VOIGT, FREDERICK (1825–1880).Frederick Voigt, Nacogdoches civic leader, state senator, and Texas state custodian of public property, son of Frederick William and Wilhelmina Voigt, was born on September 4, 1825, in Germany. Accompanied by his brother William, he immigrated to Texas before 1849. In that year, in partnership with Thomas Rimmele, a baker, he bought land from empresario Haden Edwards on Lanana Bayou south of Nacogdoches, on which was a water-operated grist and saw mill. His sister Mary, brother Henry, and parents, all born in Germany, were also in Nacogdoches. The parents died in Jefferson, Texas. Voigt married Elizabeth Holloway on December 19, 1855; they had three children. After Elizabeth Voigt died in 1866, Voigt married Elizabeth Muirhead Howell Hancock in 1868; they had a daughter. Voigt served three times as mayor, was worshipful master of Milam Lodge No. 2 of the Masonic order, and was editor and publisher of the Nacogdoches Chronicle; he was a member of the vestry of Christ Episcopal Church and captain of Company B of the Eighth Regiment of the Nacogdoches volunteers during the Civil War. Voigt was also Nacogdoches postmaster (1854–66) and owner-operator of a general merchandise store and freight depot. He was a trustee of Nacogdoches University and superintendent of the Nacogdoches Sunday school. In 1866 he was elected by more than an 80 percent majority to the state Senate from the Third District and was introduced to Governor James W. Throckmorton by a letter of James Harper Starr. Four years later Voigt bought the Starr homestead on North Street when the Starrs moved to Marshall, Texas. He was forced out of the Senate when it was ruled that Confederate officers could not hold elective offices. By 1874 he was back in Austin serving as state librarian and in charge of all public property; he reported to the governor the condition of the Capitol and state buildings and made recommendations for their repair and maintenance. In October 1875 he completed a water well on the Capitol grounds. In an advertisement he offered himself as translator of German and his services in presenting clients' problems to the proper state agencies. On August 25, 1880, while returning to Nacogdoches from Marion, where he was electioneering, Voigt and his horse drowned as he attempted to ford the swollen Angelina River. The spot to this day is referred to as Dutchman's Crossing. He is buried in Oak Grove cemetery.
Charles K. Phillips, “Voigt, Frederick,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed March 06, 2023, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/voigt-frederick.
Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
BIRTH4 SEP 1825•Westfalen, Preußen, Germany
DEATH25 AUG 1880•Nacogdoches County, Texas, USA
Source Information
A New Land Beckoned: German Immigration to Texas, 1844-1847 [database on-line].
Original data: Chester W. Geue. A New Land Beckoned: German Immigration to Texas, 1844-1847. Baltimore: 1982, Genealogical Publishing Co.. New and enlarged ed.
Taken from Nacogdoches County Families printed 1985
Taken from The People of Nacogdoches County in the Civil War by: Carolyn Reeves Ericson copied at East Texas Research Center by CJ McLaughlin 2021
Capt. Arnold's Co., Infantry Riflemen, Militia; Capt. Atkins' Co., State Troops (The Galveston Coast Guard); Capt. Benton's Co., Volunteers; Brazoria County Minutemen; Capt. Watts Cameron's Co., Infantry; Carter's Co., Infantry (Austin City Light Infantry)
Name:
Frederick Voigt
State:
Texas
Year:
1866
Name
Frederick Voigt
Application Date
4 Sep 1866
Application Location
Nacogdoches, Texas
Name
Frederick Voigt
Post Office Location
Nacogdoches, Nacogdoches, Texas
Appointment Date
26 Oct 1854
Volume Number
19
Volume Year Range
1846-1855
11th session composite photo of Senate members (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History). By the Austin Photograph Co., Prints and Photographs Collection, [identifier number: di_03923, di_03924], The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
On August 25, 1880, while returning to Nacogdoches from Marion, where he was electioneering, Voigt and his horse drowned as he attempted to ford the swollen Angelina River. The spot to this day is referred to as Dutchman's Crossing. He is buried in Oak Grove cemetery.