Father Johann Rudolf Meyer, Citizen of Aarau: A Memorial

"By the sweat of your brow you shall eat your bread."

Already in his earliest childhood, he learned the truth of this ancient saying. His father, a simple, honest man and generally liked by his fellow citizens, practiced the craft of a white-tanner a leather dresser using alum or salt in a small house on the Halde in Aarau. His mother, Marianne Müller of Zofingen, cared for their small, modestly-off family through virtuous discipline and domesticity. Both found their greatest wealth in their only son, who was born to them after two daughters on February 25, 1739. From his father, he inherited not only the baptismal name Johann Rudolf, according to old Swiss custom, but also a lively temperament; from his Christian, pious mother, a heart warmly receptive to deep, especially religious, impressions. This heart, nurtured by quiet maternal devotion and early acquaintance with biblical history, soon revealed itself. The father had fallen into severe distress due to a relentless creditor. Then the tender boy threw himself onto his knees and begged God for