John Voss 1895 -1948


Voss, Dr. John, 200 Dixon Ave, Peoria, Ill. Botany. Peoria, Ill. Dec. 24, 1895. B.S, Knox Col, 1919; M.S, Chicago, 25, Ph.D., 1933. Head dept. science, Manual Training High Sch, Peoria, Ill, 1924- A.A; Ecol. Soc; Wis. Acad; Ill. Acad. Pollen statistics; postglacial vegetation.
(Directory of American Men of Science, Sixth Edition)

John Voss has the distinction of having completed the first dissertation on Quaternary palynology completed in the U.S.A. (U. Chicago, 1933), two years before L.R. Wilson's (U. Michigan, 1935). It was completed under the direction of George Damon Fuller, the eminent plant ecologist of the University of Chicago, who was the contemporary of Henry Chandler Cowles, originator of the concept of "Plant Succession," also at the University of Chicago while John Voss completed his Ph.D. degree. The palynological aspects of Voss' dissertation research were directed by Gunar Erdtman (Stockholm) and Paul Sears (Oklahoma)(acknowledgements in Voss, 1934; Bot. Gaz. 96).

copyright RLG, 2004
Photo of Gunnar Erdtman (left) with G.D. Fuller and H.C. Cowles at Lake Villa, Illinois on July 10, 1931. Copyright RLG 2004.
Erdtman's activities in Illinois, and his association with Fuller and Cowles, are outlined in Jock McAndrew's "Essay: Gunnar Erdtman's last pollen diagram; location, location, location. CAP Newsletter 2006 29 (1): p.8

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Voss, John. 1931.
Preliminary report on the paleo-ecology of a Wisconsin and an Illinois bog. Transactions Illinois State Academy Science 24(2): 130-136.

Voss, John. 1933.
Pleistocene forests of central Illinois. Botanical Gazette 94 (4): 808-814.

Voss, John. 1933.
Post-glacial migration of forests in Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Chicago, Dept. of Botany (QE999 Voss)

Voss, John. 1934.
Post-glacial migration of forests in Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Botanical Gazette 96 (1): 3-43.

Voss, John. 1934.
A Stratigraphical study of the Manito Swamp. Transactions Illinois State Academy Science 27(2): 66-68.

Voss, John. 1937.
Comparative study of bogs on Cary and Tazewell drift in Illinois. Ecology 18 (1): 119-135.

Voss, John. 1939.
Forests of the Yarmouth and Sangamon inter-glacial periods in Illinois. Ecology 20 (4): 517-528.



A Treasured Collection
By Marilyn Voss Leyland
Published in Illinois Audubon

Although my grandfather John Voss, Ph.D., died here on the eve of Spring 1948, his photographs of wild flowers live as part of his legacy.

The book "Illinois Wild Flowers," first published in 1951, includes nearly 200 of this native Peorian's photos. The Illinois State Museum produced the book, with text by Virginia S. Eifert, as Vol. III of its Popular Science Series. Reprinted three times, but now out of print, it can still be found on computerized searches.

These photos come from a very personal collection, carefully matted, labeled and bound with metal rings. The German title, meaning "Children of the Spring," and his use of the affectionate family name "Hans" suggest that he might have created the book for his German-born mother. His signature as Herr Doktor dates it around the time he received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago -- 1933. His mother died late that year.

Born in Peoria in 1895, he attended the German Free School and Whittier and continued through high school and into college at Bradley Academy and Bradley Polytechnic. He then studied architecture for a brief time at the University of Illinois - his father hopeful that he'd join the family contracting business. Sent home for poor eyesight shortly after being drafted for WWI, he transferred to Knox College where he graduated in 1919 in science and began a teaching career. In 1924, he returned to Peoria to teach science and math at Manual Training High School. By 1935 he was named principal of Peoria's Washington School. In 1937 he became principal at Manual, where he served until his final illness.

A highly respected educator and administrator, he was also considered one of Peoria's best amateur photographers. His photographic interests included not only wild flowers, but also local historical sites and Civil War battlefields. He particularly appreciated visiting cemeteries for the undisturbed flora as well as the inherent history.

Active with the Peoria Academy of Science as a section leader, president and director, he later served for ten years as treasurer of the Illinois State Academy of Science. A fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, he was also a member of Sigma Xi honorary scientific society, the Ecological Society of America, the Torrey Botanical Club, and was listed in American Men of Science.

He was also one of the earliest members of the Peoria Historical Society when it reactivated in 1934.

His doctoral work focused on preglacial ecology and paleobotany. By drilling into peat bogs and studying the pollens found there, he charted the variety of plants growing here prior to the ice age. The University of Chicago, where he earned both masters and doctorate, had a leading reputation in botany and ecology. State Museum scientists continue to build on his work.

He was an admirer of early botanists in Peoria including Drs. Frederick Brendel (1820-1912) and James Stewart (1824-1901) as well as Francis E. McDonald (1860-1920) and Henry Allen Gleason (1882-1964)*. In addition to botany, his many interests in the Academy included local archeology and geology.

Through the years, his photographs appeared in various state and national publications as well as in the locally produced magazine Nature Notes.

After his death, his widow rented rooms in the family home. In 1952, the large upstairs bedroom (formerly my father's) became home to Irene Cull, the botanist who came to Peoria to work at the Regional Lab. Irene lived there until Grandma Marie Voss died in 1968.

Such influence prompted my involvement in the Academy's Saturday Science program in the late 1950s. As a biology major at Bradley I was the first recipient of the Academy's Memorial Scholarship award in 1966. With a masters in journalism, I began science and medical writing, ultimately working in Public Affairs at Caterpillar.

* Not actually a Peorian but another of the early Illinois botanists, Henry Allen Gleason (1882-1964) became a U of I instructor in 1907 (after his Columbia Ph.D.) and published "The botanical survey of the Illinois River Valley Sand Region area of interaction between prairie and forest vegetation." Obviously he studied our local area. Grandpa had (and I now have) Gleason's 79-page manuscript "The Flora of the Prairies," possibly Gleason's B.S. thesis.