Harold Van Buren Voorhis Explained

Harold Van Buren Voorhis (January 3, 1894  - May 23, 1983) was a chemist, noted Masonic author, and executive at Macoy Publishers and Masonic Supply Company.

Education and career

Harold was born January 3, 1894, to Thomas Voorhis, Jr. (1864-1941)^[1] and Mary Peck Bates (1868-1962)^[2] at Rector Place, Red Bank, New Jersey. He attended Red Bank High School, graduating in 1912. He attended Cooper Union College from 1912 - 13 and Columbia University Teachers Extension from 1913 - 16. He worked as a chemist at Bull & Roberts, in New York, NY from 1912 - 20, and returned there later for a succession of positions starting in 1943: secretary-treasurer (1943 - 59); assistant to the president (1962); and consultant (1963 - 67). He served in the U.S. Navy during World War I from January 1, 1917, to February 13, 1919. He later became vice president of Macoy Publishing and Masonic Supply Co. from 1946 - 70.

He was an early amateur radio hobbyist, joining the Radio League of America^[3] in its first year, 1915, and American Radio Relay League in 1922, eight years after its founding.

He married first Lucille Marie Hottendorf^[4] on July 2, 1932, in Elkton, Maryland and second Ethel Rita Landau (1914-1988) on October 20, 1953, in New York, New York.

Masonic career

He was Worshipful Master of Mystic Brotherhood Lodge 21, F. & A. M. of Red Bank, NJ in 1937, and served in many other capacities in many other Masonic groups.

Selected writings

• Arthur Edward Waite, a check list of his writings (1932) ("regular edition" of 150 copies)^[5]
• Arthur Edward Waite: a check list of his Writings (1932) ("limited edition" of 100 numbered copies)^[6]
• The history of organized masonic Rosicrucianism ... (1935) ("limited edition" of 52 copies)^[7]
• The Eastern Star - The Evolution From a Rite to an Order (1938); reprinted 1976
• [Negro Masonry in the United States] - (1940) reprinted 2003
• History of Knight Templary in New Jersey (1944)
• Facts for Freemasons (1951)
• 100 Year Celebration of Mystic Brotherhood Lodge No. 21, Free and Accepted Masons (1952)
• Masonic organizations and allied orders and degrees: a cyclopaedic handbook (1952)^[8]
• Masonic Rosicrucian societies in England, Scotland, Ireland, Greece, Canada & the United States of America (1958)^[9]
• Our Colored Brethren (1960)
• The Royal Order of Scotland (1960)
• The Red Cross of Constantine (1963)
• The Story of the Scottish Rite (1965)
• The History of the Scottish Rite in New Jersey (1970)
• A history of organized Masonic Rosicrucianism; Societas Rosicruciana (1983)^[10]

References

• Hinks, Peter P., "John Marrant and the Meaning of Early Black Freemasonry." The William and Mary Quarterly 64.1 (2007): 25 May 2008.
• The Edward R. Cusick Collection of Historic African-American Masonic Materials at the Livingston Masonic Library contains correspondence between Cusick and Voorhis in addition to a collection of Voorhis books.
• Perlman, Daniel., "Organizations of the Free Negro in New York City, 1800-1860" The Journal of Negro History, Vol. 56, No. 3 (Jul., 1971), pp. 181–197.

Notes and References

1. Thomas Voorhis, Jr. (Sept. 27, 1864 - 1941)
2. Mary Peck Bates (Sept. 10, 1868 - Feb. 12, 1962) - Mary and Thomas were married on April 18, 1887 in Hackensack, Bergen County, New Jersey.
3. The Radio League of America. The Electrical Experimenter . December 1915. 381–385 . 17 November 2018.
4. Lucille Marie (or Maria) Hottendorf was born about 1910. On September 1, 1939, she married Chester Arthur Lingle (Oct. 19, 1916 - June 15, 1993) while she was still married to Harold V. B. Voorhis, which resulted in Harold having the court terminate his marriage with Lucille in 1940. Lucille was a daughter of John Henry Carl Hottendorf (October 1872-1936), a German immigrant, and Johannah Susannah Ahlgren (March 8, 1891 - Dec. 31, 1955), who was born in Sawyers Bar, Liberty Township, Siskiyou County, California. Johannah's parents were Finnish immigrants named Abraham Engelbert Ahlgren, Sr. (March 1, 1851 - June 17, 1913) and Maria Louise Wahlroos (Sept. 11, 1859 - Dec. 18, 1933). John H. C. Hottendorf and his wife Johannah are both buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Yreka, Siskiyou County, California (Southwest Section, 32-1-5 and 32-1-6, which is a shared marker). In the Evergreen Cemetery records their names are spelled "John H. Hottendorf" and "Johanna Hottendorf." - See: (1) (John H. Hottendorf): https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/105146145 (2) (Johanna Hottendorf): https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/105146144
5. See: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/6394728
6. See: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/476596750
7. See: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/476621108
8. In 1952 three different editions of this book were published, as follows: (1) http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/468873022 (2) http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/757913041 (3) http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/2852759
9. See: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/7051486 - This work appears to be a reprint (under a different title) of the specific edition of Masonic organizations and allied orders and degrees: a cyclopaedic handbook (1952) referenced at: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/757913041
10. See: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/476621117 - This work is a revised and expanded version of The history of organized masonic Rosicrucianism ... (1935)