Isaac I. Voorheis

Isaac I. Voorheis, also Voorhees or Voorhies, (December 22, 1799 – August 2, 1886) was an American politician who served two terms in the Michigan House of Representatives.

Isaac I. Voorheis
Member of the Michigan House of Representatives
from the Oakland County district
In office
November 2, 1835 – January 1, 1837
In office
January 3, 1848 – December 31, 1848
Personal details
Born(1799-12-22)December 22, 1799
Virginia, United States
DiedAugust 2, 1886(1886-08-02) (aged 86)
Lapeer, Michigan
Political partyDemocratic

Biography

Isaac I. Voorheis was born in Virginia [1] on December 22, 1799,[2] the son of Isaac Johannes Voorheis and Sarah Nevius. His father fought in the Revolutionary War as a member of the New Jersey state militia.[3] His parents moved the family to Seneca County, New York, in 1804, and in 1818 he moved to Riga, New York, and lived there for six years.[4]

In May 1824, he moved to Waterford, Michigan, and engaged in farming,[2] and within a few years became active in politics in the county. He was a Democrat, and was a supervisor in Pontiac in 1833 and 1834 and a delegate to the state's first constitutional convention in 1835. He served a term in the Michigan House of Representatives in 1835 and 1836, and another term in 1848.[5]

Voorheis sold his farm and moved into nearby Pontiac during the Civil War, then moved to Lapeer, Michigan, in 1866, and died there on August 2, 1886.[5]

Family

Voorheis married Ann Merlin,[6] of New York, in 1826. She died in 1864, and in 1869 he married Jane E. Hovey, of Pontiac.[4]

Notes
  1. His birthplace is given differently in several sources, and there seems to also be confusion between two places named Somerset in two different states. Bingham 1888, p. 660, says Voorheis was born in Somerset, New York. Crossman 1886, p. 92, provides more specifics about his early life and says he was born in Virginia, as does a personal friend of his in Baldwin 1888. Van Voorhis 1888, pp. 449, says his father lived in Somerset County, New Jersey, but moved to Virginia and later to Ovid, New York.
  2. Baldwin 1888.
  3. Van Voorhis 1888, pp. 449, 460.
  4. Crossman 1886, p. 92.
  5. Bingham 1888, p. 660.
  6. Also spelled Muerlein (Van Voorhis 1888, p. 460).

References
  • Baldwin, A. G. (June 27, 1888), "Hon. Isaac I. Voorheis", Pontiac Bill Poster, Pontiac, Michigan, vol. 20, no. 52, p. 6, retrieved 2018-11-28 – via Central Michigan University
  • Bingham, Stephen D. (1888), Early History of Michigan: With Biographies of State Officers, Members of Congress, Judges and Legislators, Lansing: Thorp & Godfrey, retrieved 2018-11-28
  • Crossman, Daniel D., ed. (1886), Proceedings of the Michigan Legislative Reunion, Williamston, Michigan: E. S. Andrews, retrieved 2018-11-28
  • Michigan Manual (1877–78 ed.), Lansing: W. S. George & Co., 1877, retrieved 2018-11-28
  • Van Voorhis, Elias W. (1888), Genealogy of the Van Vorhees Family in America, New York: Putnam, retrieved 2018-11-28
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