William Humphrey VanDervoort (1868 – 1921)

William Humphrey Van Dervoort was born in Ypsilanti, Michigan on February 28, 1869, the son of Thomas and Euphrasia VanDervoort. He attended Michigan Agricultural College in Lansing, Michigan studying mechanical engineering, his post- graduate work in the same subject was done at Cornell University.
After graduating from Cornell he returned to Michigan Agricultural College and became an instructor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
On February 9, 1892 William married Mary Smith and in 1893 he moved to the University of Illinois at Champaign, Illinois as an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering where he remained until 1899. He and O.J. Root, his roommate at Michigan Agricultural, formed the Root & Van Dervoort Engineering Co. to manufacture gasoline engines. The company was moved to East Moline, Illinois in 1901.
William was an authority on mechanical engineering and published many articles and a book on the subject.
He was a member of the Engineers Club of New York City and the University Club of Chicago. He also was a president of the Metal Trades Association and the Society of Automobile Engineers (S.A.E.). His presidency of the S.A.E. succeeded that of Henry Leland the founder of the Cadillac Motor Car Co. and later the Lincoln Motor Car Co.
When the U.S. entered World War 1 he was appointed a member of the Munitions Standards Board and the National War Labor Board.
In 1918 President Woodrow Wilson created the National War Labor Board (NWLB) which was an agency composed of representatives from business and labor. Former President William Howard Taft was the chairman of the NWLB. Its purpose was to arbitrate disputes between workers and employers. Capitalizing on labor shortages during America's entrance into World War I, unions led by Samuel Gompers under the American Federation of Labor organized mass strikes for tangible gain. With more than 1200 cases heard the board ruled in favor of labor more often than not.
In response the American Federation of Labor issued a 'no strike' pledge. Wilson then instructed the NWLB to uphold the right of labor to organize and bargain collectively. In one instance, Wilson dispatched Federal Agents to commandeer a Smith & Wesson factory that violated WIB regulations. The War Industries Board (WIB) also constructed low-income housing around war factories and shipyards to ensure an adequate labor pool. It also encouraged a living wage. Union membership almost doubled after the formation of the WIB. Of note the AFL rose from 2 million in 1916 to 3.2 million in 1919. By the end of the decade, 15% of the nonagricultural work force was unionized. The NWLB was abolished August 12, 1919.The biggest setback in the process of creating the program was the exclusion of the up-and-coming African-American Citizens of the United States. Much dispute had arisen from the situation.
After the war he was chosen by the National Industrial Conference Board, along with 4 others (including William Butterworth of Deere & Co.) to tour Europe to study industrial conditions there. Locally, he was president of the Tri-Cities Manufacturers Association and a director of the Peoples Savings Bank of Moline, Ill.
William was widely recognized as an authority on mechanical engineering and in addition to the many articles which he contributed to scientific and technical publications. He was author of a 552 page hard bound book on Modern Machine Shop Tools, published by Norman W. Henley & Co. of New York in March 1903. This extensive book boasts 673 engravings of the latest tools and methods, cost $4.00US.
In addition to his mechanical genius he gained an enviable reputation as a public speaker and because of his technical knowledge and his intimate acquaintance with the manufacturing industry he was in great demand as a speaker before scientific organizations and he addressed some most notable of these bodies in the east. He was a member of the Engineers club of New York and the University club of Chicago.
Many signal honours have been conferred upon William by engineering bodies of the United States. He served two years successively as president of the Metal Trades Association, a record outstanding in the annals of this great organization. He at one time was president of the Society of Automobile Engineers. He was appointed a member of the Munitions Standards Board soon after the United States entered the First World War, he was selected by manufacturers to act as a member of the national war labour conference board, and later was appointed by President Wilson a member of the United States war labour board. During the war period William gave practically all his time as a member of this important executive body.
Is Sent to Europe
Early in 1910 Mr. VanDervoort was chosen as one of a commission of five sent by the National Industrial Conference Board to Europe to study industrial conditions. This commission spent ten weeks in Europe, returning in May 1910. The severity of climatic conditions and the rigors and hardships, which the commission members underwent, told upon Mr. VanDervoort and he returned home broken in health.
For three years, from 1908 to 1911, Mr. VanDervoort was a member of the committee on management of the former American Motor Car Manufacturer's Association, now the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce.
He also interested himself in the development of local industries, and he served as president of the Tri-City Manufacturer's Association and at the time of his death was the first vice president and a member of the governing board. He also was a director in the People's Savings Bank & Trust Co.
The story of William VanDervoort's business and manufacturing career runs parallel to the story of the Root & VanDervoort Engineering Co., comprising several corporations of which he was president and general manager. The factory had a humble beginning, and there was no job which the ambitious young president was not ready to undertake. The result was that he grew with the business, and in the estimation of the employees. He was particularly zealous in creating and intimate feeling between employer and employees, and his attitude towards the workmen won him respect and admiration.
To Front in War Crisis
It was William’s far sightedness and his ability to visualize the approaching events which preceded America into war that enabled the R&V Co. to be of such great use to the government in the crisis. The R&V Co. became a great plant in the manufacture of shells and guns for the British, and upon the completion of these big contracts the ordnance plant was closed, the doors locked, but machinery kept in tact and maintained.
Eighteen months later America entered the war and R&V had a factory which stood ready to produce ordnance. What the R&V plant produced has been testified to by men in public life and by government officials alike.
William was affiliated with various Masonic bodies and during the time of his residence at Champaign he was eminent commander of the Champaign commandery. He was a member of the First Congregational church of Moline. He was also a member of the Delta Tan Delta fraternity. VanDervoort welcomed home; tells of trip Beginning in early 1920 he suffered a series of strokes that resulted in his death on February 25, 1921 just a few days short of his 52nd birthday. His wife, two daughters, a brother and a sister survived him.