Coert Stevense van Voorhees

Coert Stevense Van Voorhees (M)

• Coert Stevense Van Voorhees (1638 - a 20. Jun. 1699)
• Coert Stevense Van Voorhees was also known as Coert Steven Van Voorhees. He was also known as Koert Stevensen Van Voorhees. He was also known as Coerte Stevens Van Vorhis. He was also known as Coert Stephense Van Voores. He was also known as Coert Stevensen Van Hees. He was also known as Coert Stevenz Van Voorhies. He was also known as Cheri Stevense Van Voorhees. He was also known as Coerte Stevens Van Voorhees.
• Coert Stevense Van Voorhees was born in 1637 at Hess, Drenthe, Netherlands.
• He was the son of Steven Coerts Van Voorhees and Aeltje Wessels.
• He 'mmigrated. He came over with his father in 1660, settled in Flatlands.
• He married Marretje Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven, daughter of Gerret Wolfersen Van Kouwenhoven and Aeltje Cornelis Cool, b 1664.
• He was a magistrate, 1664 and 1673.
• On an unknown date He was one of two representatives of Flatlands in Assembly held at City Hall in New Amsterdam', April 10, 1664.
• On 26. Mar. 1674 He was a delegate to the convention at New Orange.
• He a 'deacon' and member at Dutch Reformed Church, Flatlands, Kings County, New York, 1677. * He gave oath of allegiance in Sep. 1687.
• He captain of Militia in 1689.
• He bought of John Tilton all his real estate on 8-Mar-1691 at Gravesend, Kings County, New York.
• He He conveyed this property to his son Albert on 20. Jun. 1699. He died a 20. Jun. 1699.
• Children of Coert Stevense Van Voorhees and Marretje Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven

1. Stephen Coerte Van Voorhees+ (c 1667 - 16. Feb. 1723/24)
2. Altje Coerte Van Voorhees+ (c 1667 - 12. Nov. 1746)
3. Marretje Van Voorhees (1667 - )
4. Gerrit Coerte Van Voorhees+ (c 1669 - )
5. Albert Coerte Van Voorhees+ (c 1673 - c 1748)
6. Neeltje Coertse Van Voorhees+ (30. Jun. 1676 - 4. Aug. 1750)
7. Cornelis Coerte Van Voorhees+ (3. Jun. 1678 - )
8. Annetie Coerte Van Voorhees+ (5. Dec. 1680 - )
9. Johannes Coerte Van Voorhees+ (20. Apr. 1683 - 10. Oct. 1757) (car)

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Coert Stevense Van Voorhees was the son of Steven Coerts Van Voorhees and Aeltje Wessels.

He was born in 1638 at Hees, Drenthe, Netherlands.

He was born in 1637 at Hess, Drenthe, Netherlands. He was born circa 1639 at Of, Ruenen, Drenthe, Netherlands.

He married Marretje Gerretse Van Kouwenhoven, daughter of Gerret Wolfersen Van Kouwenhoven and Aeltje Cornelis Cool, before 1664.

Coert Stevense Van Voorhees died after 20-Jun-1699.

He was also known as Coert Steven Van Voorhees, Koert Stevensen Van Voorhees , Coert Stephense Van Voores , Coerte Stevens Van Vorhis , Coert Stevensen Van Hees , Coert Stevenz Van Voorhies , Coerte Stevens Van Voorhees , Cheri Stevense Van Voorhees.
He immigrated; He came over with his father in 1660, settled in Flatlands. He was a magistrate, 1664 and 1673. On an unknown date he was one of two representatives of Flatlands in Assembly held at City Hall in New Amsterdam, April 10, 1664.
On 26-Mar-1674 He was a delegate to the convention at New Orange.

He a deacon and member at Dutch Reformed Church, Flatlands, Kings County, New York, 1677. He gave oath of allegiance in Sep-1687. He captain of Militia in 1689.

He bought of John Tilton all his real estate on 8-Mar-1691 at Gravesend, Kings County, New York. He conveyed this property to his son Albert on 20-Jun-1699.

www.conovergenealogy.com/ancestor-p/p223.htm#i329

Notes for Coerten Stephense Van Voorhees:

Immigrated in 1660 to New Amsterdam with his father. Resided in flatlands. He was a magistrate in 1664 and 1673. Member of the Dutch Church and deacon in 1677. aka: Coerte Sstevens/stevense Van Voorhis or Van Voorhees. Signed his name "Koert

Stevensen" and at times "Koert Stevensen Van Ruinen"

He was captain of the militia in 1689

(III) Coert Stevense, son of Steven Coert Van Voorhees, was born 1637, died after 1702. His name appears on the assessment rolls of Flatlands, Long Island, of 1675 and 1683. He was a member of the Dutch church of Flatlands and a deacon in 1677; a magistrate in 1664 and 1673; captain of militia in 1689. He was a representative from Flatlands in the general assembly, held in New Amsterdam, April 10, 1664, and was delegate to the convention held at New Orange in 1674, to confer with Governor Colve. He took the oath of allegiance in Flatlands, September, 1687. He owned much land and appears in many transfers of property. He married, prior to 1664, Marretje Gerritse Van Couwenhovenn, baptized April 10, 1644, died between 1702 and 1709.

Children:

1. Steven Coerte, married Agatha Janse. 2. Marretje Coerte, married Jacob Remsen. 3. Albert Coerte, married (first) Sara W. Cornell, (second) Willentje Suydam (third) Ida Vanderbilt. 4. Gerrit Coerte, see forward. 5. Altje Coerte, married (first) Johannes Willemse; (second) Joost Rutfertse Van Brunt. 6. Neeltje Coerte, married Jarret R. Schenck, of Monmouth county, New Jersey. 7. Cornelis Coerte, married Antje Remsen. 8. Annatje Coertia, married Jan Rapalje. 9. Johannes Coerte, married Barbara Van Dyck.

Children of Steven Van Voorhees and Aaltjen Wessels: +1. Coert born about 1638 in the Netherlands; died after 20 June 1699 Flatlands NY; married Marretje Gerretse Van Couwenhoven bp 10 Apr 1644 Brooklyn RDC; died between 1702 and 1709; daughter of Gerret Wolfertse Van Couwenhoven and Aeltje Cool.

GEDCOM Source

Ancestry.com U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012; @R6@

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Ancestry.com Web: Netherlands, GenealogieOnline Trees Index, 1000-2015 Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2014; @R7@

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Ancestry.com A genealogy of the Van Voorhees family in America, or, The descendants of Stephen Coerte Van Voorhees of Holland and Flatlands Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT; Date: 2005; @R7@

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Ancestry.com U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012; @R6@

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Ancestry.com Web: Netherlands, GenealogieOnline Trees Index, 1000-2015 Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2014; @R7@

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Ancestry.com North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2016; @R6@

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Book Title: A register of the ancestors of Dorr Eugene Felt and Agnes (McNulty) Felt

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Ancestry.com U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012; @R6@

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Ancestry.com Web: Netherlands, GenealogieOnline Trees Index, 1000-2015 Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2014; @R7@

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Ancestry.com Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012; @R7@

GEDCOM Source

GEDCOM Source

Ancestry.com A genealogy of the Van Voorhees family in America, or, The descendants of Stephen Coerte Van Voorhees of Holland and Flatlands Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT; Date: 2005; @R7@

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Ancestry.com New York, Genealogical Records, 1675-1920 Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2004; @R7@

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The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record (quarterly-1934) - Extracts; Publication Place: New York; Publisher: New York Genealogical and Biographical Society; Page Number: 8

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!Source: The Van Voorhees Association, May 1999

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Sources found by Rhonda Bawden
Name(Coert Van Voorhees),parents,Byr,pla,Spouse,Dyr,Bap,End,SP-Archive Record Sheet of Mattie B. Fish with varifications from Cond.Gen.of Van Voorhees Families pg 5;Hist.Handbook of Van Voorhees Family pg 30-37;N.Y. K 2c pg 374-381,391,B5F13 pg 10-15;Abridged Comp. Amer. Gen. 995 Name(Coert),Byr,pla,Spouse,MD,Dyr-Family Group Sheet of Joseph W Wilson with varifications from __ar Book of Holland Society of New York,1926-25-26-27 pg 249,208;___ of Am. Gen. Vol 3 pg 461.Vol 6 pg 30,598,163;Vol 7 pg 112,258,8890,447;Colonial Families of the U.S. Vol 1 pg 456-9;___ an Ancestry Vol 1,3,4;___esis Oct1954 Dutch Settlers in N.J. by Tunia G Bergen Name(Coert),parents,Byr,Spouse,MD(bef 1666),Children-Flatlands,Kings,NY Record pg 376,378(copied) Name(Coert),parents,Byr,pla(Hees,Drenthe,Holl),Spouse,MD,End-TIB FHL film 1,262,345 *Mother also as Willempje Seubvering from Long Island Genealogies

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!Source: 1) The IGI, film # 1396345 2) Church Archive record submitted by Mattie B Fish, 586 East 2nd Ave, Mesa, Ariz. 3) The Ancestral File of the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS shows this person to be the son of Steven Coerte VAN VOORHEES and Willempje SEUBERING, adds Stevens to the name, gives death date and the following temple ordinance dates: B: 28 Sep 1929, E: 13 May 1931, and SP: 28 May 1943.

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!IGI;Monmouth Families Vol I&II by Ann P. Miles;Conover Lineage by Leona C. Meehan, Middletown, Ohio; !IGI;Monmouth Families Vol. I&II by Ann P. Miles;Conover Lineage by Leona C. Meehan, Middletown, Ohio; !IGI;Monmouth Families, Vol I&II, by Ann P. Miles;Conover Lineage by Leona C. Meehan, Middletown, Ohio;

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A20843-8 D 11 Am pub M Vol1 p.16 B 14 A 71

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Immigrated: 1660, New Netherlands

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Society of Colonial Wars in NJ - Capt NY Militia 1689, Member of Assemby NY 1664. Van Voorhees Association. Member of the Dutch Church of Flatlands and a deacon in 1677, magistrate in 1664 and 1673, captain of militia in 1689. Representative from Flatlands in the general assembly held in new Amsterdam 10 Apr 1664 and a delegat to the convention held at New Orange in 1674. He was one of the original patentees of Flatlands. He took the oath of allegience in Sep 1687.

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Rev William Schenck his Ancestors and his Descedants Coer t Stevense Van Voorhees The Van Voorhees family Vol 1 The F irst Four Generations by Albert Stokes His birth was dete rmined by the ship passenger list. He arrived in Nieuw Amst erdam with his family on 15 Apr 1660. He was active in chur ch and civic affairs at Flatlands. He represented Amersfoor t at the Assembly in New Amsterdamin April 1664 and at Ne w Orange in 1674. He was appointed Magistrate in 1673 and w as a Deacon in the church on 1674 In 1687 he took the Oat h of Allegiance to the British. He was Captain of the Milit ia in 1689. He was living on 20 Jun 169 9, when he conveye d property in Gravesend to his son Albert Coert. Internet I nformation from Michael Fromholt Died in 1677 in Flatlan d World Family Tree The Ancestors of Two Sisters by Helen a nd Carol Cortelyou Internet Edenfield Genealogical Societ y died after 1702 Internet John R Okerson Family Page d ied before 1702 Internet Roots Web - Chandler/Case Family T ree Internet - Darmi Genealogy - Gerrit Wolfert Van Couwenh oven Family Internet - Darmi Genealogy - Coert Van Voorhes s Family

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He was active in church and civic affairs at Nieuw Amersfoort, represented Amersfoort at the Assembly in Nieuw Amsterdam in April, 1664 and at New Orange in 1674. He was appointed a magistrate in 1673and was a deacon in the church in 1674. In 1687 he took the Oath of Allegiance to the British, was Captain of Militia in 1689.

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Coert Stevense (Van Voorhees) was commissioned Captain of foot soldiers by Lieut.-Gov. Jacob Leisler on Dec. 27 1689. Names from a Census of Kings Co., 1698. Coert Stevense (Van Voorhees) 1 man, 1 woman, 3 children, 2 slaves. (from the Documentary History of N.Y., vol. ii., p. 198. Info from GENEALOGY of the VAN VOORHEES FAMILY in America or the Descendants of Steven Corte Van Voorhees of New York City New York and London G.P. PUTNAM'S SONS The Knickerbocker Press 1888. Translation from the Dutch of the N)Y. colonial Manuscripts. Office of the Sec. of State, Albany, N)Y) Vo. xxciiil, f. 136. To day the 10th of Oct. 1679 appeared before us, cap. James Hubbard at the request of JanElten, a resident of Kingston, now about to depart for the Fatherland, the worshipful Steven Corte (Van Voorhees) seventy-nine years old,and Coert Stevense(Van Voorhees) forty-two yrs.old, all natives of land of Drenthe,who declare that it is true tha the above named petitioner is the lawful son of Roeloff Elten. They declare that to the best of their fnform that they have always known him as an honest and virtuous man. In witness of the truth they sin this with their own hands at New Amesfoort on L.I.,in America, date as above. signed by Steven Coerte (Van Voorhees). and Coert Stevense(Van Voorhees).

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Coert van Voorhees - article on Wikepedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coert_van_Voorhees

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Rev William Schenck his Ancestors and his Descedants Coert Stevense Van Voorhees The Van Voorhees family Vol 1 The First Four Generations by Albert Stokes His birth was determined by the ship passenger list. He arrived in Nieuw Amsterdam with his family on 15 Apr 1660. He was active in church and civic affairs at Flatlands. He represented Amersfoort at the Assembly in New Amsterdamin April 1664 and at New Orange in 1674. He was appointed Magistrate in 1673 and was a Deacon in the church on 1674 In 1687 he took the Oath of Allegiance to the British. He was Captain of the Militia in 1689. He wasliving on 20 Jun 1699, when he conveyed property in Gravesend to his Albert Coert.

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!Cond Gen of Van Voorhees Fam pg 5-6; Hist Handbook of Van V. Fam pg 36; NY K 2 c pg 375,377, 380; Mattie B. Fish of Mesa AZ

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Historical Handbook of the Van Voorhees Family in the Netherlands and America https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE3652... HISTORICAL Handbook OF TH E VAN VOORHEES FAMILY IN TH E NETHERLANDS AND AMERICA WIT H ILLUSTRATIONS STEPHEN J. VOORHIES T H E VAN VOORHEES ASSOCIATION 193 5 Copyright 1935 by the V A N VOORHEE S ASSOCIATIO N Organized January 16. 1932 OFFICERS President. Oscar M . Voorhees, D.D. , LL.D . New Bams wick. N.J . Vice-President. Sadie Estelle Voorhees (Mrs. Edward Dawson) 127 Passaic Ave.. Passaic. X . J. Secretary, Harry Stephen Vorhis, A.B . 50 Vanderbilt Ave.. New Vork , N . Y . Treasurer. Wheeler X . Voorhees 1S7S Coney Island Ave.. Brooklyn. N . Y. EXECUTIV E COMMITTE E The ofhcers and I r v i ng \ V tison Voorh ees. M.D . 140 East 54th St.. New Vork, N . Y . Ralph S. Voorhees, LL.B . 1788 West 11th St.. Brooklyn, N . Y . Stephen Robin Voris 2526 East 26th St.. Brooklyn, N . Y . Printed in the L'ntted States ot America By Thatcher-Anders in Company New Brunswick. N . T. CONTENTS PAGE I THE FAMILY GENEALOGIST AND HIS WORK 1 II THE FAMILY COAT OF ARMS 7 III ORIGIN OF THE VAN VOORHEES FAMILY 11 IV STEVEN COERTEN'S MIGRATION 16 VSTATE AND CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND 22 VI THE FAMILY ARRIVES AT NEW AMERSFOORT 26 VII LETTERS FROM THE HOME LAND 38 VIII THE VAN VOORHEES FAMILY AT GRAVESEND 42 IX VAN VOORHEES FAMILIES IN NEW JERSEY 47 X THE DUTCH COLLEGE ON THE RARITAN 54 XI THE FIRST CLERGYMAN 58 XII IN THE WAR FOR AMERICAN INDÉPENDANCE 61 XIII FRIENDS OF WASHINGTON 63 XIV CAPTAIN PETER VOORHEES, HERO AND MARTYR 66 XV THE WILDERNESS TRAIL 69 XVI A TALE FROM THE WAR OF 1812 75 XVII A VOORHEES IN NAVAL ANNALS 79 XVIII THE FAMILY IN LOUISIANA 83 XIX FOUNDERS OF A CENTURY-OLD FIRM 92 XX DANIEL VAN VOORHIS, SILVERSMITH 95 XXI A STORY FROM MEXICO 97 XXII MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY IN POLITICAL LIFE 101 XXIII THE VOORHEES COLONNADE IN DENVER 109 XXIV A UNIQUE EDUCATIONAL PROJECT 112 XXV Two MEMBERS OF SPIRITUAL VISION 116 XXVI Two VOORHEES REUNIONS 119 FOREWORD The plan to form a Van Voorhees Association was approved at a meeting held in the Church House of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Flatlands, Brooklyn, New York, January 16, 1932. The organization was completed by the election of officers and an Executive Committee at a second meeting held in the Empire State Building, Manhattan, May 21, of that year. The immediate objective of the Association was to arrange to commemorate fittingly in 1935, on or near the site of the original family homestead in Flatlands, the 275th anniversary of the arrival in New Netherland in the early summer of 1660 of Steven Coerten, who came from the Manor of Voorhees, Province of Drente, Netherlands, with wife and seven children, and their settlement a few months later in Flatlands, Long Island. It was decided to encourage an inclusive organization by inviting to membership not only all who bear the Voorhees name, however they may spell it, and wherever they may reside, but also all collateral relatives who can trace their lineage back to this common ancestor. As few families of today have easy access to the Genealogy of the Van Voorhees Family published in 1888, the Association arranged during its first year to issue a Condensed Genealogy, wherein are traced in compact form the lines of descent from Steven Coerten of all persons bearing the Van Voorhees name so far as they appeared in the large volume or could be ascertained, carrying the lines in some cases to the ninth generation. This work has proved of great value to the officers of the Association, and has enabled many applicants for membership to trace their lines of descent back to our common ancestor. Invitations to membership have been extended to nearly two thousand descendants of Steven Coerten, and certificates have been issued to more than four hundred applicants, all but twenty-six of whom have been able to trace their family lines completely. In addition to an extensive correspondence the officers have arranged and held fifteen Rallies ; five in New York state, six in New Jersey, two in Ohio, one in Illinois, and one in Washington, D. C. At all of these the objects in view have been explained, and at some of them important papers have been read on special lines of family history, involving much research. Several of these have been given publicity in local papers. Of such value did this new material seem to the officers, especially that concerning those members of the family who have attained a degree of prominence, that it was deemed fitting to assemble it in form for publication. This Historical Handbook is the result. No attempt has been made to compile a connected history of the family. A competent historian is awaited. It is hoped that the stories assembled will serve toarouse interest, and to encourage a wider feeling of kinship in view of a common inheritance. All the writers are of Van Voorhees ancestry, and with two exception, all bear the name, as does the artist who designed the illustrations. May the book encourage not so much pride of ancestry as pride in achievement. Those who have wrought to complete this work hereby express sincere thanks for all the assistance accorded them. While no names are mentioned, all are assured of deep gratitude for their helpfulness. New Brunswick, N. J. OSCAR M. VOORHEES, May 15, 1935. Compiler and Editor. Steven Coerte Van Voorhees! and his Descendants in America Published by the Van Voorhees Association Second and Revised Edition June, 1932 THE VAN VOORHEES ASSOCIATION Organized January 16, 1932 To commemorate in1935 the 275th anniversary of the coming to New Amsterdam in 1660 of Steven Coerte, Van Voorhees, his wife, five sons and three daughters, and their settlement at Flatlands on Long Island. OFFICERS ELECTED MA Y 21, 1932 "*-'President, Rev. Oscar M. Voorhees, 3531 78th St., Jackson Hts., L. I. , N. Y, Vice President, Sadie Estelle Voorhees, (Mrs. Edward Dawson), 127 Passaic Ave., Passaic, N. J. Secretary, Harry Stephen Vorhis, 50 Vanderbilt Ave., New York, N. Y. Treasurer. Wheeler N. Voorhees, 1878 Coney Island Ave., Brooklyn N . Y. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE The officers and -Irvin g Wilson Voorhees, M. D., 140 East 54th St., New York N . Y. Ralph S. Voorhees, 1788 West nt h St., Brooklyn N . Y. Stephen Robin Voris, 2526 East 26th St., Brooklyn, N . Y. This committee was made responsible for theconduct of the affairs of the Association, and for the commemorative exercises to be held in 1935. FOUNDERS All those who attended one or both of the meetings for organization and those also who contributed to its financial support are termed Founders. MEMBERS Any descendant of Steven Coerte Van Voorhees may become a Member of the Association by registering with the Secretary, giving his line of descent so far as known, and paying the membersip fee of $1. There are no annual dues. Opportunity is given to those who wish to offer larger financial assistance to be appropriately listed ; those who give $5 as Contributing Members, and those who give $10, as Sustaining Members. All who thus register will receive an appropriate Membership Certificate. A large and interested membership is deemed essential to the success of the Association. THE CONDENSED GENEALOGY The Condensed Genealogy described on page six is an unusual work as it lists more than 2000 men and 1100 women in their appropriatefamily lines. A copy will be forwarded for $1. T H E GENEALOGICAL CHART An}' member who furnishes sufficient information to fully link himself to our common ancestor may have a Chart showing graphically his ancestral line and containing much information respecting his ancestors. Each Chart must be especially prepared. The price is $1. The interest of all members of the Van Voorhees Family, however they spell their names, is confidently anticipated. Seven states are already represented on our membership list. Please note that membership is not confined to those who bear the ancestral name, forcollateral relatives are welcomed. The names of interested members of the family, and also of collateral relatives, arc desired, to whom copies of this folder may be sent. KINDLY PRESERVE THIS FOLDERSTEVEN COERTE VAN VOORHEES and His Descendants in America Any one who has examined even casually the genealogy compiled by Elias W. Van Voorhis, and entitled "TH E VA N VOORHEES FAMILY " must have been impressed by the vitality of this family that has entered so widely into the life of our country. The book was published in 1888, and is now out of print. During the intervening forty-five years two generations have come upon the scene, the lives of whom are as worthy of record as were the lives of their ancestors. Is not the time at hand to further commemorate the family name and tradition? A suggestion, made to a circle of descendants who reside on Long Island, that it would be appropriate to celebrate in 1935 the 275th anniversary of the coming to these shores of our ancestors, met with quite general approval, and those who accepted the invitation met in Flatlands on Saturday, January 16, 1932, in the parish house of the ancient Reformed Church, which, organized by Dutch settlers in 1654, at once welcomed our ancestors into its membership. It was decided to organize a VA N VOORHEES ASSOCIATION, to elect temporary Officers, and a general Committee to work out a plan of procedure. A first edition of this Folder was printed and widely distributed. It elicited many cordial responses, and proffers of financial support. At the call of the committee a second meeting was held in New York on May 21, 1932. The reports of the temporary officers were accepted and their actions approved, and a permanent organization effected. Officers and an Executive Committee were elected, and a series of By-laws accepted with directions that the Committee draft them in suitable form. This has been done. Verv appropriately the heraldic Crest and Motto of the family was adopted as the emblem of the Association. The objects in view are to promote fuller recognition of kinship among the numerous branches of the Family ; to make possible a completer knowledge of ancestral lines; to form auxiliary organizations ; and especially to commemorate in 1935 the 275th anniversary of the [3] coming- to America of Steven Coerte Van Voorhees and his family. It can then be determined whether it will be practicable to publish a new and complete edition of the Van Voorhees Genealogy. The names of the Officers and of the Executive Committee, and the regulations governing membership, are printed elsewhere in this folder. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Our common ancestor, Steven Coerte, came from the village of Hees in the Province of Drenthe in the Netherlands in 1660, bringing with him his wife, whose name is not recorded, three daughters, and five sons, the youngest, Abraham, being about two years of age. They settled in Amersfoort on Long Island, later named Flatlands, now in the Borough of Brooklyn of the City of New York. Steven Coerte at once purchased about fift y acres of land, including a home and a brewery, and set for himself the task of entering into the life of the new country. He soon became a magistrate of Amersfoort. Only four years later the English took possession of New Amsterdam, and all those of Dutch ancestry became of necessity subjects of Great Britain. Steven Coerte's children married in due time, and in three generations relationships were established with many important Dutch families, including those of Ackerman, Bennett, Bergen, Bertholf, Bloodgood, Bougaert, Bryant, Cortelyou, Couwenhoven (also spelled Kouwenhoven and Conover), Ditmars, Dorlant, Dumont, Eldert, Garretson, Hendricks, Hopper, Housman, Janse, Kershow, Kierstead, Kipp, Laroe, Lott, Minas, Nevius,Pieters, Rapelje, Remsen, Riker, Roeloffs, Romeyn, Ryder, Ryerson, Schenck, Souebring, Stillwell, Stoothoff, Sutphen, Suydam, Terheune, Teunisson, Van Brunt, Van Derbeek, Van Derveer, Van Dyck, Van Duyckhuysen, Van Gelder, Van Giesen, Van Orden, Wessell, Wil - liams, Wyckoff, and Zabriskie. The early descendants were for the most part farmers who made their homes in adjoining communities on Long Island and Staten Island. Some of the third generation sought homes in the Hudson valley along the Fishkill, others in New Jersey, principally in Passaic, Middlesex, Monmouth and Somerset counties. A little later families moved to Pennsylvania, to Central and Western [4] New York, and the more venturesome to Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan. Later still some moved to Louisiana, Colorado, and California. Representatives are now found in neary every state of the Union. T H E NAM E The English requirement respecting patronimics brought to an end the Dutch system of names, in accordance with which both sons and daughters bore as their second names the first name of their father ; as Coert Stevense and Altj e Stevense, children of Steven Coerte or Korten, whose father was Coert or Kort. The name Van Voorhees, which does not appear in early family records, was evidently adopted because our ancestors came from near the village of Hees, and was quite generally accepted. Later many families dropped the "Van," and a few dropped the "Voorhees" also, and became Johnson, from Janse (son of Jan), Stevenson from Stevense (son of Steven), or Alberts or Albertson (son of Albertse). Some who bear these names may still find it possible to trace their connection with the family, for they also descended from our common ancestor. In the process of Anglicizing Dutch names we find one reason for variant spellings. Another reason was the general use by the Dutch of "pet" or home names, which differed from those given at baptism. Not a few variant spellings are due to frontier school teachers who registered incorrectly the names of the children who came to their schools. Respecting variant spellings Mr. Elias W. Van Voorhis writes in the introduction to his monumental genealogy, "The Van Voorhees Family," in part thus : "The original name Van Voorhees has been subject to many curious changes in this country, the writer having found it written in early times on public records in other ways as Van Voorheesen, Van Voorheeze, Van Voorhuysen, Van Voorheese, Van Voorhase, Van Voorhaise, Van Voorhouse, Van Voirhies, either with or without the 'Van,' and it is at the present day written by different branches of the family as Voorhis, Voorheis, Voris, Vorus, Voorhees, Voorhies, Vorhes, and Vores, either with or without the 'Van.' The prevailing mode of writing it now, however, is Voorhees, without the prefix 'Van,' such being the spelling used in the counties [5] of New Jersey, except Bergen where it is almost universally written Voorhis without the 'Van.' " To a remarkabledegree all these descendants have been a sturdy, self-reliant, honest, and Godfearing folk. Not a few have risen to prominence in business, as physicians, clergymen, lawyers, legislators, judges of lower and higher courts, authors and educators. One became Governor of New Jersey, and another served his state -Indiana-for many years as United States Senator. In the Civic Center of Denver the Voorhees Colonnade occupies a prominent position. The death on February 5, 1932, of John R. Voorhis at the age of one hundred and two years, after a life of unusual service to the City of New York, has given the name nation-wide prominence. These facts give to members of the family and their relatives cause for profound gratitude. In planning to commemorate the 275th anniversary of the coming to these shores of Steven Coerte Van Voorhees, and his family, we would give appropriate recognition to their sturdy Christian qualities, and to the worthy citizenship of those who, during many generations, have proudly borne their name. A CONDENSED VA N VOORHEES GENEALOGY T H E VA N VOORHEES FAMIL Y was issued in a limited edition, and copies are now highly prized by those who possess them, and by the libraries in which they are to be found. As these copies are inaccessible to most members of the present generation it is deemed fitting to print a Condensed Genealogy to enable those who are interested to trace their ancestral lines, and the degree of rela tionship they bear to other members of the family. The preparation of this work has proved exacting owing to the many existing family lines. While Mr. Van Voorhis succeeded in tracing many of these to the ninth, and some to the tenth generation, he was aware of many omissions and not a few errors. In the Condensed Genealogy have been included all the male lines as far as Mr. Van Voorhis was able to trace them. Afte r the fourth generation surnames only are given and these are arranged in columns numbered to indicate succeeding generations.However, the names of many wives are given so that those who know their grandparents, or better, their great grandparents, may readily [6] trace their ancestral lines. Some attention has also been paid to family migrations, and to variant spellings of the name. AUXILIAR Y ASSOCIATIONS It is hoped that during the intervening years gatherings or reunions may be arranged in places where several families are within easy traveling distance, to which collateral relatives should be invited. Auxiliary organizations may grow out of such reunions. Correspondence looking to such family gatherings is solicited. It is hoped that the appended lines, that form the beginning and closing stanzas of a poem that was read on July n , 1905, at High Bridge, N . J., at a local family reunion, will be deemed a fitting conclusion to this first publication of the VA N VOORHEES ASSOCIATION. T H E FAMIL Y SHIELD AND MOTTO This is a day of days for our clan of the tribe of Van Voorhees ; For here we have gatheredin numbers from the East and the Westland also, To recall the brave deeds of our fathers who showed the true spirit of Dutchmen; To cherish the ties that unite us and strengthen the feeling of kindred; To praise the good Lord for his care and the joys we share while together. We have sprung from an honored line, a brave, a noble and ancient. Since first to these shores came the name two centuriesand more must be reckoned. Our ancestors came, they tell us, in the year sixteen hundred and sixty, And the vessel that brought him and his, the fair Bontekoe was christened. Left behind were the meads of old Holland and his home near the village of Hees : Hence the surname he bore, as do we, the euphonious name of Van Voorhees. Son of Coert our ancestor was, and a cognomen Biblical bore he. Derived, it is said, directly from Stephen, the first Christian martyr:- Stephen Coerte, Van Voorhees, the name that appeared on the Bontekoe's record To this vessel he trusted his all, for with him came Vrouw Van Voorhees, And also five sons and three daughters, the children that blessed their union. Of the wealth of this world it would seem some store had they gathered together, [7] Yet were they rich in their name and the purpose to keep it untarnished, For they had a line to sustain, a family shield and a motto. The field of the shield was quartered and tinctured and blazoned most nobly ; Two quarters emblazoned with oak trees, and two were with castles resplendent, Noting a union of lines of equal position and standing. The crest of the shield was a castle, while beneath on the scroll wasthe motto. Firm set of deep root were the oaks, unheeding the winds that assailed them, While under their wide-spreading branches they offer protection and shelter. The castles, on red fields, told plainly of strength to protect and to cherish ; But the motto gave voice and expression to a meaningwider and deeper : For not in the oak or the castle but in his own heart a man's strength is. In the "robur," the oak of the Romans, was seen manly courage or virtue. So their motto in letters resplendent claimed VIRTUE their CASTLE or FORTRESS ; And "Virtue my Castle or Fortress" is the motto we proudly inherit. Surely a beautiful motto and one to be ever remembered, One to be cherished and loved by all their long line of descendants. Or if not a lineal descendant you have found your place in the clan By lovingly joining your fortunes with one or another or other Of those who proudly inherit the name, or the blood of Van Voorhees. We greet you with welcome most hearty, and praise the discrimination That led to a choice so happy and gave you a place in our circle. But to each and to all has descended the family shield and its motto, And from henceforth for aye we should cherish this as the choicest possession, And thank the great Giver of all that 'tis our good fortune to share it. Let us then the name of Van Voorhees and the family tradition and motto With ardor and kindling devotionuphold and protect and cherish. Let each so live and so labor as worthy to be of the fathers , And mothers of past generations through whom we ve received our being. Let each one take as a motto and a strong incentive to duty The words on the scroll of our scutcheon, so dear to the heart of our fathers, And say, as we go forth to labor, each in his calling appointed, VIRTUS CA.STEX.LUM MEUM, Virtue's my Castle or Fortress. I T H E FAMIL Y GENEALOGIST AN D HI S WOR K I T IS fortunate that there is available so complete and valuable a genealogy of the Van Voorhees Family as that monumental workcompiled by Elias W. Van Voorhis and published in 1888, but now out of print. In its preparation the author spent much time and practically all his fortune. The work proved far greater and costlier than he had anticipated. The author, Elias William Van Voorhis, bore the name of his father who had been a successful business man in New York City. He was a grandson of William Roe Van Voorhis of Fishkill Village, New York, who had been a major of the 149th New York State Infantry in the War of 1812. William Roe Van Voorhis was in the sixth generation of the Van Voorhees Family in America. He was a great grandson of Johannes Van Voorhees and Barbara Van Dyck of Freehold, New Jersey, who was in turn the fourth son of Coert (the eldest son of Steven Coerten) and Marretje Van Couwenhoven. In 1730, when forty-seven years of age, Johannes Van Voorhees removed from Freehold, New Jersey, to Dutchess County, New York, where he had purchased for 670 pounds an estate extending from the Hudson river northeasterly beyond the village of Fishkill, about six miles in all, containing "2790 acres more or less," and became the progenitor of the Fishkill branch of the family. He signed his will Johannes Van Voorhees, which his descendants promptly contracted to Van Voorhis. T H E AUTHOR Elias W. Van Voorhis, Jr., was born in New York City, May 28, 1844; his mother's maiden name was Maria Louisa Barker. He was the youngest of three children. A n elder brother, Barker Van Voorhis, served as an ensign throughout the Civil War, and an elder 1 2 T H E VA N VOORHEES HISTORICAL HANDBOOK sister, Sarah A., married John C. Brintnall of New York City. Elias Van Voorhis was a student at the College of the City of New York, later at Columbia Law School, from which institution he received his LL.B. May 17,1863, and he was admitted to the New York bar three days later. He became a member of the New York Historical Society, the Pennsylvania Historical Society, the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, and the Holland Society of New York. He never married. He died October 26, 1892, in his fortyninth year, survived by his sister, and by a son and a daughter of his deceased brother, Barker. Mr. Van Voorhis' interest in the family led to his publication in 1881 of a volume entitled "Notes on the Ancestry of Major William Roe Van Voorhis of Fishkill, N . Y., " and a little later of "Tombstone Inscriptions from the Churchyard of the Dutch Church, Fishkill, N . Y. " Both volumes came from the Knickerbocker Press, and were printed for private distribution only. An extensive correspondence,following the publication of these books, resulted in the accumulation of much genealogical data, and later in the resolve to compile a more complete work which he titled : " A Genealogy of the Van Voorhees Family in America." In the Introduction, dated March 1, 1888, the author tells something of the effort required to finish the work. While acknowledging the valued assistance of numerous correspondents, he expressed regret that the neglect of others necessitated many omissions. THE GENEALOGY The book is a quarto of 725 pages, and contains as a frontispiece a fine steel engraving of the author ; and also two maps, of 1638 and 1878, showing a portion of the Province of Drente1 in the Netherlands. The location of the village of Hees is plainly indicated with a castle nearby on the older map. The Genealogy is in two parts. The first part of twenty-five pages, consists of introductory matter, something respecting sources of information concerning members of the family in Holland, translations of letters received from them, and such information as had been secured respecting Steven Koerte, as the name appears on the passenger list of De Bonte Kou on its voyage from Holland to the New 'This province is spelled on the earlier map, Drentia; on the later, Drente. Other spellings are Drent and Drenthe, but the "h" is not pronounced. T H E FAMIL Y GENEALOGIST 3 World, which commenced April 15, 1660. A list of ten children of Steven Coerten, and another of eighty-six grandchildren, numbered consecutively in Roman numerals, with husbands and wives so far as then known, concludes this part of the volume. Part Second, which fills the remaining pages of the book, contains genealogical data respecting these eighty-six grandchildren and their descendants, many lines being carried to the eighth generation. The last sixty pages are devoted to an index. The system adopted has merit, though leaving much unused space on many pages. Genealogies of more recent date give fuller informationon fewer pages. However, the value of the work cannot be too highly esteemed. SOURCES In preparing his Genealogy Mr. Van Voorhis had access to the extensive data concerning branches of the family that had been gathered by the late Teunis G. Bergen of Brooklyn, much of which is to be found in his great work, "The Bergen Family," first published in 1866, and in an enlarged edition in 1876. Antie Eldertse (Van Voorhees), in the third generation from Steven Coerten, had married Hans Bergen, and many facts respecting her ancestry and relationships were printed in a footnote on pages 138-40 of the enlarged edition. In 1881 Mr. Bergen published a more inclusive work entitled, "Register of the Early Settlers of Kings County to 1700." Al l that had appeared in the earlier work respecting the Van Voorhees family, and much in addition, is found in the later book. However, little information is given concerning those branches of the family that had removed from Long Island to other sections. In his Introduction to his Genealogy the author wrote : "The writer does not claim the work to be complete-few genealogies are-but having exhausted all known sources of information, and having written forfamily records to all the members of the family whose addresses he has been able to obtain, he has thought it advisable to publish what he has collected, in the hope that some other member of the family may some time in the future take it up where he has left it and bring it to fuller completion for the benefit of the Van Voorhees posterity." In the early pages of his work the author printed manyextracts from histories of New Amsterdam, New York, and Long Island; the New Netherlands Register, the Documentary History of New 4 T H E VA N VOORHEES HISTORICAL HANDBOOK York, and other sources, copying usually with great care the names as therein found and spelled. In the earliest documents the family name does not appear. To make the meaning evident the name Van Voorhees was frequently added within marks of parenthesis. For his purpose the method was justified, for it saved him from the charge of misquoting. Such literal accuracy is not necessary in this work. Later studies make it possible for us to come a little closer to the facts as the documents reveal them. T HE SPELLING OF NAMES I n the preparation of his Genealogy Elias Van Voorhis became familiar with Dutch carelessness in the spelling of names. Those who kept church records seemed less careful than did the keepers of civic records. Van Voorhees was spelled in many ways, and Voorhees in several others. This is puzzling, for clergymen of those days were well educated and scholarly. This, however, would not be guessed by those who study the records they have left behind. Parents were entered in one way when a child was baptized, and in a very different way when later other children were presented. It therefore becomes necessary to find what may be deemed the correct spelling, and show more consistency than the records exhibited. It is evident that the Dutch were much given to home or pet names, which were often entered in church and civil records, and also in wills. A further difficulty appears when Dutch names were replaced by English equivalents. To illustrate, the German Rudolph became Ruloff in the Dutch, though spelled in several ways, and Ralph in English. Fantastic spellings at times appear, as Luijkes for Lucas, which later became Luke. It is not thought necessary to copy all these unusual spellings. T H E NAM E VAN VOORHEES No document has yet been found to prove that our common ancestor used the name Van Voorhees. He was registered on De Bonte Koe as Steven Koerte, and similarly when making his first purchase of land, though all documents indicate that his father's name was spelled Coert. His will is not extant, but on a copy of a document of 1679, five years before his death, the name is written Steven Coerten. On the same document his oldest son's name was written Coert Stevenseu. These were considered the correct forms at that time, thereafter Coerten and Coert most frequently appear. T H E FAMIL Y GENEALOGIST 5 In correct Dutch usage Coerten and Stevensen were masculine, and Coerte and Stevense, feminine. This our genealogist had not learned, for he used Coerte and Stevense for both sons and daughters. This error we hope to avoid. It now seems that the name Van Voorhees was first used by relatives in the home land when addressing letters to those in America, as will be noted when these letters are quoted in another chapter. They were written to Coert, the oldest son, whose education in Drente was more thorough than that which his brothers and sisters enjoyed. But neither he nor his brothers adopted Van Voorhees as a surname ; nor did all his sons. His oldest son signed his name Steven Koerten. Several documents indicate that his second son used Albert Coerten consistently, while his third son signed his will Gerrett Coerten. No signature of his fourth son, Cornelius, has been found, but many of his descendants were known as Van Voorhis. When purchasing a tract of land in 1730 his youngest son was named Johannes Koerten, though, when entering in the family Bible the names of children born between 1704 and 1713, he wrote Van Voor Hees; three younger children were entered as Van Voorhees, and thus he signed his will in 1755. Shortly before this other families, especially those living in central New Jersey, had accepted the abreviated name, Voorhees. It is thus evident that the name, though having its origin in Drente, is American, and not Dutch as our genealogist believed. There is but one Van Voorhees family in this country, for all are descendants of Steven Coerten-from the manor of Voorhees in Drente. T H E CONDENSED GENEALOGY Because Elias Van Voorhis's monumental Genealogy of the Van Voorhees Family in America is not readily available, one of the first projects of the Van Voorhees Association was to compile a Condensed Genealogy of the family, which includes the information in the larger work arranged in abreviated form so that family relationships can be readily traced. It was published in the summer of 1932 in a limited edition, and has enabled many applicants for membership to trace unbroken lines of descent from Steven Coerten, the common ancestor of the family in America. The method used in the Condensed Genealogy has many advantages, the names of sons only appear, usually with their wives, grouped in their respective generations, Steven Coerten being in the 6 TïiE VA N VOORHEES HISTORICAL HANDBOOK first generation, and his five sons, four of whom were also immigrants, composing the second. This is in accordance with the general American practice. It should be borne in mind, however, that in a genealogy all who are in the same numerical generation were not necessarily contemporaries. Though Elias W. Van Voorhis was a Lif e Member of the New York Historical Society, to which he donated copies of his books, its recordsdo not contain any recognition of his work, nor was any resolution of appreciation adopted at the time of his death. Thus far nothing has been found to indicate that his correspondence has been preserved-a cause for sincere regret. No doubt he received many letters during the four years of his life subsequent to the publication of the Genealogy. His correspondence would prove invaluable to those who are looking forward to the preparation and publication of another and more complete Genealogy of the Van Voorhees Family brought clown to date. The compilers of such a work would be greatly aided by having access to the sources of information available to Mr. Van Voorhis, such as family Bibles and wills, and his personal correspondence. I f a new genealogy is to be published it must be the result of concerted endeavor. No one member of the family could hope to do all the work unaided, much less to bear the entire cost of publication. Perhaps 1938, the fiftieth anniversary of the first edition, will see the work accomplished. I I T H E FAMIL Y COAT OF ARMS THA T Elias W. Van Voorhis was the first to publish a coat-ofarms of the Van Voorhees family is clearly stated in the Genealogy. In explanation he wrote on November 18, 1886, to Miss Josephine L. Voorhees of Amsterdam, N . Y., a letter which contains a few statements in addition to those in the book itself. Hence it is quoted in part. "When I was in England in 1872. it occurred to me to ascertain if the Voorhees or Van Voorhees family in Holland had ever in the past been entitled to any arms. To that end I caused a search to be made at the St. James College of Heraldry for arms, if any, belonging to the Holland family of Van Voorhees, and on the return of the search received the following description of the Van Voorhees arms with a herald's certificate under the seal of the College : V AN VOORHEES E c aux 1. & 4. de gu, á la tour d'or oui/ du champ, aux 2. &• 3. d'argent, a l'arbre arr' de sinople. The translation of this in English terms is Quarterly, 1st and 4th gules-a tower d'or (of gold) opened of the field. 2nd and 3rd argent (of silver)-a tree eradicated vert. Crest, A tower d'or. Motto-Virtus Castellum M cum. In English, Virtue my Castle. "As there was only one Van Voorhees family in Holland, which in early times (we know not how early) took its name from residing 'voor' (meaning before or in front of) the village of Hees, it follows clearly that the arms above were those of the family, and as such, all of his descendants are equally entitled to their use. "As to the immigrant, Steven Coerten, Van Voorhees, or his parents, or his family in Holland, being wretchedly poor or oppressed I am in a position to deny it in toto. Steven Coerten, six months after his arrival at New Amsterdam, now New York, purchased of Cornelius dircksen Hoagland, a farm or bouwery, with a residence 7 8 T H E VA N VOORHEES HISTORICAL HANDBOOK thereon. . . . He was shortly after his arrival made a deacon of the Church at Flatlands, and also a magistrate of the town-facts which to my mind go to prove that he was a man pretty well off in this world's goods, but was also above the majority of his fellow townsmen in culture and education. In a paper recorded at Albany of which I have a translation he is styled 'The Worshipful Steven Coerten' (Van Voorhees). As to his family in Holland, I have a translation of letters written in Holland to his brothers in Flatlands, dated 1684, 1687, and 1699, which show that the family were both prosperous and well educated. . . . So, cousin, you see we need not be ashamed of our immigrant ancestor, or his family in the fatherland, and as to the arms given above, we have an undoubted right to their use." On the receipt of the certificate from the College of Heraldry Elias Van Voorhis had a drawing made in the form now familiar, and printed it on a chart, and also in his book on William Roe Van Voorhis. It has since been widely used by members of the family. Later researches add something to the information here given regarding the family and its name in the Netherlands, as is revealed in the next chapter. Something also should be said respecting the ancient documentquoted in part above. It is folio 136 in Volume XXXII I of New York Colonial Manuscripts, a photostat of which has been secured. It was prepared and executed before three Justices on October 10, 1679, to affirm the ancestry and good character of Jan Elten of Kingston, N . Y., who was about "to depart for the Fatherland." It bears the signatures of five men, "all natives of the land of Drenten," who were therefore competent to testify in the case, since Jan Elten's parents had lived in the village of Zwigel in that province. The first signer was designated in the document as "the Worshipfull Steven Coerten, 79 years old," and the last, his son, as "Coert Stevensen, 42 years old." The appellation of Worshipful was applied only to Steven Coerten. The other signers were William Roeloffs, Jan Strycker, and Jan Suebering. This title, applied to our ancester, the oldest son of Coert Alberts, gives some indication of the status of the family in the Netherlands, and also of the respect accorded this member in the land of his aa option. During recent years Louis P. De Boer, A.M. , LL.B., a native of the Netherlands but for many years a citizen of the United States, a careful writer on Netherland genealogies, has studied with care T H E FAMIL Y COAT OF ARM S 9 available records in the province of Drente with interesting results, as set forth in the next chapter. This search has not been exhaustive, and many other data may yet be found. The correctness of Mr. De Boer's findings have been affirmed in general by J. A. Brouwer, Rijks Archieven in Drente, at Assen, the provincial seat. Heasserted that the name Voorhees is not now in use in the Netherlands. In the records of Dikninge Abbey it was spelled Avérées or Overees, and we have the further suggestion that it "may be allied to the family name Avères, Overcs, and Verhees, which occur." 1 RESPECTING HERALDRY A coat-of-arms was the insignia used by a military leader in the early middle ages for the guidance of his followers. Later it became recognized generally as a family emblem. Only noble families possessed them. While the shield design, which in the most ancient instances was self-adopted by nobles, represented the entire family of the original bearer, and all descendants were hereditarily entitled to use it, sometimes different sons adopted varying crests, since the crest, unlike the shield, was of a more personalnature. I n that event, while the descendants of all the sons used the same shield, those of each branch often used different crests. Later arms were adopted, or granted in consequence of knighthood conferred on the field of battle or by a sovereign. The daughters became entitled to use the arms of the families into which they married, and their sons carried down those respective emblems. It frequently happened that descendants of younger sons of an armorial family, after several generations, forgot the arms of their ancestors, and adopted their own designs. A ll such arms fall short of the dignity that attaches to the more ancient arms of their ancestors. In the course of time arms were registered to prevent improper use, and the Herald's College in England came to be recognized as having more power than any similar institution on the continent. I n the Netherlands the Burgundian Heralds exercised large influence. Their authority came to an end and all royal authority as well when the seven united provinces of the Netherlands became in 1581 the Dutch Republic. Thereaft ;r no fixed regulations were adopted governing heraldry. It soon became the custom for the schepens-the city 'From a letter written October 2d, 1934, by Hans Van de Waal, M.A., "Prentenkabinet der Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden." 10 T H E VA N VOORHEES HISTORICAL HANDBOOK and county magistrates-to affix their wax seal to all deeds and papers attested by them. If a person who had no arms was made a schepen he was practically obliged to assume a coat-of-arms, and these remained in almost all instances the arms of the family. No record has as yet been found indicating by what authority Coert Alberts, or an ancestor, was accorded the arms attested by the St. James College of Heraldry. A tradition persists in the family of one of the name, who visited Drente some decades ago, that they were given because of heroic deeds in warfare, for which there had been abundant opportunity. The castles were evidently the insignia of the male line. What family, allied by marriage, is indicated by the oak trees, has not been learned. The helmet above the shield is that of an Esquire, a title that in England ranks below that of Knight. Respecting the arms, the following was read at a Voorhees reunion held in New Jersey in the summer of 1905. an account of which appears in another chapter. The field of the shield was quartered and tinctured and blazoned most nobly ; Two quarters emblazoned with oak trees, and two were with castles resplendent, Noting a union of lines of equal position and standing. The crest of the shield was a castle, while beneath on the scroll was the motto. Firm set, of deep root, were the oaks, unheeding the winds that assailed them, While under their wide-spreading branches they offered protection and shelter. The castles on red fields told plainly of strength to protect and to cherish; But the motto gave voice and expression to a meaning wider and deeper ; For not in the oak or the castle, but in his own heart a man's strength is. In the 'robur,' the oak of the Romans, was seen manly courage or virtue. So their motto in letters resplendent claimed Virtue, their castle or fortress ; And 'Virtue my Castle or Fortress'-the motto we proudly inherit : Surely a beautiful motto and one to be ever remembered, One to be cherished and loved by all their long line of descendants. A HOUSE AT HEES, PHOTOGRAP H 190 8 I I I ORIGIN OF THE VAN VOORHEES FAMILY1 T H E Va n Voorhees famil y is one of that group of eminent old Dutch families of colonial New York whose sturdy character was a potent factor in the making of our colonial and subsequent history and in the upbuilding of this great nation. It is an ancestral line of noble origin in which any descendant may take just pride. Ethnologically, the present kingdom of the Netherlands is divisible into three sections, inhabited by the Friesians, Franks, and Saxons respectively. Prior to the arrival of the Germanic Friesians perhaps as early as 1200-1000 B.C., that country was inhabited by Kelts and by mixed peoples of the seaports. About 342 B.C. the Belgae settled south of the Rhine and were joined by kindred Frankish tribesfrom the middle Rhine. Julius Caesar's campaign in northern Gaul in 57-52 B.C. drove many of the Belgae and Franks across the river, which forced the Friesians northwestward, with the result that Netherland south of the Zuyder Zee is inhabited today chiefly by Frankish people, mixed with the Keltic and other earlier peoples and subsequent infiltrations of Friesians and Saxons. When the westward expansion of the Saxons from Thuringia terminated late in the seventh century A.D., their dominion extended in Westphalia as far as the Ruhr river and in the Netherlands it embraced about three-fourthsof the province of Groningen and the provinces of Drenthe and Overyssel. Thus, the Saxon blood, speech, and customs prevail today in those areas. The Friesians prevail in western 'By Calvin I . Kephart. LL.M., D.C.L., Ph.D., member of the bar of the District of Columbia, and Past-President of the National Genealogical Society, from data derived from authentic sources, chiefly by Mr. Louis P. De Boer, an authority on Dutch genealogy. Mr. Kephart is a member of the Association through his great grandmother. Ann Voorhees who married Benjamin Hyde. She was a great-great-granddaughter of Jan Stevensen Van Voorhees of Flatlands. 11 12 T H E VA N VOORHEES HISTORICAL HANDBOOK Groningen, Friesland, northwestern Gelderland, North Holland, and the Franks in the remainder of Gelderland, Utrecht, and South Holland. In- consequence of the religious persecutions in France during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, thousands of Huguenot families were added to the population of the Netherlands. Taken as a whole, the population of northern Netherlands is probably more purely Nordic than the nations to the east or south. The Lex Saxonum, in its most primitive form, survived the longest in the ratherbarren country of Drenthe. The peculiar and characteristic supreme court of Drenthe existed through all the ages, ancient, middle, and modern, until 1795, the end of the Dutch Republic. It was named the Et Stoel or Seat of Law. The minutes of this court are contained in the Ordcl Bocck, or ordeal book or book of sentences. Because Drenthe was sparsely populated, even the most trifling matters were treated by this court; for example, the grazing of cattle in the few fertile valleys. In southern Drenthe, between Ruinen and Echten, is the small town of Hees. In its vicinity are some brooks and good grazing areas. When the Saxon tribes settled down, they took up the land, which, as the feudal ages progressed, passed more and more in the hands of the relatively few, later known as the nobility. The progenitors of the Van Voorhees family thus gained a large tract of land and established a manorial estate centering on the village of Hees, from which they took their name. By the 15th century this property had been subdivided into three manors, named Voorhees, Middlehees, and Achterhees, according to their location (fore, middle, and after or behind Hees). Each was inhabited by a branch ofthis family, whose name was thoe Hees, meaning "at Hees," just as the English name Atwater was derived from "at the water." Christianity was brought first to the inhabitants of the present Netherlands about A.D. 696, when the bishopric of Utrecht was founded. In the confusion that followed the disintegration of Charlemagne's Carolingian empire, the bishops of Utrecht gained secular power in A.D. 94L In A.D. 1024 the bishop of Utrecht became lord of Drenthe, where the people were at this belated hour emerging from their Saxon heathenism. The Premonstratenian and Cistercian Monks, popularly known as "The White Friars" and "The Gray Friars," obtained large land holdings in Drenthe under the bishop's sanction and founded monasteries there. Between 1400 and ORIGI N OF TH E VA N VOORHEES FAMIL Y 13 1500 the monastery of Dikninge in Drenthe was granted overlordship of the three manors at Hees, and the branches of the ancient family that owned them became feudatories to that monastery, to which they paid a nominal annual rental, with the appellation of meyer or steward, i.e., one who manages the affairs of a landed estate. In 1536, the heirs of the Burgundian dynasty that had gained the supremacy in the Netherlands and had in 1486 for the first time called the meeting of a constitutional body, the Lords States General, obtained from the bishopric of Utrecht the supremacy over the landof Drenthe. But the religious orders were left in full possession of their land holdings there by Emperor Charles V, king of Spain and Lord of the Netherlands, grandson and heir of the last of the Burgundians. In noble family names in the Netherlands, the preposition thoe, an early form, means "at" and van means "of." In plain citizenry family names the latter means "from. " Thoe corresponds withthe High German sur still found in noble family names. "A t the" in the latter language is expressed as sur dem or simply sum, as in sum Ried. Similiarly, in the Dutch (hoe der became ter and thoe den became ten, while the later van der became ver. Examples are the ter Linden, ten Broeck and ten Eyck, and ver Donck family names. Names with the preposition thoe are very few in the Netherlands now.Instances are those of Van Harinxma thoe Sloten, Van Begma thoe Kingma, and Van Wageningen thoe Dekema, all Friesian noble families. In 1574, coincident with the rising spirit of nationalism among the Dutch, the family name of thoe Hees began to be changed to van Hees, meaning "of Hees," although it was not until the next generation that the new form gained general use. In 1555 Philip II , king of Spain, received, at the abdication of his father, Charles V, such rights in the Netherlands as the latter had possessed. In 1568 the United Provinces, which then included Belgium, began their revoltagainst his rule. I n 1581 the seven northern provinces, including Drenthe, deposed Philip I I as their king. In 1584, when the Dutch Republic was formed under the sovereignty of the Lords States General, William the Silent, Prince of Orange, became supreme commander of the army and navy of the republic and also executive or stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, and Gelderland. At the same time his brother, Jan the Elder, Count of Nassau, became stadtholder of the three northern- 14 T H E VA N VOORHEES HISTORICAL HANDBOOK most provinces, Drenthe, Groningen, and Friesland. The war with Spain in the Netherlands was waged with varying success, and it required many years to establish the republic on a firm basis. Not until 1598 did Jan's son and successor, William Louis, stadtholder of Drenthe, Groningen, and Friesland, secularize the Drenthe property of the former orders, which had moved out of the county during the Reformation period. All of the income of the former orders was dedicated to education under the supervision of the stadtholder and the estates of Drenthe. Map of a part of the Province of Drenthe, Holland, showing the location of the village of Hees. From the Atlas LeTheatre du Monde, by Guillaume and Jean Blaeu, Amsterdam, 1638. Rethicerl from an illustration in the Van Voorhees Genealogy. ORIGI N OF TH E VA N VOORHEES FAMIL Y 15 As early as 1542 we find the name of Coert thoe Hees in the Ordel Boeck, Vol. II , pages 10 and 15, involved in a land transaction with a Hendrick Luekens, Jr. He must have been born about 1495. His forename of Coert was carried down succeeding generations to the shores of America. His son Jan thoe Hees, born circa 1525, appears in the court records in the years 1558, 1573, and from 1575 to 1578. Among the latter's children wereCoert, Jan, and Hilbert. Coert, born circa 1550, must have died early, leaving minor children. Jan is shown in the Ordel Boeck, Vol. VII , page 128, in the session held at Anloe eight days after Saint Magnus in 1604, as having died a short time earlier, leaving orphan children. Hilbert apparently took over the stewardship of the manor of Voorhees after his brother Coert's death, for he is mentioned in 1584, -and in that office in 1592, when it was still nominally under the monastery of Dikninge. Afte r the secularization of these estates in 1598 Coert's heirs apparently succeeded to the manorof Voorhees, for in 1619 Albert Coerten (Albert, son of Coert), born circa 1573, was meyer of that property, while Jan Coerten (Jan, son of Coert) was meyer of Middelhees and Coert was meyer of Achterhees. Albert Coerten was meyer of the manor Voorhees around 1640, and from 1650 conjointly with his elder son Coert Albertse, born about 1595. Apparently the father died in 1662, leaving six out of nine children surviving, and this son then became sole meyer. This was two years after the latter's son, Steven Coerten, the eldest of seven children, had emigrated to America. Upon the demise of CoertAlbertse in 1676, Jan Coerten, brother of the emigrant, became meyer of Voorhees Manor and remained such until 1700. Similar lists of meyers of the manors of Middelhees and Achterhees are of but little interest to the Van Voorhees descendants in America. However, those estates continued in the care of the same family in direct male lines and later in female lines for many decades. It is quite probable that a more comprehensive search at Assen, the capital of the province of Drente, would disclose considerably more data relating to the early history of this family. Pending any such further research, the information set out above, which takes the line back continuously to just prior to 1500, should afford much pleasure to all descendants and inspire them to greater effort in honor of this outstanding family name, past and present. IV STEVE N COERTEN'S MIGRATION 1 No RECORD has been discovered of the influence that led Steven Coerten, the ancestor of all who bear the Van Voorhees or Voorhees name in America, to leave in the year 1660 the manor of Voorhees in the province of Drente to make a new home in America. In - heriting the patient, sturdy and self-reliant character of the Lowlanders who had expelled the Spaniards, and had adopted the evangelical Christian faith as it had been reestablished by the Reformation, Steven Coerten had no doubt long pondered over the question of migrating to the new world, where he and his family might acquire better land and live a freer life, less circumscribed by European conventions. The perils of the long voyage were well understood, but the call to adventure could not be denied. In time the momentous decision was reached ; he and his family would seek a new home in New Netherland. Preparations were begun with the purpose of sailing inthe spring of that year. There were heart burnings to be sure. It was not easy to give up a home and life in which the family had known much of happiness. But once the decision was made, the family set itself resolutely to the task of preparing for the trip. Their descendants two centuries and three-quarters later are in a position to appraise the results. The sacred command to honor father and mother bids us offer filial reverence and a due meed of praise to those worthy souls through whom, in the mystery of the generations, we have drawn our lives. They were God-fearing and persistent, and we give them honor. Clues are not wanting to the influences that encouraged this migration. However commodious the homes at Hees they could not 'An address by Wheeler N. Voorhees given at a rally heldin Brooklyn, May 20, 1933, and since rewritten. 16 STEVEN COERTEN'S MIGRATION 17 continue to expand to accommodate growing families. Though two of Steven Coerten's daughters had married, seven children remained, of whom one son only had grown to manhood. There were growing families in the homes of brothers and sisters. Some must look elsewhere for places for home making. For a third of a century Dutch families had been removing to New Netherland, where there was room in abundance. Of conditions there many encouraging reports had been received. One written in 1624 may be quoted in part : "We were much gratified on arriving in this country. Here we found beautiful rivers, bubbling fountains flowing down into the valleys, basons of running water in the flat lands, agreeable fruits in the woods, such as strawberries, walnuts, wild grapes, etc. The woods also abound with acorns for feeding hogs, and with venison. There is considerable fish in the rivers. Good tillage land. Had we cows and hogs and other cattle that are to be sent to us we would not wish to return. If you come hither with your family you will not regret it. " Twenty-five years later, in 1650, Cornelius Van Tienhoven, Secretary of the Colony, published a pamphlet intended to encourage families to migrate thither. He described the lands in the New World, and the crops they would bear. He advised migration in the late winter so that planting might be started soon after arrival. He described how each could settle in the most economical manner according to the practice of the country, and thus earn a living. Information was given regarding house plots, building plans, planting, and the probable expenses involved. Farming and other utensils were named, together with their cost in the colony. That cattle were available was stated, and also something respecting their cost. Families were advised to provide for two years in case crops failed the first year. And further he encouraged people of wealth to remove to New Netherland as the English were moving to New England, and to aid those who had no means to defray the cost of passage and other expenses, and thus provide for a large body of working people. It is easy to believe that a copy of Van Tienhoven's pamphlet found its way into Steven Coerten's home at Voorhees manor, and had much to do with his decision to become an adventurer in the new world. Much was involved in this decision. Household goods that could not be taken along must be disposed of and many purchases made. 18 T H E VA N VOORHEES HISTORICAL HANDBOOK Ample funds must be available either as cash or credit. Dutch thrift has made all this possible. Busy days of preparation lessened the distress of mind the members of the family felt as they thought of partings and farewells. All was duly completed before the day of departure. Then came the journey to Amsterdam, overland via Meppel to the Zuider Zee, and thence by boat to the mouth of the harbor-the I j (pronounced Y)-through whichthe Amstel makes its way to the sea much as the Hudson does through the upper and lower bays. Up this they sailed to the docks of the Dutch West India Company, where were also its warehouses and office. Here Steven Coerten and his family assembled for official inspection, and a final decision as to the cost of the passage. The rate was 36 guilders for each adult, but what reduction was made for small children is not stated. It was a wholesome family that presented itself that day before Van Ruyven, the company's agent, for all passed inspection, and Steven Coerten, his wife, and seven children, were entered upon the company's books and on the passenger list. There were also Steven's daughter, Hendrickje, and her husband, Jan Kevers-Kiers or K3fc£§iead as later spelled-who also had decidedto become adventurers. Quite possibly it was for them a wedding journey. With the exception of the eldest son, Coert, the other children were ten years of age or younger. How we might wish to see a picture of this interesting group from Drente ! Now they behold for the first time the ship that for six, perhaps eight long weeks was to be their sea-tossed home. De Bonte Kou was a trim and sturdy vessel that had been in the service at least three years, and was to know much subsequent voyaging. No description of this ship has been found. If it resembled others of the time it was about 170 feet long, 49 feet beam, and about 20 feet depth of hold. There were two decks, a high stern and low bows, three masts and a long bow sprit. The vessel was deemed seaworthy, and those who took passage were expected to endure many limitations, and to enjoy only such comforts as Dutch vessels of the period afforded. The business completed Steven Coerten and his family go aboard and see for the first time the conditions amid which they are to live during the voyage. They examine the bunks where they are to STEVE N COERTEN'S MIGRATIO N 19 sleep, the tables at which they are to eat, and the decks where children may play, and men and women take needed exercise. All this is new to them. Their education in things nautical has just begun. Soon the men begin examining the capstan and the windlass, and other gear for hoisting the sails. They observe the sailing instruments, the compass, the cross, staff or astrolabe, the sand glass, rules and dividers, the spy glass, the log line, and the 600 foot headline for soundings. There were also to be seen maps and charts of the North Sea, the English Channel, and of the Atlantic Ocean with the various routes to the coast of America plainly marked thereon.Wednesday, April IS1 , the day for sailing, has now arrived. Mindf ul of advice to prepare for emergencies, Steven Coerten has secured extra supplies of food which are safely stowed away after the custom of the time. All are ready to watch the work of weighing anchor, hoisting sails, and easing the vessel out into the channel. The older children gather about their father as he explains the meaning of it all. The momentous voyage has begun. Soon Schreyers Hoek comes into view with its "Tower of Tears," erected in 1569, where friends and relatives of sailors and passengers were accustomed to gather, and, with much weeping, join in solemn farewells. For most of the adventurers on De Bonte Kou farewells were final, for they never had opportunity to return to meet again those who were bidding them God speed. Thus passing down the I j the vessel sailed into the Zuider Zee and was headed northward, until at Texel Strom, a pilot was taken aboard, and the North Sea entered. Later they sailed through the Strait of Dover, past Plymouth, where thirty-eight years earlier the Mayflower had tarried a few days before proceeding on its eventful voyage; and then on past Land's End and out upon the broad Atlantic. Before this, all had become accustomed to the ways of the ship. The women had gained experience in caring for children in restricted quarters, and the men had tried their luck at fishing to replenish the tables. If there had been seasickness at the first it had been forgotten. All were interested in reports of progress, for the end of the voyage was constantly in mind. 'This was April 4 according to the calendar now in use. The Netherlands continued old style until 1700 ; Great Britain until 17S2. 20 T H E VA N VOORHEES HISTORICAL HANDBOOK A ll passengers had long since learnedthat the southern course was to be taken, for that had been found most favorable. It is thus described in an early document : "The Course lies toward the Canary Islands, thence to the Indian Islands,then toward the mainland of Virginia, steering right across, leaving the Bahamas on the left, and the Bermudas on the right, where the winds are variable with which the land is made." They had also had abundant opportunity to become acquainted with Captain Lucas, and with some members of the crew ; and, more important still, to learn to know their fellow passengers, something of the reasons for their voyage, and their plans for settlement in the new world. There were on board a company of eighteen soldiers, one with a wife and three children. The number of the crew is not stated. Fortunately the ship's passenger list has been preserved, and reveals the presence of five families, in four of which there were twentythree children-though Steven Coerten's son Coert may be counted as an adult. There were nine single men, if Coert be counted, three of them in the employ of Roeloff Swartwout, a farmer from Gelderland who was returning after a visit to the home land, but of whose family nothing is stated. One other man is listed as a servant, one as a tailor, and one with a family as a shoemaker. There were also three maidens. Four of the families were from Drente, the fifth from Gelderland. There were therefore in addition to the soldiers and sailors, fortynine passengers, twenty-one men, five wives with twenty-three children, and three maidens. Twenty-nine, including a servant from Meppel, were from Drente, four from Gelderland and one from Zeeland. The four mothers could count on the young wife of Jan Kiers and the three maidens to help them with the care of the children. Thus amid increasingly friendly surroundings Steven Coerten and his family were carried forward, rejoicing when breezes were favorable, and keeping up courage when winds were contrary, or storms lashed the deep into a fury. The vessel proved staunch, the sailors faithful, and in the end the anticipated harbor came into view. When conditions proved especially favorable six weeks were sufficient for the voyage. Hence we may believe that about the first of June De Bonte Kou sailed proudly into the lower bay, past Sandy STEVE N COERTEN'S MIGRATIO N 21 Hoek, with Coney Eylandt to the right ; then throughthe Narrows, and the inner harbor until she came to anchor off the southern tip of Manhattan. How all were impressed with the, view of the fort over which floated the ensign of the Dutch West India Company, within which was the Dutch Church ; and with the glimpses they had of the city lying beyond ! This was indeed a far-away colony of the Fatherland. They were happy at the thought that they wereto sustain at this outpost of civilization the loved and cherished characteristics of the Dutch Republic. When all necessary formalities had been observed Steven Coerten led his family ashore, and was greeted by representatives of the company. It may be that members of the Council, and perhaps also the doughty Director General, Peter Stuyvesant, came down to welcome them. Domine John Megapolensisand members of his consistory were there to give friendly counsel, and to advise as to their movements. I f Sunday were near they remained in New Amsterdam and worshipped with the congregation in theChurch in the Fort, giving devout thanks that the long voyage was safely over. They then made acquaintances that later proved helpful. But as they had planned to settle in New Amersfoort they sought early in the week to begin the journey thither. So one beautiful June morning they made their way to the ferry, were rowed across the East River, and at the ferry house found conveyance that took themup the hill to the little hamlet of Breukelen, and so on through Midwout until the plains of New Amersfoort greeted their eyes. They were near the place that was to be their home. THE FLATLAND S REFORME D CHURC H NOTE-The octagonal church illustrated on page 22 served the congregation for eighty-six years. The church that replaced it in 1794 continued until 1848, when the present church was erected. Y STATE AN D CHURC H O N LON G ISLAND 1 ML- CH attention has been given to the early settlements on Long Island, and several comprehensive works are available. Histories have been published of theReformed Churches at Brooklyn, Flatbush, New Utrecht and Gravesend, which recount the beginnings of the several settlements, and of the development in them of civic and religious activities. Our inteerst centers in that portion of the island between Jamaica Bay and the East River, for there many immigrants from the Netherlands secured lands and made their homes. The earliest settlement was made near an open area that, following the English occupation in 1664, was named Flatlands. It was first called New Amersfoort, after a city in the Province of Utrecht, near which Wolphert Gerritse "Van Couwenhoven, one of the earliest patentees, was born. He arrived in New Netherland in 1630, and near a tract purchased in 1636 many of his descendants have lived during all the succeeding generations. In1930 they joined in celebrating the 300dth anniversary of his coming to America. Not a few of his descendants bear the name Conover. A grand-daughter of Wolphert Gerritse married the oldest son of Steven Coerten, and became the ancestress of many of the Van Voorhees name. Soon other communities began to attract settlers. Breukelen was settled in 1637, Gravesend in 1645, Bought (Bushwick) in 1648,Midwout in 1652, and New Utrecht in 1657. Midwout, as shown on the accompanying map, was centrally located, and was therefore se'ected as the place of residence of the ministers who served the churches of the section. 'The story of the beginnings of the civic and religious life of western Long Island was recounted in several addresses at Van Voorhees Rallies by Harry Stephen Vorhis, Secretary of the Association, and an honored Elder in the Flatlands Church. A serious illness, from which he is happily recovering, deprives us of the privilege of reading the story as he would have written it. 22STATE AND CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND 23 In accordance with the Dutch method, church and civic life were closely associated. The Elders of the Church usually served as magistrates also, and the Deacons were made responsible for the poor of the entire community. This simple form of organization continued until the English occupation in 1664. Thereafter new methods were introduced, and the use of Dutch names was discouraged. The people, however, held to the name Amersfoort for seevral generations, but finally Flatlands came into general use. In 1665 all of Long Island and part of what is now Westchester County, was designated Yorkshire and divided for court purposes into the East Riding, the North Riding and the West Riding. These civil divisions continued for eighteen years. Then in 1683 the territory in and about New York was divided into counties, the western end of Long Island being called Kings County, with boundaries about as they are today. The names New Utrecht and Gravesend were not changed, but the other villages became known officially as Brooklyn, Flatbush. and Flatlands. The Reformed Protestant Dutch Church had its beginning in New Amsterdam in 1628 when Rev. Jonas Michaelius, sent by the churches in old Amsterdam, gathered into a consistory the elders and deacons whom he found in the community, and began holding services in a loft over a horse mill. This church under succeeding clergymen continued to minister to the religious life of Manhattan and surrounding communities. Now known as the Collegiate Reformed Church, it still exists in Manhattan, being the oldest church of uninterrupted activities along the Atlantic seaboard, if not in the entire United States. On February 9, 1654, Rev. John Megapolensis organized the people of the three villages of Amersfoort, Midwout and Breukelen into a collegiate church. Thereafter services were held with some regularity in the three places. The first church was erected at Midwout in 1655. •Rev. Johannes Theodorus Polhemusbecame the first settled minister shortly after his arrival from Brazil that year. In 1660 the congregation in Breukelen withdrew from the collegiate arrangement, and built its own church. The next year the people of Amersfoort began building a church. Funds to complete it being inadequate they appealed to the Director General and Council of New Amsterdam for assistance. The document has been preserved, bearing date June 4, 1663. The Council responded promptly, voting on June 7 the sum 24 T H E VA N VOORHEES HISTORICAL HANDBOOK of 250 guilders. This action was certified on the margin of the document over the signature of Peter Stuyvesant, Director General, and C. V. Ruiven, Secretary. The church was completed that year. A church at New Utrecht was organized in 1677, and one in Gravesend about twenty years later, though a request for an organization had been made as early as 1660, and occasional services were held in the Session House that belonged to the community. For about thirty years the church families at Amersfoort were called together by the beating of a drum. On August 25, 1686 a subscription was taken up by Coert Stevensen and Jacob Stryker for money for a bell. The original subscription list, preserved among the papers of the Flatlands Church, shows that Steven Coerten's widow contributed f. 18, Coert Stevensen for himself and his son Albert f. 48, Lucas Stevensen f.30, and that the total was florins 556. It also states that the bell was brought to Amersfoort on the 27th of August, 1686, by Jan Alberts (Terhune). The original church was octagonal in form, which in the Netherlands signified a free church. The more prominent early settlers were buried within it ; others were buried around it. There can be little doubt that Elder Steven Coerten was buried in the old church. It was in New Amersfoort that Steven Coerten, on his arrival in the new world, proposed to make his home. As the Dutch were then in possession he knew that he would find civic conditionsnot unlike those with which he was familiar. The language spoken was that of the fatherland. The church was newly organized and feeble, and as yet without a stated place of worship, but he and his family were ready to join if and thus add to its strength. We now know that many of his descendants were to live in that community and worship in that church through all the generations that have succeeded. The Flatlands community maintained many rural characteristics until near the beginning of this century when it was absorbed with the Borough of Brooklyn into Greater New York. On its spacious grounds a large and well equipped Church House, and a commodious parsonage indicate healthy church activities, and the adjoining cemetery, a constant reminder of the loyal generations of the past, insures to the church freedom from encroachments. Descendants of families that began worshipping there during the Dutch period find inspiration when privileged to gather within its sacred walls. 25 VI T H EFAMIL Y ARRIVES A T NE W AMERSFOORT "WHEN Steven Coerten came to New Netherland it was with the purpose to make his home in New Amersfoort on the Island of Nassau where a number of Dutch families hadbeen living for some years. An inducement, in addition to the evenness of the land, reminiscent of the fatherland, and its bordering on that body of inland water now known as Jamaica.Bay, also reminiscent of the Zuider Zee, was the fact that land tenure was fairly certain, and there were opportunities to purchase meadow and pasture lands, and also a home and a business. It was a happy group indeed that, after six or more weeks-on shipboard, and a brief stay in New Amsterdam, arrived at the new settlement, and was welcomed by former fellow citizens of Drente, and by others whom they soon came to know as neighbors who were already well settled in their new homes with a hopeful look toward the future. There was first father Steven Coerten, a patriarch indeed ! At sixty years of age he was the head of a large and interesting family. Then came his daughter Hendrickje, and her husband, Jan Kiers, eagerly seeking a place where youthful energy might find suitable opportunity for initiative. Then came the oldest son, Coert, who had encouraged the family migration. He too was ready to face the vicissitudes of pioneer life in the new land. The name of the mother of these older children has not been learned. Then came Willempie Roeloffse Suebering or Sebring, Steven's second wife, and the mother of six sturdy children. She willingly shared the fortunes of her husband in the new world. During the long voyage she had kept her brood in health which was much to her credit. We now know that they all grew to maturity, as did one other son, Abraham, born after the family had arrived.- These chil- 26 T H E FAMIL Y ARRIVES AT NE W AMERSFOORT 27 dren were introduced to their neighbors as Lucas, who was ten, Jan, Albert, Aeltje, Jannetje, and Hendrickje. This is the order in which their names appear in Mr. Bergen's books, and in the Genealogy of the Van Voorhees Family. It may be the order of their birth, though there are reasons to indicate that the three girls were older than Albert, and that Aeltje and Jannetje were twins. On the De Bonte Kou passenger list ages only were given-22, 10, 8, 6, 4, and 2. As this accounts for only six when there were seven, the suggestion that two were twins has been made. That there was also a son Abraham was asserted by Mr. Bergen, and accepted by Elias Van Voorhis in his genealogy, but no dates respecting him have been found. Now on the soil ofthe new world at New Amersfoort Steven Coerten and Mother Willempie, with their vigorous brood shod in wooden shoes, and dressed as fashion decreed for the well-to-do of Drente, looked about for a location for a home. Before winter set in lie made a purchase, as will be told in another chapter, and soon all the home furnishings they had brought with them, and additional purchases, were duly distributed, and the routine of pioneer life had begun. Each child found a place in the family economy, and began ihe real task of becoming adjusted to the new environment. A point of interest was the Dutch Reformed Church that had been organized at New Amersfoort six years before their coming. A warm welcome was prepared when it was noised abroad that the minister, Rev. Johannes T. Polhemus was comingon Sunday to hold a service in a neighboring loft, and consult with the people about the church they were to build when funds would allow. Toward this the family contributed from its savings, and offered in addition timbers from the wood lot so that the work went forward and was completed about three years later. A year after the church was built a great change took place in the political status of New Netherland, including New Amersfoort. In 1664 a British man-of-war came to anchor off the tip of Manhattan facing the guns of the Dutch fort, and demanding the surrender of the colony from Peter Stuyvesant, the testy governor. It mattered not how proud the Dutch, nor how brave their governor, superior British cannon backing an imperial demand made surrender inevitable. While many loyal Dutchmen wept when they beheld their flag replaced by the English ensign, they had one triumph with which to console themselves. The far-seeing pastor of the Church of Man- 28 T H E VA N VOORHEES HISTORICAL HANDBOOK hattan, Rev. John Megapolensis, whose son had studied at Harvard and knew something of English rule, secured the inclusion in the articles of capitulation of a clause insuring the independence" of the Dutch Reformed Church. Though the burgers of New Amsterdam, and of New Amersfoort as well, had to accept a new government and avow a new allegiance, the ancient church order, coming out of the Reformation through the independence of the United Provinces under William of Orange, and finding its latest interpretation in the rules adopted in 1619 by the Synod of Dordrecht, was still to prevail. Thus a strong bond of union with the Fatherland was to hold, though former political ties must thereafter be relinquished. NEW AMERSFOORT Some historians hold that New Amersfoort was the earliest white settlement on Long Island. Reference to an early map of Kings County shows that it is located several miles inland, near the shores of Jamaica Bay, a landlocked body of water having access to the Atlantic ocean through a narrow inlet at what is now Rockaway Point. New Amersfoort was on the site of an ancient Indian village, called Kaskachague, at the crossing of two ancient Indian trails. From that village as a center, one trail led southwestwardly toward Gravesend and beyond to the Narrows near Fort Hamilton, and northeastwardly to the East River at Newtown Creek, corresponding generally to the present Kings Highway ; the other led northwestwardly in the general direction of the present Flatbush Avenue toward what is now downtown Brooklyn, and southeastwardly a short distance tothe "Shell Banks" at Mill Island on the shores of Jamaica Bay. The banks, still in evidence, were immense heaps or banks of oyster, clam and other sea shells, the refuse of an extensive "sewan" or "wampum" manufacturing industry carried on by the Indians from time immemorial. Here the Canarsie Indians, the native bankers of the period, had their "mint." In this vicinity they laboriously cut out and polished the shell beads called sewan or wampum then used as money throughout the Atlantic seaboard. This Indian currency has been found as far north as Hudson Bay and Alaska. This far inland location became the site of a very early, if not the earliest, white settlement on Long Island for a very sound reason. Long Island generally was quite heavily wooded and much of it stony and difficult to till. To clear and prepare the land for cultivation T H E FAMIL Y ARRIVES AT NE W AMERSFOORT 29 would involve much time and strenuous labor. At this crossing of Indian trails, however, were several small, treeless prairies or plains several thousand acres in extent, of rich black soil, elevated slightly above sea level, surrounded on the northeast and southwest by forestbordered streams, and on the south and east by sedge meadows and the waters of Jamaica Bay. Some of the land had been crudely cultivated by the Indians. Here the early Dutch immigrants found lands ready for immediate cultivation with a minimum of labor-almost a complete counterpart of the lands in Holland which they had left for homes in the New World. Amersfoort was a town in Holland whence had emigrated in 1630 one Wolphert Gerritse, who with Andreas Hudde, probably acting as agents of the Dutch West India Company, obtained from Indian chieftains, in 1636, deeds to several thousand acres of land in this section. He gave the name of his native town to the new settlement. The date of the first permanent settlement at New Amersfoort is not definitely known. The earliest arrivals undoubtedly came for purposes of trade. There is evidence that as early as 1624 farmers were cultivating fenced-in lands leased from the Indians. By 1636 Indian chiefs had been induced to deed away the patrimony of their people. The generation intervening between 1636 and 1660, the year Steven Coerten and his family arrived, afforded sufficient time for the establishment at Amersfoort of a considerable community of Dutch farmers, artisans, hunters and fishermen. STEVEN COERTEN, LAND OWNER Our common ancestor must have been possessed of substantial means, or at least of excellent credit, for it is of record that, on November 29, 1660, within six months after his arrival, he purchased from Cornelius Diercksen (Hooghlant) for 3400 guilders ($2000) - a very considerable sum of money for those days-several scattered parcels of landaggregating some thirty-one morgens, or sixty-two acres ; also, a house, houselot and brewery. The deed of conveyance was written in Dutch and, accompanied by an English translation, is recorded in book B of Flatbush records at page 27. A copy of this quaint and interesting document follows : "Praise to God. In Midwout, November 29, 1660, A.D., Appeared before me Adriaen Hegeman, herein Secretaryof Midwcut and Amesvoort in New Netherland, and before the hereafter name 1 witnesses, Corneles Dercsen Plooghlant on the one side and Steven 30 T H E VA N VOORHEES HISTORICAL HANDBOOK Koerten on theother ; the said Cornells Dircksz Hooghlant acknowledging that he has sold and he, Steven Koerten, that he has bought of him, a parcel of maize land situate within Amesfoort, between the bowery of Wolffert Gerritsen Van Couwenhoven and Frans Jensen, Timmerman (carpenter), wide on the west side thirty-six rods, on the east side thirty-two rods, large nine morgens ; further a piece of woodland situate north of the land of Elbert Elbertsz, south of Frans Jansz, wide on the east side thirty-two rods, on the west side twentyfour rods, running from the maize land to the land of Spysser, about west-northwest, large seven morgens ; a piece upon the Flats, lying between the Town and Jan Martensz, wide thirty-eight rods, large ten morgens ; a piece of Meadow situate between Spyser and Jacob V an Couwenhoven, large five morgens : amounting together to thirtyone morgens : together with the house and house-lot lying and being in the Town of Amesfoort, and the hay ricks, with the brew house and allthe brewing implements, kettles, tubs, vats and all that belongs thereunto, with a wagon, plow and iron harrow, with two oxen, together with the grain that is at present sowed upon the said land and four schepels of pease and four schepels of buckwheat. This above is sold with everything thereon that is earth-and-nail-fast ; and further with such active and passive obligations and equities, as the seller has possessed the same to the date hereof according to the transport thereof, for which purpose it is herein mentioned : in which it shall be surrendered to the purchaser on the day of transfer. This aforesaid land, house-lot and house and the above are sold and shall be surrendered to the purchaser free and unincumbered, without any burdens resting thereupon or eminating therefrom, savings the Lord's right. For the purchase of this aforesaid land and rights Steven Koerten, purchaser of the aforesaid land and belongings, promises to pay to the aforesaid Corneles Dercsen Hooghlant, or to whosoever may acquire his title, the sum of 400 guldens, Holland money and 3000 guldens in good strung negotiable sewan, viz., in four installments : the first installment of 400 glds. Holland money payable by exchange in Holland in the next coming summer ; and the second installment in May 1662, 1000 glds ; and the third installment in May 1663, 1000 glds; and the fourth installment in May 1664, 1000 glds. For the accomplishment and fulfillment hereof the parties on either side, each in his capacity, pledge their persons and property, nothing excepted, in subjection to all laws and judges.Thus done and executed in Midwout upon Long Island, in presence of Witnesses hereunto invited. December 4, 1660, A.D. "Cornelis Diercksen Steven Koers Nicholaes de Meyers Aucke Yans" T H E FAMILY ARRIVES AT NEW AMERSFOORT 31 It will be noted that the down payment for these lands was exactly nothing, and that the bulk of the deferred payments-3000 gulden (guilders)-was payable in "sewan" or strings of Indian money. The affairs of Steven Coerten seem to have prospered. In 1664 he became a Magistrate, a post of dignity and influence. In July of that year the Dutch surrendered New Netherland to the English. The change in sovereignty from Dutch to English caused considerable uncertainty as to the validity of land titles. In 1665 the inhabitants of New Amersfoort applied to the English governorat Albany for a patent of confirmation. Under date of October 4, 1667, Governor Nicolls issued a patent, known as the Nicolls Charter, to eight named inhabitants of "Amesfort als Flatlands." Steven Coerten and Coert Stephens, his oldest son, were two of the eight patentees named in the Charter which confirmed in the town and the inhabitants thereof title to their respective land holdings. During his lifetime Steven Coerten acquired several other tracts of land in and about Flatlands. His sons and daughters married into the "best families" of the settlement and appear also to have prospered. In 1673 the Amersfoort or Flatlands Town records were destroyed by fire, wiping out much evidence of prior land transfers, and making the tracing of early land titles very difficult. Steven Coerten died on February 16. 1684, at the ripe age of eighty-four, possessed of several tracts of land in and about Flatlands, as is evidenced by later conveyances made by his heirs. He left a will datd August 25, 1677 of which no copy is extant. His sons and grandsons appear also to have had a flair for real estate. Thus it came about that in the third generation members of t