Dr. Timothy Fehler of the Furman History Department and Margaret Lewis, a senior History/German double major have been working on a study of Catholics who received charity from the Calvinist/Reformed church deacons in Emden, Germany, in the early 19th century. Beginning as a Furman Advantage summer research project, the study began with approximately 2000 questionnaires filled out by all poor relief recipients in the town in 1808, 1812, and 1825. The four-page questionnaires included between 25 and 32 questions to be answered by the recipient, followed by 10 questions to be answered by the poor relief administrator. The recipients provided personal information, including place of birth, religious affiliation, age, marital status, family details, education, work skills, employment history, health status, current methods of support, and reason for falling into poverty. The administrators were then asked to provide their perceptions as to the conditions and attitude of the poor relief recipient and the veracity of his or her responses. The questionnaires are rich in personal details and anecdotes regarding the poor themselves, as well as anecdotes provided by neighbors through the administrators. The first stage of the research involved transcribing the answers on the questionnaires. After evaluating the data and sorting and categorizing the responses, our two historians have focused their analysis on questions relating to the circumstances facing the poor of one religious minority group (Catholics) in the predominatly Calvinist city.


     Furman Department of History