German Bibles and Testaments published by Christoph Froschauer from 1524-1589 were very popular because of the clear type, pictorial decoration, and popular language. Among the people, especially the Anabaptists, the first editions of the Froschauer Bibles and Testaments were greatly loved.
The Bible was reprinted several times. In 1744 a reprint of the entire Bible, i.e., the folio edition of 1536 was issued. The book was printed in Strasbourg "bey Simon Kürssner, Cantzley-Buchdrucker." The foreword states that it was reprinted because the edition of 1536 was in great demand for its faithful translation and had now become very rare. In 1787 the Froschauer New Testament was reprinted at Ephrata, Pa., by the Cloister Press, for the Pennsylvania Mennonites.
Froschauer Bibles were more difficult to obtain in America but Mennonite ordained men were expected to have one. Immigrants brought their beloved Froschauer Bibles with them so used ones were sometimes available.
My Burkholder ancestors crossed the ocean in the Phoenix and arrived at Philadelphia on October 1, 1754. Francis Diller was on the same ship. He brought a 1744 reprint of the Froschauer Bible with him. A metal plate on the cover bears the date of 1754 and tucked inside was his passport dated April 10, 1754. The Bible was passed down through generations of his descendants until 1905 when it was placed in the Library of Congress in Washington DC for safe keeping. It does not contain any family records.
Francis Diller lived in the French-speaking section of Switzerland. Below is a translation of his passport. (Diller is spelled Tueller.) The other immigrants probably all had something similar but this is the only one known to have survived from that ship.
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