Timothy Vogler was born on this day in 1806, in Salem, to Christoph and Anna Johanna Stauber Vogler.
Timothy’s father was a gunsmith, and Timothy worked as a gun and locksmith for over fifty years in his shop on South Main Street.
The Single Brothers House closed in 1823, so the craftsmen had to open their own workshops. Timothy worked in Georgia in the early 1830s, and asked his brother to reserve Salem house lot 98 for him. He built his two-room shop in 1831.
Timothy married Charlotte Hamilton in 1832, and he built his house that same year, after they spent their early married life living in the shop. The house was a four-bay, two-story frame house with four rooms on each floor and interior chimneys. The house was restored in 1961, financed by the Winston-Salem Junior League. The organization also used part of the house as their headquarters following the restoration. The second floor was rented as a residence. Funds from the Junior League rummage sale in 1961 were used to pay for the house restoration.
Timothy and his wife managed the Salem Tavern for two years beginning in 1844. The Tavern was losing money, and the Voglers are credited with making it prosper again. Timothy rented his shop during this time, but did not sell it.
Timothy was considered to be a master at his profession, and at his death in 1896 it was said that there existed many examples of his work in Salem, still being used.
Timothy was not a strong person, and was even denied acceptance as a participant in the Widow’s Insurance Fund, because he did not pass the physical. But when Timothy died at age 90, he was the oldest resident of Salem and the oldest member of Home Moravian Church. And, he outlived the other participants in the Widow’s Insurance Fund and many of their successors. His wife of 64 years was still living when Timothy died.
Photo courtesy of Forsyth County Public Library Photograph Collection.
