Otto Voit: Orphan Immigrant to Medal of Honor Recipient

Otto Emil Voit (February 5, 1845 – June 1, 1906) was a German-born immigrant and United States Army soldier who earned the nation's highest military honor, the Medal of Honor, for extraordinary bravery during the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876. His life traces a remarkable path: from an orphaned teenager emigrating from Freiburg, Germany, to a skilled saddler in the frontier cavalry, through decades of service marked by both hardship and heroism, to quiet retirement in Louisville, Kentucky.

The Voits of Jeffersonville, Indiana

A Voit family immigrated to the Ohio River port town of Jeffersonville, Indiana in the 1850s and still has a presence in the area.

The progenitor of this family, Stephen Voit, was born in 1816 in Bavaria and became a naturalized American citizen in New York City in 1842.  He likely immigrated through the port of New York in the late 1830s and migrated to Jeffersonville about 1853.

Developers Have Plans for the Voit Family Farm in Madison, Wisconsin

A team of prominent developers is proposing to build up to 1,100 rental and owner-occupied housing units, commercial space and restored open spaces on a large former family farm on the east side of Madison, Wisconsin according to the Wisconsin State Journal.  Stone House Development and Threshold Development, both of Madison, have submitted applications to move forward with the development of the 67-acre farm held by the Voit family for some 165 years.

Famous Voits: Jimmy Foit

Jimmy Foit was a 6-1, 192 lb. shortstop who played baseball for Mount St. Joseph High School in Baltimore, Maryland and college ball for Virginia Tech.  He was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 26th round of the 1982 Major League Baseball June amateur draft.  He played five years of minor league ball with the Rangers.  But that's not why Jimmy Foit is famous.

Famous Voits: Luke Voit

Luke Voit was born Louis Linwood Voit III 13 February 1991 in Wildwood, Missouri.  He is a first baseman for the New York Yankees and led major league baseball in home runs in 2020 with 22.  

You can read about Luke's baseball career elsewhere.  You can even get his book for young kids.  I want to discuss his family history below the fold.

The Voits of Baltimore

There are several Voit families that immigrated to Baltimore, Maryland in the 1800s.

We currently don't know if they are related to each other or just randomly ended up in the same city.  More research is needed on the European side of these families but we've done a lot of work on the American side so let's see what we've got so far.

Famous Voits: The Voit Rubber Corporation

The most famous Voit family in America is the family of George Ernst Voit who was born in Thuringia about 1806.  George's grandson, William J. Voit, founded the Voit Rubber Corporation.  William J. patented a process of rubber vulcanization which enabled him to manufacture footballs with a separate rubber bladder.  The Voit Rubber Corporation later became the international sporting goods firm AMF-Voit after being purchased by American Machine and Foundry (AMF).