Clemens Vonnegut
Clemens Vonnegut Sr. was a German emigrant to the United States and successful businessman. He was the patriarch of the prominent German-American Vonnegut clan of Indiana – he was the father and grandfather of architects Bernard Vonnegut I and Kurt Vonnegut Sr., respectively, and great-grandfather of scientist Bernard Vonnegut and author Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Early life
Vonnegut was born in Münster, Westphalia, to a tax collector father who was an official for the Duke of Westphalia. Instead of continuing his university education to Ph.D. level, he decided to work as a salesman for a textile firm in Amsterdam. In 1851, at the age of 27, he emigrated to the United States, and arrived in Indianapolis in 1851. Another source states that he arrived in New York City in mid-1851.
Vonnegut Hardware Company
In Indiana, he formed Vollmer & Vonnegut retail hardware and sundry merchandise store with a German immigrant named Charles Vollmer. After 1853, the firm was renamed Vonnegut Hardware Company; the company remained under his family's control after his death.
Personal life
He married Katarina Blank in 1852 and moved to a modest house on West Market Street, Indianapolis. He had four sons: Clemens Jr., Franklin, Bernard, and George. He was the sometime chairman and chief administrative officer of the Board of School Commissioners of the City of Indianapolis. A city school was named for him. "He greatly admired Benjamin Franklin, whom he called an American saint, and named his third son after him...." He died aged 82 on December 13, 1906, in Indianapolis. He was buried March 29, 1907 at Crown Hill Cemetery in the Vonnegut family plot.
Derivation of name
The family name is derived from a distant forebear who had an estate on the river Funne, hence the surname Funnegut. Subsequently, Funnegut was changed to Vonnegut since Funnegut sounded too much like "funny gut" in English.