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).
George Ernst Voit was a farmer born about 1806 in Thuringia in central Germany. He immigrated to the United States in August 1848 on the ship "Andalusia" through the port of Baltimore.
His destination was listed as Indiana on his immigration record. He immigrated with his wife, Victoria, and children Augusta, Julius and Ferdinand who all had separate immigration records. George apparently died prior to the 1850 U. S. Census because his wife Victoria and children Augusta and Ferdinand appear in the 1850 Greene County, Indiana census in separate households: Victoria in the household of John Shepherd in Fairplay Township
and Augusta and Ferdinand in the household of Ernest Esem in Jefferson Township.
I haven't been able to find son Julius in the 1850 census, but in the 1860 census he appears in Kansas City, Missouri working as a harness maker. The Civil War career of Julius Voit is described here. He served in the 19th Indiana Infantry and then the 1st Independent Battery of Indiana Light Artillery.
Augusta Voit married William Wilkins in Greene County, Indiana 28 October 1855. They lived out their lives in the town of Worthington in Green County.
Ferdinand Voit served in the Civil War in the 71st Indiana Infantry. The entire regiment was captured and paroled twice by the Confederates. The 71st Indiana Infantry was then reorganized as the 6th Indiana Cavalry. Ferdinand Voit was captured a third time by the Confederates and sent to Andersonville Prison where he died 8 June 1864.
Victoria Voit died in Worthington, Indiana 17 February 1867. Her son, Julius Voit, lived the rest of his life in Worthington as a harness maker and saddler. Julius married the widow Caroline Lockwood Maddux in Greene County on 14 April 1875. He died there 22 March 1891.
Julius Voit's son, William J. Voit, was born in Worthington in 1881. William enlisted in the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment 1 August 1898 and was discharged 11 April 1899. William re-enlisted in the U.S. 9th Infantry Regiment 19 September 1900 in Indianapolis, served in the hospital corps during the Philippine Insurrection, and was discharged at The Presidio in San Francisco, California 18 September 1903. Military service is how William found himself in California in 1903.
William J. Voit married Margaret Price about 1905 and they appear together in the 1910 census in Millbrae, California. He was listed in the census as a "commercial trader" in "rubber goods." The 1920 census shows William and Margaret with son Willard Darby Voit living in Chicago. Shortly after, in 1921, William J founded the W. J. Voit Rubber Company. William J was a brilliant inventor with multiple patents, including a 1925 patent for weather strip for automobile windshields, a 1927 patent for valve construction for inflatable articles and a 1938 patent for a method for making inflatable balls. You can read more about the company here.
William J died in 1946 and is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles. Son Willard D Voit assumed control of the company and took it from a family business to an integral part of AMF-Voit.
This Voit family's genealogical tree is below:
1 George Ernst Voit (1806-1849) + Victoria
2 Augusta Voit (1834-?)
2 Julius Voit (1836-1891)
+ Caroline Lockwood
3 William J Voit (1881-1946)
+ Margaret Price
4 Willard Darby Voit (1910-1980)
+ Cleo Maher
+ Mary J Stimson
2 Ferdinand Voit (1845-1864)
Finally, even a Family Guy episode recognized the superiority of Voit manufactured sporting goods:
No comments:
Post a Comment