David Hamm, elder; born in 4 October 1822 in Ladekop, Prussia, the son of Jacob Hamm (4 April 1788, Orloff, Prussia - 16 January 1851) and Anna (Klaassen) Hamm (18 October 1788, Fuerstenwerder, Prussia - 14 June 1856). David married Anna Hamm (5 February 1825, Orloff, Prussia- 19 March 1883, Köppental, Am Trakt, Russia) on 27 June 1852, the daughter of Michael Hamm (25 April 1790, Orloff, Prussia - 25 November 1862, Russia) and Helena (Klaassen) Hamm (7 June 1798, Fürstenwerder, Prussia - 11 February 1866, Russia). David died ca. 1884.
David and Anna immigrated to Russia from Prussia by 1853 and settled in the village of Hahnsau in the Trakt settlement. He was elected as minister of the Köppental-Orloff Mennonite Church, Trakt settlement, Samara, in 1853?, and served as elder from 1858 to 1884. During his eldership the congregation was greatly disturbed by the activities of Claas Epp, Jr. When Epp published his Die entsiegelte Weissagung des Propheten Daniel und die Deutung der Offenbarung Jesu Christi Hamm wrote the preface (1877) emphasizing the second coming of Christ, at which time He would find only "a little flock" of faithful followers. He states that Epp was "compelled by the spirit of God" to write this book. The Mennonites of the Trakt settlement in general had been influenced by Jung-Stilling, Christian Clöter, and other chiliastic writers before they left Prussia (Bartsch, Unser Auszug, p. 7). However, when Claas Epp, Jr., became more and more extreme in his proclamations the sounder elements of the congregation under the leadership of Hamm opposed his views (Bartsch, p. 25), and Epp and his group withdrew from them and moved to Central Asia.
David Hamm was instrumental in establishing the Allgemeine Mennonitische Bundes/Konferenz, for which he preached a much-appreciated conference sermon at Halbstadt in 1883 proclaiming the motto of the conference based on I Thessalonians 5:12-15 as being "Unity in major issues, freedom in minor questions, and charity in everything." In 1869 the Köppental and Alexandertal congregations of Samara sent letters to the Prussian congregation stating that they could not have fellowship with those that accepted the edict providing for noncombatant service. It is likely that David Hamm took the initiative in this matter. His signature stands first on the list. David Hamm compiled the Choral-Buch für den Kirchen-Gesang der Mennoniten-Gemeinde an der Wolga. Danzig, 1859.
Bartsch, Franz. Unser Auszug nach Mittel-Asien. Halbstadt, 1907.
Ediger, H. Beschlüsse der von den geistlichen und andern Vertretern der Mennoniten-gemeinden Russlands abgehaltenen Konferenzen. Berdyansk, 1914: 1 ff.
Friesen, Peter M. Die Alt-Evangelische Mennonitische Brüderschaft in Russland (1789-1910) im Rahmen der mennonitischen Gesamtgeschichte. Halbstadt: Verlagsgesellschaft "Raduga", 1911: 719.
Krahn, Cornelius and Richard D. Thiessen. "Hamm, David (1822-ca. 1884)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. February 2009. Web. 21 Apr 2019. http://gameo.org/index.php?title=Hamm,_David_(1822-ca._1884)&oldid=147451.
Krahn, Cornelius and Richard D. Thiessen. (February 2009). Hamm, David (1822-ca. 1884). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 April 2019, from http://gameo.org/index.php?title=Hamm,_David_(1822-ca._1884)&oldid=147451.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 644. All rights reserved.
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