Taube, Friedrich Herman (1863–1927)

By The Brazilian White Center – UNASP

The Brazilian White Center – UNASP is a team of teachers and students at the Brazilian Ellen G. White Research Center – UNASP at the Brazilian Adventist University, Campus Engenheiro, Coelho, SP. The team was supervised by Drs. Adolfo Semo Suárez, Renato Stencel, and Carlos Flávio Teixeira. Bruno Sales Gomes Ferreira provided technical support. The following names are of team members: Adriane Ferrari Silva, Álan Gracioto Alexandre, Allen Jair Urcia Santa Cruz, Camila Chede Amaral Lucena, Camilla Rodrigues Seixas, Daniel Fernandes Teodoro, Danillo Alfredo Rios Junior, Danilo Fauster de Souza, Débora Arana Mayer, Elvis Eli Martins Filho, Felipe Cardoso do Nascimento, Fernanda Nascimento Oliveira, Gabriel Pilon Galvani, Giovana de Castro Vaz, Guilherme Cardoso Ricardo Martins, Gustavo Costa Vieira Novaes, Ingrid Sthéfane Santos Andrade, Isabela Pimenta Gravina, Ivo Ribeiro de Carvalho, Jhoseyr Davison Voos dos Santos, João Lucas Moraes Pereira, Kalline Meira Rocha Santos, Larissa Menegazzo Nunes, Letícia Miola Figueiredo, Luan Alves Cota Mól, Lucas Almeida dos Santos, Lucas Arteaga Aquino, Lucas Dias de Melo, Matheus Brabo Peres, Mayla Magaieski Graepp, Milena Guimarães Silva, Natália Padilha Corrêa, Rafaela Lima Gouvêa, Rogel Maio Nogueira Tavares Filho, Ryan Matheus do Ouro Medeiros, Samara Souza Santos, Sergio Henrique Micael Santos, Suelen Alves de Almeida, Talita Paim Veloso de Castro, Thais Cristina Benedetti, Thaís Caroline de Almeida Lima, Vanessa Stehling Belgd, Victor Alves Pereira, Vinicios Fernandes Alencar, Vinícius Pereira Nascimento, Vitória Regina Boita da Silva, William Edward Timm, Julio Cesar Ribeiro, Ellen Deó Bortolotte, Maria Júlia dos Santos Galvani, Giovana Souto Pereira, Victor Hugo Vaz Storch, and Dinely Luana Pereira.

First Published: July 27, 2021

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Friedrich Herman Taube, missionary teacher, was born on June 29, 1863, in the region of Saxony, Germany. Later in life he emigrated to Brazil and established in Porto Alegre, state of Rio Grande do Sul. He married Minna Taube and had two children, Alfredo Emílio (born in 1894) and Frida. After the birth of their first son, Friedrich and his family went back to Germany. However, they eventually returned to Porto Alegre sometime later, where Friedrich began working at a sock factory owned by a man named Fenzelau.¹

With the intention of fighting for better work conditions, he promoted a strike, alongside another coworker. During this strike he committed the crime of hitting a policeman in the head, so after this he had to leave the city in order to escape a prison sentence. Friedrich and family moved to the German colony of Campo dos Quevedos, as he had read in the newspaper about the need for a teacher in the region. There he met the Adventist message and was baptized along with his wife on November 3, 1906.²

In December of 1906, Friedrich accepted an invitation to teach at the Campo dos Quevedos’ church school. He was known as an energic and enthusiastic man, and his efforts as a teacher had a great emphasis on mission, aiming to attend to the spiritual needs of the young students. Those students that were not part of the Adventist faith would receive Bible studies, and the others would have their beliefs strengthened.³ The methods he used ranged from organizing a Youth League⁴ to missionary social parties.⁵

Besides teaching, Friedrich also helped in taking care of sick people and was an active member of the local church.⁶ He was ordained as an elder at Campo dos Quevedos Adventist Church by Pastor John Lipke in 1908, and was responsible for the foundation of its choir and an orchestra.⁷

Since the Taubes’ living conditions were precarious, Friedrich asked permission from the Campo dos Quevedos’ Church commission to build a house for them in the church's property, at his own expense. The commission granted his wish in the year 1916.⁸ At the beginning of 1920s, the Campo dos Quevedos Adventist School suffered some financial difficulties because of the settling up of a public school in the region. In 1921, after having taught for 15 years there, Friedrich and family moved to the city of Lajeado, and thereafter to Pelotas, both in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.⁹

In 1925, the Campo dos Quevedos Church brought Taube back to reactivate their school. He continued serving as a teacher there for three years until his death.¹⁰ He passed away on August 30, 1927, at 64 years of age,¹¹ and was buried at a local Adventist cemetery.¹² Friedrich Herman Taube is remembered as a man who, although embracing the Adventist faith in his middle age, made a dedicated effort to promote this message as a pioneer teacher in the Campo dos Quevedos colony, as well as a leader in the local church. He served the Adventist Church for 18 years in total.¹³

Sources

Keppke, Emilio. “Campo dos Quevedos.” Revista Adventista, year 31, no. 4, April, 1936, 15.

Taube, Germano. “Campo dos Quevedos.” Revista Mensal, year 8, no. 9, September, 1913, 7.

“Rio Grande do Sul,” Revista Mensal, year 8, no. 9, September, 1913, 6.

Timm, Alberto R. Igreja Adventista de Campo dos Quevedos 1905-2005. 1^st edition. Engenheiro Coelho, SP: UNASPRESS, 2005.

Notes

Alberto R. Timm, Igreja Adventista de Campo dos Quevedos 1905-2005 (Engenheiro Coelho, SP: UNASPRESS, 2005), 65, 111.↩
Ibid., 111.↩
Ibid., 66.↩
“Rio Grande do Sul,” Revista Mensal, year 8, no. 9, September, 1913, 6.↩
Germano Taube, “Campo dos Quevedos,” Revista Mensal, year 8, no. 9, September, 1913, 7.↩
Alberto R. Timm, Igreja Adventista de Campo dos Quevedos 1905-2005 (Engenheiro Coelho, SP: UNASPRESS, 2005), 111.↩
Ibid., 66, 111.↩
Ibid., 67↩
Ibid., 68.↩
Ibid., 68, 111; Emilio Keppke, “Campo dos Quevedos,” Revista Adventista, year 31, no. 4, April, 1936, 15.↩
Alberto R. Timm, Igreja Adventista de Campo dos Quevedos 1905-2005 (Engenheiro Coelho, SP: UNASPRESS, 2005): 69.↩
Ibid., 112.↩
Ibid., 69.↩