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Lorenzo Dow Voss was a younger brother of my great-great-grandfather, William Voss. Lorenzo lived most of his adult life in Lawrence county, Indiana. He and William have adjacent entries in the 1850 U.S. census in Perry township, near Springville. I started this page with little more information than what I found in Lorenzo's biography, but was fascinated with the story of this bearded Justice of the Peace. I soon made contact with some of his descendants who were eager to supply more information. Several of Lorenzo's children moved to the Dakota Territory in the 1880s, and his descendants later scattered to all parts of the country, including Washington and Alaska.
Since the Vosses were Methodists, Lorenzo was undoubtedly named for Lorenzo Dow, a flamboyant and eccentric Methodist preacher of the early 19th Century. To illustrate the influence which Dow must have had in the early days of Indiana, we'll include the following, which appeared in the 12 May 1916 issue of the Bloomington Evening World during the pageant celebrating Indiana's centennial:
The scene opens with a revival meeting led by the famous Rev. Lorenzo Dow. The fervid religious spirit of those days is shown by crowds of kneeling, shouting, weeping and hysterical men and women. Some ribald scoffers are converted in the old time manner. A herd of cattle driven through the street interrupts the meeting.
Lorenzo Voss' biography below was transcribed from History of Lawrence, Orange and Washington Co.'s, Indiana, Goodspeed Bros. and Co., 1884, and is available on the Lawrence County, IN, biography site. His photo, and Elvira's, were sent to us by Jodie Kozloff, who has information on several generations of Lorenzo's descendants. She has dozens of photos of Lorenzo and his descendants at her myfamily.com site. Please contact Jodie for an invitation. It is our guess, after seeing his picture, that Lorenzo Dow Voss must have been every bit as flamboyant as the man for whom he was named!
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LORENZO DOW VOSS, Justice of the Peace, is the youngest of six sons born to Clement and May Voss, whose maiden name was Britton. The birth of Mr. Voss occurred May 27, 1818, in Lee County, Va. His father was born in Delaware, and his mother was of North Carolina nativity.
This family is of German-Welsh lineage. In 1816 his parents emigrated from North Carolina to Virginia, where they remained a short time, and then removed to Grainger County, Tenn., and there the family lived until 1833, when they removed to Monroe County, Ind. His father died in 1862 in Owen County. In 1839 the subject of this brief sketch came to Lawrence County and settled in Springville, and immediately engaged in cabinet-making, at which he continued until 1856 when he removed to his present place of residence, one mile and a half south-east of the town, which was so named because of its numerous springs.
Mr. Voss was in 1841 united in marriage to Miss Elvira Wilson, a native of North Carolina, daughter of James and Mary Wilson, whose maiden name was Campbell. When Mrs. Voss was about fourteen years of age she came with her parents to Owen County, Ind., and this union was blessed with twelve children, and those that are living are as follows:
- Badora A.,
- Esther B.,
- Amon C.,
- Ellington T.,
- William E.,
- Arthur C.,
- Emery B. and
- Lorenzo C.
By occupation our subject is a farmer and stock-raiser. He now owns 200 acres of fairly well improved land. Mr. Voss is an earnest Republican, and cast his first Presidential vote for Harrison. In 1870 he was elected Justice of the Peace for Perry Township, was re-elected in 1878, and 1884 was re-elected again. In 1883 he held the same office by appointment. He was in the Quartermaster's service during the late war for fifteen months. Mr. and Mrs. Voss are leading members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and are among the prominent people of Lawrence County.
According to Lorenzo's g-g-g-granddaughter, Jodie Kozloff, Lorenzo died 31 July 1888 in Bedford, IN, and Elvira died 30 October 1888, also in Bedford. We don't know where Lorenzo and Elvira are buried. There are several Wilsons buried in the Methodist cemetery at Springville. Elvira is listed in the biography and in two censuses as born in North Carolina, but in the 1880 census as born in Indiana to parents from North Carolina.
Children. Jodie supplied the following list of Lorenzo's children and their birth dates, which another cousin had transcribed from his family Bible:
There are some obvious differences between the lists given above, as well as conflicts between the biography, family Bible and other sources which should be mentioned.
The confusion is compounded by an obituary which was found in the same Bible. Jodie writes:
There is also an obit of Lorenzo C. Voss - born in Springfield, IN on 10/18/1862. There seems to be some discrepancy in dates. He was a doctor in Columbus [,Nebraska]. He married Carrie Todd of Holton, Kansas. He's also buried there. It mentioned he had two brothers, T. S. Voss of Millard, South Dakota and Emery Voss of Seattle. He was 68 years of age.
Is this a child who was left out of the Bible? The birth date is impossible if the other children's dates were recorded in the Bible correctly. Could the T. S. Voss actually be Ellington Tally Voss, who did indeed move to South Dakota some time in the 1880s, and whose name sometimes appears as T. E. Voss? Emery did indeed move to the Seattle area. If this Lorenzo is really Lorenzo Dow Voss' son, it's more likely he was born near Springville like his siblings, rather than Springfield, which is located on the Wabash River, near Evansville.
Descendants. We will present here some of the available information on Lorenzo and Elvira Voss' children and grandchildren, who scattered to various parts of the United States. Amon, Ellington, William and Emery all moved to Faulk County, South Dakota, where they obtained land patents between 1889 and 1894. Jodie kindly permitted us to copy several of their photos, most of which date back well into the 19th Century, from her site.
Badora Voss (1842-?), was married first to a Mr. Hardwick, about whom we have no information. They had a daughter:
Badora later married James Day, a butcher 19 years her senior, with whom she was recorded in the 1870 census in Shawswick township, Lawrence county, IN, along with four children who were likely James' by a previous marriage. Badora was listed in the same place as a widow in the 1880 census. She was working as a dressmaker and Lizzie was living with her.
Badora
Hester Voss (1844-?) married William Carson, who was 34 years older than she. They had a son:
In the 1880 census, Hester was enumerated in Owen county, IN, with her husband and son. She apparently also married a Mr. Haynes. According to Jodie: "On a photo of herself, Hester wrote on the back, 'Compliments of H. B. Haynes'."
Hester
Amon Clement Voss (1848-1922) married Sarah Frances "Sally" Hawkins, who was born 13 May 1852 in Lawrence county, IN, and died in 19205 in South Dakota. They had the following children:
The three sons who were still living in 1931 are mentioned in their uncle Lorenzo's probate records.
In the 1870 census, Amon and Sally were recorded in Springville, on the page before Lorenzo and Elvira. They were still in Lawrence county for the 1880 census, then moved to South Dakota during the 1880s. Most of this family remained in South Dakota for several decades. In the 1920 census we located:
I received the following message from a South Dakota researcher, Kent Gebhard:
22 Mar 2011
I am doing research on the Millard Cemetery in Faulk Co. SD, where I grew up. Hit findagrave.com and search for that cemetery and you will find the online memorials I have done for brothers Amon C. and Ellington Tally Voss and their families. Just today I decided to go to Ancestry.com and see what I might find on these unusually named men. As I collect antiques I was fascinated that their father Lorenzo and his brother William are in the 1850 census as cabinetmakers, with perhaps Worley Bluford a co-worker or competitor in the same enumeration, and wonder if research has been done for their work in IN. There are several children buried at Millard, not sure of which parents, but with very unique names that I was hoping to link to their respective parents and perhaps figure out where the names came from. If you have any ideas I would like to know. My dad is 86 and remembers Tally Voss as a good friend of my grandfathers; they would sit on his porch for hours and discuss politics.
Following Kent's advice, I searched findagrave and located several Vosses who are buried in Millard Cemetery. Photographs of several of these Vosses are available, thanks to Kent's hard work, as well as other information which I am including in this page.
Amon, Roy Edgar and Sally (Hawkins) Voss
Amon and Sally
Amon and Sally, standing behind Elvira and Lorenzo Voss
Lorenzo Alexander Voss' obituary, from an unidentified local newspaper, was posted on his findagrave page:
L. A. VOSS DIES MONDAY FOLLOWING BLOOD POISONING
L. A. Voss, who had been in Gettysburg for two months past while attempting to dispose of his property here, died Monday afternoon from the effects of blood poisoning, following an injury to his hand while working at the local wrecking yards.
The body is being taken to Millard, this state, for burial beside that of his wife who died in 1924.
L. A. Voss was born June 24, 1876, at Ft. Wayne, Ind., and was married in 1899. Mr. Voss and his daughter came to Gettysburg in 1928, living here until 1932, when with his daughter Mrs. Bryan Flickinger and her husband, he went to Scobey, Mont.
Mr. and Mrs. Flickinger arrived Tuesday from Scobey, and will return to Gettysburg after the funeral to spend a day or two with local relatives.
According to the information on findagrave, Lorenzo and Anna's daughter was Marjorie I. Voss, born about 1910. Their 1920 census record lists a Marjorie S. Voss, who would have been born in 1911.
Ellington Tally Voss (1850-1931), was still single and living with his parents in Indiana at the time of the 1880 census, but in 18825 he married Elizabeth Duncan, who was born March 1864 in Indiana, and died 19325 in South Dakota. They moved to the Dakota Territory and were enumerated in the 1900 census and 1920 census in Faulk county, SD, not far from Amon and Sally's families. At the time of his brother Lorenzo's death in 1931, Ellington was reported to be living in Millard, SD. Ellington and Elizabeth had the following children, all born in South Dakota:
It's possible Ellington and Elizabeth had additional children who died in childhood. Their findagrave page lists the following possible children:
Both names appeared in a WPA survey of Millard cemetery, but no headstone was found for either. Elizabeth's line in the 1900 census says she had 5 children, of whom 4 were living at the time. Ellington's 1931 obituary says that a "daughter preceded him in death 45 years ago", which could be Emida.
Ellington Tally Voss' obituary was printed in the Faulkton Advocate, 24 Dec 24 1931, and was posted on his findagrave page by Kent Gebhard:
Ellington Tally Voss was born in Springville, Indiana, October 15, 1850, and died December 17, 1931, at the age of 81 years, 2 months and 2 days.
In the year of 1882 he was united in marriage to Elizabeth Duncan of Bedford, Indiana and came to Dakota Territory and settled near Millard, where he resided until his death.
He is survived by his widow and four children, Mrs. F. Denson of Kidder, S. D.; Mrs. J. S. Malam of Cedar Falls, Iowa; Mrs. M. Butterfield of Sprague, Washington and Mrs. J. G. Gancer of Saskatchewan, Canada; also one brother Emery Voss, of Augon, Washington, and eighteen grand children. One daughter preceded him in death 45 years ago.
Mr. Voss has been a member of the Baptist church for 18 years. He joined under the ministry of Rev. Andreason.
Funeral services were held at Norbeck Tuesday afternoon, conducted by Rev. Eddy. Burial was in the Millard cemetery.
It's unfortunate the obituary writer didn't try to identify which married daughter was which, but the 1930 U. S. census gives these clues:
Kent Gebhard writes:
18 Apr 2011New info on Millard Cemetery and a few other notes:
We have discovered that Lorenzo Alexander Voss, son of Amon, is also in Millard, in an unmarked grave beside his wife, Anna. See findagrave.com. I have placed a few more Voss photos on that site for Ellington T. & Amon and wives.
Given that "Lorenzo Dow" Voss was named for a preacher of that name, I did some research on Ancestry and found a man named Ellington Tally in Halifax Co., VA, who was a War of 1812 veteran, not sure how or if they connect, but it seems curious...
I have tried every which way I know to find the graves of Lorenzo Dow and Elvira Voss... can't find them anywhere, even though they died so late and the place of death is known.
I did also find the daughter of Ellington, Alma Voss Denson, but the listed cemetery does not exist with that name... more work to do there!
Rev. William Ezra Voss (1852-?), a Presbyterian minister, accompanied his brothers to South Dakota, but also lived in North Dakota, Missouri and Oklahoma. According to Missouri marriage records, he married Alice A. Haynes 19 Nov 1884 in Platte county. At the time of their wedding, William was living in Savannah, in Andrew county, and Alice was living in Parkville, Platte county. Alice was born in January 1860 in Missouri. They had six children, of whom five survived to adulthood. These five children are:
All three sons, and probably both daughters, are mentioned in their uncle Lorenzo's probate records. William and Alice were enumerated in Yukon, Oklahoma Territory, along with all five children, in the 1900 census, and in El Reno, Oklahoma, in the 1910 and 1920 censuses. Both towns are suburbs of Oklahoma City.
Emery Britton Voss (1858-1939) married Harriet Elbina "Hattie" Kelso, who was born 22 Jul 1864 in Greencastle, IN. They were married 16 Sep 1885 in Newpoint, IN. Emery and Hattie had the following children, all possibly born in Lawrence county:
Jodie says that Hattie mentions losing "...our first baby girl at six weeks old..." and wonders if this could be Jessie's twin. Emery joined his brothers in South Dakota for awhile, since Hattie mentions a trip there, "driving an ox team". As mentioned in his obituary below, he arrived in Washington in 1907. In the 1920 census we located:
Emery
Hattie
Jodie sent us Emery's obituary, from the Auburn Globe News of Friday, 10 Feb 1939:
Voss-- Funeral services will be held Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Algona Methodist church for Emery B. Voss, 80, who died of a heart ailment Tuesday at his home in Algona. Scott's funeral home have charge of funeral arrangements. Rev. Faulkner of Sumner, assisted by Rev. McConnell, will conduct the services and burial will be made at the Sumner cemetery.
Voss was born in Springville, Indiana, May 18, 1858. His boyhood was spent in Indiana and his marriage to Hattie Kelso took place Sept. 16, 1885. They came to Washington in 1907 and settled in Algona the following year. He was one of the founders of the Methodist church there and has been a member for 31 years.
Surviving are his widow, Hattie Voss, a son, Clarence, both of Algona; two daughters, Jessie Ellis, Russel, Pennsylvania, and Grace Ogan, Soap Lake and adopted son, Dale of Cama; and adopted daughter, Mrs. J.L. Bryan, San Pedro, California; 18 grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren.
Jodie has Emery and Hattie's memorial books which include lists of people attending their funerals and several beautiful tributes. She also has Emery and Hattie's King county, WA, death certificates, which show Emery's dates as "05/18/1858 to 02/07/1939" and Hattie's as "07/22/1864 to 04/14/1947". Before Hattie's death, she entrusted her family photo albums to her daughter Jessie, writing:
Dear, we have decided to send you these pictures and the old album, to keep and it will be your birthday gift from us. I confess some of them seemed very dear when it came to sending them away. But we looked at it in this way. We can't possibly be here many years to care for them. You are the only one of our children who seems to care for anything of the kind. So to your care we jointly commend them...
How well I remember that trip in South Dakota, your aunt Bettie along [Ellington's wife?], dad driving an ox team for the first (and only) time. What fun we had...
We're all grateful to people like Hattie who are determined to pass their family treasures on to those who might appreciate them. Jodie has many more of these photos which she will be pleased to show anybody who might be interested.
Dr. Lorenzo Campbell Voss (1862-1931). We could find no listing anywhere in the 1880 census for this son, who would have been about 18 years old at the time. Could he have been overlooked while away at college? There is, however, a "Lorenzo Voss" listed among the 1888 graduates of the Homeopathic Medical College of Missouri, located at Saint Louis, and a Dr. Voss is listed in U. S. censuses in Columbus, Platte county, Nebraska:
Hattie wrote Uncle Cammel on this photo
Lorenzo's biography appears in pages 924-925 of The History of Platte County, Nebraska, by Margaret Curry, 1950, Murray & Gee, Inc., Culver City, CA, and is available on line at the Nebraska GenWeb Project:
LORENZO C. VOSS, M.D.
Doctor Lorenzo C. Voss was born in Springfield, Indiana, on October 18, 1862, and died in Columbus on January 28, 1931. He had two brothers: T. S. Voss, of Millard, South Dakota; and Emery Voss, of Seattle, Washington.
Doctor Voss received his early education in Springfield, and then attended Park College, near Kansas City, Missouri, for three years. At Park College, he took his premedical course and worked his way through college by part time employment in the office of a Kansas City physician, where he did the collecting and bookkeeping. He then attended the Homeopathic Medical College in St. Louis, Missouri, where he received his degree in 1888. After graduation, he practiced for a brief time in association with another physician in Atchison, Kansas.
While he was a student at Park College, he met Carrie Todd, of Holton, Kansas, who was also attending the same college. Doctor Voss was married to Miss Todd on October 29, 1891, in Holton.
Shortly after their marriage, Doctor and Mrs. Voss moved to Columbus, where he established a practice. During his first year there, he was associated with Doctor Miessler, a brother of the Reverend Herman Miessler.
Doctor Voss was an active member of the Nebraska Homeopathic Society for many years and served as its president. He was also a member of the Platte County Medical Society, of which he was president in 1924. He served one year as county physician of Platte County during the smallpox epidemic in 1902. Intent upon keeping abreast of the developments in his profession, it was his custom to take post graduate courses at Chicago at intervals of every two or three years.
Doctor Voss was a Presbyterian and attended the Federated Church in Columbus after its organization. He served both as an elder and treasurer in the Presbyterian Church prior to the time of its federation with the Congregational Church.
He was a member of the Royal Neighbors and the Modern Woodmen Lodges. Politically, Doctor Voss was affiliated with the Republican Party.
Quite a few mentions of Dr. Voss were found at the Platte county, NE, RootsWeb site. There were some news items describing his medical assistance to various people, as well as several stories which might be of biographical interest, starting with the following item from the Columbus Journal for 4 November 1891:
MARRIED
VOSS-TODD--At Holton, Kansas, Oct. 29, at 3 p.m., by Rev. D. Tood, Dr. H.C. Voss of this city, and Miss Carrie B. Todd of Holton.
The bride we do not know personally, but the groom is a prominent physician of this city.
Mr. and Mrs. Voss will be at home after this week, corner Seventeenth street and Nebraska avenue. The Journal bids Mrs. Voss a hearty welcome and wishes them all the happiness this world affords.
The Columbus Journal for 5 October 1904 reports:
Dr. L.C. Voss returned home last evening from his visit to the St. Louis exposition. Mrs. Voss who accompanied him, has gone to Holton, Kansas, to visit her relatives, where she will remain about ten days.
From a lodge brother's obituary, we learn that Dr. L.C. Voss was chief of the "Columbus branch of the order of Ben Hur."
Hoffhine's Columbus City Directory listed Lorenzo and Carrie as follows:
| Year | Office | Residence |
|---|---|---|
| 1915 | 1309 Olive | 1704 Platte |
| 1930 | 1359 26th av | 1754 27th av |
The following entries appeared in the Platte county index to probate files:
| Voss, Carrie | Aug 14, 1956 |
| Voss, Lorenzo C. | Jan 28, 1931 |
There is quite a lot of information on him and other Vosses in Dr. Campbell's probate record, which states that "Lorenzo C. Voss, late of Columbus in the County of Platte, departed this life at Columbus in the County of Platte, State of Nebraska, on the 28th day of January, A. D. 1931 intestate..." The record lists the "heirs at law of said deceased, and other persons interested in said estate as follows:"
| Name | Years of Age | Residence | Related to Deceased as Follows: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carrie B. T. Voss | over 21 | Columbus, Nebraska | Wife |
| Talley S. Voss | about 72 | Millard, So. Dak. | Brother |
| Emory Voss | over 21 | .........., Washington | Brother |
| The Heirs of Ezra Voss, deceased | Exact names and addresses unknown..... | Neices & Nephews | |
| The Heirs of Amos Voss, deceased | ' ' ' ' ' ' | ' ' ' ' ' ' | |
| The Heirs of Mrs. Hester Haynes, deceased | ' ' ' ' ' ' | ' ' ' ' ' ' |
Dr. Voss was apparently a kind and forgiving businessman since an inventory of his estate included a list of some $7,900 in accounts receivable from more than 100 people, with the comment: "Many of these accounts are worthless and the net value is difficult to estimate." He owned two cars, a 1927 Oldsmobile and a 1926 Willys-Knight, a collection of worthless deeds and stocks and "three pair of silver fox" on a ranch in New Mexico. All of his heirs were eventually identified as follows, with our guesses at their identities in green:
| Name | Years of Age | Residence | Related to Deceased as Follows: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carrie B. T. Voss | Over 21 | Holton, Kansas | Widow |
| Emory Voss | ' ' ' ' | Auburn, Washington,R#5 | Brother |
| E. T. Voss | ' ' ' ' | Millard, S. D. | ' ' |
| Mrs. C. F. Glossbrenner One of William Ezra's children? | ' ' ' ' | 3836 Fulton St.N.W. Washington, D. C. | Niece |
| Mrs. R. A. Watt Another of William Ezra's children? | ' ' ' ' | Pocasset, Okla. | ' ' |
| W. L. Voss William Ezra's son, William L. | ' ' ' ' | 114 No.Brighton St. Kansas City, Mo. | Nephew |
| E. W. Voss William Ezra's son, Ernest W. | ' ' ' ' | Pampa, Texas | ' ' |
| L. M. Voss William Ezra's son, Leslie M. | ' ' ' ' | 519 East Park St. Oklahoma City, Okla. | ' ' |
| E. E. Voss Amon's son, Ezra Earl | ' ' ' ' | McClave, Colo. | ' ' |
| Charles Voss Amon's son | ' ' ' ' | Gettysburg, S. D. | ' ' |
| Larry Voss Amon's son, Lorenzo A.? | ' ' ' ' | Gettysburg, S. D. | ' ' |
Arthur C. Voss (1864?-1887). The following article, describing the tragic death of Arthur Voss, was found on page 2 of the 11 May 1887 issue of the Bloomington Republican Progress:
Bedford, Ind., May 2--William Evans,7 a young man 20 years old, accidentally killed Arthur Voss last night in Springville, a little town nine miles west of here. The facts are as follows: several of the boys started out after church to have a time by rocking the out houses of the citizens of the place.
William Evans was on his way home, and meeting two gentlemen on the street who were listening to the noise, he said to them: "I will go to the alley and fire my revolver off to scare them, and when they run by you can see who they are."
He went to the mouth of the alley and fired his revolver four times, after which he returned to the men on the street and said "They all ran but one."
It was not long before his brother came running up and said, "You killed Arthur Voss."
Evans became wild with grief and the revolver had to be taken away from him to keep him from killing himself.
Voss is 22 years old and was the boon companion of the man who killed him. The coroner's verdict was in accordance with the above facts.
Could this be Arthur Voss? Hattie wrote under this picture: Othneil Clarence "Othie" Voss
This young man is almost certainly Lorenzo and Elvira's son, although his name is certainly spelled strangely in both censuses. A tragedy like this may have been gossiped about (or just hushed up) for several generations. If any of our Voss cousins can shed any light on this story or the discrepancies in his name and age as given in various sources, let us hear from you!
