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Der Wahrheitsfreund

newspaper in Cincinnati, Ohio

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionOct 31, 2025
Entity authorityQ5261239 ↗
Source-derived summary

Der Wahrheitsfreund or Der Wahrheits-Freund ("The Friend of Truth") was the first German language Catholic newspaper in the United States, and one of many German-language newspapers in Cincinnati, Ohio during the nineteenth century. It was published by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati, and proceeds went to the St. Aloysius Orphan Society.

History

At the time of the paper's first issue on July 20, 1837, 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. By 1875, the paper had 14,400 subscribers. In 1907, the Wahrheitsfreund merged with Rev. Joseph Jessing's Ohio Waisenfreund (Ohio Orphan's Friend).

Notable people

Editors

Most Rev. John Henni editor/publisher from 1837 to 1843

John James Maximilian Oertel editor from 1844 to 1846

Hermann Lehmann, publisher from 1846 to 1850

Joseph A. Hemann publisher from September 1850 to December 1865

H. Baumstark (c. 1877)

Writers

Rev.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Der Wahrheitsfreund” as newspaper in Cincinnati, Ohio. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA practical starting point whose main value is the path it opens into stronger specialist and primary sources. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1837, 1843, 1875, 1907—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1837. The account is most persuasive where Wahrheitsfreund, newspaper and Cincinnati can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as newspaper in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Oct 31, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q5261239. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1837, 1843, 1875 and 1907.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

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  2. Expand the search: follow Der Wahrheitsfreund primary sources, Der Wahrheitsfreund archive and Wahrheitsfreund research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Der Wahrheitsfreund” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.