USA > New Jersey > Hudson County > Bergen > Annals of the classis of Bergen, of the Reformed Dutch Church, and of the churches under its care: including, the civil history of the ancient township of Bergen, in New Jersey > Part 11
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29
In 1851, a movement was begun in the matter of erecting a new parsonage house, the old one showing evident signs of decay. A subscription was opened, and after more than one thousand dollars had been secured, arrangements were made in the early part of 1852, for the erection of the house. It is pleasantly
مد بلد زينبانا
A
J. W. ORR NY .-
PARSONAGES OF REFORMED DUTCH CHURCH, BERGEN, N. J.
Residence of Rev. J. CORNELISON, from 1795 to 1828. and of Rev. B. C. TAYLOR. from 1828 to 1852.
Residence of Rev. B. C. TAYLOR, from 1852.
165
DUTCH CHURCH AT BERGEN.
located, fronting on the public square, a few feet South of the former house. A wing was added to this new structure, rendering it now quite convenient and com- fortable, and a pleasant domicil for a pastor's family. The entire cost of the house, with its well and other fixtures, was three thousand nine hundred and forty- four dollars and eighty cents. The subscriptions re- ceived towards its erection, amount to fourteen hun- dred and two dollars.
It will thus be perceived, that this congregation have successively reared three substantial stone churches-had only three pastors, and have owned three parsonage houses.
The subsequent history in this volume, will show that at least seven new Reformed Dutch Churches have been constituted, in whole or in part, from the people of the congregation of Bergen, while this mother of churches is stronger in numbers-in influ- ence-in liberality and usefulness, than ever. Verily " there is that scattereth and yet increaseth."*
During the ministry of the present pastor, the com- munion of this Church has been greatly enlarged, not- withstanding the large number dismissed to constitute or strengthen the new churches around her.
Three hundred and twenty-eight persons have been admitted on confession of faith, and one hundred and sixty-two on certificate-four hundred and ninety in all, up to the 1st of July, 1856, when there were in her communion three hundred and thirty-seven com-
* On the 24th of October, 1856, twenty-one communicants of this Church, all of whom, save one, had been received into the Reformed Dutch Church of Bergen on certificate, were dismissed to constitute a Presbyterian Church, (N. S.)
166
HISTORY OF THE REFORMED
municants. The congregation then numbered three hundred families, and the annual contributions for re- ligious and benevolent purposes, other than the cur- rent expenses for the maintenance of the worship and ordinances of God's house, amounted to about twelve hundred dollars. The funded capital of the Church is nearly fourteen thousand dollars, the interest of which is applied to the support of the pastor.
Until 1842, the business of the Church was con- ducted without a treasurer, by the annual appoint- ment of a person to keep the chest, and another to keep the key. The Consistory meetings being held at the house of the former, and in the presence of the Consistory the chest was opened by the keeper of the key. The books were taken out, the entries made, and the chest closed at the close of the meeting. The worship and ordinances of the Church are largely at- tended. She has ever maintained a good reputation for peace and order-no schism has ever distracted her, during her existence of one hundred and ninety- three years. She has aided nearly all the newly constituted churches within the Classis of Bergen, by the voluntary subscriptions of her people to the erec- tion of their churches, and to the purchase or building their parsonages. She has for years supported one missionary in the West, at a cost of three hundred dollars per annum. Her Bible Society was formed in 1816, only about two or three months after the or- ganization of the American Bible Society, and con- tinues to send abroad the word of God. The sanctuary doors are open continually to welcome all who desire to worship within its sacred walls-over its portals
167
DUTCH CHURCH AT BERGEN.
are inscription stones ever reminding the worshipers of the origin of this Church and of her prayer, " The Lord our God be with us as he was with our fathers. Let him not leave us nor forsake us." May that prayer be constantly answered, and God shall, by succeeding generations, be glorified in these sacred courts.
THE VOORLESERS, OR CHOIRISTERS AND CLERKS.
As in the early history of this Church, this officer was of so great importance, and to him belonged so large a share of the sanctuary duty; and as by him, the Registers of Baptisms, Communicants, Marriages, Deaths, and Burials, were kept for so long a period, it is proper to record their names as far as we have ascertained them. It must, however, be stated, that in consequence of the keeping of the records in many of the churches, in a very negligent manner, by the Voorleser, and after abuses had crept in, the Classis of Hackensack adopted a resolution in May, 1788, re- quiring the record of the names of the baptized, to be made by the Voorleser, and those of the communi- cants, to be recorded by the minister and Consistories. In the Church of Bergen, the Voorleser kept all these records until 1809, and in the Dutch language.
The name of this officer
From 1664 to 1707, cannot be ascertained, but the record is evidently in the same hand- writing for this long period of fifty-seven years.
168
HISTORY OF THE REFORMED
From 1707 to 1736, the Voorleser was Adrian Ver- Meulen.
1736 to 1761, Isaac P. Van Benthuysen.
1761 to 1789, Abraham Sickles.
1789 to 1809, John Collard.
After the removal of Mr. John Collard from Ber- gen, the duties of the Voorleser were somewhat modi- fied. The singing in the Dutch language was discon- tinued, even when the pulpit services were rendered in that tongue, and the only record entrusted to this officer was that of deaths and burials, it having long been part of his duty to superintend the funeral ar- rangements, and keep the charge of the grave-yards of the congregation.
From 1810 to 1842-The chorister was Jacob A. Van Winkle, with an interval of only one year, under special circumstances, viz : from
1827 to 1828, during which time William H. Kirby, officiated.
1842 to 1844, Isaac C. Harrison.
1844 to 1845, Jacob Brinkerhoff and H. W. Quackenbush.
1845 to 1846, Richard Prior.
1846 to 1847, R. R. Gilbert.
1847 to 1856, John Mandeville, with the ex- ception of a few months, during which Henry Carpen- ter, served. Mr. Mandeville is yet in that service.
Since 1842, the duties of this officer, as far as re- gards funerals, have been discharged by the sexton of the church.
There are three grave-yards owned by the Church. The one opposite the church premises, having been
169
DUTCH CHURCH AT BERGEN.
purchased in 1831. In the two old yards, rest the ashes of the Newkirks, Tuers, Van Hornes, Van Winkles, Van Wagenens, Van Reypens, Van Vorsts, Cadmuses, Sickles, Priors, Kuypers, Vreelands, Sips, and Diedrixs, the descendants of the original settlers. The new yard is divided into family lots, all of which have been sold to be used exclusively for the burial of the dead.
The pastoral register of this Church is :
William Jackson, installed 1757, emeritus 1789, died 1813.
John Cornelison, installed 1793, died 1828. Benjamin C. Taylor, « 1828.
History of the Churches of Hackensack and Schraalenbergh.
THE records of these Churches show, that in the year A. D., 1686, the Rev. Peter Taschemaker orga- nised the Church at Hackensack, and when thus by him gathered together, there were thirty-three com- municants. In the same year, he was present at the meeting of the Elders, on the 29th of July, when six more were added to the Church, and he continued from time to time, as opportunity would permit, to visit this people, and dispense to them the holy Sup- per, until sometime in 1689. This service must have been at no small inconvenience and labor. He had been settled at New Amstel, (now New Castle), on the South or Delaware River, and sore difficulties having arisen, producing great collision of feeling, he had left that people, and become the pastor of the Re- - formed Dutch Church at Schenectady, and was serv- ing that congregation at the time of the terrible disas- ter in that place, on the 8th day of February, A. D.,
[ 170 ]
171
HACKENSACK AND SCHRAALENBERGH.
1690, when in the dead of winter, and at night, the Indians who had been meditating an attack, at last fell on the defenceless place, and destroyed it by fire and tomahawk. The venerable Taschemaker, his wife and two colored servants, were cruelly mur- dered by the savages. He fell in the midst of his pious flock, a martyred victim. Many of his people also, were massacred before they could stand on the defensive, or escape from the crafty and ferocious enemy .*
In love he journeyed amid the perils of those days, to minister unto this flock, and doubtless took a lively interest in every measure to promote their welfare, and to secure to them the privileges of the sanctuary.
The Rev. Rudolphus Van Varick, on one occasion, October, 1689, preached for, and administered the holy Supper to this people.
These services might seem, in modern times, scarce worth the recital; but when the scanty opportunities of hearing the word of God, from the lips of the liv- ing teacher, are remembered, and that very few could speak the gospel of God in the Dutch tongue, we must see, that they were to those who enjoyed them, emphatically blessings of the right hand of the Most High.
It is true, that when no minister could be present to speak in Christ's name, this Church, as others of the same faith and order, had a faithful Voorleser to lead their devotions in singing and prayer, and read- ing a sermon from some sound Dutch author. How
* See Magazine'of Ref. Dutch Church, vol. 2, p. 328.
172
HISTORY OF THE CHURCHES OF
well the people of Hackensack appreciated their Voorleser, the sequel will show.
It is said, that for the first ten years of their exist- ence as a Church, they worshiped in a building stand- ing a short distance South of the present Southerly limit of the village. But as yet, it does not appear that any church had been built.
Among the early settlers from Holland, on the margin of the Hackensack and Passaic Rivers, was Guillaume Bertholf. He came in the capacity of Catechizer, Voorleser and Schoolmaster. With such acceptance and usefulness did he discharge his trust, that the people became very desirous that he should become their minister, and at the expense of the con- gregation, he went to Holland in 1693. The following extract from the minutes of the Classis of Middleburg, (translated by Dr. T. De Witt), and furnished by Pro- fessor Budding, of Delft, are full of interest, as they show the mode of such proceedings in the fatherland, as harmonizing with those handed down and still existing among us. The name of Bertholf is still found among us, and it is said that, having a large family of children, his posterity, in various ramifica- tions, is quite extensive.
Classis in Ordinary Session held in Flushing, September 2, 1693.
Lemma or Article 9. Guillaume Bertholf, at pre- sent Voorleser in the congregation of two towns in New-Netherlands, presented a memorial signed by
HACKENSACK AND SCHRAALENBERGH. 173
many members of the congregation, requesting that they might preserve him as their ordinary minister and pastor. It was resolved that the subject should be acted on to-morrow.
In Session, September 3, 1693.
Article 5. Guillaume Bertholf, mentioned under Article 9 in yesterday's session, appeared and present- ed his petition in the name of the church and con- gregation in New-Netherlands. The Classis, taking into consideration the anxious desire of the church there for the stated ministry of the word and ordi- nances, and their peculiar attachment to the person of Mr. Bertholf, and being unwilling to interpose any hindrance, deem it proper to admit him to a proof of his gifts and qualifications. The examination to be conducted by the President, and to be held fourteen days hence.
Classis Extraordinary, held at Middleburg, September 16, 1693.
Article 8. Guillaume Bertholf, according to arti- cle 5 of the classis 3d of September, having delivered his discourse on Matthew xi. 28, gave such satisfaction that he was admitted to his full examination, and in this examination he exhibited such proofs of his quali- fications that the Classis granted the request of the Churches of Hackensack and Aquackenonk to ob- tain him as their stated minister and pastor, and con- sequently approved the call which they have made upon him. The Classis then unanimously resolved to ordain him to the work of the ministry by the laying on of hands, and to install him in the pastoral charge of the churches by which he is called. The Classis proceeded to this service, when a sermon was preach- ed by the adsessor, Dominus Hugo Futs, and the form
. 1
174
HISTORY OF THE CHURCHES OF
of ordinary read by the President, Dom. Abraham Duyvelaer. The ordination by the laying on of hands then took place, when the ordained brother was de- clared to be invested with the pastoral care of the above named churches, to be ruled according to the or- der of our Church. He then, with this view, signed the usual formula.
In 1694, he returned in safety to America, and entered on the discharge of his pastoral duty, wel- comed by his people who knew him so well, and esteemed him so highly. He thus was the first regu- larly installed pastor of the Reformed Dutch Church in New Jersey. It will be observed that in the call- ing of Mr. B., the Church at Acquackanonck, Essex County, united.
In 1696, this servant of God and his happy people brought together the wood and the stone, and reared their sanctuary for God.
William Day, and John Stage, were the master builders, and, as in the case of the Bergen Church, Mr. Day, who had rendered the like substantial ser- vice in 1680, was afresh occupied in the rearing of the outer temple. In the wall of the church, over its en- trance-way, was the inscription on stone, in rude in- dented letters :-
WIL AM : DAY TOTILASTAGE ALIVIO MI696.
175
HACKENSACK AND SCHRAALENBERG.
The fathers in this Israel rejoiced to have the initials of their names indented in stones ; precious stones to them, for a memorial. In all the changes of the ma- terial house for God, they have been preserved, and may be seen and read of all who look upon the East- erly wall of the present sanctuary.
The site of this house was that on which the present building stands-a most delightful location, conveni- ent of access, in the Southern part of this village, which for its neatness and beauty, attracts the atten- tion of the stranger. It is immediately opposite to the County Court House, and having on its Westerly side the spacious public square. On that spot, where the foundation stone of the church was first laid in this village, has the worship of God been maintained, by successive generations, for one hundred and sixty years.
The deed of conveyance for this elegant site, is from Mr. John Berry, under date of 20th April, 1696; and the simple consideration is " that the inhabitants of Hackensack, New Barbadoes, and Acquackanonck, are intended to build a church on the land now in possession of Antony Antonyson, he therefore releases, renounces, and acquits all claims, interest, and de- mands whatsoever, he had thereto, or might pretend to have, unto one Morgan of ye said land, for accom- modation of ye said church."
Again, under date of 23d March, 1712, he gives another, but more specific deed of quit claim, specify- ing the boundaries minutely according to English measure, containing two and three-quarters acres- absolutely giving and granting the said land, without
176
HISTORY OF THE CHURCHES OF
any manner of condition, solely for " the consideration of love and good will towards his loving friends and neighbors of said townships of Hackensack, New Bar- badoes, and Hackquackenong."
Mr. Bertholf had many seals to his ministry. In this Church he admitted to communion, two hundred and forty-two persons on confession of their faith, and twenty-six on certificate from other churches. He also had witnesses to the power of his ministry at Acquackanonck, and for thirty years, at stated times, administered the Lord's Supper at Tappan. It is well said of him by another, " He was in possession of a mild and placid eloquence, which persuaded by its gentleness, and attracted by the sweetness which it distilled, and the holy savor of piety which it diffused around. He was of the evangelical part of the minis- try of his day, and promoted the independence of the Church, of foreign control."
His labors terminated in 1724. The precise date of his death we have not ascertained. His end was peace. "He was not-for God took him." Mr. Bertholf organized the Church at Raritan about the beginning of the last century, (1700), and introduced Rev. Theodorus J. Frelinghuysen into his pastoral of- fice there, in 1720. He also organized the Church at" Philip's Manor, (now Tarrytown), towards the close of the seventeenth century, (about 1697), and after- wards occasionally came and ministered there.
With the death of Mr. Bertholf, the connection be- tween the Churches of Hackensack and Acquacka- nonck terminated. The Rev. Henry Coens succeeded him in the latter, and the Rev. Reinhart Errickson,
177
HACKENSACK AND SCHRAALENBERGH.
from Holland, in the former charge. These gentle- men appear to have maintained very kind and pleas- ant relations to each other. Mr. Errickson became pastor of the Church at Hackensack, in 1725, and from his own record, it appears that he was united in marriage, by Rev. Henry Coens, of Acquackanonck, to Maria Provoost, on 22d of May, 1726; and he de- signates himself in that record, as "Minister of New Barbadoes, Schraalenbergh, and Paremus." And in turn, on the 1st of September of the same year, Mr. Coens was, by Mr. Errickson, united in marriage to Belina Provoost. This record establishes the fact of Mr. Errickson's having the pastoral care, at this early day, of the Churches of Hackensack and Schraalen- bergh.
In the year 1724, as nearly as can be ascertained, the Church at Schraalenbergh was organized, and its history is for a long time identified with that of Hack- ensack. The first church was erected there in 1725. From that time until 1728, the Rev. Mr. Errickson evidently was pastor of both Churches; but whether any Church existed at Paramus, at that early day, is not ascertained.
At Hackensack he received into the communion of the Church, during his ministry, fifty persons on con- fession of their faith, and sixteen on certificate. What the additions to the communion at Schraalenbergh were, the author is not advised.
In 1728, Mr. Errickson resigned the pastoral charge of these Churches ,and accepted a call* from the Re-
* See Magazine of Reformed Dutch Church, vol. 2, p. 329.
8*
178
HISTORY OF THE CHURCHES OF
formed Dutch Church at Schenectady, where his labors were succeeded by constant and growing acces- sion of communicants, until 1736, when he removed to Freehold, as appears in the naame Register der Predi kanten for 1758 .* He was present at the formation of the Cœtus, April 27th, 1738, and again in 1747, when the ratification of the Plan of Union, by the Synod of North Holland, was acted on in New York.
Immediately after Mr. Errickson's relinquishment of the charge of the Hackensack Church, the congre- gation entered into arrangements for re-building their church. The first house was demolished, and its stones re-incorporated in a more commodious one. From the date of Mr. Errickson's removal, that faith- ful and ever vigilant man of God, the Rev. Gualtherus Dubois, of New York, watched over this people, now without an under-shepherd; and while erecting their new church, and until 1730, repeatedly visited this flock, and dispensed unto them the holy ordinances of God's house. While they were building for God, God was increasing them with men like a flock. Thus, for more than two years, favored with only occasional preaching and the ordinances, under the simple, yet beautiful services in the use of the Liturgy, and the ever punctual attendance of the Voorleser, the divine favor was manifested; and during this period the heart of Mr. Dubois, as well as that of this Church, was cheered with accessions to their communion, of forty-six persons, on confession of their faith. We may well ask, in view of such facts, "What hath God wrought ?"
* O'Callaghan's Documentary History of N. Y., vol. 1, p. 625.
179
HACKENSACK AND SCHRAALENBERGH.
The Rev. Antonius Curtenius was called from Hol- land, and became the next stated pastor of the Church of Hackensack. The earliest date of his official service is on his marriage register, which commences in No- vember, 1730; and his first record of reception of communicants, is dated February 15th, 1731.
Whether Mr. Dubois' kind services were rendered in like manner at Schraalenbergh, is uncertain. It appears, however, that on the 23d of December, 1730, the same year in which Mr. Curtenius was called to Hackensack, the Churches of Schraalenbergh and Paramus united in calling, as their pastor, the Rev. George Wilhelmus Mancius, the call being moderated and signed by the Rev. Fredericus Muzelius, then pastor of the Church at Tappan. Mr. Mancius com- menced his labors in these Churches September 19th, 1731, and continued in this charge until some time in 1732.
Mr. Curtenius, who had become pastor at Hacken- sack, certainly became pastor of the Church at Schraa- lenbergh, in connection with Hackensack, as early as 1737, if not before; and until 1748, appears to have been the sole pastor of these Churches.
It here becomes necessary more particularly to blend, with the history of the Church at Hackensack, that of Schraalenbergh. The territory over which the congregations of Schraalenbergh extend, is em- braced in the present townships of Harrington, Wash- ington, and Hackensack. The village of Hackensack being on the Western bank of the beautiful river of the same name, and in the township of New Barba- does ; but many of the people residing in the North
180
HISTORY OF THE CHURCHES OF
ern part of the township of Hackensack, worship at Schraalenbergh.
On the 13th of August, 1748, the Rev. John Henry Goetschius was called-as a colleague with Mr. Cur- tenius, the call receiving the sanction of the Cœtus on the 27th of September, of that year. Mr. G. was or- dained and installed October 16th, 1748. Mr. Cur- tenius preached the sermon. The joint labors of the two continued until May 2d, 1755, when Mr. Curte- nius, having been called to succeed the Rev. Johannes Arondeus, as pastor of the Reformed Dutch Church at Flatbush, on Long Island, N. Y., removed to that place. There, on the 19th of October, 1756, he died, being in his 58th year .* Thus for a quarter of a cen- tury, had this servant of God gone in and out before the people of Hackensack and Scraalenbergh, pro- claiming salvation in the name of Christ. At Hack- ensack there were frequent accessions to the commu- nion of the Church, under his ministry.
Mr. Goetchsius, the colleague of Mr. Curtenius, was the son of a German minister, sent over to labor among the Germans, in Philadelphia. He was a native of Switzerland, ordained and installed pastor of Jamaica, Long Island, by the Rev. Bernardus Freeman, in 1741.
One who studied theology under his instruction, says " he was a gentleman of profound erudition, a thorough bred Calvinist, and an accomplished theolo- gian."+
* History of Flatbush, by T. M. Strong, D. D.
+ Solomon Fræligh, D. D., in his Autobiography, as quoted in Lamentation, by Rev. C. T. Demarest, p. 25.
181
HACKENSACK AND SCHRAALENBERGH.
Whatever may have been the occasion, in 1748, of the calling of a colleague to Mr. Curtenius, it does not seem to have arisen from his advanced age, as he was at that time only about fifty years old. It may have been from the extensive double charge, and a growing population, demanding an increased amount of labor. But there were circumstances, which may have operated peculiarly, in pressing this arrange- ment.
It is certain, that about this time these two Church- es began to feel the influence of dissensions. The members of Consistory were elected by the friends of Mr. Goetschius, and his colleague would frequently preach without a single elder or deacon in their seats.
In a manuscript in my possession, it appears that " Mr. Goetschius and his friends went to Amboy, and obtained from the governor a charter covering the church property, in an improper manner-without the knowledge of the friends of Mr. Curtenius. Sub- sequently, on representation from that party, to the governor, the charter was declared invalid."
At this time all the Reformed Dutch Churches were agitated with the Cœtus and Conferentie difficulties. It was a contest of great bitterness, and raged at Hackensack and Schraalenbergh. The spirit and manner of action were very much alike in various sections of the Church. The controversy itself related mainly to the question of the right of ordination, by the ministry in this country, and the exercise of church authority. It is said, however, that " by the ancient Conferentie party, the doctrine of the new birth was exceedingly ridiculed, as was also experi-
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.