Dahlem, Valentin

Farmer, Mennonite preacher

Born: 26.12.1774 in Erbes-Büdesheim near Alzey

died: 23.01.1840 in Frauenstein

After training in agriculture, Dahlem leased the Koppensteiner Hof in Wiesbaden. He was one of the first to farm according to scientific knowledge and introduced, for example, the cultivation of potatoes, which was still unknown to the local farmers. From 1831, Dahlem lived on the Rosenköppel farm near Frauenstein. He acquired knowledge of Latin and Greek and mastered the Hebrew language.

In 1790, a Mennonite congregation was formed in Wiesbaden from families who had come to Nassau-Usingen from the Palatinate and chose Dahlem as their preacher. In 1830 there were 14 families. Dahlem advocated strict discipline and morals and drew up an order of worship which was adopted by all the congregation elders from Baden and Württemberg in Ibersheim in June 1806. It also applied in the congregations in the Palatinate and Hesse until 1852 and in Baden until 1876 and served as a model for later orders of worship. After his death, the Wiesbaden congregation, which he had led for half a century, disbanded. In 1963, Dahlemweg was named after him in Frauenstein.