1899 Hardesty Brothers, Canal Dover Ohio Receipt to Charles Ehlers, Zoar Society For Sale

Original 1899 Hardesty Brothers, Canal Dover, Ohio - Manufacturers of Family and Bakers' Flour - Receipt to Charles Ehlers, Zoar Station, OH  
Notes:Charles Ehlers was a prominent leader in the "Society of Separatists of Zoar" until its disbandment in 1898. Afterwards he played a leading role in the Zoar Village transition to a normal capitalistic community.
*Zoar Ohio was settled in 1817 by German religious dissenters. German Separatists left southeastern Germany to escape persecution for their religious beliefs. The Separatists thought that the church should be simple, and they emphasized a mystical and direct relationship with God. In 1819, they organized a self-sufficient society—the Society of Separatists of Zoar—which operated in Tuscarawas County until 1898 when the group disbanded. The Zoarites of Tuscarawas County were among the many communal groups that rejected capitalist society. Citing private property as a source of discontent and jealousy, they held all property in common. In 1898, the few remaining members of the community divided the assets and disbanded.*