Son of Peter and Catharine (Sebring) Voorheis, and brother of Sebring Voorheis, uf White Lake township, was born in the town of Fayette, Seneca county, New York, February 19, 1820. In the autumn of 1841 he came to Michigan, leaving home October 9 of that year, and arrived in the State on the 15th, after a six days trip. For three years thereafter he lived during the summer season in the township of White Lake, and taught school winters in White Lake, Waterford, and Pontiac. On the 17th of April, 1845, he was married to Miss Arvilla E. Barr, then on a visit to the State. She had come in the fall of 1843 to Lapeer county with relatives, and in some mysterious manner Mr. Voorheis finally persuaded her to stay in the "Wolverine State." They were married in White Lake township, to which Miss Barr had come in 1844. Her father, Rufus Barr, was a native of Massachusetts, and a descendant in a direct line from the ancient Puritan stock. He had settled in the town of Westport, Essex county, New York, previous to his daughters birth, near the now famous Adirondack Springs. Here in the picturesque valley of Lake Champlain, in the "Shade of the mountains, cold and gray."

The first cry of the child, who is now living so far from her native place, was heard, and the grand old hills, frowning forth upon the placid waters of the lake, welcomed the being just born in their midst. Her earliest recollections savor of the beauty of her mountain home, and the old place still has greater attractions for her than any other spot of her acquaintance, with perhaps that of the one where she has so long lived in Michigan. In common with her husband she takes great pride in beautifying their home, and both are exemplars of the great class who believe, with the poet, that "Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home."

Mr. Voorheis' father, Peter Voorheis, Sr., was born in that land of fruitful production, the State of New Jersey, and when eight or ten years of age moved with his parents and the rest of the family to Virginia. When twenty-one years old, or in 1804-5, he turned his footsteps northward, and finally settled in Seneca county, New York, where he was married to Catharine Sebring, whose parents lived in the town of Ovid. Mr. Voorheis lived in Fayette.

Peter Voorheis, of White Lake, is one of a family of ten children, eight sons and two daughters, of whom six are now living, all in Michigan. Since their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Voorheis have been blessed with two children, both sons, only one of whom is at present living. Their older son, George P. Voorheis, was born August 20, 1847, and is now an attorney at law, residing at Port Huron, St. Clair county. He was married May 14, 1874, to Miss Anna Boyce, of Ypsilanti. He was graduated from the State university at Ann Arbor, in the class of 1872. Darius S. Voorheis was born September 3, 1849, and died August 25, 1855. Mr. and Mrs. Voorheis are members of the First Presbyterian church of White Lake, with which Mr. Voorheis united in 1844, and Mrs. Voorheis in 1855. She had previously been a member of the Methodist society, and from her youth was an earnest worker in the "Master's vineyard."

Politically, Mr. Voorheis is a Republican. He has always worked at farming. In the spring of 1844 he purchased one hundred acres of his present farm (consisting of two hundred and twenty acres), and settled upon it in 1845. The person from whom he bought, Samuel Arthur, had made some improvements. A log house, which stood a short distance west of his present residence, was first occupied by Mr. Voorheis, and in 1849 he built the frame dwelling which he now occupies. By patient and enduring labor he has made the surroundings of his home very pleasant. The orchard, shrubbery, etc., now growing, were all set out by him, and his home of today is emphatically the work of his own hands, aided, of course, by the partner who has lived with him " lo ! these many years." But a few minutes' walk to the westward, at the foot of a gentle slope, the clear waters of White lake roll up to the sandy beach, and "Voorheis' landing" is one of the pleasantest spots to be found in the township. With its fine improvements and picturesque surroundings, there is no wonder that Mr. Voorheis and his family are so strongly attached to their home.