USA > New York > Dutchess County > Poughkeepsie > Anniversary discourse and history of the First Reformed church of Poughkeepsie > Part 3
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(C.) Also both congregations of one accord have obliged them- selves by signature that the union between Poughkeepsie and the Fishkill shall not be dissolved in other than an ecclesiastical manner, under the superintendence of at least two ministers of the most Rev. Classis of Amsterdam, or some preachers in this land called from Amsterdam and corresponding with the most Rev. Classis of Amsterdam, and chosen thereto with the con- sent of both congregations, and that under approbation of the Rev. Classis of Amsterdam.
This then being our sincere intent and complete authority thus according to all the aforesaid to call a suitable and edifying minister for our congregations, we pray the Great Shepherd of the sheep, our Great God and Savior, who by His Spirit gathers His flock under the ministry of the gospel in all places and out of all people, that He may be pleased to follow these terms of our call with His blessing, to that end humbly requesting that you, very Rev. Sirs, out of consideration of the great needs of our congregations, be pleased to take the trouble to seek out and find a suitable man for our congregations, and having found him to move him to accept the ministry and to come to us at the first suitable and convenient time, seeing that a zeal-
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History.
ous servant of Jesus Christ may here win a good harvest for the extension of His Kingdom and the glorifying of His name.
Assuring him who comes to us as our pastor and teacher that we shall hold his Reverence in such esteem, love, and honor as is due to an upright minister, we shall await his coming with desire, and pray God to make prosperous ways for him. Mean- while we will always acknowledge your good service to us with gratitude, and will pray God that He may crown with His favor and follow with His blessing your persons, ministry and fami- lies, to the magnifying of His most Holy name in the winning and saving of many souls. Amen. Signed : FOR POUGHKEEPSIE.
THE DEACONS. THE ELDERS.
LAURENS VAN KLEECK,
PIETER PARMENTIER,
HIS
M. VAN DE X BOGAART, JOHANNES VAN KLEECK.
MARK. FOR FISHKILL.
ABRAHAM BRINKERHOFF, HIS
PIETER DUBOYS,
HENDRIK X PHILLIPS, MARK. ABRAHAM BUYS.
Further signed :
I, the undersigned, testify, as correspondent thereto invited, that this subscribing is done after calling on God's name in the ecclesiastical meeting of the Elders and Deacons of the united Churches of Poughkeepsie and the Fishkill, the 13th of April, A. D., 1730.
VINCENTIUS ANTONIDES, Minister at Flatbush, &c., on the Long Island.
To this call there came, at the end of some fourteen months, an answer, which is also recorded in the books of both churches and is as follows :
Rev. Sirs and Brethren, constituting the Rev. Consistories of Poughkeepsie and the Fishkill :-
In pursuance of the power of attorney letters sent to us by you last year for the procuring of an intelligent and God-fear- ing minister for your congregations, we have proceeded to do this without delay, and thereto have chosen the Reverend, godly, and learned, Heer Cornelius Van Schie, who, in the fear of the Lord, having accepted the call, was thereupon examined with great credit at a meeting of Classis held at Amsterdam on the 4th of June, and on the same day was installed into the Holy
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Succession of Ministers.
ministry for your congregations, and we hope that you and your congregations will find him a suitable, faithful and pious teacher and pastor who will in all respects feed the flock of God.
Wishing that the Lord may bring his Reverence to you safely with the fullness of the blessing of the gospel, and that many souls through the ministry of his Reverence may be wrested from the kingdom of Satan and joined to Christ our Lord, and that the faithful through his learned and pious instruction may grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ ; we commend his Reverence and also you all to God and the word of His grace which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.
Rev. Sirs and Brothers, your well wishing Brothers,
Signed. H. V. D. WALL, JOHN HAGELIS, LEONARD BEELS, T. REYTSMA.
AMSTERDAM, June 7th, 1731.
As soon as possible after his installation, Dominie Van Schie started for his field of labor. The name of the ship on which he sailed is unknown, but from the copy of the expense account which is recorded in the church books, we learn that the Commander was Captain Lau- rens, and that on her voyage hither the ship stopped for a while at Dover, in England. The dates of sailing and arrival are preserved for us in a brief note made by Dom- inie Van Schie on the fly-leaf of the Church book of Fishkill in which he states that on the 20th of June, New Style, that is on the 9th of June, Old Style, Anno 1731, he with his wife sailed from Amsterdam, in Hol- land, for New York, and arrived there the 9th of Sep- tember, Old Style. Hence, it appears that he was just three months on the voyage.
On his arrival in New York, he was received by the Rev. Gualterus Du Bois, then one of the pastors of the Collegiate Church of New York, and was by him accom- panied to Poughkeepsie. On his arrival in Poughkeep-
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History.
sie, a joint session of the consistories of Poughkeepsie and Fishkill was held for the purpose of welcoming him. The proceedings of that meeting are recorded in the books of both Churches and are as follows :-
POUGHKEEPSIE, Sept. 30th, 1731.
Dominie Cornelius Van Schie having arrived here in the evening at the house of Mr. Laurens Van Kleeck, after calling on God's name, consistory meeting was held with all the con- sistory members of Poughkeepsie and the Fishkill ; when
1st. For this occasion Dominie G. Du Bois, who, at the re- quest of the committee of the consistory of Poughkeepsie and the Fishkill, accompanied Mynheer Van Schie to introduce him to his congregations, was unanimously requested to preside over this meeting.
2nd. Thereupon was read in consistory the letter from the authorized preachers of Amsterdam, informing them that in pursuance of their power of attorney call they had called Dom- inie Cornelius Van Schie for preacher of Poughkeepsie and the Fishkill ; likewise the letter of the Classis of Amsterdam con- cerning the ordination of the same and his installation for their congregations. Whereupon Dominie Gualterus Du Bois pro- posed to all the members of consistory present, whether they did not, in pursuance of these letters, acknowledge this Dominie Cornelius Van Schie for their lawful ordained pastor and teacher of Poughkeepsie and the Fishkill. Hereupon they all with hearty testimonies of gladness, testified to Dominie Cornelius Van Schie with outreaching of the hands that they acknowledge and in truth shall hold him as their lawful pastor and teacher ; and Dominie Du Bois wished them all health and peace and prosperity with his Reverence, &c., &c.
3rd. Thereon resolved that the letter of the Sirs H. Van De Wall, J. Hagelis, L. Beels and T. Reytsma dated at Amsterdam, June 7th, 1731, shall be copied in the church books both of Poughkeepsie and the Fishkill ; as also,
4th. That the power of attorney call on Dominie Van Schie shall also be inscribed in both church books, word for word, with some blank leaves, that the same may be subscribed from year to year by the Elders and Deacons elect, as was resolved by the consistory, and as the power of attorney itself indicates.
5th. That those who may be married, baptized, and received as church members at Poughkeepsie, shall be recorded in the church book there, and so also all of this kind that takes place at the Fishkill shall be recorded in the church book of Fishkill.
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Succession of Ministers.
6th. Also unanimously resolved that the consistories of Poughkeepsie and the Fishkill shall be and remain two separate consistories, and that each shall hold separate meetings for choosing new members of consistory and all other business which pertains to the welfare of either congregation in particular.
7th. That their preacher in joint meeting of consistory, in case of any voting on any matter coming up, as president shall have a double vote.
8th. Resolved, unanimously, by vote of the consistories of Poughkeepsie and the Fishkill, that the time of choosing the new consistories shall be at Poughkeepsie and the Fishkill the first or second Sunday in the New Year after the preaching service of the day where the preacher shall then have preached.
9th. In both the congregations and the Churches of Pough- keepsie and the Fishkill, at the first opportunity, notice shall be given to the congregations, that, in pursuance of a unanimous resolution of both the consistories of Poughkeepsie and the Fishkill, the parents henceforth shall please to present their children for baptism, only after they shall have betimes given to the pastor for record the names of the child, the parents, and the witnesses ; but in case Reformed Church members come from a distance, and do not belong to the congregation under the preaching, they shall announce such (names) to an Elder present, or, if no Elder be present, to a Deacon, and then the child, if legitimate, shall be baptized, provided they promise that they will give the same, for record by the preacher, imme- diately after church time.
10th. With respect to the Lord's Supper, the division is thus arranged,-
(1.) In the month of October the Lord's Supper shall always be administered at Poughkeepsie.
(2.) In the month of December at the Fishkill.
(3.) On Easter or the following Sunday at Poughkeepsie.
(4.) On Whitsunday or the following week at Fishkill.
(5.) In the month of June at Poughkeepsie.
(6.) In the month of August at the Fishkill.
Subscribed. All this done in my presence,
G. DU BOIS.
At the same meeting or soon afterward, Dominie Van Schie must have called attention to the expense which he had incurred on his journey. The account of such ex- pense is recorded in both church books and is as follows:
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History.
£ s. d.
1. To the Classis of Amsterdam and the authorized Sirs preachers. 12 10 0
2. Expenses from Delft to Amsterdam 1 10 0
3. 30 days in Amsterdam, making ready myself and wife and waiting for a ship to go,-each day spent 13 shillings and 4 pence. . 20 00 0
4. Cost of bringing my goods on board and the Custom House. 1 00 0
5. Spent at Dover 4 00 0
£39 00 0
To Captain Laurens paid for the passage of Dominie Van Schie and his wife. 32 00 0 To the same Captain for fresh provision, laid in in England to eat on the voyage. 2 19 6 To the passage from New York to Poughkeepsie for the preacher and his company. 2 19 0
£76 18 6
Our forefathers, with their Dutch honesty, were not willing that such an account should remain long unsettled, and therefore, only four days later, another joint meeting of the consistories was held for the purpose of settling it, and also of attending to other matters pertaining to the comfort of the new pastor. The record of that meeting is as follows :
POUGHKEEPSIE, Oct. 4th, 1731.
1st. After calling on God's name, consistory meeting is again held with the consistories of Poughkeepsie and the Fishkill, and then all the articles made in the previous meeting of the 30th of September last are confirmed.
2nd. Thereon the reckoning of expense incurred in the coming over of the Heer Van Schie with his wife is taken up and was fully acquiesced in, with unanimous resolution that the same be copied in both the church books of Poughkeepsie and the Fishkill, with written approval signed by both consistories.
3rd. In order that Dominine Van Schie may have perfect freedom in choosing the place most agreeable to him at Pough- keepsie and the Fishkill, all the consistories have declared that, whenever Dominie Van Schie makes his choice, they with per- fect content shall consent to the same and shall fully acquiesce therein.
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Succession of Ministers.
4th. Whenever Dominie Van Schie shall have chosen to reside at Poughkeepsie or at the Fishkill, there where he chooses to live, both congregations together (each bearing the half of the expense) shall buy six acres, build a house, and make a garden, and plant an orchard, in accordance with the stipu- lations on these points contained in the power of attorney call.
5th. In case it may come to pass at any time after both the congregations of Poughkeepsie and the Fishkill shall together have bought six acres at the place where Dominie Van Schie shall have chosen to reside, and there shall have built a house and made a garden and planted an orchard, that the two con- gregations shall ecclesiastically separate from each other, that each may have a preacher for itself, then shall the six acres, house, garden and orchard be appraised by four impartial men, (and the said four shall have power to choose a fifth) and the congregation at the place where the preacher shall have resided shall honestly give the just half of the sum for which all the aforesaid was appraised to the congregation in which no preacher's house was built with the coming of Dominie Van Schie. Subscribed.
All this was done at the place and times aforenamed in the presence of Dominie G. Du Bois, as we, the undersigned testify.
PIETER PARMENTIER,
CORNELIUS VAN SCHIE. LAURENS VAN KLEECK, ABRAHAM BRINKERHOFF, HIS
PIETER DU BOYS,
JOHANNES VAN KLEECK.
ABRAHAM BOYS,
HENDRIK X PHILLIPS, MARK.
HIS MYNDERT X VAN DE BOGAART. MARK.
The duration of Dominie Van Schie's pastorate was less than two years. In 1733 he removed to Albany and took charge of the church there in acceptance of a call dated May 11, 1733.
He served the church of Albany as the colleague of Dominie Van Driessen until the death of the latter in 1738, and then as sole pastor of the church until his own death, which occurred August 15, 1744. He was buried under the church at Albany.
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History.
His last sermon was from the text, Rev. 2 :10, "Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life."*
2. BENJAMIN MEYNEMA, 1745-56.
After the departure of Mr. Van Schie the united churches promptly took steps towards securing a new pastor, and to this end sent a second call to Holland. This was countersigned by Rev. George Wilhelmus Mancius, then pastor of the church of Kingston. Like the first it was a power of attorney call, directed to cer- tain clergymen in Holland and empowering them to select and send a minister for the two churches here.
The clergymen named are three of the four named in the previous call, viz: Messrs. Hagelis, Beels and Reytsma. The name of the fourth is omitted and it is possible that he had died in the intervening time.
In its general tenor this second call resembled the first ; but there are a few points of difference.
The salary offered is eighty pounds instead of seventy. Forty pounds are sent with the call to pay the passage of the minister. Now a parsonage is built at Pough- keepsie, and it is described as " a new and suitable dwel- ling house for the free residence of the preacher for the time being ; forty-five feet long and twenty-seven broad, having three rooms and also a study upstairs, a large cellar under the house, a well with good water, a garden and an orchard planted with a hundred fruit trees." It is also stated that in case any dispute should arise between the preacher and the consistories, one or more orthodox ministers of these provinces should be selected as referees, and to their decision, subject to the approval
* Historical Discourse on the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Al- bany, by Rev. E. P. Rogers, D.D., 1857. Also Circular by the Consistory of the same church.
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Succession of Ministers.
of the most Rev. Classis of Amsterdam, the matter or matters should be wholly referred.
To this call no response came so far as is known. Certainly no response came in the shape of a living pastor. Therefore, after a time of patient waiting, the consistories sent a letter to one of the clergymen in Hol- land, (Rev. L. Beels) jogging his memory, and offering additional inducements. They agree to increase the salary from eighty to one hundred pounds, and say that this is more than is received by many preachers in these parts. They state that the two churches are only three hours distance from each other, and that in his journey- ings from one to the other, his Reverence shall seldom be without company. They also speak of the harmony prevailing among the people, and praise God that no division of sentiment worthy of mention is to be found among them. This letter as copied in the church book, bears no date.
Time passed on. No response came and the churches were still pastorless. Having failed to obtain a pastor from Holland, the churches turned their eyes to Germany, and sent a power of attorney call to some clergymen there, urging them to seek and send a pastor, and stipu- lating that if the person selected were not able to preach in the Low Dutch language, he should undertake to preach in it, in one year, if practicable. This call also, as copied in the church book, bears no date. Like that which had been sent to Holland it was unsuccessful.
Failing abroad, the Church of Fishkill, weary with the long waiting, looked for a pastor nearer home. They had heard of a young man named John Caspar Fryenmoet who had been somewhat irregularly ordained and was engaged in the work of the ministry in Port Jervis and the neighboring churches on the Delaware. On the 20th of September, 1742 (at least eight years after the de-
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History.
parture of Dominie Van Schie), the Church of Fishkill by itself, and without the co-operation of the Church of Poughkeepsie, sent a call to him, offering him eighty pounds a year and stipulating that his ordination should be made regular. But the call was not accepted.
Thus unsuccessful in this country, the churches again looked to Holland and sent another power of attorney thither. The previous call had been directed to three clergymen. This was directed to one clergyman and three laymen, namely, the Very Rev. Theodorus Van Schelluyne, and the highly esteemed Messrs. Pedro de Wolff, L. Clarkson and J. Stockers. This call is dated Poughkeepsie, January 22nd, 1744, and is countersigned by J. M. Weiss, minister of the High and Low Dutch Reformed Congregations of Rynbeck, in Dutchess County. The terms are substantially the same as those of the preceding calls with the exception that the salary is increased to the munificent sum of one hundred and ten pounds, but is to be paid yearly instead of half yearly.
More than a year passed before the answer came ; but when it came it made glad those whose hearts were sick with hope long deferred, for it informed them that the authorized gentlemen had conferred the call on Dominie Benjamin Meynema, then ministering the Holy Gospel at Oudwolde and Westergeeft in the Classis of Dokkum, in Holland, and that the same had been accepted by him.
Mr. Meynema (thus he uniformly writes his name, but it also occurs as Meinema and Meenema) was born in Holland in 1705,* and is said to have been licensed in 1727. The call accepted by him is not copied in the church book of Poughkeepsie, but is recorded in full in the church book of Fishkill, and beneath it are the fol- lowing (in Dutch), which are interesting as showing the
* See inscription on his tombstone, page 53.
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Succession of Ministers.
formalities which were then requisite for the obtaining of a minister.
First appears this action of the gentlemen to whom the call was addressed :
" By authority of the above Power of Attorney, we, the under- signed, have conferred the call to the Congregation of Pough- keepsie and Fishkill on Do. Benjamin Meynema, at present ministering the Holy Gospel at Oudwolde and Westergeeft, on such conditions as are contained in the aforesaid instrument of Power of Attorney, who, also, on the same conditions has accepted the call.
Amsterdam, May 4, 1745.
THEODORUS VAN SCHELLUYNE,
PEDRO DE WOLFF, LEV. CLARKSON, J. STOKKERS, BENJAMIN MEYNEMA.
" This signed in our presence.
THOMAS VAN BISSELIK, CORNELIUS JANSE, OTTO VAN DAM, (Notary public.)
Accords, so far as concerns this extract, with the original as above signed.
Amsterdam, June 9, 1745. OTTO VAN DAM,
Notary public."
Then follows the approval of the Classis of Amsterdam to which the churches of Poughkeepsie and Fishkill were subordinate.
" The very Reverend Classis of Amsterdam, having seen and considered the call to the ministry of the churches of Pough- keepsie and Fishkill presented by the committee to the person of Benjamin Meynema, has unanimously approved the same, and hereby approves the same, with congratulations and prayers for all blessings on him who is called and on his congregation.
Amsterdam, June 14, 1745.
In the name of Classis,
JOHANNES VAN DER VORM, Preacher at Amsterdam, Clerk of Classis, pro tem."
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History.
And finally appears the action of the Classis of Dokkum to which the Rev. Mr. Meynema was sub- ordinate.
" The Reverend Classis of Dokkum, having examined the accompanying call to Do. B. Meynema, and also the accom- panying approval of the Classis of Amsterdam, and there- upon having learned from the members of the consistory of the former congregations of his Reverence that his Reverence would also be dismissed by them, accordingly the Rev. Classis of Dokkum dismisses the aforesaid Do. Meynema from his charge at Oudwolde, etc., and assigns him to the Congregations of Poughkeepsie and Fishkill, with wishes for the precious blessings of the Lord on his person, ministry, and the con- gregations.
July 5, 1745.
H. REITZEMA, President of Classis Pro tem.
A. KNOCK, Clerk of Classis Pro tem."
We know not when this second pastor sailed from Holland, or when he arrived in this country ; but we learn from the records of the Church of Fishkill that he was present at a joint meeting of the two consistories held in Poughkeepsie, December 22, 1745, and there presented two requests. One was that the expense in- curred in his journey to this country should be paid by the congregations, and the other, that his salary should be paid half yearly instead of yearly as promised in the call. The first was promptly granted and the second, unanimously refused. The consistories would fulfill their promise to the last iota, but would not go beyond. From the record of another consistory meeting held May 18th, 1747, we learn that " the president was pleased to inquire whether he and his horse ought not to be pro- vided with meat and drink and fodder while he was en- gaged in pastoral visiting"-whereupon it was " Re- solved, that the consistory who go around with him shall ask and demand these for his Reverence. Also, his request that he might be reimbursed for any expense in riding to the church, or from the church to his home,
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Succession of Ministers.
on account of storm, high water, and necessity of being helped through the creek, is answered in the affirmative, since the call assigns that to him."
These extracts from the early records are interesting as furnishing a contemporaneous picture of the times. They show how much farther, in time, America was from Europe then than it is now. Then the voyage required three months of discomfort, now it can be accomplished in six or eight days of luxury. New York was then, in time, five times as far from Amsterdam as our mission- aries in Japan are now from New York. They show the state of the country here-the wilderness dotted with but few settlements, and even in the settlements the people and their dwellings widely dispersed ;- the roads which were not roads, but only bridle paths, winding through the forest and so lonely that it is mentioned as a special inducement that the preacher will seldom have occasion to journey from one Church to the other with- out company ;- the unbridged streams for the crossing of which assistance was necessary in case of high water.
They show the condition of the Churches as to ex- ternals,-how few were the members, and how slender their resources, so that Poughkeepsie and Fishkill had to unite because neither one was able to support a pastor by itself, and even then were constrained to seek as- sistance from " the people of Albany."
But they show, also, the spirit of the people :- their courageous hopefulness which makes them confident that their numbers and their resources will increase ;- their true Dutch persistency, in which they seek for a pastor first in Holland, and then in Germany, and then in America, and then in Holland again, and keep on seek- ing through more than eleven long years until the pastor is found ;- their carefulness, in which they define just what they expect from their pastor, and what he may
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History.
expect in return ;- their great regard for him, mani- fested by hands outstretched in welcome ;- their sturdy independence, for, much as they respect their pastor, he is to be no lord over God's heritage, and on occasion they can unanimously refuse his request. Above all do we see their love for the Church and its ordinances and the word of the gospel, which constrains them to pray, and strive, and tax themselves to the utmost of their ability in order that they and their children may enjoy the preaching of the word and the administration of the ordinances by a pastor settled among them.
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