Tobias Voth, a pioneer educator among the Mennonites of Russia, was born 16 July 1791, at Brenkenhoffswalde near Driesen, Mark Bran­denburg, where his father was a minister. He attended the local school under teachers who had studied in Leipzig and Berlin. At the age of sixteen he became a teacher of the local school, which position he held for five years. After passing a teachers' examination he taught at Soldin, where he married a Lutheran girl, Maria Skrade. In 1812 he accepted a school in Konigsberg in Neumark. In 1818 he reported in his diary that he and his wife were converted through Jung-Stilling's writings, and then had fellowship with other Pietists. For two years he taught at Graudenz. In 1822 he went to the Molotschna to teach in the Ohrloff Zentralschule, where he also sponsored reading and mission circles. This school was sponsored by the Agricultural As­sociation, of which Johann Cornies was the chairman. Because of a disagreement with Cornies, Voth resigned after seven years of teaching and went to Schönwiese near Chortitza, where he taught for a number of years in a private secondary school. After this he taught in a secondary school at Steinbach, Molotschna. He died in Berdyansk. He was a gifted pioneer educator but did not find enough response and appreciation for his talents and as a result suffered many privations.

Bibliography

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Scottdale, Pennsylvania, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 859. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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