Henry M. Vories

(1810-1876)

On May 25, 1810 in Henry County, KY, Henry M. Vories was born to Francis Voorhees and Katherine Montfort, who were considered to be from exceedingly distinguished families in Kentucky. After having received a “very common” education, Vories moved to Indiana where he began farming, raising hogs, and engaging in the mercantile business. Because his businesses were thought not to be profitable, Vories decided to study law under Oliver Smith of Indiana, who had been a member of the United States House of Representatives and later an Indiana Senator in the United States Senate.

In 1843 Vories moved to Sparta, MO, the county seat of Buchanan County at the time, where he began practicing law with William B. Almond. When St. Joseph became the Buchanan County Seat a couple of years later, Vories relocated there. In 1845 he was counted among St. Joseph’s 15 leading citizens, which included Joseph Robidoux, John Corby, and Willard P. Hall, a gentleman who would later become a governor of Missouri. Then in 1855 he moved to San Jose, CA, where he remained for two years. Upon his return to St. Joseph, Vories and his brother, Allen H., formed a partnership and had their law office located on Francis Street between Second and Third Streets. Vories became a trial lawyer, had a very large cliental, and seldom lost a case.

Vories served his country in two Indian Wars and the Mexican War and was a staunch Union man during the War Between the States, though he did not take an active part other than to give aid to the cause. A man of high ideals, Vories was elected for six years to the Supreme Court of Missouri in 1872.

Vories married Nancy Smith of Danville, IN on October 5, 1833, who passed away a few years later. Vories then married Laura Amanda Cake of Hendricks County, IN on June 8, 1840. They were the parents of eight sons and one daughter.

Vories resigned from the Supreme Court on October 4, 1876 due to ill health and passed away at his home in St. Joseph on October 29, 1876. He was buried at the Mount Mora Cemetery.

Boder, B. (1955, Fall). St. Joseph Historical Society: Henry M. Vories. Museum Graphic, 7(4), 12.

Conard, H. L. (Ed.). (1901). Encyclopedia of the history of Missouri: A compendium of history and biography for ready reference. St. Louis: The Southern History.

Logan, S. A. (1979). Old Saint Jo: Gateway to the West, 1799-1932. St. Joseph, MO: Platte Purchase Publishers.

Voorhees, E. (2006). Voorhees Genealogy Database. Retrieved September 28, 2007, from RootsWeb Web site: http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ igm.cgi?op=AHN&db=jayone&id=I4405