USA > New York > Orange County > Minisink > Minisink Valley Reformed Dutch Church records, 1716-1830, Vol. V > Part 3
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The parsonage and twenty-three acres of land, belonging jointly to the congregations of Minisink, Machackemeck and Walpeck, was sold in 1800, and the sale was duly recorded in the Trustees' book of the Machackemeck church as follows :
"Peter Vannoy a trustee of the Mahakkamack Congregation Sold there part of the personage house and Lot for 442 Dollars and Seventy Cents and Received the First payment may Ist 1800 Which is to be paid in three Eaqual payment.
Peter Vannoy paid two Dollars of Sd. money to Mr. Kuyte for Writing the Deed for our Share."
According to the Machackemeck Trustees' book, the final pay- ment was received on June 7, 1802.
THE SECONDARY CHURCHES.
THE CLOVE CHURCH.
In the month of August, 1756, it is supposed that Domine Fryen- moet was forced to abandon his congregations, on account of Indian massacres in this section, brought about by the French and Indian War. A number of the settlers, after the burning of their homes, sought a more protected spot than the Peenpack valley. They re- moved "over the mountain" about fifteen miles southeast, and settled in the Clove. According to the petition, which is quoted on the next page, the settlement commenced about 1747; probably there were one or two families there some years before, although the principal influx of settlers occurred during the French and Indian War. Among the early settlers were the Deckers and the Ditsoorts (now Tits- worth). The Clove church stood about three miles north of Decker- town up the Clove valley, in the township of Wantage, Sussex county, N. J. An ancient burying ground marked the spot until about twenty years ago, when the remaining stones were pulled up by William Wilson, at that time the owner of the farm upon which they stood. At the present time the field is ploughed over and used as a meadow, and all traces of the graveyard have disappeared; Horatio Hill is the present owner of the farm. The second Clove church stood about one-half a mile south of the first site, on the left hand side of the road leading to Deckertown; immediately opposite this site is the old church graveyard. The third Clove church now stands about 200 yards north of the second site, on the same side of the road. This church is now known as the First Presbyterian
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Church of Wantage. The records of the church are in the posses- sion of Wallace W. Titsworth, who also has the original petition to the Classis of New Brunswick, for the organization of the church. The petition is dated Aug. 21, 1787, and is signed by fifty-eight inhabitants of the Clove ; in part it reads as follows :
"Our Ancestors, a few in number, who formerly belonged to the Low Dutch Reformed Church, settled our country about forty years since. During part of that time, the Rev. Thomas Romine, by permission of his Church- Council and people of the Minisinks, preached some of his time amongst us. By his leaving there we again became destitute, till the Rev. Mr. Bunschooten was installed in Minisinks congregations, who labored some time amongst us; and whose labor, to appearance, has been attended with the blessings of God, so as we have upwards of thirty communicant members amongst us."
The Rev. Elias Van Bunschooten was pastor of the Clove church until 1812. He settled there in 1792 and owned a farm and mill; he died there on Jan. 10, 1815.
Abstract of records of the First Presbyterian Church of Wantage :
Vol. I. Clove Dutch Reformed church organized, Apr. 16, 1788. Presbyterian church organized, Nov. 24, 1817; Trustees sworn in Dec. 7, 1817.
Baptisms, Oct. 22, 1785 to Oct. 25, 1818.
Marriages, Sept. 2, 1798 to Sept. 19, 1812.
Members, from organization to March 28, 1816.
Minutes of Consistory, Nov. 24, 1798 to Feb. 20, 1812.
Minutes of the Presbyterian church from organization to 1835. Church accounts. Vol. II. Missing.
Vol. III. Baptisms, July 3, 1835 to Apr. 29, 1843.
Vol. IV. Commences 1873.
The Sussex County Historical Society has the marriage records of the Rev. Sylvester Cooke, kept while he was pastor of this church, probably for the years intervening between Vol. III and Vol. IV.
THE WESTTOWN CHURCH.
A few years after the Rev. Elias Van Bunschooten began preach- ing at the Clove church the congregation found that they were unable to pay his salary, that had been agreed upon. Accordingly they united with the church at Westtown, in order to divide the expense. The Dutch Reformed Church of Westtown was probably located in the present village of Westtown, in the town of Minisink, Orange county, N. Y. It is about eight miles east of Port Jervis and northeast of the Clove church. The union of the Clove and the West- town churches commenced in 1791 and ended in September, 1799. But according to the records of the Clove church, Van Bunschooten continued to serve the Westtown church, after the separation and at least until May 4, 1802, when the parsonage jointly owned by the
* See Historical Discourse of Reformed Dutch Church of Walpack, by Rev. S. W. Mills, page 30.
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two churches was sold. The church was organized as a Presbyterian church, on March 10, 1803. No examination was made of the rec- ords of this church. For further particulars, see Clove church record and Ruttenber and Clark's History of Orange county, page 667.
THE CUDDEBACKVILLE CHURCH.
Cuddebackville, in the town of Deer Park, Orange county, N. Y., is about eight miles northeast of Port Jervis, in the Neversink valley. The first settlement was made there in 1690. For many years it was a preaching station of the Machackemeck church. On Aug. 6, 1844, a committee consisting of the Rev. George P. Van Wyck, Benjamin Cuddeback, Philip Swartwout and John P. Whitaker, was appointed for the purpose of organizing a church at Cuddebackville. The effort was not successful, but the church was finally organized in the spring of 1854. The records of this church were not examined.
THE HAINSVILLE CHURCH.
The village of Hainsville is about three miles southeast of Mon- tague, in the township of Sandyston, Sussex county, N. J. This church, known as the North Dutch Church of Sandyston, was erected in 1855, at a cost of $850. It is within the bounds of the Minisink congregation, and under the control of the Minisink Con- sistory, as a branch church. It was erected through the efforts of the Rev. David A. Jones, while pastor at Montague, and all the steps leading to its organization will be found fully recorded in the min- utes of the Consistory of the Minisink church. On May 4, 1855, at a meeting of Consistory in the church at Montague, it was "Resolved, First, that it is very desirable & important to erect a Church in San- dyston in connection with the R. P. Dutch Church of N. America. Second, That as a Consistory, we will cordially cooperate in the attainment of this object." On June 25, 1855, a meeting was called at the house of Amos Van Etten in Sandyston, and it was deter- mined to solicit subscriptions for the new church, in both Sandyston and Montague. On July 7 another meeting was held, when it ap- peared that $680 had been subscribed. A Building Committee was appointed, consisting of Joshua Shay, C. W. Brodhead, Samuel Clark, John Kyte, Abraham Credmore, John D. Everitt and James Bennet. July 14, the Committee reported at a meeting of the sub- scribers, and the land offered by Abraham Bennet was selected as the site of the church. This land, comprising one-quarter of an acre, was adjoining the turnpike in Sandyston, near the Stone School House, in which there had been preaching for many years, in con-
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nection with the Dutch Church of Minisink. Abraham Bennet gave the land for the use of the church, with the provision that, if the church ceased to exist as a Dutch Church, the land should revert to himself or his heirs. July 23, the bid of Jacob Wainwright of the Clove, Montague, to put up the building for $850 was accepted. Sept. 20, the corner-stone was laid by the Rev. David A. Jones, with suitable ceremonies. The new church was dedicated on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 1855. "The following was the order of the service: Invo- cation, Salutation and reading portions of the Scripture, as Psalms 122 & 132 & Kings 8: 54 to close; Rev. Robert Pitts of Walpack. Prayer; Rev. S. D. Beegle, Methodist Minister of Hainsville. Ser- mon; Rev. Dr. McLaren of Newburgh, N. Y. from Rom. 1 : 16. Dedicatory Prayer; Rev. D. A. Jones, Pastor of the Minisink Church. Benediction ; Dr. McLaren." On Jan. 1, 1856, a Sociable was held at the house of Amos Van Etten, to aid in furnishing the church, which netted $83, which was expended for blinds, stove, etc.
For many years the church at Hainsville was occupied jointly by the Dutch Reformed and the Methodist Episcopal denominations, and it was known as a Union church. But under the terms of the deed of gift of the land, and by numerous resolutions of the Con- sistory of the Minisink church, it is evident that the ownership re- mains solely Dutch Reformed. In consideration of the fact that the Methodists had assisted financially, in the building of the church, permission was granted them to use the church for their services. A few years ago the Methodists built a new church, opposite the old church, and since that time the church has been unoccupied by either denomination. The records of this church (if any exist) were not examined.
THE SHAPANACK CHURCH.
This church, although included with the secondary churches, was so closely identified with the original four churches, that it might well be treated as one of them. It stood on the Old Mine Road, about thirteen miles below the site of the' Minisink church and seven miles above the site of the Walpeck church. The Shapanack tract of 962 acres of land was deeded by John Crook, Jr., to Alexander Rosenkrans and Frederick Schoonmaker, on March 16 and 17, 1729. Col. John Rosenkrans, the son of Alexander, gave the land for the site of the Shapanack church and burying ground, with the provision that it should revert to the donor, when no longer used for religious purposes. The site of the church is about 400 yards north of Col. John Rosenkrans' dwelling which was a part of the old Shapanack
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Fort, of Revolutionary fame. The church stood on a knoll on the east side of the river road, almost opposite the head of Shapanack Island. * "The exact date of the erection of the church is not known, but it is supposed to have been before the Revolutionary war, during the Pastorate of Rev. Mr. Romeyn. It was built of logs and was octagonal in form. Some of the logs, and even the foundation, were to be seen" as late as about the year 1860. The Shapanack church was in use until about the year 1825, but was vacant after the stone church at Peters' Valley was erected. For a time at least, after the first Minisink church had fallen into decay and before the second church was erected, it was the only church where Divine service was held, between the Machackemeck and the Walpeck churches. The farm upon which this church stood is now owned by Mr. Joseph Hull, an Elder of the Lower Walpack congregation. Elder Hull states that this church was in use as late as about the year 1825. That he knew an old lady who died about twenty-five years ago, who had told him that she used to go to the church, when she was a girl; that she rode to the church on horseback, from the brick store at Montague, a distance of about thirteen miles. And that at that time there was no other church where services were held, below the Machackemeck church. Elder Hull well remembers the site of the church, which is now in a ploughed field; it is about fifty feet back from the road. A knoll about 100 feet north of the church site, sur- mounted by several trees, contains about a dozen gravestones lying flat on the ground. One is the gravestone of William Clark, who died Aug. 10, 1795, AE. 45 y. 5 m. 3 d. On a higher knoll across a deep gully, and about 200 feet further north, is what appears to be the oldest graveyard. On a little plateau on the top of this knoll, stretching from one edge to the other, is a row of unmarked graves, supposed to be Van Campens. No records of the Shapanack church are known to exist; this church was within the bounds of the Wal- peck congregation, and was probably under their jurisdiction.
THE PETERS' VALLEY CHURCH.
The ancient Walpeck congregation is still one civil corporation. It now consists of two separate congregations, each with their own church officers and pastor, the separation having taken place about 1860. The Upper Walpack congregation has two churches, one at Peters' Valley (Bevans P. O.) and the other at Dingmans. The Lower Walpack congregation also has two churches, one at Flat-
* See Historical Discourse of Reformed Dutch Church of Walpack, by Rev. S. W. Mills, page 25.
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brookville and the other at Bushkill. Peters' Valley is in the south- ern part of the township of Sandyston, Sussex county, N. J. About the year 1825 a stone building was erected there, which was used both for a church and a school-house. In 1838 this building was sold at Sheriff's sale and purchased by Robert Stoll and used for a time as a store. Within a few years it became a tavern, for which purpose it serves at the present day. The present church edifice at Peters' Valley is about 100 yards below the tavern, in a southerly direction. It was erected in 1838, at a cost of $1,400, by James C. Bevans, contractor. It was dedicated on the last Thursday in May, 1839. The records of this church have always been kept with the records of Dingmans church.
THE DINGMAN'S FERRY CHURCH.
The village at present known as Dingmans is in the township of Delaware, Pike county, Pa., about three miles northwest of Peters' Valley. The church is about one-quarter of a mile north of the village on the east side of the river road, leading to Milford, Pa. It was erected in 1850, at a cost of $1,300. The Building Committee consisted of John I. Westbrook, Albert S. Stoll and John Van Gor- den; the contractor was W. F. Brodhead. For some time before the erection of this church services had been held in the school- house, nearly opposite the church and just below the cemetery. The Dingmans cemetery lies north-west of the church, on the west side of the road leading to Milford, and extends back up on the mountain. This cemetery was in use at an early date, as the Dingman family burying ground. At the present time there is no evidence of the burying ground having been used before 1820, although some of the gravestones being rudely carved and "home made," have a similar appearance to the early pioneer stones in the Machackemeck and the Minisink burying grounds. The records of Dingman's Ferry and the Peters' Valley churches are in the possession of Mr. Frank Stoll, the Clerk of the Consistory of the Upper Walpack congregation. They were commenced by the Rev. Harmon Van Slyke Peeke, in the year 1892, while he was Student Supply to this congregation ; since that time they are far from complete. A memorandum by the Rev. Mr. Peeke states that the list of members, which commences on Jan. 1, 1862, was taken from the minute book of the Consistory ; and that no knowledge of older records could be obtained in the year 1892. With the exception of the list of members, all records com- mence in the year 1892. Mr. Frank Stoll states that all the records of the Peters' Valley church were kept in the Dingman's Ferry book.
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He has in his possession a letter from the Rev. Gilbert S. Garretson, who was pastor of the Upper Walpack congregation from 1863 to 1884, in which he says that the older records of this congregation were borrowed by the Lower Walpack congregation and were never returned. If such is the case, it is possible that they were destroyed in the burning of the store of John S. Smith, at Flatbrookville, already referred to.
THE BUSHKILL CHURCH.
At the present day the Bushkill church is much stronger than the other church of the Lower Walpack congregation, at Flatbrookville, already described under the heading of the Walpeck church. The village of Bushkill is in the township of Lehman, Pike county, Pa. The site of the church is on the east side of the road leading to Ding- man's, just above the railroad crossing. The church is about one and a half miles south-west of the site of the first Walpeck church. It was erected in 1832, largely through the efforts of the Rev. David Cushing, who was Stated Supply to the Walpeck congregation at this time. The land was given by Henry Peters. The Building Committee consisted of Simeon Schoonover, John M. Heller and James Nyce; the edifice cost about $2,000. The corner-stone of the present church edifice was laid July 11, 1872, by the pastor, the Rev. John F. Shaw. The first Building Committee was Henry M. Labar, J. M. Swartwood and P. J. Guillot. A new Committee was appointed on Aug. 20, 1873, consisting of Jacob Nyce, William Schoonover and John Heller; they served until the building was completed, and employed Edward Burch, as contractor. The edifice cost $5,359.95. * "It was dedicated January 13th, 1874, when the Historical Discourse * * was preached in the morning by Rev. S. W. Mills, of Port Jervis. Rev. E. P. Rogers, D.D., of New York, preached the dedication sermon in the afternoon, from Ps. lxxxiv, I, after which the form of dedication was read by the Pastor. Rev. J. H. Bertholf, of New York, preached in the evening." The corner- stone of the present edifice bears the following inscription : "R. C. A. Built 1832. Rebuilt 1872." The cemetery adjoining this church is not so large as the Dingmans cemetery, but at the present time it contains evidence of more older gravestones. The oldest one at present legible shows the date of death as 1795. The records of this church are largely destroyed or missing. Commencing with June, 1909, complete records have been kept by the present Stated Supply, the Rev. William Schmitz.
* See Historical Discourse of Reformed Dutch Church of Walpack, by Rev. S. W. Mills, page 32.
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Abstract of contents of records of the Lower Walpack churches :
Vol. I. Members, from 1878 to present. Dismissals, deaths, marriages and baptisms, 1909 to present.
Vol. II. Minutes of Consistory, 1878 to present.
Vol. III. Record of Elders Meetings, of Bushkill and Flat- brookville, kept separately.
THE GERMAN REFORMED CHURCH AT FLATBROOKVILLE.
The Walpack Union Congregation (German Reformed) was in- corporated April 15, 1820. The trustees were John Bergstracer, Lewis Trauger, Philip Smith, Leonard Gariss and George Crisman. This congregation was absorbed by the Walpeck congregation in 1841. No church records of this congregation are known to exist.
In describing the secondary churches, it should be understood that the only ones listed are those of the Reformed Dutch denomina- tion, as originally constituted.
JOHANNES CASPARUS FRYENMOET.
Johannes Carparus Fryenmoet was the first settled pastor of the Minisink congregations. He was born in Switzerland, about 1721. When sixteen years of age he came to this country and settled in the Minisink .* He was ordained in the spring of the year 1741 by Rev. Peter Henry Dorsius, who was minister of the congregations in Bucks county, Penn. He was probably installed as pastor of the Minisink congregations in the month of May, 1741. His first bap- tisms were administered at Smithfield, on May 22, 1741 ; he com- menced the church record at Walpack, on May 31, 1741 ; and on the following Sunday, he recorded his first baptisms in the Minisink- Machackemeck record. The validity of his ordination by Dorsius
* Extract from the letter of the Consistories of Machackemeck, Minisink and Wal- peck, to the Classis of Amsterdam, dated May 3, 1743; see Ecclesiastical Records of the State of New York, pages 2801-3.
* * "In the same way there was urged upon us a man by the name of Johannes Cas- parus Fryenmoet. He had studied a little in Zurich, Switzerland. On coming over here he was hired out to service to somebody. He however gave evidence of an excellent char- acter, and lived an edifying life. In the course of time he came in contact with Rev. Dorsius, who agreed to educate him for the ministry on condition that we should pay him for it. We did not question his right to ordain him. Meanwhile we were sup- plied by Rev. (G. W.) Mancius. When we came to feel that our congregations ought to have a minister of their own we were deceived in our judgments by that pretended au- thority; and with deplorable thoughtlessness we neglected to ask advice from his Rev. (Mancius) who had so faithfully ministered among us. A while after, when Fryenmoet had been fulfilling the office of minister among us in all its parts, we understood that other ministers, your High Revs. Correspondents, denied the legality of the power which Revs. Dorsius and Frelinghuysen were exercising; also that Rev. Freeman was among the first who questioned their authority.
When those gentlemen were asked for a proof of their authority, the Rev. Dorsius, who figured as the principal actor in this affair, declined to show his authority. * He declared that it was sufficient that his Rev. had signed the Certificate of Ordination; that, if anyone wanted proof of his authority, he must either be good enough to come down to see him, or make complaint against him before the Synod. However urgently they begged of him to show them his authority, that the distressed churches might be relieved of their anxieties, inasmuch as they were in great distress about the validity of the admin- istration of the Sacraments; - for they were devoted to the observance of our Reformed Church-Order, conformable, as it is to the Word of God-was all in vain. We were re- fused.
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was soon questioned. The Classis of Amsterdam censured Dorsius for ordaining Fryenmoet and John Henry Goetschius, as he had acted without their authority. The Consistory of the four Minisink churches applied to Vas and Mancius for advice about the matter ; subsequently it was also submitted to Boel. At the suggestion of these ministers the whole matter was referred to the Classis of Amsterdam. Boel and Mancius mention it in their letter to the Classis, dated Aug. 9, 1743 (2813) *. The Consistory of the Mini- sink churches sent a letter to the Classis, dated May 3rd, 1743, in which they asked for a ratification of Fryenmoet's ordination ; Fry- enmoet joined in this request. The letter recites that in the fall of the year 1742 it was learned that Dorsius was not authorized to ordain (2802). That immediately it was agreed that Fryenmoet should cease administering the Sacraments, until the case was decided.
All baptisms administered by Fryenmoet prior to this time and entered in the records of the Minisink churches, have been crossed off by Fryenmoet, as is shown in the photographic reproduction, op- posite page 2. The crossing off of these baptisms reveals an error in dating in the transcript of the Minisink-Machackemeck record, as printed in this volume, on pages 106 and 107. In the original record, from which these observations are made, the eleven baptisms from "Debora Schoonhoven" to "Lydia Vredenburgh," are recorded with- out year date; Jonathan Decker and Lydia Vredenburgh are re- corded as being baptized on December 6th. It is evident therefore that the year in which these baptisms took place was 1742 and not 1743, as it is printed. The note on page 106 was made by a person having no knowledge of the facts, and even without an examination of the original record. It is true that the baptisms as designated in the note, were crossed out. The other baptisms marked "onwettig," and also crossed out in the record, as illustrated by the photograph, extend from "Hermanus Brinck," on page 103, to "Angontje Ker- mer" on page 105. The baptisms on page 105, taking place on May 3, 1743, were administered and recorded by Domine Mancius. The baptisms on page 106, dated "April 23" and "April 26" are without year date in the original record, but to anyone with the original be- fore them, it is obvious that they are a continuation of the baptisms of April 23, 1744, written in the hand of Fryenmoet, as are the other baptisms of that date.t The dates on which Mancius administered
* All numbers following in parenthesis are page numbers referring to the Ecclesi- astical Records of the State of New York.
t If further confirmation as to the correct year is desired, it is suggested that the record of baptisms in the families involved, be worked out.
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baptisms are therefore May 3, 1743; Oct. 17, 1743; Oct. 18, 1743; April 23, 1744, and April 26, 1744. All the baptisms recorded in the Walpeck record, up to "Eva Dingenman" on page 2, were crossed out by Fryenmoet, but no explanation was given in that record, and they were not marked "onwettig."
In their letter of May 3rd, 1743, the Consistory and Fryenmoet avow that it would be very desirable, if time and money were avail- able, for him to complete his studies in Holland, and to appear before the Classis for examination and ordination, in the usual way (2802). But, as Fryenmoet had already married, and as his services were constantly needed by the congregations, they begged the Classis to accept his written Confession of Faith, which was sent with the letter, instead of a personal appearance (2803). The letter was acted upon at a meeting of the Classis of Amsterdam, held on May 4, 1744. The Classis gave permission to the ministers neighboring on Fryenmoet, to examine him and to ordain him, in the name of the Classis (2839). A letter to this effect was dispatched to the Consistory of Minisink and Machackemeck, dated May 30, 1744 (2843). A meeting was held at Kingston, on Dec. 16, 1744, by the Consistory of Minisink*, and the Revs. Vas, Mancius and Weiss. These ministers accepted Fryenmoet's written Confession of Faith, instead of holding an oral examination, and questioning him upon Theological Doctrines. On that day Fryenmoet was ordained validly, with the laying on of hands by the Rev. Petrus Vas ; he was also legally installed as pastor of the Minisink congregations. A full account of the proceedings of the previous day was dispatched to the Classis of Amsterdam, in a letter dated Dec. 17, 1744 (2862-64), which was signed by the members of the Consistory of Minisink* and Fryenmoet, Vas, Mancius and Weiss. All these transactions are fully confirmed and corroborated by an entry in the minutes of the Consistory, as recorded in the Minisink-Machackemeck record, dated April 16, 1745, which follows :
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