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Latvian Baptists
In 1912, as part of an appeal to raise money for a new church, the Rev. Jānis Kvietiņš, then pastor of the First Lettish Baptist Church of Philadelphia, wrote a 16-page pamphlet on the history of the Latvians titled Who are the Letts?: A short historical sketch of the Letts and the First Baptist Church of Philadelphia.
The Rev. Pēteris Bušmanis
The Rev. Pēteris Bušmanis, pastor of the First Lettish Baptist Church of Philadelphia, poses for a photograph on the stairs of a home.
Immigrant press
Several issues of the Latvian Baptist periodical Jaunā Tēvija (1913-1917) photographed at the New York Public Library. The periodical initially was published in Philadelphia, later in Bradley Beach, New Jersey.
Latvian Baptists in West Philadelphia
A group of men, most likely members of the First Lettish Baptist Church in Philadelphia, play a game of baseball.
Latvian Baptists in Philadelphia
The Sunday School of the First Lettish Baptist Church of Philadelphia poses in 1925 for a photograph outside the meeting house at the corner of Preston and Ogden streets in West Philadelphia. The image also was reproduced on the cover of the September 15, 1925, edition of Kristīga Balss, a Baptist semi-monthly periodical published in Latvia.
Peter Buschman
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.
Latvian Baptists
A photograph of the Rev. Peter Buschman (Pēteris Bušmanis) baptizing an unidentified person in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, ca. 1916. Bucks County, a rural area north of Philadelpia, developed into a "colony" for Latvian Baptists.
Latvian Baptists
A photographic postcard featuring 71 members of the Philadelphia Latvian Baptist Youth Society, plus the Rev. Peter Buschman (Pēteris Bušmanis), 1916.