August Vorwerk

b. 18 August 1869, d. 26 August 1918

August Vorwerk, 1869-1918
  • August Vorwerk was born on 18 August 1869 in Speyer, Rheinpfalz.
  • A photographic portrait was made of August Vorwerk (seated, center) with four other young men, likely during their school days (Wilhelm Graf, No. 11 Waldstrasse, Karlsruhe).
  • In the military as a young man prior to emigration, pictured here in his uniform and Pickelhaube helmet.
  • August Vorwerk arrived in the Port of New York on 19 October 1891, aboard the Hamburg-Amerika Linie SS Normannia, having departed Hamburg on the 9th, traveling in Kajüte (cabin class).
  • After completing a two-year course of study at the Buffalo College of Pharmacy, August Vorwerk received his PhG degree on 28 February 1895.
  • The following appeared on 1 May 1895 in The Buffalo Express: Now For Patients. Manipulators of the Scalpel, Retort and Forceps.  . . .  In the evening, at 8 o'clock, at Music Hall, was held the 49th annual commencement of the Department of Medicine, the eighth annual commencement of the Department of Pharmacy and the third annual commencement of the Department of Dentistry of the University of Buffalo.  Following was the order of exercises: . . .  The following degrees were conferred: . . . Class in Pharmacy-- . . . August Vorwerk. . . .  
  • A photographic portrait was made by J. George Nussbaumer in Buffalo, about 1895.
  • Following his graduation from Buffalo College of Pharmacy, August Vorwerk joined his brother-in-law Eugen Laurier as a partner in his drugstore on Main Street in Niagara Falls. Some items from the old drugstore are treasured by his descendants.
  • He married Elizabeth Susanna Margaret Kammerer, daughter of Adam Kammerer and Ursula Weiler, on 16 August 1896 in Niagara Falls, Niagara County, New York, at the home of the bride's parents, with Zion pastor Rev. J. H. Asbeck officiating.
  • The following appeared on 18 December 1896 in the Niagara Falls Journal: A very pretty home wedding occurred Wednesday evening at 6 o'clock, when Miss Elisabeth S. Kammerer, the beautiful and accomplished daughter of our well known citizens, Mr. and Mrs. Adam Kammerer of Ontario Ave., was married to Mr. August S. Vorwerk, the popular druggist of Main St. The ceremony took place at the residence of the bride's parents, in the presence of an admiring assemblage, which included the relatives and intimate friends, to the number of about 60. The nuptial knot was tied with the beautiful and impressive German Lutheran service by the Rev. J. H. Asbeck. Miss Ada Anna Kammerer, a sister of the bride, was bridesmaid and Miss Tena Borth of Buffalo maid of honor. The best man was Mr. Wm F. Schultz, and Mr. George J. Weiler was groomsman. The bride looked radiant in a pretty costume of white, trimmed with white satin and ornaments. She carried white roses. The bridesmaid and maid of honor were also attired in white, and bore pink roses. An elaborate wedding dinner was served which was followed by an evening of enjoyment of which music and dancing were pleasant features. The presents received were many and beautiful and the bride was handsomely remembered by the Teacher's Association and the Choir of the German Zion's Lutheran Church, of which she is a member. The happy couple were the recipients of many congratulations and their matrimonial voyage begins with skies of a roseate hue over them. Mr. and Mrs. Vorwerk have commenced housekeeping and will be at home on Ontario Ave. in the Reiss Block. A happy incident of the occasion was the celebration of the 70th birthday of Mr. John Kammerer, an old and esteemed resident of Lockport Ave. and grandfather of the bride. Among those present from out-of-town were: Mr. and Mrs. Fred Borth, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Bloy, Mr. and Mrs. Ludwig Boehner, Miss Adelaide Borth, Miss Tena Borth, Miss Luia Siph, Miss Elizabeth Barnett, Mr. Fred J. Borth, Mr. Fred Challcraft and Mr. Joseph Decker of Buffalo; Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Kammerer of Toronto; and Mrs. E Laurier of New York.
  • The following appeared on 27 September 1897 in the Niagara Falls Gazette: Mr. and Mrs. August Vorwerk of North Main Street are happy over the arrival of a little daughter. 
  • August Vorwerk and Elizabeth Susanna Margaret Kammerer appeared in the US federal census of 1 June 1900 in Niagara Falls, Niagara County, New York, at 2132 Main Street. Other members of the household included Elsa Vorwerk.
  • He was a druggist, according to the 1900 census.
  • The following appeared on 15 October 1904 in the Niagara Falls Gazette: On Tuesday night, October 18th, Mr. Ludwig Laurier, one of New York's most celebrated violinists, will be heard in this city in a concert to be given under the auspices of the Germany Lutheran Zion's Church at the church, corner Michigan Avenue and Tenth Street. Mr. Laurier finished his musical education at the Royal Academy of Music of Berlin, Germany, where for four years he was a pupil of the greatest living teacher, Herr Josef Joachim. He afterwards was musical instructor to the sons and daughters of Berlin's highest notibility.
         Mr. Laurier will be ably assisted by an organist of national reputation, Mr. William Bauer of New York. This will be the foremost musical event of the season and no lover of high class music and no student of music should fail to attend. Price of admission, 50c. Tickets for sale at the pharmacies of W. M. Rowen, Stine & Duffy, A. Vorwerk, Eugen Laurier, also at Jenss Brothers dry goods store. Doors will be closed after concert has started at 8:15.
  • The following appeared on 7 November 1904 in the Niagara Falls Gazette: Coroner Hart Slocum yesterday negotiated the sale of the beautiful Strickland property on Ontario Avenue to August Vorwerk, the North Main Street druggist. The property is 59 and a half feet front and 155 feet deep, and is considered one of the most desirable homestead lots in the city.
  • The following appeared on 1 December 1904 in the Niagara Falls Gazette: November 18, 1904. To the Common Council, Gentlemen:-- I have been directed by the Board of Assessors to report on the claims of James McConnell, Samuel J. Devlin, and August Vorwerk, referred to them by your Honorable Body on October 24, as follows:  . . .  In regard to the claim of August Vorwerk, the Board of Assessors report that inasmuch as the house was on the premises when they visited that section, and is still in existence, he is not entitled to any refund.  Respectfully yours, Henry T. Kane, Assessor's Clerk. Referred to the Taxes and Assessments Committee.
  • August Vorwerk and Elizabeth Susanna Margaret Kammerer appeared in the New York state census of 1 June 1905 in Niagara Falls, Niagara County, New York, at 1324 Ontario Avenue. Other members of the household included Elsa Vorwerk.
  • He was a druggist, according to the 1905 state census.
  • Josephina Vorwerk visited Niagara Falls in 1905, two months after the death of her husband, departing Cuxhaven on 28 October aboard the Hamburg-Amerika Linie Steamship Moltke, and arriving in the port of New York on 8 November. She was accompanied on the voyage by her son-in-law Eugene Laurier. Josephina's nephew Oskar Schwamberger was master of the Moltke a few years later.
  • The following appeared on 26 June 1906 in the Niagara Falls Gazette: The first session of the 28th annual convention of the New York State Pharmaceutical Association opened in the old dining room at the Cataract House this morning with a very good attendance. . . . Eugene Laurier, one of the local pharmacists, and president of the local branch of the State Association, welcomed the delegates. . .
  • A photograph taken during 1906 of the Vorwerk and Laurier families celebrates the birth of Frederick Augustus Vorwerk. Josephina Schwab Vorwerk, mother of August Vorwerk and Friederika Vorwerk Laurier, also appears in the photo, having arrived in the US in November 1905 for an extended visit following the death of her husband Friedrich in August 1905. Pictured are Carl Laurier, Josephina Vorwerk, Elizabeth Kammerer Vorwerk, Friedericka Vorwerk Laurier holding infant Frederick, and Eugene Laurier. August Vorwerk likely was the photographer.
  • August Vorwerk and his brother-in-law John Kammerer were members of Ismailia Shrine Temple of Buffalo.
    From left, 3rd John Kammerer, and 6th August Vorwerk, Ismailia Shrine Temple of Buffalo
  • The following appeared on 29 July 1907 in the Niagara Falls Gazette: Mr. and Mrs. August Vorwerk, their children and Ludwig and Carl Laurier are sojourning at Thousand Island Park in the St. Lawrence. 
  • The following appeared on 15 October 1907 in the Niagara Falls Gazette: The following Niagara Falls cases appear on the county court calendar which convenes the third Monday in October:  . . . PennDrug Co. vs. August Vorwerk: object, money judgment; nature, contract. . . . 
  • The following appeared on 4 November 1907 in the Niagara Falls Gazette: Police Make Clever Capture.  Detectives Callinan and Carmody made a clever capture early this afternoon of the thieves who broke into August Vorwerk's drug store at Main street and Ontario avenue last night and stole five boxes of cigars together with a small sum of money. 
         They rounded up Wallie G. Kerr, 25 years old, and Joseph T. Brown, 45 years old, and found them with the goods. There can be not the slightest doubt as to their guilt; for the cigars found in their room at the White Elephant saloon at the north end were handled exclusively in Niagara Falls by Mr. Vorwerk. 
         The police believe that Kerr and Brown are responsible for almost all the raids that have recently been made on small shops. Brown, who is porter at the White Elephant, has been implicated in a number of police cases, one a short time ago in which a stranger was relieved of $35. Kerr is the brother of the proprietor of the place, and has an unsavory reputation at the north end. 
  • He was a sponsor at the baptism/christening of Marion Elizabeth Woolcock on 11 October 1908 at Zion Lutheran Church in Niagara Falls, Niagara County, New York.
  • The following appeared on 25 November 1908 in The Niagara Falls Gazette: Henry B. Eshelman, for fourteen years connected with the Pettebone-Cataract Paper Company, has resigned to look to the building and development of the Colonial Wood Products Company, limited, of Thorold, Ont. 
         The Colonial Wood Products Company has only recently received from the Ontario government a charter, and will as soon as possible begin the erection of factory buildings. The incorporators of the company are Henry B. Eshelman, August Vorwerk, W. W. Johnstone, J. L. Eshelman and E. Vorwerk, all residents of this city. 
         The company is to engage in the manufacture of pulp and in a general wood products trade. An excellent site has been bought in Thorold, and plans have been drawn for a factory of considerable size. It is the hope of the incorporators to begin manufacture next spring. 
  • The following appeared on 17 December 1908 in the Niagara Falls Gazette: Business Men and Merchants Indignant Over Mayor's Absurdity. Declare He is Not Sincere in His Sudden Desire for Drastic Reform and That His Orders to Police Were Conceived in a Spirit of Retaliation and Revenge. Citizens Have No Hesitation in Voicing Their Opinion of a Very Mean Principle. They Charge That the Mayor is Narrow and Unreasonable in His Stand, and Several Merchants Under Ban Say they Will Defy His Orders and Continue to Transact Business.  . . . On Saturday at midnight the order runs that every saloon and business house will close its doors; and ill tide he that disobeys. The barber, too, must put aside his razor, and the butcher his cleaver. The sizz of the soda water fountain will be stilled, and the whistle of the peanut man's boiler will not be heard in the streets. The theaters and the nickelodeons will not entertain. Even the bootblacks and the newsies will not be allowed to wander at will. . . . So it was not in a state of spiritual uplift that Mayor Douglass went about the business of Reform; it was because the aldermen had the temerity to call to his attention the licens4e extended to the gambling fraternity. In the eyes of Mayor Douglass the Common Council is a band of irresponsibles who were put into the world for the sole purpose of discrediting the Douglass administration. And being a determined man, Mayor Douglass has set about the business of discrediting every last one of them. The answer is "reform with a great big R." . . .   August Vorwerk, druggist said, "The Mayor may be right so far as the letter of the law is concerned but if I close my soda fountain I cannot pay my clerk. I will open and take my chances." . . .
  • Libby, August and young Fritz were photographed during an outing about 1909.
    Elizabeth, August and young Frederick Vorwerk, about 1909.
  • A photograph was made of the August Vorwerk and Eugen Laurier families about 1909.
    Vorwerk & Laurier families, about 1909
  • The following appeared on 12 June 1909 in the Niagara Falls Gazette: The new industry, known as the Colonial Wood Products Company, Limited, recently established at Thyorold, Ont., by local capital, is progressing rapidly these days, and in a very short time the plant will be in actual operation. The officers and shareholders of the company are residents of Niagara Falls. The president and general manager is Mr. H. B. Eshelman, formerly with the Pettebone-Cataract Paper Comnpany of this city. William Johnstone is vice-president and August Vorwerk is secretary and treasurer. The company was incorporated the latter part of 1908 and soon after began the erection of its model plant. A large force of men is now engaged in installing the necessary machinery and the work is fast nearing completion. The entire construction has been along the most modern lines and the machinery is of the most improved type. The plant is constructed so that operation can be carried on at any time, even if any part should break down.  The grind- (Continued on page 4.) . . . 
  • The following appeared on 19 July 1909 in the Niagara Falls Gazette: Mr. and Mrs. August Vorwerk and children of Ontario avenue, Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Laurier of Linwood avenue, and Mr. and Mrs. Ludwig Laurier left this morning for a two weeks' sojourn at Alexandria Bay.  And on the 29th, Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Laurier of Linwood avenue, Mr. and Mrs. August Vorwerk and children of Ontario avenue, and Mr. and Mrs. Ludwig Laurier, have returned from an outing at Wilson, N.Y. 
  • The following appeared on April 1910 in The Pharmaceutical Era: Niagara Falls -- August Vorwerk, 2132 Main street, has been succeeded by George Stoll.
  • August Vorwerk and Elizabeth Susanna Margaret Kammerer appeared in the US federal census of 15 April 1910 in Niagara Falls, New York, at 1324 Ontario Avenue. Other members of the household included Elsa Vorwerk and Frederick Augustus Vorwerk.
  • He was treasurer of a pulp mill, according to the 1910 census.
  • August Vorwerk had an artistic as well as scientific nature. He played the violin, and left behind a pen-and-ink rendering of ein kleines Schloss entitled "Klamm im Innthal," and also a watercolor depiction of what appears to be a pony express rider being chased by Indians. The latter likely was inspired by his father's brother Louis Vorwerk who was living with his family in Madelia, Minnesota, at the time of the 1862 Sioux uprising.
  • The following appeared on 15 July 1911 in the Niagara Falls Gazette: Augustus Vorwerk of Ontario avenue, left last Monday on an extended trip to Germany.
  • August Vorwerk and Eugene Laurier visited Germany in 1911, returning to New York aboard the Hamburg-American Linie SS Blücher, departing Hamburg on 2 September, and arriving in the Port of New York on the 12th. During the trip, they were photographed onboard a ship with a ship's officer who was thought to have been August's (and Eugen's wife's) cousin HAL captain Oskar Schwamberger, but careful examination of later photographs has cast doubt on that identification.
  • He was a sponsor at the baptism/christening of Dorothea Elizabeth Hartwig on 3 November 1912 at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Niagara Falls, Niagara County, New York.
  • August Vorwerk and Elizabeth Susanna Margaret Kammerer appeared in the New York state census of 1 June 1915 in Niagara Falls, New York, at 1324 Ontario Avenue. Other members of the household included Elsa Vorwerk and Frederick Augustus Vorwerk.
  • He was a pharmacist, according to the 1915 census.
  • The following appeared on 2 August 1916 in the Niagara Falls Gazette: Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Laurier of Montvale, N. J., formerly of this city, are the guests of Mr. Gustave Vorwerk of Ontario avenue. Mr. Laurier is manager of Colgate & Co.'s New York office. Carl Laurier is private secretary to Dr. Duane, New York City, and Ludwig Laurier is at present serving Uncle Sam on the border at Douglass, Ariz.
  • He was a member of Royal Arch Masons, Niagara Chapter No. 200, RAM at Niagara Falls at Niagara County at New York as of 1917.
  • He was a member of Niagara Commandery, No. 64 Knights Templar at Niagara Falls at Niagara County at New York as of 1918.
  • He was a member of Niagara River Lodge No. 785, F&AM at Niagara Falls at Niagara County at New York as of 1918.
  • He was a member of Ismalia Temple, AAONMS at Buffalo at Erie County at New York as of 1918.
  • In a postcard dated 28 March 1918 to August Vorwerk, Fredericka Dorothea Augusta Vorwerk wrote: "Have been wondering how you all are getting along. We are all well and I am fine now, though I dont care much for auto riding. It will take some time for that nervousness to wear off. Wishing all a Happy Easter, Freda."
  • Carl Kammerer in uniform was photographed with the Kammerer and Vorwerk families.
  • August Vorwerk died on 26 August 1918 at age 49 in Niagara Falls, Niagara County, New York, at 723 Eighth Street shortly after the death of his mother (19 June 1918) and during the war with Germany.
  • Elizabeth Susanna Margaret Kammerer became a widow at his death.
  • He was interred at Oakwood Cemetery, Niagara Falls, Niagara County, New York.
  • The following appeared on 26 August 1918 in the Niagara Falls Gazette: August Vorwerk, retired business man, died unexpectedly at the family home, No. 723 8th street, about four o'clock this morning. While Mr. Vorwerk had been complaining of feeling unwell for several days, his death proved a decided shock to his family who were at his bedside when the end came. He is survived by his wife and two children, Elsa and Frederick A., all of this city, and a sister Mrs. Eugene Laurier of Montvale, N.J. Funeral arrangements have not been completed. Mr. Vorwerk was a native of Bavaria, Germany, and had lived in this city since he was a young man. He was 49 years old. For many years he conducted a drug store at Main street and Ontario avenue from which he retired several years ago.
  • The following appeared on 29 August 1918 in the Niagara Falls Gazette: The funeral of August Vorwek, retired business man who died at the family home, No. 733 Eighth street, Monday morning, was held at 2:30 o'clock this afternoon from the Zion Lutheran church, Michigan avenue. The Rev. Herman Brezing officiated. Miss Sybil Swick sang "O Rest in the Lord," from Elijah. The attendance was very large, testifying to the esteem in which Mr. Vorwek was held by his nuimerous friends and acquaintances. The pall bearers were selected from the Masonic fraternity who attended the obsequies of their late brother. Burial was in Oakwood cemetery.
  • The following appeared on 21 November 1918 in the Lockport Union-Sun & Journal: On the estate of August Vorwerk, of Niagara Falls, who died August 26th, letters testamentary were issued to Elizabeth Susanna Margaret Vorwerk, the widow. The estate, valued at $4800, is given to the widow. Two children also survive.
  • In August's leather wallet, preserved for almost 100 years, amongst his various membership cards, a tinype of a young child, likely of himself.
  • The following appeared on 18 August 1921 in the Niagara Falls Gazette: Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Laurier of Newark, N. J., are the guests of Mrs. A. Vorwerk of No. 1630 Ontario avenue. Mr. and Mrs. Laurier were formerly residents of this city. Mr. Laurier is now general manager of the Colgate and company.
         It is worthy of note that the 18th would have been the 52nd birthday of Friederika Laurier's brother August Vorwerk.
  • Photographs of present-day Speyer.
  • Last Edited: 4 Feb 2017

Family: Elizabeth Susanna Margaret Kammerer b. 29 January 1879, d. 3 December 1955