The beginnings of Lutheranism in New York, written for the United Lutheran Synod of New York in connection with its celebration of the three hundredth anniversary of the oldest Lutheran Church in America, Part 2

Author: Kreider, Harry Julius, 1896-1961
Publication date: 1949
Publisher: New York
Number of Pages: 102


USA > New York > New York City> The beginnings of Lutheranism in New York, written for the United Lutheran Synod of New York in connection with its celebration of the three hundredth anniversary of the oldest Lutheran Church in America > Part 2


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


The third Albany leader, Albert Andriessen Bratt, was one of the earliest Lutherans to settle in Albany. There is no doubt about his versatility. He was a fur trader, tobacco planter, dealer in real estate, and operator of two saw mills.55 He was long in the service of the Lutheran congregation in Albany. He was associated with de Witt in starting public services there, and became one of the elders in the congregation when the formal organization took place. 56


Paulus Schrick, Ablest Leader


Of all the leaders, Paulus Schrick was undeniably the ablest and most brilliant whom the Lutherans had in the early years of their struggle for freedom of worship, as will be related in suc- ceeding chapters. He was a wealthy merchant and free trader, with his principal residence at Hartford, Connecticut.57 But he had a residence also in Manhattan, where he lived for a time in a rented house at the present No. 18 Pearl Street.58 His business took him to Pennsylvania, to Albany, to Holland and to Germany.59 He was one of the few men in New Netherland to be titled "Heer" or "Sieur," or, as in Albany, "The Honorable."60


It is quite evident that the Lutheran movement became ag- gressive solely through Schrick's stimulating leadership. He got the movement into sustained action; he visited the officials of the Lutheran Church in Amsterdam a number of times to forward the movement; he conducted the first Lutheran services in the colony ;


12


THE BEGINNINGS OF LUTHERANISM IN NEW YORK


and he found the candidate in Europe who was to become the first Lutheran pastor in New Netherland.


It is to these men and their associates that we owe the begin- ning of the Lutheran Church in New York three centuries ago. They knew that if a church were ever to be established, they would have to do it themselves. And it is to their everlasting credit that they attempted magnificently to fulfill their responsibility. That they were temporarily crushed, like all the other non-Reformed groups, was due to no fault of theirs-the forces against them were just too powerful to be overcome.


CHAPTER 3


Come Over and Help Us


AS THE colony became stabilized under Governor Stuyvesant, the Lutherans began to sense their strength and to talk seriously about the possibility of a church of their own. There is, of course, no contemporary writing, such as an official minute book of the congregation or a diary of a leader, to tell us all that happened. But the correspondence, voluminous for the times, reveals enough to enable us to reconstruct much of what took place, and even what the Lutherans must have been talking about for a long time.


Irritating Reformed Practices


The Lutherans must have talked much about how good it would be to have a church of their own. They thought highly of their faith, for they and their parents, and even generations before them, had been brought up in it. For that reason, they decidedly did not like the attitude of the Reformed leaders in scoffing at their loyalty to that faith, as though such loyalty were something of small importance.61 After all, they, like their Reformed brethren, had a catechism which they had committed to memory, together with a ritual which they cherished from their childhood. Further- more, they had a deep affection for their communion, with its dis- tinctive doctrine of the Real Presence of their Lord.


For another thing, they wanted their children baptized by a Lutheran pastor. The baptism of their children in the Reformed Church was the source of considerable irritation to them, for one of the questions asked of parents and sponsors at the service was whether they accepted "the doctrine which is taught here in the [Reformed ] Church."62 In a place where only the Reformed Church was permitted, such a question seemed anything but fair to conscientious Lutherans, for if they expressed any disagree-


13


14


THE BEGINNINGS OF LUTHERANISM IN NEW YORK


ment with the offending statement they feared that the sacrament might be withheld from their little ones.


Some Lutheran parents tried to avoid the dilemma by staying away from the service and letting the sponsors take the children to the church. But the Reformed ministers did not like that, and in- sisted upon the parents being present.63 Consequently, whether the parents went to the church or tried to stay at home, they were irri- tated at the compulsion forced upon them.


Then, when the children grew up, the Lutheran parents ex- perienced more irritation, in the religious instruction of their chil- dren. Surely they would want their children brought up on Lu- ther's catechism, with its familiar teachings which they themselves had learned so well, and which they cherished next to the Word of God itself. But outside the home, their children would have to learn the Reformed catechism. That was certainly true when the chil- dren attended the Reformed Church. The rules set up for the schoolmaster, who taught in both the church and the elementary school, stated clearly that he "shall teach the children and pupils the Christian prayers, commandments, baptism, Lord's Supper, and the questions with answers of the catechism, which are taught here every Sunday afternoon in the church."64


The Lutheran parents found that the same was true in the elementary school. That institution was intimately associated with the Reformed Church, and instruction in the Reformed faith was one of the three principal phases of its learning : first, the three R's (reading, writing and arithmetic) ; second, the Reformed religion; and third, good manners. The rule for the schoolmaster concerning religious instruction was quite definite: "He is also to implant the fundamental principles of the true Christian Religion and salva- tion, by means of catechizing; he is to teach them the customary forms of prayers, and also to accustom them to pray."65


The Lutherans Hope and Plan


Impelling as all these reasons were, and desirable as a church of their own could be, there were, nevertheless, some serious prob-


15


COME OVER AND HELP US


lems that would have to be faced. The Lutherans must have talked often and at great length about them.


There was the problem of the number of people in the colony of their own faith, with whom to start a congregation. The answer to that question was hopeful. They must have had already about a hundred families in Manhattan, Albany and on Long Island.66 That compared favorably with the Reformed Church membership, which in Manhattan was only a hundred and seventy members, and at Albany even less.67 And since the Reformed Church authori- ties claimed that some of the members were Lutherans,68 the actual Reformed membership was less. Why, then, could not the Lu- therans have a church of their own? There certainly seemed to be every indication that they had enough members to start one.


Then another problem injected itself. Were they able to sup- port a church of their own? They would have no easy way, such as the Reformed Church had. That church was supported by the government. Its ministers' salaries were included in the colonial budget (though chronically in arrears). It received revenue outside the budget too, in a portion of the fines levied for infractions of the law, at first receiving one-quarter of the fine, later one-sixth.69


The Lutherans, on the contrary, would have to pay for every- thing out of their own pockets. That meant the pastor's salary, Bibles, hymn books, catechisms, and, most formidable prospect of all, a church building. They might get some donations from Lu- theran churches in Europe, but at best the amount would be small. There was no missionary society in Europe to whom they might look for regular contributions until they were well established. In short, they would be entirely on their own.


But they felt they were strong enough to do it. It would not be necessary to erect a building right away; they could rent or buy a dwelling for that purpose.70 They would try to get a pastor who was unmarried, so that they would be obligated for a smaller salary. They figured that they would have to raise for such a salary $320 a year, which was about half as much as that promised the Reformed minister,71 together with free dwelling and fuel.72


16


THE BEGINNINGS OF LUTHERANISM IN NEW YORK


This of course would be assumed by the Lutherans of both Man- hattan and Albany, for only one pastor was thought of for the whole colony.


The biggest problem, however, was yet to be faced. Would the government allow it? There was the clearly stated law: no other Church than the Reformed was to be allowed. What was the use of all this Lutheran talk about the desirability of a church of their own, when the law said it could not be?


But there was a glimmer of hope. The same situation pre- vailed in Holland. The law there also forbade other than the Re- formed Church, and still a number of Lutheran churches were tolerated, even if through so risky a means as "by connivance." That being the case in Holland, might it not be possible to get the authorities in the colony to be just as lenient? Well, there was no better way to find out than to go ahead and try for it.


Appeal to Amsterdam Lutheran Church


But how should they go about it? It did not seem wise for them to go up to the colonial officials with a request, for that might result in a blunt refusal. The wise course, by all means, was for them to take it up first with the officials of the Lutheran Church in Amsterdam, to learn what to do that might give them the best chances of success. If anyone knew the answer to their problem, it was the Amsterdam Church leaders, after all that their church had gone through to gain its own toleration. So they set to work to draft a letter to the Consistory (that is, the church council or governing body) of the Amsterdam Church. The Consistory at Amsterdam had at the time considerable prestige and power among the Lutherans of Holland, probably even more than the Lutheran Synod there itself had.73


The colonial Lutherans doubtless had a number of gatherings in both Manhattan and Albany before all the details of their letter were settled. At any rate, sometime in the spring or summer of 1649 they put the letter into its final form, the most important part of which was the petition "for advice and assistance as to how


17


COME OVER AND HELP US


they might obtain a pastor and the public exercise of religion according to the Augsburg Confession."74


If the Consistory knew of a pastor, the colonial Lutherans were ready to call him. The only item they overlooked in the letter, and which they corrected after it was called to their attention, was a paragraph that would serve as a "binding agreement" or guar- antee for the support which they agreed to give to such a pastor.75


It is likely that the meeting at which the letter was approved was held in Manhattan, for most of the leaders lived there. Upon its approval, several men were selected as a delegation to take the petition personally to Amsterdam.76


In this formal act of petitioning corporately for a pastor, the Lutheran Church in New York came into being. It was the simplest kind of organization. Yet it was a Lutheran congregation in the true sense of the word, for its members were bound together by a common acceptance of the Augsburg Confession, and as such "joint members" they were ready to call whatever pastor the Con- sistory at Amsterdam might recommend.


Little and insignificant and loosely organized as the group was, it was recognized as a regular congregation by the Lutheran Consistory at Amsterdam. In the matter of the call of a pastor, the powerful Consistory assumed no rights to itself, but made it clear that it would tender such a call only "pursuant to the request made by the members of our Confession in New Netherland, and the power thereto conferred in their letter upon this Consistory."


33


The Old Lutheran Church in Amsterdam, Holland. Here the delegation of the New Netherland Lutheran Church went with a petition for a pastor .- From an etching re- ceived from the Church by courtesy of Simon Hart, its present Archivist.


CHAPTER 4


Blocked


THE members of the delegation proceeded hopefully to Amster- dam, and on Tuesday, October 12, 1649, they appeared before the Consistory of the Amsterdam Lutheran Church with the letter of their fellow Lutherans of New Netherland. Note of the presen- tation was made in the minutes of the Consistory as follows :78


There was opened and read the letter from some members in New Netherland, who declared themselves to be adherents of our religion of the Unaltered Augs- burg Confession, requesting that they may be supplied there with a pastor.


We do not know how much the matter was talked over at the meeting, for nothing is mentioned in the minutes. We do know, however, that the Consistory recognized the matter as of genuine importance, and wanted to consider it fully before any decision was made. This was expressed in the minutes by a second paragraph :


It is decided to keep this matter, as being of far- reaching consequence, under consideration, in order later, after mature deliberation, to take action thereon and accordingly to make such answer as shall be found proper.


Amsterdam Consistory Cannot Help


A week later, October 19, the Consistory had the matter up again. Perhaps the New Netherland delegation was present, but the minutes make no reference to it one way or the other.


The members of the Consistory, however, did not appear enthusiastic. In view of the precarious toleration of their own


19


20


THE BEGINNINGS OF LUTHERANISM IN NEW YORK


church, there was no telling what additional troubles might be stirred up if they went ahead with the request of their colonial brethren. So they decided not to do anything at present, but to hold the request in abeyance until a more favorable time. In the official minutes it was put this way :79


There was taken up again and considered further the letter and request of those who acknowledge them- selves to be members of the community of our Confession in New Netherland, heretofore made and delivered to this body. And it was decided not to hasten with the final reso- lution and answer concerning its contents, as it is a mat- ter of far-reaching consequence and the most serious consideration to engage therein, in view of the state of the country and the situation of our churches at this juncture of time.


Only an oral answer seems to have been given the delegation ; there appears to be no record of a written one.


Nothing further was done for four years. The colonial Lu- therans kept waiting for word from the Consistory, but no word came. Perhaps they felt that writing another letter to the Con- sistory would be of little avail, unless the message could be pre- sented personally. Such an opportunity came to them in the fall of 1653, when Paulus Schrick, ablest of the Manhattan leaders, agreed to visit the Consistory while on a business trip to Europe. This time they proceeded much more thoroughly than four years ago.


They prepared two petitions to the Netherlands civil authori- ties.80 One was addressed to the States General (or government) of The Netherlands; the other was addressed to the Directors of the West India Company, at Amsterdam.


In the petitions, the colonial Lutherans stated that they had about a hundred and fifty families of their faith, living at Man- hattan, Albany and Long Island. Their "souls were longing and thirsting" for Lutheran services, and they hoped the authorities would "kindly allow and permit them here in these places to hold


1


21


BLOCKED


public worship," under the leadership of a Lutheran pastor to be "maintained at their own expense."


They did not go over Governor Stuyvesant's head by sending the petitions directly to Holland, but handed the documents to him with the request to transmit them to the Holland authorities. In that they doubtless felt they would avoid giving offense to Stuy- vesant and hurting their cause. But, as events turned out, they could hardly have hurt their cause more even if they had completely ignored him.


They then addressed a letter to the Lutheran Consistory at Amsterdam,81 in which they mentioned the two petitions prepared for the civil authorities. They implored the Consistory "for the love of our [Lutheran] community" to help secure the freedom of worship and a pastor for which they had been "longing with hearts and souls."


As to the pastor, they hoped that he would be one who "is graduated, unmarried, learned, eloquent and of irreproachable life and conduct." They needed him "not only to preach, marry and baptize, but also at first to be employed as precentor (that is, leader of the singing ) in the church." And though most of their members were German, they nevertheless desired the pastor to be a Hol- lander, "inasmuch as the Dutch language is most commonly used here and our children are also instructed therein."


Six leaders signed the letter to the Consistory. One was from Albany, four from Manhattan and one from Jersey City.82 Four of the six were leaders mentioned previously: Daniel Litschoe, Hendrick Willemsen, Matthys Capito and Volckert Jansen Douw.


Blocked by Reformed Leaders


If the colonial Lutherans had any idea of getting the grudg- ing toleration which their brethren in Holland had achieved, they soon learned that they were sorely mistaken. Stuyvesant did not transmit the two petitions directly to Holland, so that the authori- ties there might act without prejudice, but first called in the two Reformed ministers of the city to discuss the matter. As a result,


1


22


THE BEGINNINGS OF LUTHERANISM IN NEW YORK


a letter went off immediately to the governing body of the Re- formed Church in Amsterdam,83 urging its members to exert their "influence with the Honorable Directors of the [West India] Com- pany so that the project of our Lutheran friends may be rejected."


The Reformed officials in Holland acted promptly and effi- ciently. They interviewed the Directors and received assurance that the Lutheran plea would not be granted. They promised also to keep an eye upon the members of the States General, to thwart any inclination on their part to favor the Lutheran petition. They re- ported that everything had been taken care of by the first of Janu- ary, 1654.84


Paulus Schrick, who had set out in the meantime with the letter to the Lutheran Consistory, did not arrive in Amsterdam until January 20. It was futile to hope for anything then, after all that the opposition had done to block the Lutheran request.


The Consistory recognized the situation as hopeless, and ad- vised Schrick that "dangerous consequences" would certainly result if he should attempt now to visit the Directors or the States Gen- eral. Publicly, therefore, he should give every assurance of ad- mitting defeat and doing nothing in consequence; but privately he should be on the alert and "quietly seek to contract with someone" to go to New Netherland to become the pastor there. To that end, Schrick had the Consistory's promise "to lend him a helping hand."85


The Consistory's advice was good. A month later the Direc- tors of the West India Company took action completely disapprov- ing the Lutheran petition, and promptly notified Stuyvesant to that effect :86


We have decided absolutely to deny the request made by some of our inhabitants, adherents of the Augsburg Confession, for a preacher and free exercise of their re- ligion .. .; and we recommend to you also not to receive any similar petitions, but rather to turn them off in the most civil and least offensive way, and to employ all pos- sible but moderate means in order to induce them to listen and finally join the Reformed Church.


23


BLOCKED


Neither Stuyvesant nor the Reformed ministers could have desired anything more conclusive than that. They doubtless con- sidered the disturbance at an end, for the Lutherans had nothing to say. The latter were quiet, however, only because they had had no word from the Consistory as to what they should do; nor had they heard from Schrick, who, after visiting the Consistory, had continued on his business trip in Holland and Germany.


Hopeful News From Amsterdam


It was more than a year before Schrick finished his business, and on his way back he stopped at Amsterdam to consult further with the Consistory.87 From that body he received a letter to his fellow Lutherans in the colony-a letter so discreet that no harm would be done should it fall into the hands of the opposition. But of real import were the private conclusions which were determined upon between himself and the Consistory, for he returned to the colony with a purpose that was greatly to hearten the Lutherans, and also greatly to stir up a hornet's nest for them.


Schrick arrived in Manhattan, probably in the summer of 1655, with the letter of the Consistory.88 The letter, to an uniniti- ated Lutheran, was a keen disappointment. If the colonial Luther- ans, it said, should go ahead with their original plan of appealing directly to the States General and the West India Company Direc- tors, they would "hurt rather than promote" their cause.


Nor should they hope too much of the Consistory, because that body was powerless to do anything openly on their behalf. Further- more, there was no pastor or candidate who could be sent to them. So, the letter concluded, "as far as possible, by meeting among yourselves, keep the community and members of Christ together and seek to increase their number."


One could hardly imagine a more hopeless prospect. That is, until Schrick told them of the private advice which the Consistory had given him. That innocent looking admonition, for example, about "meeting among yourselves," was to be interpreted as noth-


24


THE BEGINNINGS OF LUTHERANISM IN NEW YORK


ing less than "to assemble secretly for the observance of your religion."89


Now that was something to get excited about. Now the mes- sage of the Consistory seemed plain as day. There was nothing to be gained by marking time. Nor was anything to be gained by standing humbly in line to await the pleasure of the unbending civil authorities. Go ahead, start services quietly and secretly, and then hope for the best. It might even turn out that the colonial authorities would follow the example of the authorities in Holland, and permit the services to continue "by connivance."


CHAPTER 5


Persecuted


THE Lutherans were not slow putting into practice the "private advice" brought back by Schrick, and under his leadership they "assembled themselves secretly, to edify themselves mutually."90 They probably met around in the homes of various members, to preserve the secrecy. The services were of the simplest order : a prayer, some singing, the reading of the Scripture with comments, and the reading of a sermon.9


Church Services Are Suppressed


It is not known how many services were held, beyond the statement that they "had continued for some time."92 It was cer- tainly not more than a few months in the fall and early winter, because in January of the following year, 1656, the Reformed authorities caught up with them and reported them to Governor Stuyvesant.


The Governor and his Council, convening on February 1, pro- claimed in language which no one could possibly misunderstand, that there would be no "conniving" on their part. And to make cer- tain that the Lutherans would be permanently discouraged, a stringent ordinance was passed forbidding any but Reformed services, under penalty of a fine of $240 for "all who presume to exercise the duties of a preacher, reader or precentor"; and a fine of $60 for any "man or woman found at such a meeting."93


The Albany Lutherans learned of Schrick's activities, and they proceeded also to hold services. Just how many they held is not known, for only one is mentioned in the records. That one was on Sunday, January 30, 1656, at the home of seventy year old Captain Willem Juriaenssen, located in what is now the park in front of the


25


26


THE BEGINNINGS OF LUTHERANISM IN NEW YORK


Delaware and Hudson Building in Albany.94 It was conducted by the Lutheran leader Tjerck Claessen de Witt, for fifteen people who were present besides himself.


Having learned of the service, the authorities acted swiftly by ordering the arrest of de Witt and a fellow leader, Albert Andriessen Bratt. The following Tuesday, February 1, the day on which the New Netherland Council met in Manhattan to enact the harsh ordinance against all the Lutherans, de Witt was in court in Albany. He was charged with "having been found last Sunday in the company of the Lutherans, performing divine service," was found guilty and assessed a small fine.95 The next week Bratt appeared in Court, and apparently because he had not come a week earlier, he was assessed the exorbitant fine of $46.96


A third Lutheran leader had a curious part in the court pro- cedure. He was Volckert Jansen Douw, one of the four magistrates on the bench at the first court scene when de Witt was found guilty. Unfortunately there is no record of the scene of the Lutheran defendant facing the Lutheran judge, on the issue of freedom of worship for the Church they both loved.97




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.