Search for content in message boards

Bio: James K. Voorheis

Replies: 0

Bio: James K. Voorheis

Posted: 19 Nov 2007 12:41PM GMT
Classification: Biography
Surnames: Voorheis, Terry, Reeves Smith, Colvin, Bell, Beattie, Gross
"History of Oakland County Michigan, A Narrative Account of its Historical Progress, its People, and its Principal Interests," comp. Thaddeus D. Seeley [The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago and New York, 1912], p.p. 713-714:

JAMES K. VOORHEIS. The scion of a fruitful family, in which the good old fashion of having a house full of children has prevailed for many generations, James K. Voorheis, one of the prominent and progressive farmers of Waterford township in this county, has kept up with customs and traditions of his family in this respect as well as being an excellent farmer, a straightforward, upright and public-spirited citizen, a man true to his duty in every particular, and a great booster for the locality in which he lives and his interests lie, Pontiac and Oakland county being to him objects of greater solicitude than any other portion of the country, or, for that matter, any other part of the whole world.

Mr. Voorheis was born in the township and on the farm which is now his own in Waterford township, Oakland county, Michigan, on September 6, 1843, a son of Isaac and Sarah (Terry) Voorheis, the grandfather also being named Isaac. The father, a son of John Voorheis, was born in Palmyra, New York, in 1806, and resided there until 1824, when he came to Oakland county, Michigan. Here he entered land from the government, locating in section 36, Waterford township. On this place he passed the remainder of his days, and here, on the soil hallowed by his labors, he died on July 12, 1892. He was a Democrat in politics and a Methodist in religion. In early manhood he wedded Sarah Terry, a daughter of Nathan and Nellie Terry, natives of Tarrytown (possibly Terryville) New York. Eleven children were born to this worthy couple, of whom Sarah, the mother of Mr. Voorheis was the first. She was born in the state of New York in 1806 and was brought to Michigan by her parents in 1823, when she was seventeen years of age. Here her long and useful life ended on July 13, 1899, at the age of ninety-three. To the parents of James K. Voorheis, eight children were born, five of whom are living: Lucy A., who residence is in Detroit; Susan, the widow of Arza Donalson, of Waterford township, in this county; John, whose home is at Farmington; James J.; and Ebb, who is a resident of Pontiac. The children of the household who died were Nathan, William T. and Frank, the second, third and sixth in order of birth.

When Isaac Voorheis was nineteen years of age he took up from the government in this county one hundred and sixty acre of land as a homestead, the farm James K. now owns. The latter earned his first money by trapping, and with this he bought a few acres of land on Sylvan Lake, on which for a little while he did general farming and raised some live stock. But he sold this land in a short time, and during the next five years worked out for other persons. He received $1,000 from his father for the work he did on the homestead, and he saved $500 more which he earned by working for others during the winters. With this capital as a basis he decided to purchase the old home place, and with this end in view took up his residence on eighty acres of it. In five years he paid off all the other heirs of the estate of his father and became the proud possessor of his parental home free of all incumbrances. It embraced one hundred and seventy-three acres, and by additional purchases he increased it to two hundred and thirty acres, of which he has since sold about thirty acres. He cultivated the farm diligently and skillfully until October, 1911, when he retired from active pursuits.

Mr. Voorheis was first married to Miss Clara Reeves in 1868. She died within that year, and on May 30, 1871 [sic*], he married as his second wife Miss Lucinda J. Smith, who was born in the same township as himself on May 15, 1853, and is a daughter of Israel and Mirah J. [sic**] (Colvin) Smith. The mother was brought to Michigan by her parents when she was thirteen years old, and at the age of twenty-one she became the wife of Israel Smith. Eight children were born of their union, all of them natives of Waterford township in this county. They were: Joshua, who was a blacksmith, went to California and died there; Nathan, who died on his farm in his native township, where his family is still living; Theron, who now lives in California; Mrs. Sarah Church, who also removed to California and died in that state; Lucinda J., the wife of Mr. Voorheis; Israel, who is farming in Independence township, this county; George, who went to California when he was twenty-one years of age, and from there to Wyoming, after which the family lost all trace of him; and Frank, who died when he was but two years old. The father of these children died in Oakland county aged seventy and the mother on February 16, 1908, aged nearly eighty-nine.

Israel Smith, the father of Mrs. Voorheis, was born in the state of Vermont, on June 4, 1816. In his boyhood he migrated to New York state, and from there came to Michigan, locating in Waterford township, Oakland county, where he passed the remainder of his life engaged in farming. He was a Democrat in politics and a member of the Christian church in religion. His marriage with Mirah J. Colvin took place in 1842.

Mrs. Voorheis received her education in the school in Donaldson district, Waterford township. By marriage she has become the mother eleven children, two of whom died in infancy and two in later years. The seven who are living are: Nellie, the wife of Harley C. Bell, of Medford, Oregon; Susan, the wife of Peter [or Reator] Davidson, of Pontiac; Lucy, the wife of William Beattie, of Tulsa, Oklahoma; Myra, the wife of Oscar B. Gross, of Pontiac; Richard, who lives in Vancouver, British Columbia; and Ruth and Hazel who are living at home with their parents.

Mrs. and Mrs. Voorheis are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Voorheis has been a member of the Masonic fraternity since 1865, and his wife belongs to its adjunct or auxiliary, the Order of the Eastern Star. In politics he is independent, voting for the man whom he considers best suited to the office and most likely to discharge its duties with an eye single to the general weal. He has been pathmaster, an office in the road improvement service, continuously for forty-five years.

This excellent farmer, straightforward and upright citizen and thoroughly representative man is now verging on seventy years of age and he has passed the whole of is life to this time (1912) among the people by whom he is surrounded now. He is well known all over Oakland county, and in all parts of it is well esteemed for his genuine worth in all the relations of life. His ability as a farmer is everywhere commended. His integrity and high character as a man are worthy of all praise and receive it. His public spirit and usefulness as a citizen have fixed him firmly in the regard of the whole people, and his genial and obliging disposition have won him the good will of everybody who knows him. And in all the encomiums bestowed upon him his amiable and intelligent wife comes in for a full and unstinted share.
__________

* James Voorheis and Lucinda Smith married 30 May 1873, according to Oakland County marriage records.

** Maria Zilpha Colvin, daughter of Nathan Robinson Colvin & Margaret Bacheldor, granddaughter of Jeremiah Colvin & Zilpha Robinson.
__________________

Find a board about a specific topic