Thomann, Eduardo Werner (1874–1955)

Eduardo Werner Thomann was one of the first persons to accept the Adventist faith in the republic of Chile; he was the first ordained minister in South America and a pioneer in many areas of the evangelistic work in different countries.¹

The Establishment of the Thomanns in Chile and Conversion to Adventism

Eduardo W. Thomann was born February 19, 1874, in Grund, Innerkirchen, canton of Bern, Switzerland. Around 1880, because of the economic hardship, his parents, Jean Thomann and Bárbara Rohrbach, decided to immigrate to Chile with their five children: Juan Germán, Walterio, Eduardo Werner, Olga Rosa, and Víctor Edwin.² Eduardo was then 11 years old.³ They left Le Havre, France, on February 25, 1885,⁴ and arrived at Talcahuano, Chile, on April 8, 1885.⁵ They traveled by land until Salto, halfway between Traigüen and Victoria, southern Chile, to the lands provided by the government.

Almost a year after his arrival, an epidemic that hit Chile took the lives of Juan, his older brother, and his mother. Although the farm’s products were enough for living, their father wanted something better for his children. He sent Eduardo and Olga to Concepción, where a German Jesuit priest received confessions and baptized them. Eduardo lived with a Catholic family. He worked during the week and would go to church on Sundays. In 1890 Eduardo moved to the city of Victoria to be in charge of his children. He sold the farm and rented a house, and they began attending Arnold Leutwyler’s Lutheran church.⁶ When Eduardo was 18, the family moved to Santiago. There Eduardo attended Francisco Diez’s Presbyterian church and conducted a strong youth leadership.⁷ He was worried about his family’s spirituality. First he approached Víctor, then Walterio, and finally Olga, who married a minister surnamed Fernández.

In 1895 he met Enrique Balada and his wife, Prudencia Núñez, a Spanish couple based in Santiago.⁸ Eduardo Thomann introduced new Bible concepts in those meetings. A sudden illness gave him the oportunity to rest while he studied many themes, especially the Sabbath. His brother Víctor accepted the faith about the Sabbath by a different path. Together they had to face their families’ opposition.⁹

Eduardo and Víctor continued studying, in the Baladas’ house, Bible prophecies that eventually were explained by the first Adventist canvassers who arrived in Chile: Thomas H. Davis and Frederick W. Bishop. Granville H. Baber, the first Adventist minister to arrive in Chile (on October 12, 1895), baptized Prudencia Balada, as well as Eduardo and Víctor Thomann (1896).¹⁰

The Beginning of His Ministry in the Adventist Church

When G. H. Baber had to travel to Chile, he left the Adventist group of Santiago in the care of Eduardo Thomann. It was the beginning of his first ministry inside the church. He dedicated himself to studying Adventist books in German that his father had bought a few years earlier.¹¹ He learned English in order to translate valuable content to Spanish. He also acquired a hectograph (copier) to duplicate documents. In 1897 he left his father’s workshop and focused on selling publishings with his brother Víctor.

In addition to dealing with the visitation of new Adventist believers, Eduardo Thomann translated Bible studies from German, made copies with the hectograph, and sent them by mail. Both brothers sold the Adventist books that were then in Spanish: Patriarcas y profetas [Patriarchs and Prophets], El camino a Cristo [Steps to Christ], and Cristo nuestro salvador [Christ our Savior], by Ellen G. White. That's how they earned their living.

Eduardo Thomann worked for the conversion of his family and friends. A friend from his childhood, Carlos E. Krieghoff, accepted the Adventist beliefs through him.¹² In the past they had attended the Presbyterian church, and now it was his turn to share his new Bible discoveries. Krieghoff was baptized at the age of 27 by G. H. Baber and took the lead of the Adventist group in Victoria.

In 1898, Baber invited Eduardo Thomann to visit northern Chile and Peru for three months. During the trip he worked by translating Baber and preaching. They baptized a group of new believers in Iquique.

The Publishing Work (1900–1905)

During the trip back to Valparaíso, Eduardo Thomann convinced Baber of the need for publishing a missionary review in Spanish. That was the beginning of Las señales de los tiempos [Signs of the Times], an eight-page monthly periodical. The first issue was published in Valparaíso, in January 1900.¹³ Thomann wrote, corrected, and edited the magazine, starting a new stage in the Adventist missionary work in South America. In the workshop where he printed it, he learned about typography and printing. Thomann folded and sold in two weeks the first thousand issues in the cities of Valparaíso, Santiago, and Valdivia. At the age of 26 he was already a writer, editor, typographer, printmaker, distribution chief, and seller, while he traveled around Chile, Bolivia, and Peru. He was able to translate articles from English and include them in the periodicals. For 11 years in Chile and ten in Argentina he wrote and edited the magazine.

In the middle of 1900 he bought a secondhand Washington manual press. It was the first South American Adventist press.¹⁴ January 1, 1901, when there was about 100 baptized members in Chile, Eduardo Thomann started the Spanish edition of the Advent Review and Sabbath Herald by the name Revista Adventista.¹⁵ He had the opportunity of translating and integrating articles of his favorite author, Ellen G. White.¹⁶ During many months the periodical was financed by Thomann himself. The humble denominational magazine was valued by the Adventists from the beginning.¹⁷ In 1902 the print run reached eight thousand monthly copies.

In 1902 Thomann took Las señales de los tiempos [Signs of the Times] all over the mission of the western coast, which then included Bolivia, Chile, Equador, and Peru.¹⁸ In Bolivia he was arrested, threatened with death, and finally deported.¹⁹ Only a few people responded to the message in those complicated times for evangelization.

In 1904 Frank H. Westphal took over the leadership of the mission in Chile and assigned Eduardo Thomann the distribution of publications. Víctor Thomann took charge of the Valparaíso press, while Eduardo continued as the editor of Las Señales de los tiempos [Signs of the Times] and Revista Adventista [Adventist Review]. In an environment of intolerance and threats he sold Las señales de los tiempos [Signs of the Times] in such places as Riobamba and Guayaquil.²⁰

In 1904 Eduardo Thomann was one the first pastors ordained to the ministry in South America by the decision of the South American Union Mission.²¹ During its ministry he baptized a lot of people and organized groups of believers in different places. In November 1905 a fire destroyed the mission’s building; as a result, the publishing house moved to a new location and bought a better press.

Ministry in Chile, Bolivia, Peru (1906–1910)

From March 15 to 25, 1906, in Paraná, Entre Ríos, Argentina, meetings of the South American Union Mission were held.²² In these meetings South America remained as a union conference under the leadership of Joseph W. Westphal, with eight missions: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Equador, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. At the end of the meetings Eduardo had a hernia repaired by Robert H. Habenicht. It was in Entre Ríos that Eduardo Thomann, 31, met Florence (Flora) Westphal.²³ Eduardo Thomann and Flora Westphal got married in April 1906, before his return to Chile. They had four children: Dora (1907), Arturo (1908), Olga (1909), who died shortly after birth, and Donaldo (1913).

The earthquake that destroyed a significant part of Valparaíso on August 16, 1906, affected the mission’s offices. In 1907 Revista Adventista [Adventist Review] was transferred to Buenos Aires, and Thomann volunteered to serve in Bolivia and Peru.²⁴ In June he moved with his family to Cochabamba, to lead the Bolivia Union Mission.²⁵ He was the first established minister in this country.²⁶ The people there didn’t speak to him or bought his publications until he became friends with the kids.²⁷ His job was directed to the Hispanic, with an approach between the Aymara and the Quechua people. After one year they saw the fruit of their work among the first ones that accepted the Adventist beliefs. Bolivia was the last South American country to have Adventism established.²⁸

The missionary trips took Eduardo Thomann to Peru, where there were no Adventists. He learned the Quechua language and bought a cutting machine. He had the intention of publishing a periodical in this language and also in the Aymara language. He wanted to help people there read in their language. Although not everyone knew how to read, at least the ones that knew could read in their native language.²⁹ There were people who started keeping the Sabbath.³⁰

In 1909 the Thomann family moved to Chile. Eduardo Thomann led the publishing work and participated as a delegate at the General Conference session in Washington, D.C.³¹ He reported what had been done in Bolivia and suggested sending a missionary to that country.³² In the trip to Chile he joined North American missionaries Ferdinand A. Stahl and his family, who were destined to Bolivia.³³

Moving to Argentina and Last Years in the United States

When the publishing houses of Chile and Argentina merged in 1910, Eduardo Thomann’s family moved to Buenos Aires. La verdad presente [Present Truth], published in Argentina, and Las señales de los tiempos [Signs of the Times], published in Chile, got the name Las señales de los tiempos [Signs of the Times].³⁴ Its editorial works were pastoral and evangelistic.³⁵

In 1915 Thomann got tuberculosis and had to move to Córdoba for a few months.³⁶ He went back to the publishing work and did pastoral work in Santa Fe.³⁷ His experience as editor, canvasser, pastor, and lecturer was the reason they included him as a member of different boards and meetings. This kept him busy with meetings and trips.³⁸ While Thomann was on one of the trips, his wife Flora got sick and was taken to the River Plate Sanitarium. Despite the care received, she died on July 7, 1921, at the age of 35.³⁹

Flora’s parents took care of Eduaro and Flora’s children while Eduardo continued his ministry in Santa Fe.⁴⁰ In February 1922 he organized a church. He also had an accident when a heavy piano fell on his head, from which he recovered very slowly. Joseph Westphal made Eduardo Thomann contact Rosa Hoefft, who lived in Brazil. Eduardo and Rosa got married in February 1924 and went to live in Córdoba.⁴¹ Shortly after, health limitations kept Thomann from his active evangelistic service at the age of 51. His family moved to Florida, Buenos Aires, where Thomann could write, translate, and preach. In Buenos Aires he could see the development of the Adventist church of Villa Ballester, currently San Martín, where he is remembered as a pioneer.⁴² In Buenos Aires he had another accident when a truck hit his head, causing nine fractures. With the faithful support of his new wife, Eduardo Thomann helped his children study and dedicate themselves to God’s service.⁴³

In 1948 Eduardo and Rosa moved in with their daughter Dora, who lived in El Monte, close to Los Angeles, California. Eduardo Thomann died peacefully at the age of 81, in February 1955, surrounded by Rosa, Dora, and his grandchildren. Rosa stayed in California until the age of 91.⁴⁴

Sources

Andross, Matilda Erickson. The Story of the Advent Message. Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1926.

Casebeer, G. W. “Mrs. E. W. Thomann.” ARH, December 22, 1921.

Chávez, Samuel Antonio. Breve historia de las racies del adventismo en Bolivia [Short History of the Adventist Roots in Bolivia], 1997-1927. Cochabamba, Bolivia: Nuevo Tiempo [Hope Channel], 2013.

Schifferli Coloma, Patricia. Nuestras raíces suizas [Our Swiss Roots]. Temuco, Chile: Austral Press, 2007. http://www.memoriachilena.cl/archivos2/pdfs/MC0052245.pdf. Accessed May 19, 2018.

“Correspondencia” [Mail]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], August 1901.

First Santiago Presbyterian Church, Chile, blog On https://www.facebook.com/PRIMERAIPCH/photos/a.245279935821058.1073741829.192422497773469/513104732371909/?type=3&theater. Accessed May 2, 2018.

Greenleaf, Floyd. The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Latin America and the Caribbean. Collegedale, Tennessee: [Southern Adventist University], 1985. 2 vols.

Howell, Emma E. El gran movimiento adventista [The Big Adventist Movement]. Buenos Aires: Buenos Aires Publishing House, 1975.

“In Remembrance.” ARH, April 28, 1955.

Ketring, H. F. “Informe de la reunión del comité de la Misión Sud-Americana” [Report of the Board’s Meeting of the South American Mission]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], June 1906, 2, 3.

———. “Planes para la obra” [Plans for the work]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], June 1906, 3, 4.

Meyers, E. H. Reseña de los comienzos de la obra en Sudamérica [Overview of the Beginnings of the Work in South America]. Florida, Buenos Aires: Buenos Aires Publishing House, 1940.

Montgomery, Oliver. “Report of the South American Division.” General Conference Bulletin, May 22, 1922.

“Necrología” [Obituary]. Flora W. de Thomann.” Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], September 1921.

Ogden, Alfred R. “Chile.” ARH, August 12, 1902.

———. “Chile.” ARH, January 21, 1902): 11.

Peverini, Héctor J. En las huellas de la Providencia [In the Footsteps of Providence]. Florida, Buenos Aires: South American Spanish Publishing House, 1988.

Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], July 18, 1921.

Schneider, Beatriz Angélica Tucci de. “Comienzos de la Iglesia Adventista de Villa Ballester—hoy San Martín” [Beginnings of the Adventist Church of Villa Ballester—Currently San Martín]. White Research Center, River Plate Adventist University, Entre Ríos, Argentina.

Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia. Second rev. ed. Hagerstown, Maryland: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1996. S.v. “Thomann, Eduardo Werner.”

Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1919.

“South American Union Conference.” ARH, August 16, 1910.

“The Pioneer Story of South America.” ARH, June 6, 1926.

“Thomann.” Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], May 1955.

Thomann, A. E. “Eduardo Thomann and the SDA Publishing Work.” White Research Center, River Plate Adventist University, Libertador San Martín, Entre Ríos, Argentina.

Thomann, Donaldo José. “Resumen biográfico personal” [Personal Biographical Summary]. White Research Center Archive, River Plate Adventist University, Libertador San Martín, Entre Ríos, Argentina.

Thomann, Eduardo W. “Apuntes de viaje” [Travel Notes]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], May 1911.

———. “Bolivia.” ARH, December 12, 1907.

———. “Bolivia: Cochabamba.” Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], April 1909.

———. “Breve historia de ‘Revista Adventista’” [Brief History of the “Adventist Review”]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], June 1917.

———. “Chile.” ARH, April 18, 1907.

———. “Cómo nació La Revista Adventista.” [How the Adventist Review was conceived]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], January 1950.

———. “Concordia, Galarza, and Rosario Tala.” Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], September 1913.

———. “De regreso a La Cumbre” [Returning to La Cumbre]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], September 1915.

———. “Ecos del chaco santafecino, R. Arg.” [Echoes of the Santa Fe Chaco, R. Arg.] Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], June 4, 1923.

————. “Extractos de los acuerdos del comité de la Conferencia Unión, tomados en el Colegio Adventista del Plata, Diamante, E. Ríos, Argentina, octubre 21 a noviembre 14 de 1909” [Extracts of the Board’s Agreements of the Union Conference, Made in the River Plate Junior College, Diamante, E. Ríos, Argentina, October 21 to November 14, 1909]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], February 1910.

———. “La Cumbre, Córdoba, Rep. Arg.” Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], July 1915.

———. “La iglesia de Córdoba (R.A.)” [Córdoba’s church]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], February 11, 1924.

———. “La obra en la ciudad de Córdoba, R.A.” [The Work in the City of Córdoba, R.A.], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], October 27, 1924.

———. “La obra en Sta. Fe (R.A.)” [The Work in Santa Fe (R.A.)]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], January 31, 1921.

———. “Misión Boliviana” [Bolivian Mission]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], August 1908.

———. “Misión Boliviana” [Bolivian Mission]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], January 1908.

———. “Misión Boliviana: ‘A tiempo, y fuera de tiempo’ ” [Bolivian Mission: “On Time, and Out of Time”]. La Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], June 1908.

———. “Nuestro arribo” [Our Arrival]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], September 1909.

———. “Nueva Palmira, Uruguay.” Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], June 1913.

———. “The Dawn of Religious Liberty in Bolivia.” General Conference Bulletin¸ June 7, 1909.

———. “Una gira por el norte de la Rep. Argentina” [A Tour North of the Rep. Argentina]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], January 30, 1922.

———. “Unas palabras en cuanto a la Revista” [A Few Words Regarding the Review]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], June 1917.

———. “Uruguay.” Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], March 1911.

———. “Visit to Oruro, Cochabamba, and Quillacollo.” Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], 1909.

Thomann, Eduardo W., and wife. “La Misión Boliviana” [Bolivian Mission]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], August 1907.

Town, Nelson Z. “La asamblea de la Misión Sudamericana” [The South American Union Mission Assembly]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], April 1906.

Westphal, Joseph W. “Apertura de una nueva Misión en el campo de la Conferencia Unión Sudamericana” [Opening of a New Mission in the Field of the South American Union Conference]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], June 1907.

Zambra Ríos, Leopoldo. No con ejército, no con fuerza, sino con su Espíritu [Not With an Army, nor With Strength, but With His Spirit]. Santiago, Chile: Servicio Educacional Hogar y Salud [Home Health Education Services], 1994.

Zevallos, Juan. “Necrología” [Obituary]. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], October 1955.

Notes

1. See the obituary of Eduardo W. Thomann in “Thomann,” Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], May 1955, 15. See also Floyd Greeleaf, The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Latin America and the Caribbean (Collegedale, Tennessee: [Southern Adventst University], 1985), 1:64; Alfred R. Ogden, “Chile,” ARH, January 21, 1902, 11; Alfred R. Ogden, “Chile,” ARH, August 12, 1902, 15. Perhaps the most important source about the life of Eduardo W. Thomann comes from a manuscript prepared by Donaldo José Thomann and Elizabeth Thomann, Papito Thomann—La madera escogida [The Chosen Wood]. This document is available in Spanish, related to a German book (now sold out), Aus besonderem Holz geschnitzt, though it contains many historical inaccuracies.↩

2. Juan Germán died in Chile in 1886; Walterio studied nursing in the River Plate Sanitarium and was an Adventist pastor in Chile; Olga Rosa married a pastor named Fernández, but became a widow at a young age and soon married Claudio Dessignet—together they dedicated their lives to educational and pastoral activities; Víctor Edwin was also an Adventist pastor, and many of his descendants were Adventist workers (“Personal Biographical Summary” of Donaldo José Thomann, White Research Center Archive, River Plate Adventist University, Libertador San Martín, Entre Ríos, Argentina). Also see the record of immigration in Patricia Schifferli Coloma, Nuestras raícez suizas [Our Swiss Roots], sponsored by the Swiss Embassy (Temuco, Chile: Austral Press, 2007), 6.↩

3. See “Thomann.”↩

4.  Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia (1996), s.v. “Thomann, Eduardo Werner”; Schifferli Coloma, 70, 71.↩

5. Schifferli Coloma, 71.↩

6. Ibid., 36.↩

7.   First Santiago Presbyterian Church blog, Chile, https://www.facebook.com/PRIMERAIPCH/photos/a.245279935821058.1073741829.192422497773469/513104732371909/?type=3&theater, accessed May 2, 2018.↩

8. Enrique Balada was a Spanish Catholic who traveled to South America at the age of 20. He lived 11 years in Argentina, became a Baptist, and got to be a teacher and pastor. Then he moved to Chile, got married to Prudencia Núñez, and became an Adventist in 1896. He was ordained as an Adventist pastor in 1909. His daughter Amera Balada married Walter Schubert (Leopoldo Zambra Ríos, No con ejército, no con fuerza, sino con su Espíritu [Not With An Army, nor With Strength, but With His Spirit] [Santiago, Chile: Servicio Educacional Hogar y Salud (Home and Health Educational Services), 1994], 41–43, 132–134).↩

9. Ibid., 41–46.↩

10. Granville Henderson Baber (1852–1936) was born in West Virginia, studied in Battle Creek Academy, and was sent to Chile in 1895 as the first pastor. He went back to the United States in 1902 (ibid., 51–53, 69, 70). Juan Zevallos, “Necrología” [Obituary], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], October 1955, 16.↩

11. Those were Adventist books (in Spanish they are entitled Patriarcas y profetas [Patriarchs and Prophets], Daniel y Apocalipsis [Daniel and Revelation], El conflicto de los siglos [The Great Controversy], and Lecturas bíblicas para el círculo del hogar [Bible Readings for the Home Circle]).↩

12. Carlos E. Krieghoff (1870–1969) was born in Zürich, Switzerland. He moved to Chile in 1885 along with the Thomanns and was baptized in 1897 by G. H. Baber (Héctor J. Peverini, En las huellas de la Providencia [In the Footsteps of Providence] [Florida, Buenos Aires: South American Spanish Publishing House, 1988], 87, 88).↩

13. See E. H. Meyers, Reseña de los comienzos de la obra en Sudamérica [Overview of the Beginnings of the Work in South America] (Florida, Buenos Aires: Buenos Aires Publishing House, 1940), 15, 16.↩

14. “Thomann, Eduardo Werner” in Don F. Neufeld, ed. The little press was initially set up at Baber’s house in Valparaíso (Greenleaf, 1:63, 64).↩

15. Revista Adventista [Adventist Review] started with four pages, which soon after became eight, 12, and then 16. It was handed out all over the western coast and reached Argentina, Brazil, and Spain. At the beginning it included the Bible study guides for the Sabbath School. From 1904 it was issued from Buenos Aires to the whole South American Division (Zambra Ríos, 122–124). Before, there were two monthly letters, written by machines and presses by means of an hectograph, one in German and another in Spanish (Eduardo W. [Thomann], “Breve historia de ‘La Revista Adventista’” [Brief, History of the “Adventist Review”], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], June 1917, 12, 13; Eduardo W. [Thomann], “Unas palabras en cuanto a la Revista” [A Few Words Regarding the Review], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], June 1917, 13–15; E.  W. Thomann, “Cómo nació La Revista Adventista” [How the Adventist Review Was Conceived], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], January 1950, 3.↩

16. Thomann’s translation of Early Writings was published in Revista Adventista (“Thomann, Eduardo Werner,” in Neufeld, ed.).↩

17. “Correspondencia” [Mail], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], August 1901, 8.↩

18. Eduardo W. Thomann, “Chile,” ARH, April 18, 1907, 17; J. W. Westphal, “Apertura de una nueva Misión en el campo de la Conferencia Unión Sudamericana” [Opening of a New Mission in the Field of the South American Union Conference], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], June 1907, 5, 6; “The Pioneer Story of South America,” ARH, June 6, 1926, 17; Matilda Erickson Andross, The Story of the Advent Message (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1926), 294.↩

19. Eduardo W. Thomann, “Viajes misioneros” [Missionary Trips], 8.↩

20. Emma Howell Cooper, El gran movimiento adventista [The Big Adventist Movement] (Florida, Buenos Aires: Buenos Aires Publishing House, 1975), 217.↩

21. H. F. Ketring, “Informe de la reunión del comité de la Misión Sud-Americana” [Report of the Board’s Meeting of the South American Mission], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], June 1906, 2, 3; H. F. Ketring, “Planes para la obra” [Plans for the Work], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], June 1906, 3, 4.↩

22. Nelson Z. Town, “La asamblea de la Misión Sudamericana” [The South American Union Mission Assembly], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], April 1906, 2–5.↩

23. Florence (Flora) Lillian Westphal, older daughter of Joseph W. Westphal, was born in New London, Wisconsin, United States, on October 9, 1886, and accompanied her father when he moved to Argentina in 1901 as an administrator of the South American Union Mission. A. E. Thomann in his speech “Eduardo Thomann and the SDA Publishing Work” (White Research Center Archive, River Plate Adventist University, Libertador San Martín Entre Ríos, Argentina) said that her mother was 15 years old (other sources say 14) when she accompanied her father to Argentina. Flora Westphal and her brother Arturo were the children of Joseph W. Westphal’s first marriage.↩

24. Westphal; “The Pioneer Story of South America.”↩

25. As Eduardo was used to, he would sell periodicals during the train trips that took them around Coquimbo, Baquedano, Chuquicamata, Uyuni, and Oruro. They continued with diligence until Cochabamba. See Eduardo W. Thomann and wife, “La Misión Boliviana” [Bolivian Mission], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], August 1907, 4, 5.↩

26. Chile had been separated from Bolivia in 1907, and E. W. Thomann was transferred to Cochabamba, Bolivia (Westphal, 5).↩

27. Eduardo used a rare ability of whistling two to three vocals to teach hymns to the kids.↩

28. Little is known about the beginnings of Adventism in Bolivia. The first canvassers worked in Bolivia from 1897; among them were Juan Sebastián Pereira, José Luis Escobar, and Eduardo Werner Thomann (Samuel Antonio Chávez, Breve historia de las raíces del adventismo en Bolivia [Short History of the Adventist Roots in Bolivia] 1997-1927 [Cochabamba, Bolivia: Nuevo Tiempo (Hope Cannel), 2013], 1, 16). Eduardo W. Thomann led the Bolivian Mission, headquartered in Cochabamba from 1907 to 1908, when there were still no members. Fernando A. Stahl (1909–1912) and Ignacio Kalbermatter (1913) followed him (Peverini, 72). See Thomann’s description of his own experience in Eduardo W. Thomann, “Misión Boliviana” [Bolivian Mission], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], January 1908, 4; Eduardo W. Thomann, “Misión Boliviana” [Bolivian Mission], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], August 1908, 75; Eduardo W. Thomann, “Bolivia: Cochabamba,” Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], April 1909, 10; Eduardo W. Thomann, “Misión Boliviana: ‘A tiempo, y fuera de tiempo’” [Bolivian Mission: “In Time, Out of Time”], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], March 1908, 19, 20. Also see “South American Union Conference,” Review and Herald, June 16, 1910, 51.↩

29. Eduardo W. Thomann, “Bolivia,” Review and Herald, December 12, 1907, 18, 19; Eduardo W. Thomann, “La Misión Boliviana” [Bolivian Mission], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], August 1907, 5.↩

30. Eduardo W. Thomann, “Nuestro arribo” [Our Arrival], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], September 1909, 13; Eduardo W. Thomann, “Visita a Oruro, Cochabamba y Quillacollo” [Visit to Oruro, Cochamba, and Quillacollo], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], October 1909, 13, 14.↩

31. Eduardo W. Thomann, “Bolivia: Cochabamba,” 10; Elizabeth and Donaldo Thomann, “Eduardo Thomann” (unpublished document).↩

32. Eduardo W. Thomann, “The Dawn of Religious Liberty in Bolivia,” General Conference Bulletin¸ June 7, 1909, 356, 357.↩

33. Eduardo W. Thomann, “Nuestro arribo” [Our Arrival].↩

34. Eduardo W. Thomann, “Extractos de los acuerdos del comité de la Conferencia Unión, tomados en el Colegio Adventista del Plata, Diamante, E. Ríos, Argentina, October 21 to November 14, 1909” [Extracts of the Board’s Agreements of the Union Conference, Made in the River Plate Junior College, Diamante, E. Ríos, Argentina, October 21 to November 14, 1909], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], February 1910, 13.↩

35. In January 1911 he worked with a series of evangelistic conferences in Mercedes, Uruguay (Eduardo W. Thomann, “Uruguay,” Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], March 1911, 12). Shortly after he went on a trip to Rosario and San Gerónimo, Santa Fe (Eduardo W. Thomann, “Apuntes de viaje” [Travel Notes], La Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], May 1911, 14, 15). As a request from the Uruguay Union Mission president, he traveled to Nueva Palmira, Uruguay (Eduardo W. Thomann, “Nueva Palmira, Uruguay,” Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], June 1913, 12). In 1913 he visited brothers and held meetings in Concordia, Galarza, and Rosario del Tala, Entre Ríos (Eduardo W. Thomann, “Concordia, Galarza, and Rosario Tala,” Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], September 1913, 10, 11.↩

36. Thomann left his work in publication for health reasons; he was three weeks in the River Plate Sanitarium in Entre Ríos, under the care of Dr. Roberto Habenicht. Soon he settled in La Cumbre, Córdoba. Still at that time he kept on selling publications (Eduado W. Thomann, “La Cumbre, Córdoba, Rep. Arg.,” Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], July 1915, 13; Eduardo W. Thomann, “De regreso a La Cumbre” [Returning to La Cumbre], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], September 1915, 12, 13).↩

37. Eduardo W. Thomann, “La Cumbre, Córdoba, Rep. Arg.”; Eduardo W. Thomann, “La obra en Sta. Fe (R. A.)” [The Work in Santa Fe (R.A.)], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], January 31, 1921, 9.↩

38. Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1919), 158, 160, 214, 299.↩

39. “Necrología” [Obituary]. Flora W. de Thomann,” Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], September 1921, 13; Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], July 18, 1921, 16; G. W. Casebeer, “Mrs. E. W. Thomann,” ARH, December 22, 1921, 29. See also Oliver Montgomery, “Report of the South American Division,” General Conference Bulletin, May 22, 1922, 181.↩

40. At the direction of the president of the Central Argentine Mission, Thomann made a tour by train and stagecoach to Reconquista, Villa Ocampo, and Las Toscas, in the province of Santa Fe. He brought with him a good number of Bibles, books, and treats to sell during his trips and among the people. In Las Toscas he visited Pedro Peverini and his wife and held meetings at their house. He celebrated a baptism in Villa Ocampo. At the end of his trip he had handed out about two thousand copies of the leaflet “Perlas de verdad” [True Pearls] (Eduardo W. Thomann, “Una gira por el norte de la Rep. Argentina” [A Tour North of the Rep. Argentina], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], January 30, 1922, 5, 6). A new visit to the north of the province was carried out in 1923 (Eduardo W. Thomann, “Ecos del chaco santafecino, R. Arg.” [Echoes of the Santa Fe Chaco], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], June 4, 1923, 4, 5).↩

41. Eduardo W. Thomann, “La iglesia de Córdoba (R.A.)” [Córdoba’s church (R.A.)], La Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], February 11, 1924, 7; Eduardo W. Thomann, “La obra en la ciudad de Córdoba, R.A.” [The Work in the City of Córdoba, R.A.], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], October 27, 1924, 6; “Foto: El pastor E. W. Thomann y esposa. El pastor Thomann aceptó nuestra verdad en Chile y durante veintisiete años se ha dedicado a su promulgación. Ha trabajado en Chile, Bolivia, y la Rep. Argentina” [Picture: Pastor E. W. Thomann and Wife. Pastor Thomann Accepted Our Truth in Chile and During Twenty-seven Years He Dedicated Himself to Spread It. He Has Worked in Chile, Bolivia, and in the Rep. Argentina], Revista Adventista [Adventist Review], September 1, 1924, 11.↩

42. Beatriz Angélica Tucci de Schneider wrote in 2004 a nonpublished text entitled “Comienzos de la Iglesia Adventista de Villa Ballester—hoy San Martín” [Beginnings of the Adventist Church of Villa Ballester— Currently San Martín], in which Eduardo Thomann is mentioned.↩

43. Donaldo José Thomann (November 11, 1913–July 6, 2003) studied theology in many Adventist universities, where he received graduate and postgraduate degrees. He was a pastor and teacher in many countries in Latin America. He married Ellen Elizabeth Snyder (born 1919) in 1939. Their children Donaldo Claudio, Bettylou Rut, and Janet Luise were born in San José, Costa Rica. Arturo Eduardo Thomann (1908–1996) graduated from River Plate Junior College. He worked in administrative areas in Argentina and Chile, and worked in the offices of the South American Division before moving to the United States. He married Mercedes Isasi (died in 1967) (see A. E. Thomann, “Eduardo Thomann and the SDA Publishing Work”; Eugenio Di Dionisio to Daniel Oscar Plenc, July 3, 2009 [document of Donaldo José Thomann, in the White Research Center, River Plate Adventist University, Libertador San Martín, Entre Ríos, Argentina]).↩

44.  “In Remembrance,” ARH, April 28, 1955, 27.↩