Guido Herman Fridolin Verbeck

Background

Guido Herman Fridolin Verbeck was born on January 23, 1830, in the town of Zeist, in the Netherlands. He was the son of Carl Heinrich Willem and Ann Maria Jacobmina (Kellerman) Verbeek; Guido changed the spelling of the family name.

Education

Verbeck's parents were deeply religious and he was reared under Moravian influence, attending the Moravian Church and school in his native town. At Zeist, he learned not only Dutch, but German, English, and French. Later he was a student in the Polytechnic Institute of Utrecht.

Career

In 1855, Verbeck entered the Presbyterian theological seminary at Auburn, New York, and was there until 1859. Toward the close of this period, he learned that the foreign board of the Dutch Reformed Church was looking for a Dutch-American to send as a missionary to the newly opened Japan, where for centuries the only direct contact with Europe had been through Dutch merchants. He offered himself and was accepted. On March 22, 1859, he was ordained. He sailed with his wife for Japan with the party which initiated the work of his board in that country and established a home in Nagasaki. The long-standing edicts against Christianity were still prominently displayed throughout Japan and such little missionary work as was possible had to be done inconspicuously, largely through the distribution of literature and through teaching English.

Not until 1866, did he baptize the first two converts men who had come in contact with Christianity through a volume found floating on the water at Nagasaki. In Nagasaki, he established a small school, where English was taught by means of the Bible. Before many years, at the request of the government, he took charge of a school for interpreters in Nagasaki, using chiefly the New Testament and the Constitution of the United States as his texts. Students of his, among them Okuma and Soyeshima, later rose to prominence in national affairs. With the overthrow of the Shogunate and the restoration of the Emperor, some of his former pupils became influential at Yedo (Tokyo).

In 1869, at the invitation of the new administration, he went to Yedo and headed a school which laid the foundations for the Imperial University. His advice was sought by some of the most powerful ministers of state as they endeavored to reorganize Japan. It was partly as the result of his suggestion that the Iwakura mission (1871 - 73) was sent to America and Europe. In 1873, after a vacation in Europe and America, Verbeck became attached to the government in a more advisory capacity, and either translated or supervised the translation into Japanese of the Code Napoleon, the constitutions of many of the states of Europe and America, and numerous Western laws, legal documents, and treatises on law.

At the same time, now that Christianity was officially (1873) tolerated, he taught Bible classes, preached on Sundays, and later taught in a theological seminary. His health being threatened under the pressure of his many duties, he resigned from the government, was decorated by the Emperor, spent some months in the United States resting, and on his return to Japan in 1879 gave himself almost entirely to his missionary duties. For longer or shorter periods, he preached, taught in the theological school, lectured at the government school for nobles, helped prepare a hymn book and other religious literature in Japanese, and assisted in the translation of the Bible.

He died on March 10, 1898, in Tokyo.

Achievements

• Verbeck was one of the most important foreign advisors serving the Meiji government and contributed to many major government decisions during the early years of the reign of Emperor Meiji.

Personality

From his mother he derived a love for poetry and music; he played a number of instruments and sang. In 1852, he emigrated to the United States, going first to Wisconsin, then, in 1853, to Brooklyn, and, soon after to put into practical use his knowledge of engineering to Arkansas. Apparently, he had thought from time to time of being a missionary, and during a serious illness while in Arkansas he made a definite decision to follow that calling.

Modest and unassuming, he was courageous in upholding what he believed to be right. Never robust, he was able by self-discipline and a carefully ordered life to perform an immense amount of work and to conserve his mental powers to the end of his life.

Connections

On April 18, 1859, Verbeck married Maria Manion of Philadelphia. They had five sons and two daughters.

Mother:

Ann Maria Jacobmina (Kellerman) Verbeek

father:

Carl Heinrich Willem Verbeck

son :

William Verbeck

Was Adjutant General of the State of New York, and head of the Manlius School, near Syracuse, New York.

Wife:

Maria Manyon Verbeck

1840 - 1911

Daughter:

Emily Verbeck Terry

Died on 30 July 1943.

Daughter:

Emma Japonica Verbeck

26 January 1860 - 2 February 1860

Son:

Gustave Verbeek

August 29, 1867 – December 5, 1937 Was a Dutch-American illustrator and cartoonist, best known for his newspaper cartoons in the early 1900s featuring an inventive use of word play and visual storytelling tricks.

great grandson:

Guido Verbeck IV

Is a professor of chemistry at the University of North Texas.

References

• Verbeck of Japan;: A citizen of no country; a life story of foundation work inaugurated by Guido Fridolin Verbeck,