Captain Voss

John (Jack) Claus Voss was born in Moordiek, Germany on August 6, 1858. He was baptised on September 8, 1858. At the time Moordeik was part of Denmark so he told the truth when saying he was Danish rather than German. His parents were Hinrich and Abel Voss (Gerdt). Hinrich was born in Horst and was a restauranteur. He later became administrator of the monastery estate at Horst which belonged to the Monastery Itzehae. According to his grandaughter there is a family home that still stands in Horst, Moordiek, Schleswig, Holstein.

John had 3 brothers and a sister (Heinrich, Hermann, Anna and Peter). Peter died in 1864 at the age of 9. On Octoer 12, 1876 John's mother died and his father remarried on November 21, 1879 but had no further children.

John's father eventually took over a guesthouse and was later elected mayor.

John was sturdy little boy but he hated school and studying. He preferred skating and was an excellent ice skater. John also never said no to a fight. He would soon learn to become a boat carpenter.

John remained a very short and stocky man who loved his Schnapps. Although said to be very talkative after a few drinks he was extremely quiet when sober. Because he was so quiet the stories he did tell when drinking were not believed. According to his daughter, Caroline Kuhn, he did know how to laugh and his sense of humour comes across in his writings.

John said he went to sea at age 16 at learned his trade in the North Sea. At age 19 there is record of him sailing on the "Prussia". There are documents showing that he received his Master's Certificate at age 40.

There is record that Voss tried sailing from Paris, France to Victoria in a small boat. That trip ended in South America when all 4 passengers were stricken with Yellow Fever. Two of them died. Voss did manage to make his way to Victoria.

Rumour had it that John was an escaped convict from a California Penitentiary and was one of nineteen still at large. Supposedly he was imprisoned for smuggling Chinese immigrants to the U.S. and smuggling Opium to Vancouver. However this doesn't match the fact he was definately running hotels for 6 years prior to the Tilikum voyage. If it were true it would explain why he avoided the coast of the United States and Hawaii on his circumnavigation. He also wanted to avoid the U.S. Coastguard and registered the Tilikum as the "Pelican".

Although I cannot confirm the marriage but there is record of a John C. Voss marrying Lillie Baumann in 1886 in San Francicso. This corresponds to the ages of his children as his oldest daughter was born in 1888. We also know he had relatives in Tracy, California which is very close to San Francisco.

Between 1895 and 1901 John was the proprietor or co--proprietor of several hotels in Victoria and one in Chemainus. In 1897 Voss was proprietor of the Queen's Hotel on the corner of Store & Johnson Streets in Victoria (now a small park). It advertised electric lights, hot and cold water and tram cars that passed the door (PO Box 354, Victoria). The Queen's Hotel was demolished in 1969. In 1899 Voss also became proprietor of a second hotel called "The Victoria" (1400 Government St). The Victoria Hotel was renamed the Windsor Hotel and is the oldest , still standing, hotel in Victoria. It was built by George Richardson. The "Chemainus Hotel" was more of a boarding house next to the company store where Voss also owned the butcher shop. It was still being run by Voss as of March 22, 1901.

Voss reached Margate, England on September 2, 1904 where he gave lectures for the British Geographical Society. Voss had also lectures in Australia to raise money to continue his journey.

On July 5, 1898 Voss left on his voyage to South America in the "Xora" in search of gold. At this time John was married and had two sons(one was Harry) and a daughter (Caroline). This wife left him in 1904 and moved her family to Portland, Oregon. In the spring of 1906 Voss again married a Mrs. Ann Croth of St. Louis, Missouri but she died in August of the same year.

In 1905 Voss returned to Victoria only to find his wife had left him and moved to Portland. He worked briefly as master of the lifeboat "Quadra" before purchasing the St. Francis Hotel at 550 Yates St . It had originally been called the "Oriental Hotel". It was a brick hotel standing 3 stories and on top was an ornate, 25 foot high, wooden cupola. This "tower" was a local landmark and at night a beacon was kept burning at it's peak as a guide to navigators. The St. Francis had 40 rooms and room for 150 guests. On opening night, March 21, 1906 a band played outside while Caroline Voss served as hostess. It was during these two years that Voss also owned the "Jessie", a small transport ship. He also married Mary Anna Croth of St. Louis on April 17, 1906. Unfortunately Marry Anna was sick and died on August 20, 1906. She was only 43 years of age. Voss ran the St. Francis for a few more months and then sold the hotel in 1907.

From Victoria we next find Voss sailing the "Milton Stuart" which sailed from the Lizard in England to Santa Rosalia, Mexico in 1908. This voyage lasted 125 days.

In 1909 Voss went to Japan where he worked in the sealing industry. He was master of a sealing schooner in 1909 under the Japanese flag but in 1900 Japan signed the sealing treaty so sealing was prohibited by law for 15 years. Voss then went on another voyage starting July 26, 1912 on the boat "The Sea Queen"

After the voyage of the Sea Queen Voss returned to Japan and in 1913 wrote his book "The Venturesome Voyages of Captain Voss". The book was first published in Tokyo. During WWI Voss captained a schooner and travelled the North Pacific.

At the end of the war in 1918 Voss went to the town of Tracy, California (where he had relatives) and became a driver of a small Ford passenger car called a jitney service, to accommodate the transportation needs of this small town. It was like a mini-bus.

Captain Voss died of pneumonia on February 27, 1922.

John, Mrs. Voss, Harry , Caroline and John.

Back to our story