Petter, Rodolphe Charles (1865-1947)

Christlicher Bundesbote obituary: 1947 Jan 21 p. 10

Birth date: 1855 Feb 19

text of obituary:

Dr. Rodolphe Petter ✞

Dem Heimatsruf der Ewigkeit folgte Missionar Rodolphe Petter, Montag, den sechsten Januar, 1947, in Lame Deer, Montana, wo er so lange Jahre dem Indianervolk mit dem Worte Gottes treu gedient hat. Die Leichenfeier fand am elften Januar in der Lame Deer Kirche statt.

Viel hat das Indianervolk seinem Dienst ihnen gegenüber zu verdanken. Sein ganzes Leben war, in dem Herrn, ihnen gewidmet. Obzwar er sie verlassen hat, so bliebt doch der reiche Same seines Wirkens daraus auch in der Zukunft, viel Frucht ersprossen wird.

“Denn ihre Werke folgen ihnen nach.”

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Christlicher Bundesbote obituary: 1947 Apr 1 p. 10

text of obituary:

Kurze Lebensgeschichte Dr. Rodolphe Charles Petter

Frau Rodolphe Petter

Rodolphe Charles Petter wurde bei Vevey, am Genfer See in der Schweiz am 19. Februar, 1855 geboren und starb am 6. Januar 1947, ein Monat und dreizehn Tage ehe er 82 Jahre alt wurde. Er war der Sohn von Louis and Elsie Dubuis (de la Praz) Petter. Die Petters hatten wahrscheinlich ihren Ursprung bei Neuveville, in der Nähe von Bienne, in der Schweiz. Der Name erscheint mit dem von Gatchet (in 1587) an der inneren Decke des St. Martin Domes in Vevey, das Wappenschild des Kantons Bern umgebend. A. Petter von Neuveville predigte seinerzeit in dem Gebiete des Berner Juras etwa um 1560. Die Großmutter mütterlicherseits war die Kinderwärterin des großen Naturforschers Agassiz, da der letztere geboren war in dem Dorfe wo sie wohnte. Agassiz erhielt die Namen von Rodolphe Petters Vater und seiner beiden Brüder, wurde deshalb Jean-Louis-Rodolphe Agassiz genannt. Rodolphe Petter erhielt seine Schulbildung in den Volksschulen der französischen Schweiz. Als er später den Ruf gefühlt hatte, Missionar zu werden, trat er ein in die Basler Missionsschule, wo er sieben Jahre zubrachte mit intensivem Studium für seine Lebensarbeit. Dort bemeisterte er das Deutsche (eine Sprache, die er vorher nicht gekannt hatte), das Lateinische, Hebräische, Griechische, neben korrelativen Fächern, und es wurde ihm auch etwas medizinische Ausbildung gegeben unter vorzüglichen Aerzten und Wundärzten.

Er heirate Marie Gerber aus der Jura Gebirgsgegend am 14ten Mai, 1890, und im Herbste kamen sie zusammen nach Amerika, um Missionare an den Cheyenne Indianer zu werden. Um in der englischen Sprache besser Fuß zu faßen, brachten sie sechs Monate im Oberlin College zu, ehe sie sich nach Cantonment, Oklahoma begaben . . . Sie kamen am 1. Oktober, 1891 bei Cantonment an. In dieser Ehe wurden zwei Kinder geboren: Olga Marie, jetzt Mrs. P. F. Schroeder von Zillah, Washington, und Valdo Rodolphe, der am 6. Mai., 1935 bei Ashland, Montana starb. Mrs. Marie Gerber starb in 1910, und wurde bei Cantonment, Oklahoma begraben. Am 28. November, 1911 heirate Rodolphe Petter Bertha Elsie Kinsinger von Trenton, Ohio, die auch eine Missionarin unter den Indianern war. Rodolphe Petter diente den Cheyennes in Oklahoma von 1891 bis 1916 und den Nördlichen Cheyennes bei Lame Deer, Montana von 1916 bis zu seinem Tode. Er war ein lebenslängliches Mitglied der Amerikanischen Bibelgesellschaft in der Großstadt New York und von der International Historischen Gesellschaft bei Paris, Frankreich. Er erhielt seinen Titel als Doktor der Theologie von Bethel College in 1932, obgleich er sich nie etwas aus Titeln machte. Bluffton College hat ihm einen Titel angeboten, doch er hat den selben nicht angenommen. In der Schweiz hat er militärische Ausbildung genommen, die von allen männlichen Bürgern verlangt wurde, doch wählte er den “Samariterdienst” im medizinischen Zweige des Dienstes. Dr. Rodolphe Petter sammelte die Cheyenne Sprache und brachte dieselbe zu Papier. Er hat eine genaue und vollständige Grammatik ausgearbeitet, die noch in Manuskript Gestalt ist. Er hat ein umfangreiches Englisch — Cheyenne Wörterbuch von 1125 Folio Seiten herausgegeben, welches in den hervorragenden Bibliotheken der Welt gefunden wird. Er übersetzte Bunyans Pilgerreise und viele Evangeliumslieder. Er übersetzte große Teile des Alten Testamentes; die in einem großen Band gedruckt worden sind. Er hat das ganze Neue Testament übersetzt und herausgegeben. Er hat ein spezielles Forscherstudium gemacht von der tatsächlichen Geschichte der Cheyennes, nach ihren eigenen Erzählungen, von ihren Zeremonien, und besonders von ihrer Sprache. Die letztere offenbart viel, das verglichen werden sollte mit den ältesten bekannten Sprachen der Menschheit. Es war ihm möglich in Französisch, Deutsch, Englisch und Cheyenne zu lesen, schreiben, reden und zu predigen, und er hatte eine gründliche Kenntnis des Lateinischen, Griechischen und Hebräischen. Er war ein Mann von tiefer Hingabe an den Ruf Gottes, erfüllt von einem Geiste großer Demut.

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Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1947 Jan 9 p. 1

text of obituary:

Widely Known Montana Missionary Called Away in Death

DR. RODOLPHE C. PETTER DIED JANUARY 6 AS RESULT OF HEART ATTACK

Dr. Rodolphe C. Petter, missionary to the Cheyenne Indians of Oklahoma and Montana since 1891 and one of America's outstanding linguists, died unexpectedly in his home at Lame Deer, Mont., at seven o'clock Monday morning, according to word received by General Conference officials here early this week.

Details of his illness and funeral arrangements were not given in the message reporting his death.

Besides being an unusually successful missionary, Dr. Petter was also a noted scholar and nationally recognized ethnologist. In 1913 and 1915 he published a Cheyenne dictionary of 1126 pages, which is now on display in the Smithsonian Institute of Washington, D. C. In addition he has made numerous other Cheyenne translations, best known of which are Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress and the entire New Testament. The latter was printed and distributed through the American Bible Society.

From Vevy, Switzerland, where he was born on Feb. 19, 1865, he came to America soon after his first marriage, to Marie Gerber, and attended school at Oberlin, Ohio. After the death of his first wife his second marriage in 1911 was to Bertha Elise Kinsinger, who now survives him.

The veteran missionary would have been 82 years of age next February 12.

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Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1947 Jan 23 p. 3

"Ye Have Dwelt Long Enough In This Mountain"

MESSAGE GIVEN AT THE FUNERAL SERVICES FOR DR. RODOLPHE PETTER AT LAME DEER, MONTANA, SATURDAY, JANUARY 11

By Rev. S. T. Moyer

Not transcribed.

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Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1947 Feb 20 p. 3

text of obituary:

DR. RODOLPHE CHARLES PETTER

Rodolphe Charles Petter was born at Vevey, on Lake Geneva in Switzerland, February 19, 1865, and died January 6, 1947, one month and 13 days before he would have been 82 years old.

He was the son of Louis and Elsie Dubuis (de la Praz) Petter. On his mother's side he was of Huguenot and Waldensian descent. His great-grandfather on his father's side was named Pierrot or Petit Pierrot, hence the name Petter.

The Petters originated likely from Neuveville near Bienne, Switzerland. The name appears with that of Gatchet (in 1587) on the inner ceiling of the St. martin's cathedral in Vevey, surrounding the escutcheon of the Bernese Canton. A Petter of Neuveville used to preach in the Bernese Jura region around 1560. The paternal grandmother was the nurse of the great naturalist Agassiz, the latter being born in the village where she lived. Agassiz was given the names of Rodolphe Petter's father and his two brothers, therefore called Jean-Louis-Rodolphe Agassiz.

Intensive Language Study

Rodolphe Petter was educated in the public schools of French Switzerland. Having later felt the call to become a missionary he enrolled at the Basel Mission Training Institute, where he spent seven years in intensive study for his life work. There he mastered German (a language he had not known before), Latin, Hebrew and Greek, besides correlated subjects, and was also given some medical training under eminent doctors and surgeons.

He married Marie Gerber of the Jura mountain region on May 14, 1890, and in the fall they came to America to become missionaries to the Cheyenne Indians. In order to gain a better footing in the English language, they spent six months at Oberlin college before proceeding to Cantonment, Oklahoma. They arrived at Cantonment on Oct. 1, 1891.

Work Among Indians

Two children were born to this union: Olga Marie, now Mrs. P. F. Schroeder of Zillah, Washington, born January 12, 1893, and Valdo Rodolphe born July 26, 1895, died at Ashland Montana, May 6, 1935.

Mrs. Marie Gerber died in 1910 and is buried at Cantonment, Oklahoma. On Nov. 28, 1911, Rodolphe Petter married Bertha Elise Kinsinger of Trenton, Ohio, who was also a missionary among the Indians.

Rodolphe Petter served the Cheyennes of Oklahoma from 1891 to 1916 and the Northern Cheyennes at Lame Deer, Montana, from 1916 until his death. He was a life member of the American Bible Society in New York City and of the International Historical Society of Paris, France. he received his doctor of divinity degree from Bethel College in 1932, though he had never card for degrees. Bluffton College offered him a degree but he did not accept. In Switzerland he had taken military training required of all male citizens, but chose "Samaritendienst" in the medical branch of service.

Work as Translator

Dr. Rodolphe Petter collected and reduced the Cheyenne language to writing, worked out an accurate and complete grammar still in manuscript form. He published a voluminous English-Cheyenne dictionary of 1125 folio pages which is found in the leading libraries of the world. He translated Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" and many Gospel songs. He translated large portions of the Old Testament, which is published on one large volume. He translated and published the entire New Testament.

He made special research study of the actual history of the Cheyennes from their own stories, their ceremonials, and especially their language, the latter revealing much that should be compared with the oldest known language of mankind.

His scholastic training which enabled him to read, write, talk and preach in French, German, English and Cheyenne; his thorough knowledge of Latin, Greek and Hebrew; his spirit of humility, his devotion to the call of God, and his colossal one-man achievements have earned for him the citation given him at an Omaha memorial service as being "the greatest missionary of the century." Lame Deer, Montana, Feb. 7, 1947.

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The Mennonite: 1945 Feb 13 p. 1

text:

Let Us Remember the Living

By J. H. Langenwalter

On February 19, 1865, Rudolphe Charles Petter was born in Switzerland. Eighty very eventful years have passed into eternity since then. Our friend, Dr. Petter, has not merely existed for along time, he has lived greatly during these eventful years. we are glad that he is still alive, and we trust that he may be permitted to continue here as long as he can work with his usual pleasure and joy of achievement.

It means something to have been born in one of the oldest republics in the world and to have spent one's youth under one of the most democratic governments on earth. The grandeur and the beauty of the Alps and the wonderful scenery of Lake Geneva have been reflected into the lives of many through the beauty, strength and finesse of the character of our great Missionary.

Rev. Petter came from a small country with great ideals. He has profited by that background. He came from a country with three languages. He learned to use them all fluently, and four more. His life is a convincing evidence that people need not be afraid of each other because their backgrounds are varied.

As a young man, our aged friend had a dream. He wanted to help a people. His preparation for this service was long and thorough in the schools of Switzerland and of America. He felt called and chose to go to the Cheyenne Indians. Many thought of these native Americans as a dying tribe. Rudolphe Petter did not permit statistics to thwart him in the fulfillment of his dream. He devoted his life to the welfare of a people who had been grievously wronged by his own race. He has given his best to their welfare for more than half a hundred years. He has gathered their dialects into a language and has given them both a grammar and a dictionary for the same. he has translated portions of the Bible into Cheyenne. He has done the same with other valuable books. He has given his people a hymn book.

He has also taught them how to use and to value the great opportunities which have been brought to them.

Dr. Petter still dreams of how things can be done in a better way. Within a year he was working on a new revision of the grammar in order to help young workers in the field to have the best possible chance to do things in the right way. In spite of all the difficulties and deprivations he has met, he is still hopeful of seeing his dream come true in the lives of the Cheyennes, and of us! When one reads the statistics of giving in these days of easy money for some, one wonders what sums would have to be placed opposite our friend's name if that which was denied him were credited to him. He has not stodd up for his rights. He has not lifted up his voice in public places when he was taken for granted. He has worked on and on. We have taken the credit for what he has achieved. Let us not wait until he is gone before we give him the kind word and the helpful deed which would have cheered even one so great as he, as he toiled along like a forgotten man.

Dr. Petter probably knows more about the Cheyenne Indians, and several other tribes, than anyone else ever has, and has done more for their real welfare. It cheers one to get the responses which come from government officials and from Indian boys in their teens when one asks them about our friend. The fine painting of Dr. Petter by a former agent at the station and the hearty and sincere, "Oh, he's all right." by a seventeen year old boy make one feel both grateful and humble. One is glad for the appreciation of these and for that of great scholars in the fields of languages and of a study of peoples. His books are found in many of the great libraries of several governments, as well as in the libraries of many noted institutions the world over.

This fine interpreter of the spirit of the Kingdom of God has grown old very graciously. It is a rare and valuable privilege to sit with him in his study and to catch something of that fine, untarnished enthusiasm which radiates from his personality. He needs few words to testify to the noble and fearless relationship which exists between him and his Lord. One feels more than one hears the greatness of the message which he has caught from the great Teacher.

Dr. Petter is a real teacher in the finest sense of the word. He is unafraid of the truth. He does not allow the incidents of life to confuse him. He seeks the facts behind them. Then he studies these until he discovers there timeless values. He "digs" as hard as any gold digger ever did, but he seeks more than gold. He leads others to find the better way with an admirable patience. When they discover the truth, he shares their joy of achievement with them. that kind of attitude helps those who wish to learn more than they will ever know. Many of those who have benefitted by his helpful ways have taken him for granted, many more may do so because of human thoughtlessne4ss. The Recording Angel is not forgetting him. Maybe some day we will wish we had not.

On February 19, 1945, Dr. Rudolphe Charles Petter will be eighty years of age by the calendar. How old he is in the sight of God only He knows. We thank God for our friend's helpful life!

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The Mennonite obituary: 1947 Jan 14 p. 5

text of obituary:

Rodolphe Petter, Absent from the Body, Present with the Lord

A telegram received on Monday morning by Rev. H. G. Nyce, Secretary of the Foregin Mission Board, and a similar telegram received by Rev. Walter H. Dyck, at the Mennonite Headquarters in Newton, contained the news of the death of Missionary Rodolphe Petter on Monday morning, January 6, at 7:00 a.m. the result of a heart attack. Funeral services will be held at Lame Deer, Montana, on Saturday, January 11. The services in the forenoon will be in the Cheyenne language. The afternoon services will be in the English language. Rev. A. P. Waltner, who had been requested to represent the Foreign Mission Board at the funeral, could not go due to illness. In the absence of a board member, Missionary S. T. Moyer, of India, now at Freeman College, Freeman, south Dakota, has consented to be present at the funeral.

Missionary Petter came from Switzerland, the home of his birth, to serve as a missionary to the Cheyenne Tribe of the American Indians under the Foreign Mission Board of the General Conference of the Mennonite Church. From 1891 to 1916, he was stationed at Cantonment, Oklahoma, and from 1916 until the time of his death, he was stationed at Lame Deer, Montana.

Missionary Petter was a devoted Christian, a student of the word of God, a great missionary, a scholar, an outstanding linguist, and an ethnologist. His work as a missionary and his publications in the Cheyenne language are monumental. He reduced the Cheyenne language to writing, discovered and systematized the grammar, edited a Cheyenne dictionary, and translated the entire New Testament and many Old Testament books. Besides this, he edited Cheyenne hymnbooks, and translated other Christian writings.

Though he is dead, the influence of his work will live on, for, "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them." Rev. 14: 13. — D. J. Unruh, vice-President, Foreign Mission Board

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The Mennonite obituary: 1947 Mar 4 p. 4

text of obituary:

Brief Life Story of Dr. Rodolphe Charles Petter

by Mrs. Rodolphe Petter

Rodolphe Charles Petter was born at Vevey, on Lake Geneva in Switzerland, February 19, 1865, and died January 6, 1947, one month and 13 days before he would have been 82 years old. He was the son of Louis and Elsie Dubuis (de la Praz) Petter. On his mother's side he was of Huguenot and Waldensian descent. His great-grandfather on his father's side was named Pierrot or Petit Pierrot, hence the name Petter. The Petters originated likely from Neuveville near Bienne, Switzerland. The name appears with that of Gatchet (in 1587) on the inner ceiling of the St. martin's cathedral in Vevey, surrounding the escutcheon of the Bernese Canton. A Petter of Neuveville used to preach in the Bernese Jura region around 1560. The paternal grandmother was the nurse of the great naturalist Agassiz, the latter being born in the village where she lived. Agassiz was given the names of Rodolphe Petter's father and his two brothers, therefore called Jean-Louis-Rodolphe Agassiz. Rodolphe Petter was educated in the public schools of French Switzerland. Having later felt the call to become a missionary he enrolled at the Basel Mission Training Institute, where he spent seven years in intensive study for his life work. There he mastered German (a language he had not known before), Latin, Hebrew and Greek, besides correlated subjects, and was also given some medical training under eminent doctors and surgeons.

He married Marie Gerber of the Jura mountain region on May 14, 1890, and in the fall they came to America to become missionaries to the Cheyenne Indians. In order to gain a better footing in the English language, they spent six months at Oberlin college before proceeding to Cantonment, Oklahoma. They arrived at Cantonment on Oct. 1, 1891. Two children were born to this union: Olga Marie, now Mrs. P. F. Schroeder of Zillah, Washington, born January 12, 1893, and Valdo Rodolphe born July 26, 1895, died at Ashland Montana, May 6, 1935. Mrs. Marie Gerber died in 1910 and is buried at Cantonment, Oklahoma. On Nov. 28, 1911, Rodolphe Petter married Bertha Elise Kinsinger of Trenton, Ohio, who was also a missionary among the Indians. Rodolphe Petter served the Cheyennes of Oklahoma from 1891 to 1916 and the Northern Cheyennes at Lame Deer, Montana, from 1916 until his death. He was a life member of the American Bible Society in New York City and of the International Historical Society of Paris, France. he received his doctor of divinity degree from Bethel College in 1932, though he had never card for degrees. Bluffton College offered him a degree but he did not accept. In Switzerland he had taken military training required of all male citizens, but chose "Samaritendienst" in the medical branch of service. Dr. Rodolphe Petter collected and reduced the Cheyenne language to writing, worked out an accurate and complete grammar still in manuscript form. He published a voluminous English-Cheyenne dictionary of 1125 folio pages which is found in the leading libraries of the world. He translated Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress and many Gospel songs. He translated large portions of the Old Testament, which is published on one large volume. He translated and published the entire New Testament. He made special research study of the actual history of the Cheyennes from their own stories, their ceremonials, and especially their language, the latter revealing much that should be compared with the oldest known languages of mankind.

He was able to read, write, talk and preach in French, German, English and Cheyenne and had a through knowledge of Latin Greek and Hebrew. he was a man of deep devotion to the call of God, possessed with a spirit of great humility.

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The above article was written at the request of the editor of The Mennonite