John C. Voll Jr.
John C. Voll Jr. was born in Camden, New Jersey on November 23, 1900 to John C. Voll and his wife, the former Mary Winters. The family, which included older brother Francis “Frank” Voll, was living at 542 South 3rd Street in the summer before his birth. They had moved to 731 Cedar Street in North Camden when the 1906 City Directory was compiled. The elder Voll had worked as a flagman for the Pennsylvania Railroad, but by 1906 was working as a boilermaker. By 1910 John C. Voll Sr. had divorced, and was an inspector with the railroad. He and his sons Frank and John Jr. were living at 531 Mount Vernon Street. By 1914 they had moved to 527 South 6th Street.
Later that year they moved to 1143 Federal Street. When John C. Voll Jr. registered for the draft on September 12, 1918 he was living with his father and brother at 740 North 24th Street in the Cramer Hill section of Camden. John C. Voll Jr. was then working as a railroad car repairman for the Pennsylvania Railroad at the Pavonia switching yards, where his brother was a blacksmith and his father a watchman.
The 1924 Camden City Directory shows that he and his wife Anna lived at 220 Penn Street. The 1929 directory reveals that they were living at 613 North 8th Street in North Camden. Fire Department records from 1931 give an address of 1109 North 26th Street in the Cramer Hill section of Camden. By the summer of 1933 he had moved to 1230 North 19th Street.
The 1940 census shows John and Anna Voll at 1142 North 24th Street with their five children, Charles F., John C. III, Joseph X., Raymond, and Mary. John C. Voll Sr., then 78, was living with them as well. The 1947 Directory shows the family had remained in Cramer Hill, at 2737 Garfield Avenue.
Sadly, son Joseph Xavier Voll died while serving with the United States Navy during World War II.
John C. Voll Jr. remained a Camden city fire fighter for 40 years, retiring on December 1, 1965. During the late 1970s he was still living at 2737 Garfield Avenue in Cramer Hill. He remained a Camden resident until his passing in April of 1979.
John C. Voll’s oldest son, Charles F. Voll, served in the United States Army during World War II. After coming home to Camden he was appointed to the police department, where he worked for over 20 years.
John C. Voll’s first cousin, once removed, was John Kean Voll, who also was a career Camden Fire Department member, serving from January 1, 1921 to August 15, 1963.
Samuel M. Subers, who was married to John C. Voll Jr.’s aunt, Christine Voll Subers, served with the Camden Fire Department in the mid-1870s.
Engine Company 9 — December 1928
John Voll, Edward Peraria, Howard Gick, Captain Eli Hunt and George Townsend, firefighters from Engine Company 9, based on 27th Street, take a moment together following a fire on a rainy night in December 1928, seen here in the first row from left to right. The blaze involved the offices of Leon E. Todd at 2623 Westfield Avenue. Todd was a realtor who helped develop Medford Lakes.
Engine 11’s 1956 American LaFrance Pumper
Engine 11’s new pumper. From left: John Letts, John C. Voll, Captain Charles Patterson, James Troutman. Photo by Bob Bartosz.
Engine 11’s new pumper. The car at right belonged to John C. Voll. Photo by Bob Bartosz.
Camden Fire Department First Annual Retirement Dinner — May 3, 1966
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Named: William T. Cahill, Alfred R. Pierce, Edward V. Michalak
Keith Kauffman, Rev. W.A. Gwynne, Edward R. MacDowell
Howard W. Ways, George L. Boone, Isaac Muns, John C. Voll, John T. Clemmens, Harrison B. Pike, Albert A. Weller
Austin E. Marks, Edward Y. Scott, and John W. Yates.
The dinner program records that John C. Voll entered the Camden Fire Department on January 15, 1925 and retired on December 1, 1965, after 40 years of service.
Camden Fire Department Records
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His personnel record card gives his title as Hoseman, badge no. 127, born at Camden, New Jersey on November 23, 1900, appointed to the department on January 15, 1925 and reported for duty the following day. The card marks him capable of filling the positions of Acting Captain, Driver and Pump Operator, and lists his address as 2737 Garfield Avenue.
The card records his full assignment history: Hoseman with Engine Company 6 from January 16, 1925 to August 10, 1925; Engine Company 4 from August 11, 1925 to March 16, 1927; Engine Company 9 from March 17, 1927 to September 25, 1935; and Engine Company 11 from September 26, 1935 until his retirement on December 1, 1965.
Tag: john-c-voll-jr
John F. Letts
John Francis Letts (1918–1984) served the Camden Fire Department from 1952 to 1981, rising to Battalion Chief. He grew up at 2208 Howell Street, was a founding officer of IAFF Local 2578, and took part in the Easter Monday rescue at North 6th and Penn Streets in 1970.
Joseph X. Voll
Joseph Xavier Voll (1925–1945) of Camden, NJ served as a Fireman First Class in the United States Navy and was one of the original crew of the USS Caswell (AKA-72). He was killed in an accident at Riverton, New Jersey on January 12, 1945, less than a week short of his 20th birthday, and is buried at Beverly National Cemetery in Beverly, NJ.
19th Street
Nineteenth Street runs from the Pavonia railroad switching yards across River Avenue north to Harrison Avenue in the Cramer Hill section of Camden, New Jersey.
Samuel M. Subers
SAMUEL SUBERS was appointed to the Camden Fire Department at some point not long after November 12, 1874 as a replacement for Alfred S. Ivins as an extra man with Engine Company 1 .
Arrest of Six Links Numbers And Fake Cash
Men Nabbed Here Believed to Be Members of Ring A tie-up between a huge counterfeiting ring and a gambling syndicate backing the "numbers" was believed unearthed by Camden police and Federal authorities following the arrest here yesterday of six colored men on charges of attempting to pass bogus money.
Firemen's Auto Injures 4
Camden fireman John C. Voll of 1230 North Nineteenth Street was involved in two successive accidents that injured four people near River Road in June 1933.
Police to Probe $200,000 Kaighn Ave. Fire
Mayor Charles H. Ellis ordered an investigation into the $200,000 fire that destroyed the Economy Store and adjoining buildings at 427-429 Kaighn Avenue, injuring five Camden firemen — one of them, Captain Martin B. Carrigan, critically.
Camden Boy Shot By His Companion
Harold S. Woodin, 15, of 632 Clinton Street was accidentally shot in the side in September 1914 by 14-year-old John C. Voll of 1143 Federal Street, while the two boys played with a revolver in the cellar of the Woodin home.