In 1660 Steven Coerte, the patriach of the Van Voorhees family in the new world, sailed on de Bonte Koe to Nieuw Amsterdam with his second wife (Willemtje), children (except Marchien), and son-in-law Jan Kiers. De Bonte Koe means The Spotted Cow. While little is known of de Bonte Koe, it is surmised that the ship was 170 feet long, 49 feet in beam, and about 20 feet in depth, based on similar ships of the period (Historical Handbook, 1935).

On 29 November 1660 the family purchased 62 acres of farmland and woodland in what is now the Flatlands section of Brooklyn.