Carl Voigt Biography


	This biography is from "Memorial and biographical record; an illustrated
 	compendium of biography, containing a compendium of local biography,
	including biographical sketches of prominent old settlers and 
	representative citizens of South Dakota..." Published by G. A. Ogle & 
	Co., Chicago, 1899. Pages 877-878

	Scan, OCR and editing by Maurice Krueger,mkrueger@iw.net, 1998. 

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CARL VOIGT, proprietor of one of the fine farms of Brown county, and a 
man of marked business ability, is a pioneer settler of that region. He 
was born in Dodge county, Wisconsin, in 1851, and his present home is 
in Henry township, Brown county. His farm lies partly in Brown and 
partly in Marshall county, and he has made a success of the pursuit of 
agriculture. 

The father of our subject, Christian Voigt was born in Germany and came 
to America when a young man, and was a farmer and miller by trade. The 
mother of our subject was also a German by birth and came to America 
when a young girl, and the grandparents of our subject on both the 
maternal and paternal sides were natives of Germany and settled in 
America. 

Our subject was the fourth in a family of ten children and was raised 
on a farm. He attended the country schools, and worked three years in a 
store in Hustisford, Wisconsin, to earn the money with which to pay his 
expenses while attending the Spencerian College at Milwaukee, from 
which he graduated, and at the age of twenty years accepted a position 
in a wholesale commission house, where he remained two years, the last 
year serving as shipping clerk. He then returned home and worked in his 
father's flour and saw-mill for about one year, until his father sold 
the mill. 

In 1871 he went into the painting business in company with his brother, 
Ferdinand Voigt, and was thus engaged five years, but was compelled to 
give up the work on account of a severe attack of sickness brought on 
by contact with the paints. He went to Iowa in search of employment in 
1876, but failing to secure anything started a paint shop in Nashua, 
Iowa, but after one year's work was again compelled to give up the 
business. He then engaged in farming in Iowa two years and gained in 
health and decided to move to South Dakota. He started in the fall in a 
covered wagon in company with Just Pasch, and upon reaching Ortonville, 
Minnesota, located there on rented land and moved his family there, 
where he stayed one year. He went to Brown county, South Dakota in the 
spring of 1881, and took land on the northwest quarter of section 33, 
in Henry township, and began farming with three horses and a plow, and 
lived in the wagon the first summer. He broke land for others to make 
his living and had only enough money to file on his land. When he 
landed in Ortonville, he had but seventeen dollars, and had a family to 
support. He walked to Bigstone City and worked during the winter for 
one dollar per day, and after harvesting his crop in Minnesota he had 
ninety dollars. This he sent to his brother in Dakota, who built him a 
shanty, 12 x 20, sodded on the outside, and made other provisions for 
him and his family. After working at plowing in Minnesota he netted one 
hundred dollars and on November 13 moved his family to the new home. 
They had few clothes, and for the first year burned hay, cow chips, 
etc., for fuel. He raised his first crop in 1882, five hundred bushels 
of wheat and five hundred bushels of oats, and for the first three or 
four years worked for others, threshing, plowing, or anything which he 
could find to do. He purchased a horse-power threshing machine in 1882, 
and every season until 1888 he did threshing in the neighborhood, that 
becoming a source of much profit to him. He purchased a farm for three 
hundred dollars and during the same year sold it for twelve hundred 
dollars, and in various other business deals made money. 

In 1888 he established a store in James and was meeting with success in 
the enterprise when on account of the credit which he gave he lost and 
disposed of his interests, and in 1890 engaged in the machine business, 
at which he made considerable until the hard times came. In February, 
1899, he disposed of his store for three quarter-sections of land in 
Marshall county, since which time he has been engaged in farming. He 
now owns a farm of six quarter-sections, three of which are in Henry 
township, Brown county, and three quarters in township 128, range 56, 
in Marshall county. He made his residence in James seven years, and now 
resides on the the southwest quarter of section 13, in Henry township. 
He has a complete set of farm buildings, all necessary machinery, and 
good pasture of seventy or eighty acres, fifty head of cattle, and 
engages in cattle and grain raising. He has a tree claim with ten acres 
of fine trees, and his estate is one of the best in the vicinity. He 
located in Brown county prior to the building of the railroad, and was 
one of the first settlers. 

Our subject was married in 1874 to Miss Minnie Affeld, a native of 
Germany, and the daughter of William Affeld, who now resides with Mr. 
and Mrs. Voigt. Mrs. Voigt came to America when a child, and is a lady 
of good education. Twelve children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Voigt, ten of whom are living, as follows: Henry, Annie, now working in 
a store in James, South Dakota; Etta, Alma, Francis, now in James in a 
store; Bertha, Minnie, Martha, Carl and Walter. Mr. Voigt is a member 
of the Lutheran church, and the Modern Woodmen of America. In political 
sentiment he is a Republican. He has held numerous local offices, 
treasurer, etc., and has taken an active interest in the affairs of his 
township. He is respected and well known as an industrious, honest 
citizen.