Harold Van Buren Voorhis

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

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 Electrical Experimenter, December, 1915, page 381". Early Radio History. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
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): http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Hottendorf&GRid=105146145& (2) (Johanna Hottendorf): http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Hottendorf&GRid=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)

• 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.