Krishnakumarsinhji Gohil at 22:48, 27 November 2025

2025-11-27T22:48:13Z

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{{Short description|German Christian missionary}}
{{Infobox person
| name = George William Ziemann
| birth_date = November 1806 or 1809
| birth_place = Gross-Wudicke, Saxony
| death_date = December 26, 1881 <br> (aged 72 or 75)
| occupation = Christian Missionary
| years_active = 1843–1881
| known_for = Establishment of the Ghazipore Mission in India
| spouse = Friedericke Wiese
| children = 3 adopted (known)
}}

'''George William Ziemann''' (November 1806 or 1809 – December 26, 1881) was a German [[Christianity|Christian]] missionary known for successfully establishing and running the [[Ghazipur|Ghazipore]] Mission in [[Company rule in India|India]]. He also did missionary work in many other parts of India for nearly 40 years, including [[Chhapra|Chupráh]], Muzafferpore and [[Buxar]], where he was able to spread Christian ideals to locals.

== Early life (1809–1838) ==
One source says that Ziemann was born on November 27, 1809.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last1=Lorbeer |first1=H. |title=Memoirs of Rev. W. Ziemann |date=1882 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nnc1.50076919&view=1up&seq=7 |access-date=15 May 2022}}</ref> Another source states that his date of birth is November 22, 1806.<ref name=":1">Badley. “Indian Missionary Directory and Memorial Volume / by B. H. Badley.” HathiTrust, babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nnc1.cr59894970&view=1up&seq=181.</ref> Ziemann was born in Gross-Wudicke in the German state [[Saxony]]<ref name=":1" /> in a village near the town of [[Rathenow]],<ref name=":0" /> the third among seven children.<ref name=":0" /> His family lived on a house on a farm.<ref name=":0" /> In the winter, he went to the village-school and when summer came around, he helped with work on his family's farm.<ref name=":0" />

Ziemann grew up in a religious family with regular church attendance and prayer at meals and other parts of the day.<ref name=":0" /> Ziemann got his religious influence from his paternal aunt who joined the [[Moravian Brethren|Moravian brethren]] and the sisterhood at [[Niesky]].<ref name=":0" /> He often referred to her.<ref name=":0" />

In Ziemann's twenties, he was called for conscription and was in the infantry to serve in [[Magdeburg]] for three years.<ref name=":0" /> He was promoted to work at the commissariat.<ref name=":0" /> His father died around this time and when he returned from his army duties, he took possession of his parents' house and property where he settled in 1836.<ref name=":0" />

That same year on September 25, Ziemann married Miss Friedericke Wiese.<ref name=":0" /> In 1838, her brother died so she and Ziemann went to live with her parents at [[Zabakuck|Zabakuk]] and he sold his family property.<ref name=":0" />

== Call to missionary service (1840–1843) ==
In 1840 in [[Zabakuck|Zabakuk]], a [[Theology|theologian]] named Pastor Wrede began tutoring Ziemann. this tutoring encouraged him to become a missionary.<ref name=":0" /> He went to [[Berlin]] and met with Pastor Gossner to ask him to be sent to India to do mission work, after hesitation, Gossner gave permission.<ref name=":0" /> Mrs. Ziemann originally said no to accompanying her husband to India, but ended up joining him.<ref name=":0" />

Ziemann was blessed in front of the congregation on September 5, 1842, before he left for India.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> It was during this event of Ziemann that he gave a sermon on Jesus turning water into wine.<ref name=":2">Mullens. “A Brief Review of Ten Years' Missionary Labour in India between 1852 and 1861 : Prepared from Local Reports and Original Letters / by Joseph Mullens.” HathiTrust, babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433070293349&view=1up&seq=167.</ref>

Ziemann was the leader of his six-person group and they left Berlin on September 7, 1842.<ref name=":0" /> Their journey consisted of going to [[Hamburg]] by [[Postchaise]], taking a steamer to Hull and a train to [[Liverpool]], arriving there on September 14, 1842.<ref name=":0" /> They left Liverpool on November 23 and arrived in [[Calcutta]], India on April 8, 1843.<ref name=":0" />

== Missionary work (1843–1881) ==

=== Early career (1843–1855) ===
Ziemann did missionary work from 1843–1855 in [[Chhapra|Chupráh]], Muzafferpore and [[Buxar]].<ref name=":1" />

==== Chupráh, Nágpúr and language acquisition (1843–1848) ====
On April 22, 1843, Ziemann and his team left Calcutta for [[Patna|Patná]] and arrived on June 2.<ref name=":0" /> They reached Chupráh on June 9, where Ziemann learned the Hindustání language. In August, he went to Benares to visit his financial supporter Sir Donald McLeod, a supporter of other missionaries in Central India.<ref name=":0" />

On February 8, 1844, he left Chupráh to go to Central India.<ref name=":0" /> Ziemann and his group arrived in [[Nagpur|Nágpúr]] on March 27. Throughout this trip, he preached in [[Hindustani language|Hindustání]] to locals and gave out Bible sections.<ref name=":0" /> He also learned the [[Marathi language|Mahrathí]] language there and preached to public audiences daily from 6 am-12 pm and sometimes, locals would throw mud and cow-dung at him.<ref name=":0" /> He was forbidden from preaching in October and therefore left Nágpúr on November 1, arriving back at Chupráh in January 1845, where he studied the local language, preached, visited village-schools and spent time with orphans.<ref name=":0" />

==== Muzafferpore (1848–1851) ====
From March 11, 1848, to January 5, 1851, Ziemann was sent to Muzafferpore for more missionary work, where some locals were baptized.<ref name=":0" /> Ziemann made the new Christians stay in their own villages instead of living around the missionaries so as to decrease dependency on the missionaries, even though it was tradition to keep the converts around the missionaries.<ref name=":0" /> However, he would visit them, bring them their wives and help them however they needed it.<ref name=":0" />

In November 1849, Ziemann was sent to control the [[Arrah|Arráh]] Mission, where he got cholera on his first night there.<ref name=":0" /> After recovering, he later returned to Muzafferpore.<ref name=":0" />

On February 5, 1851, Ziemann returned to the Chupráh Mission.<ref name=":0" /> At this point, he and his wife have two adopted native children.<ref name=":0" />

==== Buxar (1852–1855) ====
On March 18, 1852, Ziemann went to the Buxar Mission, now with three adopted children.<ref name=":0" /> Under his orders, the school house was repaired and attended by 75 boys.<ref name=":0" /> After getting permission to use the English Church, he held services there.<ref name=":0" /> It was in Buxar when Ziemann decided to establish a mission in [[Ghazipur|Ghazipore]].<ref name=":0" />

Other practical work that Ziemann did is when he sold religious books at a month-long fair to the locals in Bullia in the Ghazipore district for ten rupees ten annas.<ref name=":2" /> The missionaries did this to save their books from being destroyed and to give value to the natives, who ended up listening and buying the books.<ref name=":2" />

=== Later career (1855–1881) ===

==== Ghazipore Mission (1855–1881) ====
Ziemann established the Ghazipore Mission in March 1855.<ref name=":1" /> Ghazipore is in the [[North-Western Provinces|North-West Provinces]] of India.<ref name=":1" /> The mission was established on the [[Ganges]] river.<ref name=":4">Richter. “A History of Missions in India / by Julius Richter ; Translated by Sydney H. Moore ; with Coloured Map by Bartholomew.” HathiTrust, babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.31951002043618f&view=1up&seq=216.</ref> He had already been there on his preaching tours.<ref name=":1" /> Ziemann took control and reopened the mission for Gossner's Missionary Society.<ref name=":1" /> In 1844, three missionaries of this society had previously started a mission in Ghazipore but it was soon terminated.<ref name=":1" />

By 1880, Ziemann established a church there with 642 churchgoers.<ref name=":1" /> From 1871-1880, foreign missionaries increased from 9 to 21 and there were over 29 000 native Christians.<ref name=":1" /> The missionaries would preach, give out religious texts and feed the hungry.<ref name=":3">Mackay. “From London to Lucknow: with Memoranda of Mutinies, Marches, Flights, Fights, and Conversations. To Which Is Added, an Opium-Smuggler's Explanation ... v. 1.” HathiTrust, babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.$b296434&view=1up&seq=136.</ref> The population served was primarily Koeri.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://dspace.gipe.ac.in/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10973/37271/GIPE-017952.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y|title=Ghazipur: A Gazetteer|last=Nevil|first=HR|publisher=Government Press|year=1909|isbn=|location=United Provinces|pages=83}}</ref> Ziemann worked with another missionary named Höppner. Ziemann's wife took care of local orphans.<ref name=":3" /> From this mission, Ziemann maintained several outlying mission locations in including [[Gonda, Uttar Pradesh|Gonda]] where he served ion an itinerant basis until the Methodist Episcopal Church in India opened a mission there in January 1865.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yLJFAAAAIAAJ|title=The Gospel in Gonda: Being a Narrative of Events in Connection with the Preachings of the Gospel in the Trans-Ghaghra Country|last=Knowles|first=S.|date=1889|publisher=Methodist Publishing House|language=en}}</ref>

"The Annual Report of the German Mission in Ghazeepore" from 1869 reveals the names of the many donors who supported this mission.<ref name=":5">{{cite book |title=Annual report of the German Mission in Ghazeepore |date=1869 |publisher=German Mission in Ghazeepore |url=https://archive.org/details/annualreportofge1418germ/page/4/mode/2up}}</ref> It also gives a report on divine service, keeps track of the baptisms and orphans, as well as information on the schools and preaching.<ref name=":5" /> This mission was called economical and was financially supported by Europeans.<ref name=":3" /> Ziemann settled permanently in Ghazipore in March 1855.<ref name=":0" />

== Return to Germany and back to India and legacy ==
Ziemann took a leave of absence for health reasons in February 1875 to Germany.<ref name=":1" /> On his way there, he visited [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]]<ref name=":1" /> and [[Jerusalem]]<ref name=":0" /> for religious purposes. He returned to India at the end of 1875.<ref name=":1" /> George William Ziemann died on December 26, 1881, in Ghazipore.<ref name=":0" /> His death was reported to be mourned in India, [[England]] and Germany.<ref name=":0" />

Despite Ziemann's successful missionary work, theologian Julius Richter claims that he could also provide an example of what not to do.<ref name=":4" /> Ziemann would travel far to preach in many different parts of India, which was universal at the time but changed because it takes time to instill Christian ideas in others' minds with their different values and ideas.<ref name=":4" />

== References ==
<references />

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ziemann, George William}}
[[Category:1800s births]]
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]
[[Category:1881 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Havelland]]
[[Category:German Protestant missionaries]]
[[Category:Protestant missionaries in India]]

George William Ziemann - Revision history

Krishnakumarsinhji Gohil at 22:48, 27 November 2025