Martin Toggweiler

1917 - 2010  (92 years)

• Name	Martin Toggweiler
  Born	04 Jun 1917	Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
  Gender	Male
  Census	1920	Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
  	3120 Rdige St. Ward 32 ED 1090 3 Male born in PA ||Federal
  Died	21 Mar 2010	Long Beach, Los Angeles, California, USA
  Notes	Southern California's First West Coast Charter Boat Though island diving, particularly at Catalina, was essentially fruitless unless you owned your own boat, most breath-hold divers (usually spearfishermen) during this era enjoyed excellent shore diving at coastal coves such as those in Palos Verdes, Laguna Beach and La Jolla in San Diego. However, "island mania" entered the picture in 1951 after the introduction of Maray, the first bonafide dive charter boat on the West Coast.  Mart Toggweiler, who worked as a civilian contracted ship builder at the Naval shipyard in Long Beach, built and operated the Maray. During his employment with the Navy, auctions to dispose of military scrap were periodically held. Toggweiler, a gifted ship builder, saw an opportunity to make his own pleasure boat when Navy auctioneers sold surplus landing craft in 1947. He eventually purchased one for $750 and had it hauled to a rented lot in Signal Hill, California where he would rebuild it. Because his acquisition was not yet suitable for civilian use, it took Mart three years to convert the vessel into a usable pleasure craft. He called his newly refurbished, 41 foot boat, Maray. Originally, Toggweiler had no intention of using Maray for diving charters; however, a group of treasure divers from the Los Angeles Neptune Diving Club eventually contacted him in 1950. The group wanted to charter his boat to salvage silver from a sunken vessel called Colombia in Magdalena Bay. Unsure if he could oblige their request, Toggweiler and the group decided to take a test charter to Catalina to ensure a trip of this nature was possible. The salvage expedition never panned out, but, by example, Toggweiler quickly discovered that running paid charters to Catalina would help offset his boat expenses and docking fees..............
  Person ID	I3546	My Family Tree
  Last Modified	29 Jul 2010

  
  

  Father	Henry J. Toggweiler,   b. 07 May 1873, Pennsylvania, USA ,   d. 07 Feb 1957, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA  (Age 83 years)
  Mother	Anna Marie Wurster,   b. 24 Feb 1879, 415 Noble St, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA ,   d. 13 Feb 1921, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA  (Age 41 years)
  Married	18 Jan 1899	Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA   [1]
  	Married by Charles Wadsworth an orthodox Calvinist preacher 1899 Wadsworth, Rev. Charles, D.D. 2046 Mount Vernon Street, Philadelphia, Pa. veterans of the war of 1812 Arch Street Presbyterian Church
  Family ID	F33	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Rachel D'Orty,   b. 21 May 1923,   d. Abt 2009  (Age 85 years)
  Last Modified	30 Apr 2020
  Family ID	F1929	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map		Born - 04 Jun 1917 - Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Census - 1920 - Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Died - 21 Mar 2010 - Long Beach, Los Angeles, California, USA  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Photos

  raymondmartintoggweiler.jpg

  
  

• Sources

  [S415] Marriage Certificate- Philadelphia, Orphans Court.