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ca. 1920 Bucks County Latvian Baptist men horsing around Latvian Baptists in Bucks County A group of Latvian Baptists pose for a photographer as they display a variation on a human pyramid. The image likely was made in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in the early 1920s.
ca. 1910 Library Rules for use of the Philadelphia Latvian Baptist Youth Society's library, housed in the First Lettish Baptist Church, 855 Preston Street. Patrons could check out up to two books at a time and had to return them in two weeks' time. Photographed by Andris Straumanis.
1917 Latvian Baptists in West Philadelphia Martin Treyan's military draft registration card, submitted June 5, 1917, shows his place of birth as Sakkenhausen, Russia, which today is Saka Parish in Latvia. At the time he registered, Treyan was employed as a carpenter in Chester, Pennsylvania.
ca. 1920 Philadelphia Latvian Baptist Youth Society To remind members to attend, the Philadelphia Latvian Baptist Youth Society sent them notices of meetings such as this one. The text stressed the importance of participation. Photograph by Andris Straumanis.
1914 Latvian Baptists The Rīga-based Latvian Baptist periodical Avots carried this obituary for the Rev. Jānis Neibuks (1849-1914) in its March 19, 1914, issue. Neibuks had served the First Lettish Baptist Church in Philadelphia from 1904-1909, but then moved to Boston, where he was pastor until 1913. Illness forced him to step away from the ministry, but after recuperating he began mission work through the Chicago congregation. Niebuks also served the small Latvian Baptist congregation in Sussex County, Virginia. Before his death, he had returned to Philadelphia to once again lead the congregation there. The obituary was written by the Rev. Jānis Kvietiņš, then pastor of the Baptist congregation in New York.
1922 Lavallette, New Jersey A group of unidentified men and women pose for a snapshot on the beach in Lavallette, New Jersey. The man on the right possibly is the Rev. Pēteris Bušmanis. The seated woman on the right possibly is his second wife, Valija Bušmanis. Lavallette was a popular vacation spot for Latvian immigrants and their descendants, including the Baptists.
ca. 1924 Latvian Baptists in Philadelphia The Rev. Peter and Valia Buschman (Pēteris and Valija Bušmanis) pose for a photograph, ca. 1924. Valia was Peter's second wife. They had one daughter, Camille.
1932 Latvian Baptists in West Philadelphia Members of the Women's Missionary Society (Māsu misiones pulciņš) of the First Lettish Baptist Church of Philadelphia sit for a photograph on April 17, 1932. The society began its work in 1894. According to an article by Alma Treyan published June 1, 1932, in the Rīga-based Baptist journal Kristīgā Balss, those pictured in the first row (left to right) are L. Gertz, M. Upmal (founding member), E. Krastin, M. Licke (founding member), R. Inke, M. Fischer, K. Sommer, L. Girgen, and L. Upeneek. In the second row (left to right) are S. Grikman (former chair), J. Egle (former chair), M. Pluhme (former chair), A. Treyan (secretary), A. Yunag (vice chair), Natalija Peterson (chair), M. Brenson (treasurer), L. Robinson (learned secretary), J. Luhks (manager), and A. Johnson (officer). In the third row (from left to right) are E. Fuhrman, E. Luhks, M. Pawelkop, A. Aldin, J. Krusen, A. Yunag, and L. Spruhde. In the fourth row (from left to right) are M. Stanislaw, A. Smit, K. Lukewitz, M. Dambis, L. Fischer, L. Reke, E. Johnson, M. Kamer, and A. Spruhde.
1944 Latvian Baptists in West Philadelphia Members of the Women's Missionary Society of the First Latvian Baptist Church of Philadelphia pose for a group photograph on April 16, 1944, as they mark their 50th anniversary. The women's group began its work in 1894.
1919 Print culture The cover of a rare collection of religious poetry, Pirmās skaņas, self-published in 1919 by a Latvian Baptist, M. Mureneek (M. Mūrniece), in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The author's forward suggests the poems were written in an urban setting, most likely in Chicago.