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Donna Speer Ristenbatt Genealogy/Reformed Dutch Church Records  Reformed Dutch Church Recordsby Donna Speer RistenbattURL of this website:http://www.ristenbatt.com/genealogy Index  Why So Valuable What Churches Existed Where New York Reformed Dutch Churches New Jersey Reformed Dutch Churches Where to Access Which Church Church Splits A Final Word One of the most valuable tools for a researcher looking for Dutchancestors in America are the Reformed Dutch Church Records. In itsinfancy, this Church was referred to as the Reformed Dutch Church,but in recent times, this Church has sometimes come to be known asthe Dutch Reformed Church.Why So ValuableThe Dutch people had a certain naming practice when naming theirchildren. The first children were named after their grandparents,usually the first son being named after the paternal grandfather,the second after the maternal grandfather, the first daughter beingnamed after the maternal grandmother and the second after thepaternal grandmother. Sometimes the first son was named after thematernal grandfather, but regardless, the first children were namedafter their grandparents, thus giving invaluable clues to the givennames of the next generation. After this, children were usuallynamed after their aunts and uncles. There were exceptions to thisnaming pattern. For example, if the wife were a widow when married,the first child might be named after her deceased husband. Thesame held true if the husband were a widower and then the firstdaughter might be named after his deceased wife. Then the usualnaming pattern got moved down by one. They often took turns innaming the children also, usually the husband's side first and thenthe wife's side. All of these naming practices depended, ofcourse, upon the appropriate gender of the child. Also of great value were the names of the witnesses, sponsors orGodparents, as they are sometimes called. These witnesses weremembers of the family, usually brothers and sisters of the parents,or else the grandparents themselves, if the child were being namedafter them. With this naming practice, it can be seen that thenames of the witnesses play a vital role. If a man had five sonsand all of the first grandsons were being named after him, it canbe seen that the witnesses can place a child in the correct familyby looking at how they are related. (In this case, the researcheris usually looking for members of the wife's family in the nextgeneration down. For example, if a man had 5 grandsons namedHendrick, one would first look at which wife is listed withHendrick. If no wife's name were given, which can happen, then thewitnesses can give a clue as to which Hendrick is having a childbaptized.) These naming practices continued until about 1800, butwith more conservative families, a little bit longer. Also, theDutch records are wonderful in that they give (usually) the wife'smaiden name in the baptismal and marriage records. Summarizingthen, we have the following advantages given in Reformed DutchChurch records. The wife's maiden name is given. (usually) Thenaming practice gives us a clue as to the next generation back. Finally, the witnesses give clues as to which family we aresearching. What Churches Existed WhereWhen the Dutch came to America, the first Church organized in NewNetherlands was the Reformed Dutch Church of New Amsterdam (NewYork City). Keep in mind that the English took over New Amsterdamin 1664 and then the Dutch took it back again for one year(1673),thus calling it New Orange. It then reverted back to Englishcontrol the following year, and was named New York. All of theaforementioned records are fortunately kept in one record book. The Church was formed in 1628, but baptismal and marriage recordsstart in 1639. As the Dutch spread out in their settlements, newchurches sprang up on Long Island, Staten Island, and along areasof the Hudson River Valley. Another church that formed was theBrooklyn Reformed Dutch Church and also the Flatbush Reformed DutchChurch on Long Island. (Flatlands) As the Dutch moved into NewJersey, the first church formed there was the Bergen Reformed DutchChurch. (now Jersey City) Churches sprang up in upper New YorkState, such as the Albany Reformed Dutch Church. Anytime a church record is consulted, a certain pattern isfollowed, whether the record is in Dutch, or has been translatedinto English. In English, the pattern is the date of baptism(sometimes the date of birth also), the name of the child, thenames of the parents and the names of the witnesses. If the recordis kept in Dutch, the same pattern is followed, only the followingwords are used. Kinder = Child. Ouders = parents. Geboren =Born. Gedopt = Baptized. Getuygen = Witnesses. One may ask, whatchurch do I look for and where do I find its records? These twoquestions are addressed in the following two sections. Beforelooking at these two sections, however, here are examples of howrecords are kept.English Translation Example: (Schraalenburgh Reformed Dutch Church) Child &Date Parents Witnesses 1738DavidFeb. 5 Thomas Ekkesen(Eckerson)Maria Demarest David DemarestMaeike, his wifeDutch Example: (New Amsterdam Reformed Dutch Church) Ouders Kinders Getuygen 1699Oct. 22 Lucas KierstedeRachel Kip Lucas Abraham Kip,Rachel Kierstede, h.v. Will. Tellerh.v. = wife in DutchNew York Reformed Dutch ChurchesThe following is a list of a number of early Reformed DutchChurches in New York. The date in parenthesis is when formed, andthen dates are given for when baptismal and marriage records werekept. Remember, the date in parenthesis is when the church wasformed. There are gaps in some of the records, and some variationsof dates. Church Baptisms Marriages New Amsterdam/New York (1628) 1639-1801 1639-1801 Brooklyn (1660) 1660-1710 1660-1696 Flatbush (1654)(Midwout) 1677-1872 (gaps) 1677-1866 (gaps) Flatlands (Nieuw Amersfoort) 1747-1914 1825-1914 Gravesend 1714-1890 1832-1890 New Utrecht 1718-1880 1835-1880 Albany (1642) 1683-1809 1683-1803 Schenectady (1670) 1694-1938 1699-1938 Kingston (1659) 1660-1809 1660-1809 Tappan (1694) 1694-1822 1694-1822 Clarkstown (1750) 1749-1795 Port Richmond (Staten Island) (1690) 1690- Tarrytown (Sleepy Hollow) (1697) 1697-1791 1698-1790 Kakiat (W. Hempstead) (1774)(Brick Church) 1774-1860 1793-1864 Greenwich 1806-1858 Monsey(True Reformed Churchof West New Hempstead) 1826-1883 NY Lutheran (contains Dutch members) 1704-1723 1704-1772New Jersey Reformed Dutch ChurchesFollowing are a list of some New Jersey Reformed Dutch Churches. Once again there are some gaps in the records. The year inparenthesis is when the church was formed. Church Baptisms Marriages Bergen (1660)(now Jersey City) 1666-1788 1666-1788 Hackensack (1686) 1686-1886 1695-1884 Schraalenburgh (1724)(Now either Dumont or Bergenfield) 1724-1926 1724-1921 Acquackanonk (1693)(Now Passaic) 1727-1816Some births from 1692 1725-1816 Ponds (in Oakland) (1710) Records destroyed Paramus (ca. 1725) 1740-1850 1799-1856 Saddle River (1812) 1811-1925 1813-1924 Totowa (1755) 1755-1808 Second River (1700)(Now Belleville) 1724-1794 1730-1796 Six Mile Run (1710) 1743-1849 Pompton Plains (1736) 1734-1871 1736-1809 Wyckoff (1806) 1806-1925 Ramapo Reformed (ca. 1785)(Island Church) 1824-1900 1838-1900 True Ramapo Reformed (ca. 1822) 1824-1906 Zion Lutheran(Saddle River) (1820)(Contains Dutch Members) 1818-1907 1821-1906 Ramapo Lutheran (aft. 1740) 1750-1817 Where to AccessA number of Reformed Dutch Church records are on microfilm andobtainable at your local LDS Family History Center. Also, a numberof these Reformed Dutch Church records have been published. Checkthe following places for these published records. The Holland Society of New York City. The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society in New YorkCity. Various NJ and NY Genealogical and Historical Societies have records for sale that have been published by someone else. Here is one example: Bergen Historic Society P.O. Box 244 Englewood, NJ 07631 The Genealogical and Historical Societies in both NY and NJ have published many tombstone listings for various Reformed Dutch Church Graveyards. The DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) has published many cemetery records and some church records.Also, check out the following repositories: The Archives of the Reformed Dutch Church of America is housed in New Brunswick, NJ at the Gardner Sage Library. The address is: Archives for the Reformed Church in America 21 Seminary Place New Brunswick, NJ 08901 (732) 246-1779 The Genealogical Society of NJ has their archives in New Brunswick, NJ at the Special Collections Sections of the Alexander Library. It is just blocks away from the Gardner Sage Library. The New Jersey State Library in Trenton, New Jersey has both NJ and NY Reformed Dutch Church records. The DAR in Washington, DC, has the Holland Society and New York Genealogical and Biographical Yearbooks. The Holland Society of New York may be of some assistance. 122 East 58th Street New York City, NY 10022 Which ChurchThe researcher may next ask, "Which church records do I consult?" First, one needs to have some idea of where the Dutch ancestorsettled. It makes sense, then, to consult church records of achurch in that vicinity. However, if the child in question wasbaptized around the year 1650, one obviously would not consult theParamus Reformed Dutch Church records, because the records of thischurch did not begin until 1740 for baptisms. Something else needsto be considered here. Many have the idea that the Dutch peoplestayed put in one place. Nothing could be further from the truth. An example of this is a Brouwer ancestor of mine who had hischildren baptized in the Schraalenburgh Reformed Dutch Church. There was a large gap in years between the last two children atSchraalenburgh. Finally I came across a deed where this ancestorwas living in New York City, selling land in Bergen County. I thenconsulted the records of the New York Reformed Dutch Church in NewYork City, and there were the rest of the children! Another thing that has to be kept in mind is the fact that aDominie (Dutch Minister) could be serving several churches. Whenthe Ramapo Reformed Dutch Church was first established, the Rev.Van der Linde was serving the Churches of Paramus and Ponds aswell, and then served the Ramapo Reformed Church also. Therefore,even though the baptism might take place in Ramapo, it might showup in the Paramus Reformed Dutch Church records. The Dutch personhimself could go to one church for one child's baptism and anotherChurch for another child's baptism. So several churches in thatarea may have to be consulted - such as Hackensack andSchraalenburgh, to give another example. Also, some churches wereconnected at first, such as Hackensack and Acquackanonk in 1694.(until 1724) Finally, as areas grew in population, churches "gave birth" to newchurches. For example, the Acquackanonk Reformed Dutch Churchwhich started in 1693 (For the record, Acquackanonk is currentlyPassaic, N.J.) gave birth to Fairfield Reformed Dutch Church in1720, Pompton Plains Reformed Dutch Church about 1736, TotowaReformed Dutch Church in 1755 and Montville Reformed Dutch Churchin 1756. Another example is that of the Paramus Reformed DutchChurch which gave birth to the Saddle River Reformed Dutch Churchin 1812. (It will be noted that in some of these instances, thereare a few baptisms recorded which precede the official "birthdate"of the church in question.)Church SplitsAs in any generation, dissensions existed in these early churches. The most serious disagreement was about whether a Dominie (Dutchminister) should be ordained in Amsterdam or in America. The"Coetus" party desired separation from the classis of Amsterdam,and wanted the minister to be ordained in this Country. Theopposing party, called the "Conferentie" wanted only ministers fromAmsterdam. Incidentally, the men of the Conferentie tended to bethe most learned men, whereas those of the Coetus tended to bepractical, zealous and industrious. About 1755, both Hackensackand Schraalenburgh had two congregations because of thisdisagreement. Since a person would attend the church where theDominie of his/her choice was preaching during this time period,baptismal records may not reflect the actual locality of theparents. So, if one sees a child baptized at Hackensack, theparents may actually have resided closer to Schraalenburgh, andvice versa. Another example of this is the Ramapo Reformed Dutch Church(inMahwah, Bergen Co., N.J.) and the True Reformed Dutch Church ofRamapough. The latter formed about 1822, and while not all of thereasons are understood, it is felt that some of this leaningtowards Dutch conservatism had an influence in the formation ofthis church. Thus, those who wanted the Dutch doctrine and ritualstended to form what are called "True Reformed Dutch" churches. So,while a researcher may at first find a family in one church, if thefamily sided with the more conservative, it might then attend thenewly formed, or True Reformed Dutch" church.A Final WordIt is hoped that the researcher will make good use of the recordsof the Reformed Dutch Churches, as these records may give the onlybirth or marriage source long before vital records were recorded. Many of the above listed churches also have included in theirpages, cemetery or death/burial records as well.NOTE: If you have arrived at this page via another home page,be sure to check out the rest of the articles contained in the Dutch Research Corner.      Web site provided courtesy of Ristenbatt Vacuum Cleaner Service, Inc.Copyright © 1997-2005 Donna E. Ristenbatt All rights reserved.The bevelled buttons at the bottom of this page were designedand created by David E. Ristenbatt and are copyrighted.This site may be freely linked to but not duplicated in any fashion without my written consent. |
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