Book Description

Isaiah Vorys and his relatives are part of the largest Dutch group within the modern USA; namely, the “Van Voorhees” family. In 1660 C.E., Isaiah’s ancestral grandfather, Steven Coerts Van Voorhees, migrated from the Province of Drenthe, Netherlands to the Flatlands area of Brooklyn, Long Island, NY. Thus began the “roots” of a huge family who quickly branched out to become pioneers, early settlers, and prominent citizens within many U.S. States, Counties, and Cities from 1660 C.E. to present day.This book concentrates primarily on the one branch of Steven Coerts Van Voorhees’ descendants which leads to (and beyond) Isaiah Vorys, who was born in 1750 in Somerset County, New Jersey. At first glance, some of the heretofore unpublished genealogy charts associated with Isaiah may appear to be of sole interest to the readers who are related to him. However, any reader with a desire to learn more about United States History stands to gain insight into “the formation of the early USA”, by carefully reading each page of this book, because the author adds historical details associated with the “coast-to-coast” residential locations of Isaiah Vorys’ ancestors, descendants, and of his collateral relatives, beginning in 1660 C.E. and ending in 2013 C.E. Throughout an interesting 84 years of life, Isaiah Vorys actively participated in the betterment of his communities. For example, in 1776, he enlisted in a New Jersey Revolutionary War Regiment and participated in several battles as part of General George Washington’s “Continental Army” until 1781, even though Washington could not afford to pay this Regiment for their services. From 1808 to 1830, Isaiah Vorys was among the early pioneers who developed the City of Columbus, Ohio, while operating his “White Horse Tavern”. Even Isaiah’s death was interesting because the body exhumed from his gravesite in 1857 C. E. turned out not to be his remains! Isaiah Vorys’ seven children (adopting the VORYS, VORIS and VORHES surnames) were early settlers within various parts of western Pennsylvania, central Ohio, and in northern Indiana between 1784 C. E. and 1835 C.E. Isaiah’s descendants married spouses with surnames: HALLAM (early settlers of Washington Co., PA and of Clinton Co., OH); HITE; COCHENOUR; BIBLER (all three of these families were early settlers of Fairfield Co., OH); and MONROE (early settlers of Delaware Co., OH who descended from the MONROE/MUNROE “Minutemen” who fought in the “Battle of Lexington”, MA in 1775).