claimed that he and his followers were a part of the settlement and therefore would not pay any bills. A third of the Rappites turned away from Rapp, and claimed that his speeches and lifestyle contradicted the word of God. The Count then presented Frederick Rapp a bill for over 15,944.38 dollars, which included the cost of his passage to America. This led to an open split in the group, and Rapp instituted legal proceedings against Müller.  In March 1832, an agreement was made.  Count Leon left the community with 176 supporters, including a few major Rappites like Dr. Johann Christoph Müller, and the Rappites who stayed in the group compensated the ones who left proportionately.  The sum of 105,000 dollars was given to the group that left. With this money, the supporters of the Count settled in Beaver County, near Phillipsburg (now Monaca, Pennsylvania).  This new foundation was subsequently named Löwenburg (Lioncity).  It was only ten miles from Economy, and consisted of about 800 acres of farmland.  This splinter group no longer referred to themselves as Rappites, and began calling themselves "The New Philadelphian Congregation" (also "New Philadelphia Society"). Here, the Count conducted alchemical studies and maintained correspondence with the European secret societies. He brought his mobile laboratory from Economy to Löwenburg. He set up a furnace in an attempt to transmute rocks from a nearby hill into gold, which was unsuccessful.  As early as January 1832, Müller announced that he had created the basis for the philosopher's stone in his laboratory, but said that the time had not come yet for the production of this stone.  Rapp had also striven for this supposed "stone", and may have found this news frightening.  The origins of the laboratory lead back to Germany.  Due to their view that the old continent would collapse, they shipped mathematical and physical devices, along with a Kabbalistic library, to America.  Remains of this collection of esoteric rarities are in the library of the Germantown Colony settlement near Minden, Louisiana.  The New Philadelphians, stood in no good relation to the nearby settlement of Economy, and the Rappites continued to make legal claims against them.  So, in 1833, Count Leon was compelled to leave Pennsylvania.  He went to Louisiana, where he died in 1834.  Part of his followers arrived in Louisiana to prosperity, where they built a new village community at Grand Ecore in the Natchitoches Parish.  Others moved on, and some helped establish the utopian settlements of Bethel and Ninevah, both located in Missouri.  Still others participated in settlement projects in Willapa, Washington, and Aurora, Oregon.


 * Biographic-Bibliographic Church Lexicon, Volume XXIII (2004) Columns 978-984 Author: Claus Bernet


 * Geneisner (talk) 06:50, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

Possible Birth and Death Information
According to this link:

LEON, CountL, religious mystic, utopian. Born Maximilian Bernhard Mueller, March 21, 1788, in Kostheim, near Mainz, Germany; son of Helen Balzer and Adam Mueller. Claimed to be the messiah ordained to found the New Jerusalem. Marriage to Elizabeth Heuser, "Countess De Leon" (q.v.), was never recorded. Their three children, Johanna, Joseph and Anna, were given the surname of De Leon's secretary, Dr. Goentgen (q.v.). Leader of an millenial group in Offenbach, Germany, in 1827; left Germany and sailed to America, 1831, to avoid imprisonment; joined George Rapp's Harmony Society in Economy, Pa.; established a commune called The New Philadelphia Society in Philipsburg, Pa., March 21, 1832; group left for Louisiana in 1833; settled at Grand Ecore, near Natchitoches, February 4, 1834. Died there on August 29, 1834. Followers founded the colony of Germantown, near the present city of Minden, in 1835. K.J.R.A. & J.B.C. Sources: Karl J. R. Arndt, "The Genesis of Germantown, Louisiana: or The Mysterious Past of Louisiana's Mystic, Count De Leon," Louisiana Historical Quarterly, XXIV (1941); Manuscript collection of Karl J. R. Arndt. See also Arndt, Economy on the Ohio, 1826-1834 (1984).

LEON, Elisa Leon (Countess Leon), leader of Germantown communal colony. Born, Frankfurt, Germany, 1798; daughter of Johann and Anna Maria Heuser. Claimed to have married Bernhard Mueller of Frankfurt, Germany, also known as Count Leon (q.v.), date unknown. Three children, Johanna Schardt, Joseph Maximilian and Anna Stahl. Subject came to America, 1831, with group led by husband, a religious mystic. Joined Rappite colony in Pennsylvania. Two years later, after split with Rappites, left for Louisiana to establish a New Jerusalem near Natchitoches. Count Leon and other relatives soon died of cholera, leaving subject in charge. Moved colony away from Red River to new site a few miles above future town of Minden, present Webster Parish, 1835. Communal colony flourished until after Civil War, then declined and was abandoned, 1871. Subject especially remembered for perpetuating old world grace and culture in Northwest Louisiana. Date of death unknown, probably died in Hot Springs, Ark. P.C.C. Sources: Pauline Jennings, "Elisa Leon: First Lady of the Germantown Colony," North Louisiana Historical Association Journal, VIII, No. 2 (Winter, 1977); Rita Moore Krouse, Fragments of a Dream: The Story of Germantown (1962).

Geneisner (talk) 07:55, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

False claims of nobility
When studying the history of Bernhard Müller (1788-1834), aka "Count de Leon", the subject of his title comes into question. He claimed more than one title over the course of his life, and this has been documented in a number of sources. He claimed to be a Count, an Archduke, and the "Lion of Judah", among other things too, no doubt. However, none of these titles of nobility can be proven, and they were most likely the fanciful creation of Müller himself. Most of the literature by and about the Harmony Society in Pennsylvania depicts Müller as a charlatan, a false prophet, and a fraud. It's easy to see why the Harmony Society would depict Müller in such a negative light, due to his involvement in their schism of 1832. Though, some of the literature written about Müller and his followers in Louisiana is usually a little more sympathetic to the "Count" (most likely because the writers in Louisiana are trying to present a better picture of him due to their local interests). Karl J. R. Arndt, who was a professor of German language at Louisiana State University from 1935 into the 1940s, began doing work on the Germantown Colony site around that time, and he generally depicted a more favorable view of the "Count" than of George Rapp, especially initially, even though Arndt later shifted the majority of his work in historical writing to the Harmony Society and to Rapp in particular. Nevertheless, some still claim there is obvious bias in Arndt's writing. I live close to Old Economy Village in Pennsylvania, and there the "Count" is not depicted too well in the literature. There, the "Count" is basically seen as a snake in George Rapp's garden. However, in Monaca, Pennsylvania, where the "Count" and his followers moved after leaving Economy, the "Count" isn't really presented negatively at all. So, locality definitely does seem to have a big influence on how certain historical figures are presented in different places, and this does seem to be the case here too.

As for evidence that Müller was in any way related to (or descended from) any type of nobility, well, I have seen no such evidence to back up any of those claims. There are the uncertain statements from the Biographic-Bibliographic Church Lexicon, Volume XXIII (2004) Columns 978-984 Author: Claus Bernet, and that biographical entry only reinforces the notion that his claims of nobility are very questionable (if not outright unlikely). The Louisiana Historical Association's, Dictionary of Louisiana Biography, even claims that Müller was merely the son of two German commoners, a Helen Balzer and Adam Müller. Then I saw an article by John Agan dated May 9, 2008, entitled "The Germantown Story" in the Northwestern Louisiana News that claims "Leon was the uncle of Empress Marie Louise of Austria, the second wife of Napoleon and had ties to royalty throughout Europe. He used these ties to stay in Europe long after authorities had expelled most other Utopians."  This is more than likely pure fantasy or wishful thinking on the part of Agan and/or the people who gave him that story. The only way that story could be true is if the fanciful story the "Count" created himself about being the twin sibling of Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este had any shred of accuracy to it, which makes no sense whatsoever because they weren't even born on the same date according to Müller's claim that he was born on Good Friday, March 21, 1788. Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este was born on December 14, 1787. There's no way they were twins, and it's highly unlikely that they were even related. These types of stories seem to be pure fantasy on the part of Bernhard Müller. It seems that Bernhard Müller created a fake biography about himself, and falsely claimed to be from the House of Austria-Este, and falsely claimed to be the son of Ferdinand I, Archduke of Austria-Este and Maria Beatrice Ricciarda d'Este, and thus falsely claimed to be the brother of Archduke Maximilian of Austria–Este and Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este.

Perhaps a more accurate early biographical sketch of Bernhard Müller thus far is by Ellen C. Merrill, in the book Germans of Louisiana (2005). On page 88 it says, "This man was actually a peasant, born as Bernhard Müller, in Kostheim in 1788. Because of the poverty of his family, as a boy he was put in a cloister, where his religious fanaticism developed. At fourteen he was sent out by the brothers to work as a servant, a position from which he ran away.  He then wandered for several years in the Taunus Mountains wearing a chain and hair shirt and recording religious visions.  Luckily he found a protector, Landgrave Karl of Frankfurt, a nobleman convinced of Proli's God-given ability to change base metals into gold.  Landgrave Karl soon introduced Proli to his powerful and wealthy circle of friends, among whom Proli soon developed a significant following." Pages 87 and 88: "The religious dissidents who formed Germantown were forced to leave their homeland because of the seditious political activities of their leader, Maximilian Ludwig Proli (Bernhard Müller), who was seen as the Messiah by his followers.  Proli, who then called himself Count Leon von Proli, was an alchemist and visionary who claimed direct ancestry from Christ.  He saw himself as the prophet of the Second Coming, the judge of mankind, and the chosen instrument of God, destined to establish a new order on earth.  In 1829 he issued a proclamation to the Pope in Rome as well as to the kings and princes of Europe, demanding abdication of their worldly powers in deference to the imminent approach of the last judgment, with Proli as its instrument.  Understandably, he was arrested and exiled." Also on page 88: "In 1831 he left Frankfurt with fifty-six followers and eventually settled in Louisiana, at Grand Ecore, just outside of Nachitoches.  Proli chose this location because it was on the same geographical latitude as Jerusalem. However, yellow fever broke out in the new colony, killing a number of the settlers, including Proli himself. The houses, which they had built on a bluff over the Red River, were undercut and washed away by spring floods.  Proli's valiant common-law wife, the wealthy and visionary daughter of a Frankfurt merchant, then led the colonists along a branch of the river to what was called Corianna Allen's Landing.  Here the countess purchased a large tract of government land." Well, I would say that is probably a more accurate portrayal of the origins of Bernhard Müller and the history of his relatively small religious movement when compared to the more lofty and fanciful stories.

Geneisner (talk) 09:06, 12 October 2009 (UTC)

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