George Rapp
German mystic
John George Rapp (German: Johann Georg Rapp; November 1, 1757 – August 7, 1847) was the founder of the religious sect called the Harmony Society and associated communes.
Born in Iptingen, Germany, Rapp became inspired by the philosophies of Jakob Böhme, Philipp Jakob Spener, and Emanuel Swedenborg, among others. In the 1780s, Rapp began preaching and gathering a group of followers. His group officially split with the Lutheran Church in 1785 and was promptly banned from meeting. The persecution that Rapp and his followers experienced caused them to leave Germany and come to the United States in 1803. Rapp was a pietist, and many of his beliefs were shared by the Anabaptists and Shakers.
Early life
Rapp was born on November 1, 1757, to Rosine Berger and Hans Adam Rapp (1720–71) in the village of Iptingen, 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Stuttgart in the Duchy of Württemberg. Rapp was the second child and oldest son of the family. His brother Adam (born March 9, 1762) and three sisters Marie Dorothea (born October 11, 1756), Elise Dorothea (born August 7, 1760), and Maria Barbara (born October 21, 1765) later followed him to America; however, Adam died at sea.
Rapp learned the art of wine making from his father, a farmer.
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