Genealogical and Historical e-bog

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. The foundation for this work was laid in 1865, when the author, during a brief visit home from the army, wrote down from the statements of his father, Rufus P. Vorce, a list of the Vorce family as known to the latter. It was then believed by both that, as was often asserted by Samuel Vorce, all of the Vorces in this country are related, and it was supposed that the list then prepared was nearly complete to that time. Investigations prosecuted during the past four years have shown, however, that there is in this country a very large number of people descended from ancestors by the name of Vorce none of whom were known to the descendants of Timothy Vorce of Dutchess county, 1746. Exhaustive research having failed to find the connecting link between all these various branches, if it exists, as seems probable, they are perforce treated separately. The descendants of Timothy Vorce, as the original starting point of the work, and the descendants of other branches, more or less completely traced but which appear to be probably consanguineous therewith: form Part I. Families descended from ancestors named Vorce or Vorse, but whose connection with those of the first part has not yet been ascertained to be probable, form Part II. The record of related and intermarrying families forms. Part III. In the Appendix are given some families not known to be related to any of those in Parts I and II, together with some items of historical and genealogical interest. The nationality of the remote ancestors of the Vorce family is involved in doubt. By most persons the family is claimed to be of French, but by some of Dutch, descent. The great preponderance of family tradition is, however, in favor of the French ancestry. The conflicting traditions of French and Dutch ancestry might be reconciled by supposing the original French ancestors to have gone from France into Holland, and thence to England or America, as many French Huguenots did. This has seemed to the author the most prob able