My great-great grandmother, Clara Voorhies, descended from a proud Dutch family whose American roots stem back to the 1660 arrival of Steven Courten Van Voorhees at present day Brooklyn, New York. Many generations later, Clara's grandparents, Elijah and Jane (Rozell) Voorhies, relocated their family westward from New Jersey to Ohio in 1834. Voories and Rozell descendants became very prominent in the areas south of Fremont, Ohio along the Sandusky / Seneca County line near Bettsville. Their contributions to the early settlement of the area is documented in the essay linked at the end of this article.
In my mother's possession today is Clara's family Bible dating back to 1875. It was passed to her by her mother, Winifred Chapman, who received it from her mother Edna "Mertie" Chapman. A century and a half later, the bindings weakened and the pages yellowed, this treasure has provided dozens of clues about our family's history.
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| On Clara's Bible, the inscription reads, "Clara A. Voorhies Christmas 1875" |
Clara was born in 1861, the daughter of Andrew Voorhies and his second wife Elizabeth Margaret Jackson. Clara married Richard H. Chapman (originally spelled Chaplin) in 1881, and they had three children. But one child, Fanny, died during infancy and another, Howard, died during childhood. The surviving son, Harry Raymond Chapman, married Mertie Chapman, the daughter of Homer and Nettie Chapman, in 1914. They had two daughters, Eleanor and Winifred. But then Harry became ill during the Spanish flu pandemic and died in 1918 at the age of 32. Richard and Clara lived the remainder of their lives in and around Bettsville. A link at the end of this article connects the reader to other articles about the Homer and Nettie Chapman heritage.
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| Richard H. and Clara A. (Voorhies) Chapman |
Within the pages of Clara's Bible are handwritten recordings of significant events in her family, including births, marriages and deaths.
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Mary Magdelina Mowry, the first wife of Andrew Voorhies, died in 1859, one year after the birth of their son, Franklin Voorhies. Andrew then married Elizabeth Jackson, with whom he had three daughters, Clara, Florence, and Mina.
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Clara's Bible contains four pages with family photographs carefully sealed into slots, with no chance of removing them without risking damage. But none of the photographs are labeled with names. They are mostly tintype and Daguerreotype photographs that can be dated to the 1860's and possibly even the 1850's, providing the only clues as to who they might be.
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Left: The back of a toddler's photograph on page 2 identifies the studio in Fremont.
Right: I believe this is Clara on the right, with her sister Florence and half-brother Franklin (ca. 1868). |
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| Unknown children, possible Franklin, Clara, and Florence. |
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Top Left: I believe this is Clara's father, Andrew Voorhies.
Top Right: Possibly Andrew Voorhies with his first wife Mary, or second wife, Elizabeth.
Bottom Left: The Cartouche paper sleeve was popular in photography only from 1863 to 1866.
Therefore, I believe this is Andrew's second wife and Clara's mother, Elizabeth (Jackson) Voorhies. |
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| The two children in the top left photograph are probably Franklin and Clara. |
Inside the front and back covers of the Bible, it is stuffed with many other loose photographs, letters, and newspaper clippings.
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| Andrew Voorhies' death announcement |
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| Voorhies Family Reunion 1913 - Descendants of Elijah and Jane (Rozell) Voorhies |
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| Sympathy letter from friends in Gibsonburg following Harry Chapman's death |
My grandmother, Winnie Chapman, was an infant when her father died in 1918. Mertie then remarried to Peter Hanson. But because Clara documented her family's history in her Bible, the Voorhies branch of our family tree is forever preserved, whereas it might otherwise have been lost and forgotten.
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| Harry Raymond Chapman (1886-1918) |
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