Voth, Wilhelm (1832-1914)
Wilhelm Voth, a Russian Mennonite elder, was born 23 December 1832 in Friedensdorf, Molotschna Mennonite Settlement, the eleventh of 12 children of Cornelius Voth (1795-1859) and Helena (Dirks) Voth (1804-1843). Wilhelm married Margaretha Wiebe (26 August 1836, Rudnerweide, Molotschna, South Russia – 1 November 1900, Nikolaifeld, Zagradovka, South Russia) and they had seven children, including Johann W. Voth. Wilhelm died 20 August 1914 in Nikolaifeld, Zagradovka.
Wilhelm moved to the Zagradovka Mennonite Settlement in 1872. He was poor, sickly, had a large family, and was meagerly educated, but was a great reader, keen observer, and possessed great will power; he took a keen interest in all that took place in Mennonite circles. The new settlement at Zagradovka, comprising several thousand souls, had no ordained minister. In 1872 Voth and a few others were elected to preach. On 2 June 1874, the new congregation was formally organized; Voth was elected and ordained on the same day to serve as elder. It required leadership, courage, and wisdom to form this heterogeneous mass into a congregation. A meetinghouse, costing 7,000 rubles, was built in the village of Nikolaifeld and dedicated on 5 May 1891. With the organization of the large congregation and the construction of the church Voth's main work was done. His failing health forced him to resign as elder in May 1895.
Bibliography
Friesen, Peter M. Die Alt-Evangelische Mennonitische Brüderschaft in Russland (1789-1910) im Rahmen der mennonitischen Gesamtgeschichte. Halbstadt: Verlagsgesellschaft "Raduga", 1911: 720.
GRANDMA (The Genealogical Registry and Database of Mennonite Ancestry) Database, 5.05 ed. Fresno, CA: California Mennonite Historical Society, 2008: #106558.
Lohrenz, G. J. Sagradowka. Rosthern, 1947: 64.
| Author(s) | Gerhard Lohrenz |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1959 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Lohrenz, Gerhard. "Voth, Wilhelm (1832-1914)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 22 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Voth,_Wilhelm_(1832-1914)&oldid=85888.
APA style
Lohrenz, Gerhard. (1959). Voth, Wilhelm (1832-1914). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 22 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Voth,_Wilhelm_(1832-1914)&oldid=85888.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, pp. 859-860. All rights reserved.
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