USA > New Jersey > Hudson County > Jersey City > Sketch of the early history of the Reformed Dutch Church of Bergen, in Jersey City : compiled from the ancient church records, and deacon's account books of Bergen, Communipaw, and Hasymus > Part 1
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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
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Gc 974.902 J48VE VERSTEEG, DINGMAN. SKETCH OF THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE REFORMED DUTCH
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SKETCH
-OF THE-
EARLY HISTORY -OF THE-
REFORMED DUTCH CHURCH OF BERGEN, -IN-
JERSEY CITY.
Compiled from the Ancient Church Records, and Deacon's Account Books of
BERGEN, COMMUNIPAW, AND HASYMUS.
-BY ----
D. VERSTEEG. With an introduction by REV. CORNELIUS BRETT, Pastor of the Bergen Reformed Church.
NEW YORK: D. VERSTEEG, PUBLISHER. 1889.
Allen County Public Library 900 Webster Street PO Box 2270 Fort Wayne, IN 46801-2270
INTRODUCTION.
The history of the Old Bergen Church has been frequently writ- ten ; and yet, in the time-stained archives, hidden in a language that has been dead to the congregation for nearly a century, materials un- . used lay waiting the patient, painstaking work of the explorer and translator. Mr. D. Versteeg, a Hollander by birth, an American by education, and an antiquarian by instinct, has undertaken the work.
As a translator for the Holland Society of New York, his atten- tion was first attracted to the value of the ancient records of Bergen. In the parsonage. where they are preserved, he has spent many days in a careful review of the documents, and the result of his labors is put forth in the pamphlet, now offered to those who are interested in the wonderful story of pious sacrifice, and devoted faith, exhibited by the early settleis from the Netherlands. Most of the facts herein written, are, I am sure, published for the first time.
The little volume cannot fail to be a valuable contribution to the colonial history of New Jersey.
CORNELIUS BRETT.
Parsonage of the Bergen Reformed Church,
January 4, 1889.
Sketch of the Early History of the Reformed Dutch Church of
Bergen, N. J.
THE SETTLEMENT OF BERGEN.
IRECTOR PETER STUYVESANT', though rather arbitrary in his dealings with the people whom he had been sent by the home authorities to govern in New Netherland, was withal a kind regent, as long as his military notions of civil government were not opposed by the " subjects," as he was fond of calling the free citizens of the province. Though his not always wise attempts at regulating the commerce of his " subjects," well nigh, for a time, ruined the former and procured him a host of enemies among the latter, still he did all he could to foster agriculture, and was ever ready, in his pecu- liar, high-handed way, to promote the farming interests of the country and to attract agriculturists to settle upon its fertile soil.
If, therefore, the foreign trade of New Netherland suffered during part of his administration, the agriculture and the domestic commerce of the province flourished, and the lands of many abandoned agricultu- ral settlements were taken up again, or entirely new tracts brought under cultivation.
In the second half of the seventeenth century a small company of Dutch settlers had located themselves between the hills and maishes of the northern part of Scheyichbi (New Jersey) at about two mi.es distance from the North River, for the double purpose, un- doubtedly, of tilling the soil, and trading with the several Indian tribes wło passed near or through the settlement, to and from Fort Amsterdam, on the island of Manhattan. The location seemed to have been so well chosen that before long many more joined the number of the pioneers, the young community quickly outgrew even older settlements in its immediate vicinity, and on September the 15th, 1661, the Governor and Council of New Netherland granted it a village charter. The little pioneer village in the wilderness received the name of Bergen, after a small town in Holland, the most important of the
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provinces, constituting the United Nethe. lands. Church and school to the early settlers were synonymous with civilization, and after the nhabitants of Bergen had built themselves dwellings and erected a tockaded enclosure as a protection against attacks of the Indians, they constructed a school-house, and in September, 1662, the "Schout" and "Schepenen " or civil authorities of the village petitioned the Governor and his Council for a Minister of the Gospel, at the same time subjoining a subscription list, by which twenty-five persons had obligated themselves yearly to contribute the amount of f417* in seewan for his support. But the affairs of the province at this period were in such a bad condition, and the treasury of the West India Com- pany was so near bankrupt, that probably for those reasons the peti- tion had to be ignored, and Bergen, for almost a century afterwards, remained without the services of a local pastor. But if a minister could not be had it was comparatively easy to procure a schoolmaster, who could at the same time fill the minister's place on Sundays, and edify the congregation by reading for them a sermon, after having taught the village youth during week days.
THE SCHOOL.
As the Bergen school-house was undoubtedly the first, and for years to come the only public building in the village, it is not more than proper to give it the first place among the several topics, about which this sketch is to treat.
The records, as far as they go back, say nothing about the erec- tion of the earliest school house, so that it must have been built soon after the village received its charter. Church and school in those days were so closely united, especially in the rural communities, tbat the people, soon after forming an ecclesiastical body, built their school, at first for the double purpose of a meeting place for the congregation, and a lyceum for the children. It has been asserted that this school- house was a log building, but very slight historical evidence seems to show that this was not the case. New Amsterdam, with its saw-mil's and lime kilns, was so close by, and there was so much building ma- terial in the neighborhood, that the expense for a brick, stone or frame school building would not come much higher than for a log house. And, besides, an entry in the account of the deacons, dated March 29th, 1678, says: "Lime for whitewashing the school-house fl and 10 stivers," which would not have been necessary if the walls had
* fis the Dutch mark for guilder, as $ is the American mark for dollar, and £ the English mark for pound sterling. A Dutch guilder has 100 cents, or 20 stivers, and is equal to 40 cents American money. A stiver is equal to 2 cents American money.
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been logs. Again, on January 18th, 1680, "School-house debit to Hel- migh Roelofse (Van Houten) for nailing boards to the gable f6." Many other entries later on about work done on the school-house, and ma- terials bought for it, especially nails, of which several pounds were used, appear to indicate that logs had not been made use of in build- ing the first school of Bergen.
For almost fifty years Bergen's youth had received instruction in the now venerable building, and it became necessary to provide for a new one, which, at the same time, was to be a little better in keeping with the undoubtedly very much approved aspect of the village.
This second school house was begun to be built in 1708, as appears from the following account: "On Tuesday, May 11th, 1708, Matheus Bensum has made a beginning with the new school-house, and com- menced with the foundation, and Mr. Adrian Vermeulen, voorlezer, at Bergen, laid the corner stone."
It may be interesting, after a lapse of so many years, to give an itemized account of the expenses incurred, and the work done upon the second school of Bergen, by which some idea can be formed of the probable size of the building :
1708. To Adrian Quackinbush for 100 boards at 28s. a piece. f140
" Matheus Bensum, 10 days at f10 per day, ) 100
" Marten Winne, 21 days at f10 210
masons
66 " Risso, the hod-carrier, 21 days at 3 Realtjes per day. 95.10st.
" 6 lbs. nails at f3 per lb. 18
" the glazier for 23 feet of glass. 69
" Samuel Bayard, for 84 lb. nails at f3 per lb. 252
" 5 1b. nails at f3 per lb 15
66 " lock for the door. 7.10st.
Total for 1703. f907
1710. Expended over 1708 f907
May 3. To Mathys Mott, for ironwork. 84
" Helmigh Roelofse, for paving stone (steenklinkers) 86
" Cornelis Van Vorst, 2 1b. nails at f 3 per 1b. 6
66 " Hendrik Claasse Kuyper, for 4 1b. nails 12
" Gerrit Stynmets, for 4 lb. nails. 12
Oct. 3 66 Gerrit Roos, for laying the ceiling 40
" his board 6
66 10 lb. nails. 15
66 10 boards at 36 stivers a piece. 18
66 for carting the boards 7.10st.
Total cost .f1193.10st.
Several of Bergen's citizens assisted at the building of the new school by carting, as it seems gratuitously, materials to the site, as is shown by the following list :
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Johannis Michielse, 10 loads of stone
Cornelis Blinkerhof, 10
Maritje Hartmans, 10
Johannis Thomasse, 5
Fredrick Thomasse, 10
The same, 1
clay
Uldrick Brouwer, 4 66 stone
Johannis Pouwelse, 8 loads of stone
The same, 3 clay
Matheus DeMott,
1 load of stone The same, 10 loads of clay Jacob Jacobse Van Winkel, 5 loads of stone 5 loads of clay The same,
Robert Siggelse, 1
Jan Lubberse, 5 loads of sand, 1 load of clay, 1 load of lime.
In all, 63 loads of stone, 21 loads of clay, 5 loads of sand, 1 load of lime.
The record does not say how long the second school-building served its purpose, but an expenditure in 1782 for work on the school- house points to the probability of its having faced Bergen Square till the end of the former, or the beginning of the present century.
THE CHURCH.
Up to 1681 the congregation of Bergen worshiped in the school- house, but as its membership increased, a more commodious place of worship was needed, and in 1680 the people resolved to begin the erection of their first church edifice. The list below, showing the cost of its building, is complete as far as it was possible to get at the figures, though it is evident, that not all the items, especially those for lumber have been preserved.
1680, June 20. For carpenter's work in seewant. f300
" nails contr. by ¿ 117
·· 1,000 paving stone (steenklinkers) Ahasymus S 60
" nails, and 1,000 paving stone, contr. by Gemoenepa 177
" nails. 117
Sept. 5.
Oct. 3. " 100 1b. nails. 150
To Cornelis Hopper, iron work 388.10st.
Dec. 30. " the carpenter. 42
1681, April 3. For 40 1b. nails
60
.. 28. " the carpenter.
.. 20 1b. nails and 2 gallons of rum.
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May 10. " William Day, the English mason 35
" 29. " the carpenter. 100
Sept. 25. To Captain Berry. 28
Oct. 10. " Steven Cortland, for 1,000 paving stone. 60
Total in 1680 and '81 f1898.10st.
1682, April 4. To Johannis Van Giesen. 75-
M'ch 12. " the carpenter in silver money. 200
Aug. 9. " same. 200
1686,M'ch 18. " Claas Arense (Toers). 198.10st.
66 " same. 4.0
Total cost of church. f2612
222
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On May 23d, 1681, Bergen's first church was ready for worship, and on that day the thankful congregation repaired thither to listen to the words of Rev. Caspar Van Zuren, from Long Island, who had been requested to preach the dedicatory sermon. In the gladness of their hearts the members of the congregation contributed the muni- ficent amount of f97.10st. or almost four times as much as when a minister, cn other days, preached for them, and over nine times more than when their Voorlezer led the services.
· A belfry adorned their "little" church, as it is sometimes called in the account book, and in the summer of 1683, or a little over two years after the dedication, the first bell, probably a present of some members of the congregation, began to call the people up to the house of worship, and to toll the funeral knell over those who were being carried to the grave.
The growing congregation and the ravages of time after 92 years of constant use of the first church building, rendered it necessary to erect a new and larger one, and in the beginning of May, 1773, work was begun upon the second house of worship in the village of Bergen. Part of the accounts having been lost, it was not possible either to find out when the church was finished, or the total amount expended upon it, but from May 17 to October 17, 1773, about £362 had been laid out for material and labor. For several years after the church was dedicated the old bell seems to have done service in the new bel- fry, until on June 20, 1787, another bell was bought by the consistory at a cost of £31 in New York money. This bell pealed forth its invi- tations for religious meetings in Bergen's second sanctuary for about 54 years after it had been suspended in the belfry, when a new place of worship was needed again, and in 1841 the congregation erected its third church.
THE MEMBERSHIP.
The Dutch Reformed Church in those early days was rather ex- acting in its requirements of the applicants for admission to member- ship. Before being accepted they had to pass a rigid examination before the minister and the consistory, sometimes in the presence of two members of the congregation as witnesses. This examination, besides covering the whole ground of Bible history, had for subjects the general evidences of the truths of Christianity, and the doctrines of the Reformed Church, as set forth in the Heidelberg catechism. If the consistory was satisfied with the answers, the applicants, at cer- tain stated periods of the year, were accepted into membership be- fore the whole congregation, provided no complaints had been brought against their moral character, and soundness in church doctrine. It took several years of study before the young people were deemed able
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to submit to the examination, and during all that time they went at least once a week to " catechism" in order to recite from their question books to the minister, and in the absence of a pastor to the voorlezer, or an elder of the congregation. During that period of their religious instruction the learners were called "catechumens," or students of the rudiments of Christianity.
At the time of the beginning of the membership record in 1664, Bergen's church numbered only 27 communicants, viz .: 18 females and 9 males. In the following year this number was increased through the admission of new members, with 5 females and 6 males, so that at the close of 1665 the congregation of Bergen had a mem- bership of 38, divided over Bergen, Ahasymus, Gemoenepa (Communi- paw) and Hackinsack. The number of communicants now speedily increased, until in 1686 the portion of the congregation living at and near Hackinsack, separated from the mother church at Bergen, and organized one of their own, with Mr. Guiliamo Bertholf as voorlezer. The latter and his wife on October 6, 1684, had come with church certificate from Sluis in the province of Zeeland, and joined the church of Bergen. From 1669 till 1675 there is a gap in the mem- bership record, but from that time down to the latter part of the former century the register, with few exceptions, is continuous.
As an instance of the liberal spirit of the early founders of Jersey City may still be mentioned that among the 8 new members admitted in 1679, one, Jochem Anthony, was a colored man,
The reconversion of a most worthy woman from the Reformed to the Lutheran faith at the early history of Bergen's church has been brought down to posterity through the following curious entry in the membership record: "But after having not more than once communed with us she fell out, and having (formerly) left the faith of the Luth- erans again returned to it. . This has been put down as a cliff in the sea that others, seeing this, may not be shipwrecked from the faith."
THE CONSISTORY.
Up to May 6, 1751, no mention was made of the election of mem- bers of the consistory, but at that date Mr. Peter De Wint, who then officiated as minister of Bergen, made an entry in the register, re- cording the nomination of the following persons as members for the consistory : "Elder, Michiel Vreeland ; Deacons, Joris Vreeland, Robert Siggels, son of Zacharias; Church masters, Hendrik Van Winkel, Hendrik Brinkerhof." "After these above-named persons had been three times announced by me in our church here, they have been installed by me in August of the same year." Occasionally mention is made before that time of deacons in the accounts of the deaconry,
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which show that the consistory, beside two elders and two church masters, consisted of one deacon for Ahasymus, one for Gemoenepa (Communipaw) and two for Bergen. About the manner in which they were elected nothing has been preserved, but from what we know of other churches and their methods, we may infer that the first consistory had been chosen by the male members of the congregation, and afterwards elected their own successors. Judging from accounts of Ahasymus and Gemoenepa, the members of the consistory served for two years, though in some instances the deacons of these two places held their office a year longer.
On May 14, 1716, we have the first account of a meeting of the consistory, convened for the purpose of regulating the occupation and sale of seats in the church, which was accomplished in the following manner :
BERGEN, May 14, 1716.
The consistory met, and resolved, after calling upon the Lord's name, to remove some inconveniences regarding the seats in the church that all causes for discord may be taken away, and the church masters may know how to act in several cases without incurring opposition. It was further resolved to invite all the male members from the pulpit during the morning service to meet together in the barn of Helmigh Roelofse (Van Houten), where the consistory would submit to them certain salutary measures in order to be decided upon by a majority of votes.
This having been done, on the same date and place aforesaid, all the males belonging to the congregation, who there appeared with the church masters and the consistory, resolved and decreed that from now on the following five articles shall be observed by the Church Masters and that all whom they concern shall behave in accordance with them, viz :
I. Those belonging at present to the congregation, and having acquired seats by purchase, inheritance or any other lawful means, shall possess the same and peaceably retain them until their death or departure from the congregation.
II. All those not belonging to the village or the church of Berge , and not contributing toward the maintenance of church, school ( r religious services, shall pay for either men's or women's seats the annual sum of six shillings, current money, into the hands of the Church Masters, or somebody authorized by them.
III. The seats of those who die, shall return to the church, but under condition that the Church Masters shall sell those places to the next heir of the deceased for two shillings, in case the former applies for them within one year, and he or she belongs to the congregation as per Art. II., and the seat was a hereditary one come down from the original builders of the church.
IV. Those possessing no seats in church and wishing for one, shall apply to the Church Masters for the purpose of purchasing one, and come to an understanding about the price, but,
V. Those belonging to the congregation, as stipulated in Art. II., and having no seat in church, shall apply to the Church Masters, who
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will undoubtedly dispose of these seats at very popular prices (op eene zeer civiele wijze wel zullen accordeeren).
From Art. IV. and V. it will be seen that the congregation in this instance followed the Germanic policy in leaving great freedom of action to the authorities, charged with the execution of the law, whereas in other neighboring churches the Latin method was followed in the leasing of church pews, by laying down exact rules, according to which the Church Masters were to dispose of the seats.
BAPTISMS.
The baptismal record of Bergen commences on January 1, 1666, with the following entry : " Pieter Jansen Slot and Maritje Jacobs had their child baptized and named Jan ; witnesses Elyas Machiels (Vreeland) and Steyntje Jacobs." From 1669 till 1673 there is a gap extending over more than four years, during which time the children .may have been entered upon the records of New York or other churches, and in 1674 only two children seem to have been baptized at Bergen. In after years it sometimes occurs that children, born at Bergen, were carried to New York to be christened, in which case the baptism was entered in the Bergen record in the following manner : "N. N. born at Bergen and baptized at New York."
On June 13, 1681, about one month after the dedication of Ber- gen's first church, Margrietje Hendrickse (Brinkerhof) and Hendrick Johannisse Spier were the first of the large number of children to be baptized within its walls, which fact the keeper of the records deemed interesting enough to preserve for posterity, while on April 2, 1683, the sacrament of baptism was first administered to a married woman, and thereupon to her two children.
The ages of the baptized children generally ranged from two weeks to a month, but circumstances sometimes induced parents to have it done at an earlier age, as is shown by the following entry : "April 11, 1687, Claas Arentse Toers and Jacomyntje Van Nest have their child baptized and named Judith. This child was born on the same date and year." Often the record mentioned the hour of the day or the night at which baptized children had been born, and some- times contained particulars like the following : "1694, Jan'y 5th, was born the 2d daughter and the 4th child of Cornelis Van Voorst and his wife, Feytje Gerrits, at Ahasymus; was called Annetje, and bap- tized at New York." "This Annetje married a young man named Marten Winne, and was married 11 months, and had a son called Levinus. Annatje died and was buried at Bergen. After her funeral this son died also and was buried near his mother."
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For about a century all the entries in the baptismal record had been kept in the Holland tongue, but on January 6, 1762, the child of English parents, non-residents of Bergen, was baptized, on which occasion the first entry was made in English, and reads as follows : "' Jan'y 6, 1762, mother, Catharina French; father, William Andrew Doner ; child baptized, William Andrew; godmother Ann Miller." The following entries were again in Dutch, and this was continued for several years after. At about the aforementioned time, also, Ameri- cans of English descent commenced to join the Bergen church, married into Dutch families, and, as a consequence, English names began to appear upon the records. It was rather hard work, though, for the Voorlezers, who up to that time, and during many years to come, un- derstood very little of English, to record the foreign sounding names, and therefore followed the "phonetic" method of spelling them, which does not always render those English names very legible.
People very generally during the earlier days traveled with their little ones to other places in order to have them baptized there, and thus we often find that children were brought from Bergen to New York, and from New York, Hackensack, Acquackenonck (Passaic) and other places to Bergen for the purpose of being baptized.
MARRIAGES.
After the membership record the register of marriages is the earliest, commencing on December the 3d,1665, at which date Laurens Duyts and Grietje Jans were registered for marriage. After their banns had been published for three consecutive Sundays before the Bergen congregation, and no objections had been raised, the couple, on the morning of January 1st, 1666, were joined in marriage by a minister, who at that time happened to be in the village. Not always did the marriage ceremony take place after the proclamation of banns, for on Ma 7 26th, 1678, a couple, coming from England, had their banns pub- lished at Bergen, but the proceedings had to be suspended, on account of the contents of a note, received during the interval between the reg- istration, and the last publication of the banns.
It was customary with many, in those, and later days, to have the marriage banns published at one place, and to get the ceremony per- formed at another. After the banns had been published during the required number of times, the young couple applied for the certificate of publication, which was signed by the proper civil or ecclesiastical authorities, and thereupon set out for a more or less distant town there to have the marriage concluded. In that manner parties coming from New York, Acquackenonck, Hackensack, English neighborhood, Long Island, Esopus, Albany and other places, were married at Ber- gen, and parties from Bergen likewise went to Breukelen, New York.
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Staten Island and other towns, and were there joined in wedlock. It seems that the persons who performed the ceremony wrote to the ] lace from where the appl cants for marriage came with their certificate, and by this the publishers of the l ani s were enabled to fill in the date and the place of marriage.
As the birthplace of both gro"m and bride were nearly always mentioned in the marriage record. it i- comparatively easy to know whence many of Bergen's original church members came. Several of them had been born in the Netherlands and nearly every province had its representatives, rendering Bergen's population, if not cosmo- politan, then certainly inter-provincial. Before long, Maryland and Vir- ginia furnished their contingent, whilst prior to that time several towns of New Netherland had sent representatives of their inhabitants. In the course of years English, Scotch, Irish and French sett'ers joined the original ones, and Captain Berry's plantation, also, aided very mat- erially in swelling the numbers of the population of Bergen. In 1684 "Isaac Billau, b rn on the sea and Ida Suebringh," were joined in mar- riage at Bergen, though it does not appear that they fixed their resi- dence here.
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