VORIS - SHEPARD HOUSE
1040 Neck Road
Plot 4 of the Twelve Acre Lots which were allotted to the freeĀholders
of Gravesend on 9 February 1688-89 was situated on the south side of Gravesend
Neck Road west of the Strom Kill. It was given to Obediah WILKINS whose heirs
conveyed it to Thomas STILLWELL.
On 15 November 1711, STILLWELL transferred it to Elias HUBBARD who sold it
to Isaac DENYSE on 14 May 1754. In February 1800, it became the property of
DENYSE'S son John who sold the land with dwelling and outbuildings to Richard
STILLWELL in June 1815. In his will dated 17 May 1826, STILLWELL left the
property to his son Daniel whose heirs sold it to Dr. William SHEPARD, a
veterinary, in 1888.
Which of the early owners built the house on it is anyone's guess. There
is no doubt but that it is an ancient one. It must have been erected in the
late seventeenth or early eighteen century for it is built close to the ground
and has the long, low lines of the Dutch houses of that period. Also, it
probably had two front entrances, which was common in those days.
One of its tenants was Stephen S. VORIS (b. 29 March 1809 - d. 25 June 1879)
who married Ann, daughter of William VAN NUYSEN 3 December 1834. He and his
family lived in the house until after the birth of their second child which
occurred 29 November 1837.
Stephen S. VORIS was the son of Stephen S. VORIS
(b. 25 July 1787 - d. 12 February 1872) and Catharine VAN BRUNT who were
married 15 May 1808 and lived on the VORIS ancestral acres on the north side of Neck Road.
The father of Stephen S. VORIS, the elder, was Steven J. VOORHIES
(b. 3 June 1739 - d. 3 April 1816) who married Phebe RYDER 31 May 1767. He was a
member of the Kings County Militia. Previous to the battle of Long Island, he was
with the American army, then busily fortifying the western end of Long Island.
When the Americans ordered all cattle to be driven into Queens County to prevent its
being seized by the enemy, Phebe was allowed to retain one cow provided she kept it
hidden in the house. After the landing of the British and Hessians, a Hessian
discovered the cow and was about to lead her off when Stephen appeared on the scene.
He had come home to learn how Phebe and the children were faring. In the argument
which followed, the Hessian was killed. Quickly Stephen buried his body under a back
room and hurried back to the militia.
Steven J. VOORHIES was the son of Jan Stevensen VOORHEES and his wife Seytie.
Jan STEVENSEN'S father was Steven COERTEN (b. 1667 - d. 16 February 1723)
who married Agatha JANSE in 1694, and who bought the farm on the north side of
Neck Road and went there to live. Steven COERTEN's father was Coert Stevensen VAN VOOR HEES
(in front of Hees), who was born in Holland in 1637. He arrived at New Amsterdam on the
De Bonte Kou (or Tbe Spotted Cow) in 1660 with his father Steven COERTEN, his father's
second wife and his six brothers and sisters. He settled in Amersfoort where he married
Marritje Gerretse VAN COUWENHOVEN prior to 1666. He was magistrate of that town in 1664
and in 1673, on its assessment rolls of 1675 and 1683, a member of its church and a
deacon in 1677. He took the oath of allegiance there in 1687 and was captain of the
local militia in 1689. He died in 1702.
There are two letters in the state archives in Albany; one of which was written to
him on 13 April 1684, by his uncle Hilbert COERTEN of Drenthe and the other addressed
to him and his wife by Domine VAN ZUEREN in 1699. They have been translated from
their original Dutch and are a source of interest on everyday life in seventeenth
century Netherlands.
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