Darrell Brent Kitchen Family Manuscript - Preface

A History and Background of the Kitchen Family

Chapters 3 and 4

@ Copyright 1997 by Darrell B. Kitchen

This is a continuation of a document written by Mr. Darrell Kitchen on the history and background of the Kitchen Family. It offers a wonderful glimpse into the past, dating back to England and Ireland in the early 1600's, and is an excellent reference source for genealogical research. Chapters 3 and 4 are included in this web page and Chapters 5 through 7 will be added shortly. In permitting the document to be published, Mr. Kitchen asked that we convey his desire that it be used for personal use only and that it not be copied for commercial purposes. He also ask that it be viewed as a "work under construction...that is, it contains many grammatical errors, also a few mistakes and some assumptions made that I now am challenging...in other words, a working draft it is."

Mr. Kitchen can be reached by eMail at ([email protected] )


Chapter 3

The Voorhis Family Collateral: Dutch Reformed Pioneers

       
     

During a period in history when Henry Hudson sailed to what is now New York City and soon after the famous purchase of Manhattan Island, the Dutch began to settle the magnificent island they called, "The Flatlands". During the late 1600's, New York City was called New Amsterdam and a visitor would have thought they were in the Netherlands. These early settlers from Holland built houses like those in their own country. They had steep roofs, sloping lines, and the short side of their homes faced the streets instead of the longer side, which is more prevalent today. There were windmills, women in full skirts and men in wide brim hats. This was little "Holland" and the influence that was thrust forward has shaped our environment for many years. In this Dutch settlement, meals were a traditional time when families would gather with the father at the head of the table. There was little talk, but they enjoyed the hearty meals. Tea was the favorite drink and shredded cabbage, or kohl sla, was often the salad. This cabbage salad today is cole slaw, and is still enjoyed by many. They also concentrated on cakes, pies, and sweets. The religious practices were those of the Dutch Reformed Church, which had come to America in the early 1600's. It is a family from this Dutch background that became a collateral of the Kitchen family. Richard Kitchen, who came to America in 1779, married Maragrieta Voorhis in 1783. The following is a history of her family and the background of this first Kitchen family in America. In referring to the family name, the spelling most often presented is "Voorhees". The correct spelling for the Kitchen-Voorhis family alliance is "Voorhis". Other common forms and spellings, include; van Voorhees, Voorhees, Van Vorhees, Vorhees, Van Voorhis, Voorhis, Vorhis, Voris, Van Voorheis, Voorheis, and Vorheis. Perhaps the most official family name is Van Voorhees. The "Van Voorhees Family" genealogy has been compiled and was first published in 1888, by Elias W. Van Voorhis. The study was updated and published again in 1932 by, The Van Voorhees Association. The Van Voorhees Association was organized on January 16, 1932, primarily to commemorate, in 1935, the 275th anniversary of the arrival of Steven Coerte Van Voorhees and his family at the New Netherlands location in America. Their settlement was on Long Island at Amersfoort, now Flatlands, Brooklyn, New York. Temporary officers were selected and eight members of the family assumed a role on the Central Committee. Permanent officers were elected on May 21, 1932 and included: Oscar M. Voorhees, D.D., President 3531 78th Street, Jackson Heights Long Island, New York Sadie Estelle Voorhees, (Mrs. Edward Dawson), 127 Passaic Avenue Passaic, New Jersey Harry Stephen Vorhis, Secretary 50 Vanderbilt Avenue New York, New York Wheeler N. Voorhees, Treasurer 1878 Coney Island Avenue Brooklyn, New York Irving W. Voorhees, M.D., Executive Committee, Officer 140 East 54th Street New York, New York Stephen Robin Voris, Executive Committee, Officer 2526 East 26th Street Brooklyn, New York Ralph S. Voorhees 1788 West 11th Street Brooklyn, New York. These representatives of the Van Voorhees family, some in the eleventh and twelfth generations, are indebted to the work of Elias W. Van Voorhis, whose 725 page compilation formed the basis for the work of the association. It was not possible for Elias to trace all family lines, nor was his work free from errors. It is a very comprehensive compilation of research and the work of the association was directed to the interests of all those who bear the Voorhees name, however they spell it, and to the many who are related through collateral lines. Through Richard Kitchen, there is this collateral relationship. Albert van Voorhees, in his time, was merely known as, "Albert, from in front of Hies". Hies was a hamlet near Ruinen, in Drenthe Province, Netherlands. The name is literally interpreted as "from in front of Hies", or Van Voor Hies. This family came, who came to America in 1660, were Dutch Reformed Churchmen. Albert was born on an undetermined date prior to 1600 and probably about 1560. It is known that he had a grandson born in 1600. Therefore, it is apparent that Albert must have been born on or before 1575. It is also known that he lived an unusually long life, being deceased at an age of over 100 years. He died with six of his nine children surviving him. Albert's nine children were: Coert Albertse; Steven Albertse; Hendrick Albertse, who had five children living in 1684; Suytgen van Haecxwolf, who had one child living in 1684; Jan van Heffrlying, who died prior to 1684, but was survived by a daughter living at that time; Hilbert Albertse, died about 1684; Wesvel Alberste, died in 1684, with one son and one daughter living; Geertjen Albertse van Oshaer en Veghten; and Merghin van Voorhees, who married Jan Mervas Van der Hught; It is interesting to note, that the second names given are the same as the name of the father, Albert. Also note the addition of the "se" suffix. This adaptation of the father's name seems to be consistently applied throughout many generations. The next generation in the Kitchen lineage is through the eldest son of Albert,"from in front of Hies", Coert Albertse van Voorhees. Coert, also had lived in the Hamlet in front of Hies in Drenthe Province, Holland. At the time of his death, he was survived by seven children. Their names were: Steven Coerte; Hilbert Coerte, who was born in 1634, had two sons and one daughter by a first marriage and five sons by a second marriage; Jan Coerte, who, in 1684, resided on the old family homestead in Hies; Albert Coerte van Bethuyn, who married a woman with the given name of Aeltyn who died prior to1699; Wesvel Coerte van Veenings, who died before 1699; . Daughter, name unknown, and another . Daughter, name unknown. Again, it is interesting to see the use of their father's first name as their second given name. In this generation, a suffix "e", is added to the paternal given name of Coert. The third generation brought forward to the Kitchen family connection is again through the eldest son. His name was Steven Coerte van Voorhees. Steven was born in, or about, 1600 in or near Hies, Holland in Drenthe Province. According to the records, Steven Coerte Van Voorhees is the first paternal American ancestor of the family. He died at the Flatlands, Long Island, on February 16, 1684. He had sailed from the land of his birth in April 1660, aboard a ship called, "The Bonte Cou", or "Spotted Cow". He was accompanied by his first wife and all of their children, with the exception of two daughters, Hendrickjen and Mergh. On November 29, 1660, he purchased, at the Flatlands, a farm composed of cornland, woodland, plain land and salt meadows. Also, there was a house, a house plot, and a brewery with all the necessary apparatuses. Having made such a substantial purchase so soon after his arrival in America, may suggest that he was a man of substantial financial means. In 1667 he was assessed on a patent and in 1664 he became a Magistrate, or person having judicial powers to enforce the law, such as a Judge or Justice of the Peace. His will is dated August 25, 1667. By his first wife, Steven Coerte had ten children, all of whom were born in Holland. The children were: Hendrickjen Stevense, who married Jan Kiers and came to America several years after her father; Mergh Stevense, who married twice and followed her father to America. She died on October 28, 1702; . Coerte Stevense who was born in 1637 and died in 1702. He married, before 1664 to Marytje Gerritse van Couwenhoven, who was the daughter of Gerrit Wolfertse van Couwenhoven; Lucas Stevense; Jan Stevense was born in 1652. His will was probated on November 20, 1735. His first marriage was on March 17, 1678 to Cornelia Reiniers Wizzel-penning. On October 8, 1680, Jan Stevense married Femmentje Auke van Nuyse. She was baptized on March 12, 1662; Albert Stevense of the Flatlands and later of Hackensack, New Jersey, was first married to Barentje Williams and second to Tilletje Reiniers Wizzel-penning; Altje Stevense, was born in 1656 and married in 1673 to Barent Jurianz Ryder; Jannetje Stevense, who first married Jan Martense Schenck, died in 1689. On February 29, 1690, she married Alexander Sympson; Hendrickje Stevense, became the wife of Jan Kiersted and later had a second marriage to Albert Albertse Terhune of the Flatlands, Long Island and of Hackensack, New Jersey. She was baptized on August 13, 1651 and her will was proved on February 3, 1704; Abraham Stevense, of Flatbush and Princeton, New Jersey, married to Janette Kershaw. Again, the use of Steven's name with a "se" suffix is seen throughout the ten children's given second names. Lucas Stevense, the fourth child and son of Steven Coerte Van Voorhees' first marriage, was born in Holland about 1650. He died in the Flatlands, Long Island, New York in 1713. He was a member of the Dutch Reformed Church at the Flatlands according to records dated in 1677. He was also recorded as an Elder of the Dutch Reformed Church there in 1711. He was assessed for taxes at the Flatlands in 1675 and was established as a Magistrate there in 1680. He had a child baptized in Hackensack, New Jersey in 1685 and he took the oath of allegiance to England at the Flatlands in 1687. Lucas was married three times and had children by all three marriages. He first married Catharine Hansen van Noorstrand, the daughter of Hanse van Noorstrand and Jannecken Gerritse van Loon. His second marriage was on January 26, 1689 to a woman name, Jannetje Minnes. She was the daughter of Minne Johannis and Rensie Faddans. A final and third marriage occurred in 1703 between Lucas Stevense Van Voorhees and Catharine Van Dyke. There were twelve children that were born through these three marriages. The names of the children were: Eldhert Lucasse of the Flatlands, Flatbush and Jamaica, Long Island had his will proved on April 17, 1722. He married Styntje Hendrickse who was the daughter of Hendrick Hermanse. This family abandoned the use of the Van Voorhees family name and all descendants bear the last name "Eldert". I have wondered if this was the result of his father's oath of allegience to England. Johannes (Jan) Lucasse, who was baptized on September 7, 1679 and first married Ann Janse Van Duyckhuysen. He married a second time to Mayke R. Schenck, of Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey; and a third and final time to Jannetje Remsen. Hans Lucasse, who married Neeltje Nevius of New Brunswick, New Jersey. They had one son, Petrus, who was in 1718. There are no further records on this family. Albert Lucasse married Adriana Ditmars of New Brunswick, New Jersey. They had five children as follows: Adrian, who married Phebe Ryder of Gravesend, Long Island. Adrian's son, Lawrence, married Jane Geristan of Flatbush, Long Island; Lucas, who married Hilletje Vanderbilt, at New Brunswick, New Jersey. Their children included Jerimias, who married Lena Terhune, and Johannes; Cornelius who married Elizabeth Johnson of New Brunswick, New Jersey; Albert, who married Adriana Vandervoort, Johannes who married Antie Schenck of Franklin Park, New Jersey. Roelof Lucasse, married Helen Stoothoff from New Brunswick, New Jersey and they had four children as follows: Luke Voorhees, married to Catharine Kennedy; Garret Voorhees, married Deborah of Berards Township, Somerset County; Roelof Vorhees, who married Lena and; Johannis, husband of Nelly Sutphen of Monmouth County, New Jersey. Minnie Lucasse, who married Antie Wyckoff of New Brunswick, New Jersey, had five children as follows: Lucas Vorhees who married Catrina Vandervoort; Garret Vorhees the husband of Neeltje Nevius of Middlebush, New Jersey; Minne Vorhees, an officer of the American Revolution, who married Mary of Hillsboro; Johannes who married Femmetje Vanderveer and; Abraham Vorhees who married Maria Van Doren of Reading, Ohio. Abraham Van Voorhees who married Neeltje Cortelyou of Middlebush, New Jersey. There are three known children as follows: Lucas and his wife Neeltje of Franklin Park; Abraham and his wife, Geertie of Franklin Park Jacques Voorhees who married Nellie Van Doren. Stephen Janse Van Vorhees, who married Catrina of Jamaica, Long Island, New York. They had seven children, who were; William who married Allada of Hunterdon County, New Jersey; John Vorhis and his wife, Maria Springsteen of Haverstraw, Rockland County, New Jersey; Stephen Voris and Ann Baldwin his wife, of Westchester County, New York; Cornelius and Femmetje Vorhees of New Utrecht, New York; Ruluf Voris and his wife, Cornelia of Hempstead, New York; Lucas Voris who married a woman from New Brunswick with a given name of Mary. Auke Janse Van Voorhees, wife unknown, resided in Harlingen, New Jersey; Jan Janse Van Voorhees, who married Neeltje Nevius of Staten Island, New York. They had three children as follows: Jan and wife, Lea Springsteen; Jacobus and his wife, Sarah Culver of Hackensack and; Abraham, who resided with his wife and family in Bridgewater Township, Somerset County, New Jersey; Lucas J. Vorhees, wife unknown, with a child, Simon Voris; Albert J. Vorhees, whose wife's name is not known. They had three children as follows: Aaron, and with wife, Maria resided in Harlingen, New Jersey; Albert husband of Nellie and; Cornelius whose wife was named Lena. Johannes, or Jan, Lucasse was born on February 19, 1679 first married the daughter of Jan Teunissen Van Duyckhusen and Gertrude Vandervliet who was named Ann Janse Van Duyckhuysen. Ann was born on April 7, 1677 and died on January 5, 1702. They had one son, Johannes, who was born on July 19, 1700. Johannes married Sarah Schenck on May 16, 1721 and he died on January 21, 1733. Sarah was the daughter of Jan Rolofse and Sara Kouwenhoven Schenck. On March 5, 1704, Jan Lucasse married Mayke R. Schenck who was born on January 14, 1684 and who died on November 25, 1736. They had thirteen children as follows: Lucas, born on September 15, 1705 and died January 16, 1784. He married Altje Ryder on May 17, 1728; Roelof, born August 19, 1708 and died in April 1782. He was married to Deborah Cortelyou; Stephen, born March 24, 1709 in a location called Flatbush, where his brothers and sisters were also born. He married Maria Lake on October 23, 1753; Antie, born November 28, 1710 and died in infancy; Petrus, (or Peter), who was born on January 6, 1712, married a woman named Mary. He died on April 3, 1751 at the age of thirty-nine; Martin, born on March 26, 1714, had a wife named Elizabeth; Isaac, born March 16, 1716 and first married a woman Sarah. His second marriage was to Helena Barkaloo. Catlyntje, born June 8, 1718 and married to Simon Van Arsdalen; Garret, born September 6, 1720 and married to Johanna Van Harlingen; Anna, who was born on July 15, 1723; Abraham, born June 8, 1725 and died on November 15, 1807. He was married on May 9, 1747 to Adrianna Lefferts; Sarah, who was born on October 18, 1727; and Maria, who was born on April 5, 1731. After the death of Mayke R. Schenck Van Vorhees, Jan Lucasse married for a third time. This marriage occurred on January 25, 1737. His third wife was Jannetje Remsen, who was born on July 27, 1701 and died on August 24, 1747. Her birth was also in Flatbush, the home of the Jan Lucasse family. They had no children, as I imagine they felt that Jan's fourteen children were sufficient in number. Much of the research regarding the family of Jan Lucasse was compiled by Armida Sharpin of Valparaiso, Indiana. In 1991, she published the, Remsen Relatives, which I secured from the New York City Genealogical Society collection. Her research and work were excellent. The sixth child, and son, Petrus (Peter) Van Voorhees (Voorhis) was born on January 6, 1712 and married a woman with the given name of Mary. Petrus and Mary had two children, Johannis and Stephen. Stephen Petrus Van Voorhis was born in 1739 and married Margaretta Van Dyke. Stephen and Margaretta Van Dyke Voorhis, had at least one child, Maragrieta, or Margaret Voorhis. Margaret was born June 17, 1763 and died on October 8, 1849. It is Margaret Voorhis, who is eight generations removed from "Albert, from in Front of Hies", who in 1783 in New Brunswick, New Jersey, married an emigrant from England, Richard Kitchen. This begins the first generation of the Richard and Margaret Voorhis Kitchen family in America.

Chapter 4

The First Generation In America: Richard and Margaret Voorhis Kitchen

Richard Kitchen and Margaret Voorhis were married in New Jersey in 1783. This union was the first connection the Kitchen family had with the Dutch Reformed Church. Many generations of Dutch Reformed Church relationships are clearly established with the Van Voorhees clan, yet there is nothing to suggest that Richard Kitchen, or the Kitchen family in general, was inclined to follow the Dutch Reformed theology and lifestyles. According to early New Jersey records, this marriage took place in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The American Revolution was coming to an end and there had been many battles and conflicts in the area around their place of marriage. New Brunswick, New Jersey experienced confrontation and Monmouth had a conflict as late as June 28, 1778. Though most of these more specific conflicts of the revolution precede Richard's arrival in America by approximately one year, it creates an environment which causes a curious historian to question the relevancy of his date of emigration in 1779 to his attachment with his homeland of England. In addition, Richard Kitchen's arrival in 1779 would have seen the war reaching a stalemate in the North. Although the British were occupying New York City, they were nearly surrounded by American forces. Slowly the British began to move the war to the southern states, where more sympathy was known to exist for the Loyalists. Another very important influence in early America came from the Calvinists. Calvinism was derived from the theology of a Frenchman, John Calvin, who wrote his "Institutes of the Christian Religion" in 1536 at Geneva, Switzerland. To the Calvinists, God was less a figure of love and mercy than of majestic power. Man was innately evil and salvation came to a small minority while most were doomed to damnation by God's "predestination". The Bible was not merely the word of God but the law to be rigorously enforced upon the world of sinners. Local congregations maintained the control over local church decisions and above all, the Calvinists glorified "work and thrift". A man who achieved success by working hard at his calling and saving money was deemed to enjoy the favor of God. As a corollary, Calvinists tended to see poverty as God's punishment for idleness and self-indulgence. Calvinism spread rapidly, especially among business people in the urban centers. The dominant theologies which maintained similarities with these belief systems included the Dutch Reformed Church, German Reformed Church, English Puritans and the Scot Presbyterians. The Dutch Reformed and other conservative churchmen, attempted to create higher learning environments that would train more ministers. In 1766, the Dutch Reformed Church established Rutgers. In 1764 the Baptist created Brown; in 1746 the Presbyterians established Princeton; and in 1769 the Congregationalists started Dartmouth. This was occurring during the generation immediately preceding the American Revolution and was called the "Great Awakening". The presence of the Awakening was to create a communion with God, a strong sense of conversion and the rededication of individuals to fundamental Christian values. Theodorus Frelinghuysen, a German born minister of the Dutch Reformed Church, began the movement with prayer meetings in New Jersey in the 1720's. The least tangible, but perhaps the most important change that was caused by this was the erosion of ancient traditions of social deference on the part of the poor toward those of superior wealth and power. Newly converted "saints" of lower class backgrounds found in their conversion, confidence to challenge the traditional prerogatives of their social superiors who remained unconverted. It is significant that the Baptists and Methodists, which were the denominations favored by the lower classes, experienced an increase in membership. In only one generation, they became the largest and most numerous membership among the religious groups in early America. Though this work is not intended to present research on the affects of religion in the development of America, it is hopeful that this will introduce an overview that reveals the association of religious beliefs with the social and governance environment at the time of Richard's arrival in America and his marriage into Margaret's Dutch Reformed family. Soon after their marriage, Richard and Margaret Kitchen pioneered westward together to Adams County (then called York County), Pennsylvania. This effort enabled the establishment of the first site for the Dutch Reformed Church near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The establishment of the church and this theology in Gettysburg was known as the Conewago Colony movement. This took place between 1765 and 1793, when people primarily from Bergen and Somerset Counties in New Jersey moved west with their families and faith. According to legend, as many as one hundred and fifty families participated in this movement. A closer inspection of the actual baptismal records of the early church supports that there were actually one hundred sixty-seven families represented in the Dutch Reformed Churchmen's westward migration. The early church baptismal records only included the names of families who had children born in them. Therefore, an allowance for a few childless families must be added to the church counts. In addition, there were undoubtedly unmarried men and women and also a number of children who would have been born to parents while still living in New Jersey. It may be estimated that the people who formed the Conewago Colony movement were not less than one thousand. The calculation supporting this number is as follows:

Number of parents reported (2 times 167 families).......................334
Number of unmarried men and women migrating............................50
Number of children migrating......................................................150
Number of children baptized at Conewago..................................541
Less the number of deaths at Conewago.....................................(75)
TOTAL living at Conewago at one time....................................1,000

This calculation is a rough estimate, but is quite probable and is the consensus of many historians. It is known that in 1817 only five Dutch families remained near this original Gettysburg location. Many of the families went to Kentucky, around Mercer County. One of the original 167 families and one of the 5 remaining families included the Richard Kitchen family. Of the one hundred sixty-seven families represented in the baptismal records, about one-third of the families were from Bergen County, New Jersey. In that time, many names were duplicated in Bergen and Somerset, particularly the Dutch surnames. As a result, an exact accounting of the names, families and their nativity cannot be made. A few names and records indicate that there were a few settlers from parts of Essex and Middlesex Counties also. The majority, however, were from Somerset and primarily from the townships of Hillsborough, Franklin and Montgomery. It is interesting to note, that even though Gettysburg was a far distance from these counties, they were often visited by their old Somerset pastors, Van Harlingen, Hardenbergh, and Leydt. They traveled one hundred sixty miles to make these visits. This was a far distance to travel in these days during our early American history. A two year period of baptismal records has been reviewed from this old Conewago Colony church. There were two children born of Richard and Margaret Kitchen. On July 24, 1785 Richard Kitchen, (recorded as Derrick Cichim), and Margaret, (recorded as Marigrieta Voorhis), had a daughter, Maria. The spellings noted in these early Dutch records were certainly not reliable or correct for many of the families reviewed. It appears from these records that Richard may have been known as "Dick" and that the spelling was either copied wrong or misspelled. On November 12, 1786, Richard, (recorded as Richard Kichin), and Margaret, (recorded as Maragrieta Voorhees), had another daughter, Maragrieta. During their lifetime, Richard and Margaret Kitchen had thirteen children. This is proven by numerous court records and documents which I secured through work with the Adams County Historical Society in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The children, as presented in one of the many court documents, were named in order of birth. The children were as follows: Stephen K.; Mary, (who remained unmarried); Margaret, (who married Isaac Patterson); Joseph; John C; Richard; Peter; Esther, (who married Isaac Bercaw); Henry; Hannah, (who married William Bercaw); Sarah, (who married a Mr. King); Edward, (my Great Great Great Grandfather); and Abraham. One of the documents listing the thirteen children was dated September 20, 1814 and stated that the last five named, (Henry, Hannah, Sarah, Edward and Abraham) were under the age of fourteen years. This completes a presentation of the formation of the Richard and Margaret Voorhis Kitchen family. The following chapters present the development of these thirteen children and their families.
Continue to Chapters 5 through 7
Continue to Chapters 8 through 14

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