Originally published in The NYG&B Newsletter, Spring 1994, updated to July 2017
This article covers the Dutch Reformed (and some German Reformed) churches of New York City, beginning with 17th century New Amsterdam.
The city consisted of Manhattan and adjacent islands until 1874 and 1895 when it annexed portions of Westchester County (now the borough of the Bronx).
In 1898 the five-borough city was created, but this paper covers only churches of Manhattan and the Bronx.
For Brooklyn Reformed churches see Kings County’s Colonial Church Records and Brooklyn-Kings County Church Records Since 1783, and for Queens see Religious Records of Queens and Nassau Counties.
Dutch Reformed Churches
During the 16th century, many Christians in the Netherlands broke with Rome and formed the Nederlands Hervormde Kerk or Dutch Reformed Church. Adherents of the church led the fight for independence from Spain and the creation of the Dutch Republic, and they also controlled the West India Company which would administer the colony of New Netherland.
In New Amsterdam prior to the English takeover of 1664, the Dutch Reformed was the only denomination permitted to hold public worship. Regardless of race or nationality, couples seeking to marry or have their children baptized came to the Dutch minister or dominee. The universality of the city's earliest Dutch Reformed records, along with their marvelous detail, make them an extremely important genealogical resource.
The first Dutch Reformed services were held on Manhattan Island in 1628. In 1642 a church was erected within the Fort at the foot of the island. It was replaced in 1693 by a new church in Garden Street (now Exchange Place), which in 1729 became the Old Church when a second or New Church was built in Nassau Street.
When a third church was opened in William Street in 1769, it was called the North Church, the 1729 church became the Middle Church, and the Garden Street church became the South Church. There was also Stuyvesant’s chapel on his bowery (at the site of today’s St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Second Avenue). All these churches were collegiate, sharing ministers and keeping one set of registers.
A church also existed from 1660 in Harlem at the north end of Manhattan. Until 1803 there were no other Dutch Reformed churches in the city.
The Dutch Reformed churches in this country were subordinate to the Amsterdam Classis until after the Revolution. An independent denomination was created in 1792, called in its earliest years both the Dutch Reformed Church in North America and the Reformed Dutch Church in the United States of America.
In 1819 it was incorporated as the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church, and in 1867 it assumed its present name, the Reformed Church in America (RCA). For a history of the denomination, with biographies of ministers and a list of churches, see Edward T. Corwin, A Manual of the Reformed Church in America, 5th ed., 1922.
During the 19th and 20th centuries many new Dutch Reformed churches were organized in the city, most of them non-Collegiate. Few of these churches still exist, their members having moved out of Manhattan or transferred to other denominations over the years.
The Inventory of the Church Archives of New York City: Reformed Church in America (New York: Historical Records Survey, Work Projects Administration [WPA], 1939), briefly describes each of the RCA churches and its records.
The records of defunct churches are now in the RCA Archives at New Brunswick, New Jersey, and are listed in Guide to Local Church Records in the Archives of the Reformed Church in America . . ., ed. Russell L. Gasero, 1979, pp. 5 (Bronx) and 7–8 (Manhattan). The records at New Brunswick have been digitized and are accessible on Ancestry.com as explained below.
Over the years books or booklets and pamphlets have been published which give historical information about some of the churches and often mention names of some members. These may be identified in the WPA Inventory or through library catalogs such as those of the New York Public Library, Holland Society, or New-York Historical Society.
Nickerson’s Illustrated Church Musical and School Directory of New York and Brooklyn (New York: Nickerson & Young, 1895), at pages 118–30 lists all the Reformed churches active at that time, with photographs of many of the church buildings.
German Reformed Churches
Among the 17th century “Dutch” settlers of New Amsterdam were many who came from what is now Germany, including adherents of German Reformed churches who were soon assimilated into the Dutch population and Dutch Reformed Church.
In the 18th century more Germans immigrated to the city, and those who were Reformed continued to attend the Dutch churches, but there was an increasing demand for a church where services were conducted in German. Thus in 1758 the German Reformed Church in the City of New York was founded.
For a very brief early history of the church see The Record 126 (1995): 97–98. Along with other German Reformed churches, particularly in Pennsylvania, the New York City church at first affiliated with the Dutch Reformed Church.
When the American Dutch Reformed church declared its independence from Amsterdam in 1792, most of the German churches left to form a separate denomination known as the German Reformed Church, renamed the Reformed Church in the United States (RCUS) in 1869.
In 1934 the RCUS merged with the Evangelical Synod of North America (also of German origin) to form the Evangelical and Reformed Church, which in 1957 merged with the Congregational Christian Churches to form the present United Church of Christ.
The New York City German Reformed Church did not join the separate denomination (the later RCUS) but remained in what became the RCA, and several new German Reformed churches that were created in the city in the 19th century also affiliated with the RCA.
The great wave of German immigration that began in the 1840s led to the creation of other German Reformed congregations in the city that affiliated with the RCUS. Records of the German churches that remained with the RCA are described below, along with one RCUS church whose records are held by NYG&B.
For other churches in the five boroughs that affiliated with the RCUS and its successors see Richard Haberstroh’s invaluable research guide, The German Churches of Metropolitan New York (NYG&B, 2000).
Surviving Records
The next sections identify records of:
- The Collegiate churches of Manhattan
- Non-Collegiate Manhattan RCA churches
- Bronx RCA churches
- One German Reformed (RCUS) church
- One True Reformed Church
These are records that are available to researchers, either in the NYG&B Collection at the New York Public Library or online at various sites as indicated, including the NYG&B eLibrary. Records still at the churches or located elsewhere may be identified in the WPA guide and Haberstroh.
A Note About Ancestry.com Databases
The records available online at Ancestry.com require some explanation. They are found in two almost identical databases, “U.S., Dutch Reformed Church Records in Selected States, 1639–1989” and “Dutch Reformed Church Membership Records, 1701–1995.”
Each database can be accessed by a Card Catalog Search on the title or key words. Once the database is accessed it is necessary to select a state (New York) and city (in this case New York City, unless another place name is indicated below). A list of church records for that city will appear, and they can be browsed.
It is also possible to do a name search of the entire database (or records in the database will show up in a full Ancestry.com name search), but desired names may not show up this way if the indexer misread a name or the search does not cover all variant spellings. It is therefore always wise to browse the records of any church that the family is known to have attended or was located near the family’s address(es).
The records in the two Ancestry.com databases that are described below are copies of those held by the RCA Archives at New Brunswick.
In most cases the exact same records appear in both databases, but there are a few that appear in only one of the two as indicated. Besides baptisms, marriages, deaths, and membership, the records may include minutes (of either the consistories [minister, elders, and deacons], or of the elders alone) and some financial or other administrative records.
To save space, in the rest of this paper the first Ancestry.com database is called Ancestry 1, and the second Ancestry 2. When only Ancestry 1 is mentioned, the same records may or may not be duplicated in Ancestry 2.
Records of Collegiate RCA Churches
In Manhattan today there are four collegiate churches, which use “Collegiate” rather than “Reformed” in their names. These churches are the successors of the colonial collegiate churches described above:
- Marble Collegiate
- Middle Collegiate
- West End Collegiate
- Fort Washington Collegiate
They are administered by the Collegiate Church Corporation, formally still called "The Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of the City of New York." The Corporation is part of the RCA.
The Corporation has always maintained common registers of baptisms, marriages, etc., for all of its churches, and it may be impossible to identify the individual church where a recorded event occurred. Until 1803 all the city’s Reformed churches were collegiate, except the church at Harlem.
Beginning in 1803 there were other churches in the city that were outside the collegiate arrangement and kept their own registers. Researchers should always check the collegiate church records first.
Original Records
The Corporation holds the original records dating back to the 17th century. A summary of these holdings will be found in I.N. Phelps Stokes, Iconography of Manhattan Island 1492–1909, 6 volumes, 1915–28, at 6:240. The WPA Inventory also describes these records.
No records exist prior to 1639, and the register for 1639–82 is not the original but a copy made by Henricus Selyns (or Selijns), minister 1682–1701. The original records for 1639–82 are lost, and while Selyns may have made a few errors in his copy, with the loss of the originals such errors can be difficult to detect.
Some years ago the Corporation permitted photocopies to be made of many of the records from 1639 to 1775. One set of these photocopies was given to the former Holland Society library and one to the RCA Archives. The Archives’ set is digitized in Ancestry 2, the first entry under City=Manhattan.
The records include baptisms 1639–1697 (images 149–398 and 585–600), marriages 1639–1774 (images 462–584 and 1125–1410), members 1649–1775 (images 399–461 and 1007–1124), lists of ministers, elders and deacons 1668–1736 (images 111–130 and 672–697), and various administrative records.
These records are currently not indexed and can only be browsed. Since they are handwritten in Dutch, the earlier ones are in 17th century handwriting, and there are problems with ink bleeding through from the reverse side of many pages, researchers will find it easier to use the transcriptions described below and then check the originals to verify the accuracy of the transcriptions or to save a copy of a page.
Sypher’s Liber A
The Collegiate Churches have recently begun publishing some of the records in their archives, ably translated and edited by Francis J. Sypher, Jr., PhD, FGBS.
They are being published by the William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan, as part of the Historical Series of the Reformed Church in America. The first two volumes cover Liber A, which includes the earliest records copied by Selyns and those from his ministry:
Liber A 1628-1700 of the Collegiate Churches of New York [Part 1], published 2009, contains a complete transcription of the earliest volume of the church’s records except for baptisms, marriages and membership. See the review by Harry Macy Jr. in The Record 142 (Jan. 2011): 74.
Liber A of the Collegiate Churches of New York, Part 2, published 2015, contains a completely new translation of baptisms 1639–1697, members 1649–1701, and marriages 1639–1701, with a single index and extensive annotations. See the review by John Blythe Dobson in the Record 147 (Jan. 2016): 75.
The fact that Part 2 contains a single index, covering all names in the baptism, marriage, and membership records, makes it much easier to use (for the years covered) than the NYG&B Publications described below, with their separate and in some cases incomplete indexes.
The careful researcher will want to read Sypher’s informative introductions and annotations.
These books are not online, and libraries and individuals should be encouraged to purchase them.
NYG&B Publications
The records in Liber A Part 2 were previously available in NYG&B publications which also include some later collegiate records.
These publications were created with the cooperation of the Collegiate Church and are considered to be largely accurate, but those for the earliest years should be checked against Liber A Part 2 which indicates more than a few corrections.
As Liber A Part 2 is currently less accessible than the NYG&B publications, many researchers will have to continue using the latter, but the use of Liber A Part 2 for the years it covers is strongly recommended.
NYG&B published transcripts of the earliest collegiate records (baptisms 1639–1800 and marriages 1639–1731) in The Record (volumes 5–32, 1874–1901), but for those records researchers should instead use Volumes 1–3 of the Society's Collections described below, which are available in the NYG&B's collection of New York State Religious Records in the eLibrary.
Each of these Collections volumes has its own index, and as these are literal indexes, with almost no attempt to combine variant spellings of names, the researcher must take care to look under every possible spelling, and must also remember that, up to at least 1700, many individuals will appear under their patronymics, not under fixed surnames.
Collegiate Baptisms 1639-1811
Baptisms from 1639 to 1730 in the Reformed Dutch Church, New York, and Baptisms from 1731 to 1800 in the Reformed Dutch Church, New York, Volumes 2–3 of Collections of The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, 1901–02, cited in Record 1933–1996 as BDC and BDC II.
The names of parents and witnesses in Volumes 2–3 are indexed in each volume, but the children’s names are not. Children’s names from 1639–1697 are indexed in Liber A Part 2, and those from 1639–1675 in “New York Dutch Church Baptism Index 1639-1675” (formerly “Index to Children Baptized in the New York Dutch Church 1639–1675”), by Harry Macy, Jr., 1996. These indexes match children with their fathers’ names and thus are useful for identifying baptisms of those who were known by their patronymics rather than a surname.
The NYG&B Collection at NYPL includes “New York City Dutch Reformed Church baptisms, 1801–1811,” original transcript in the Manuscripts and Archives Division (MssCol NYGB 18140, advance notice required), copy in Milstein Division (NYGB AZ+ Loc 09-804).
This was transcribed by NYG&B from Collegiate Church Libers P and D before it was decided to terminate the published baptisms at 1800. See also “Index to New York City Dutch Reformed Church records . . . baptisms, 1801–1811,” by Marian E. LoPresti (2000), Milstein Division (New York Genealogical and Biographical Society Collection Locale Files, NYGB Loc 2008-001, Box 26 File 18).
Collegiate Marriages 1639-1866
Marriages from 1639 to 1801 in the Reformed Dutch Church, New Amsterdam – New York City, Volume 1 of Collections of The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, 1890, reprinted as Volume 9, 1940, cited in Record 1933–1996 as MDC. Extended to 1866 in Record volumes 70–72 (1939–41), and 89 (1958).
Collegiate Burials 1727-1820
Stokes’s Iconography lists one Burials liber in the Collegiate archives, covering 1704–1850. Ancestry 1 and 2 include “NY Burials 1726–1802,” a transcript of the Collegiate volume made for the Holland Society. This transcript, which actually extends to 1803, for the earlier years shows dates of both death and burial, and whether burial was in the church or cemetery (churchyard).
A similar NYG&B transcript, “Burial register of the Reformed Dutch Church in the City of New York [1727–1804],” is in the NYPL Milstein Division (NYGB AZ+ Loc 09-769), and was cited in Record 1933–1996 as DCBur. From the Holland Society transcript was created “Record of Burials in the Dutch Church, New York,” Year Book of The Holland Society of New York 1899, pp. 139–211, cited in Record 1933–1996 as DDC; this publication is available online, but in it the names are alphabetized, unnamed infants are omitted, only the date of death is given, and there is no mention of place of burial.
Burials 1804–1813 are found in Record volumes 75–76 (1944–45), and Burials 1814–1820 in NYG&B manuscript file New York City-Churches-Dutch could not be found at NYG&B or NYPL as of July 2017, but the same burials should appear in New York City Register of Deaths.
Collegiate Members 1649-1829
These can be found in Record volumes 9 (1878), and 58–62 (1927–31); the same lists were also consolidated in one volume with typed index, titled Dutch Reformed Church, New York City, Membership, NYPL Milstein Division (NYGB N.Y. L M314.62 D8 A151).
Members 1686, "arranged according to the streets of the City," by Domine Henricus Selyns, and marriages 1686–1687, are in Volume 5 of Collections of The Holland Society of New York, 1916.
Other Collegiate Sources
Ancestry 1 includes Holland Society transcripts of some of the Collegiate records, made by Dingman Versteeg and scanned at the Holland Society. These are listed as The Holland Society of New York, New York Records, Volume I, Book 33 (baptisms 1741–59); New York City, Vol II, Book 34 (baptisms 1759–1799); and NY Marriages, Book 32 1801–50 (Volume 4, marriages 1801–50). All of these presumably duplicate NYG&B transcripts described above.
Before using the Collegiate records the careful researcher will want to consult Henry B. Hoff, “Some Thoughts About the New York Dutch Reformed Church Records,” NYG&B Newsletter 11 (Summer 2000):47, 55, as well as Sypher’s introduction to Liber A Part 2.
Ecclesiastical Records State of New York, 7 volumes, 1901–16, contains additional administrative records and correspondence relating to the City’s Dutch Reformed churches. Some of the records are from the RCA and Collegiate Church archives.
History of the School of the Collegiate Reformed Dutch Church in the City of New York from 1633 to 1883, 2nd edition, 1886; includes "Catalogue of Scholars" listing 3,854 boys and girls (each with parent's name) who attended this school 1791–1883. The Collegiate School still exists.
The Christian Intelligencer, a newspaper published by an association of members of the Dutch Reformed Church from 1830 through 1870, reported marriages and deaths of many church members in New York City and vicinity. These were abstracted in 1931–1934 in 17 typed volumes by Ray C. Sawyer, titled “Marriages [or Deaths] Published in the Christian Intelligencer of the Reformed Dutch Church from 1830 to 1870.” They may be searched by name in Ancestry.com’s collection “U.S., Newspaper Extractions from the Northeast, 1704–1930.”
Records of Non-Collegiate RCA Churches
The following accounts are based on the WPA Inventory of RCA records, Gasero’s RCA Archives Guide, and Haberstroh’s guide to German churches, and other sources if indicated.
Churches are listed in order of founding.
The WPA Inventory also describes some additional 19th and 20th century collegiate churches that no longer exist and for which no records are currently available. Churches are listed in order of founding, and all are Dutch unless name includes “German.”
South
Founded 1628, the oldest of the collegiate congregations, separated from collegiate arrangement 1812, dissolved 1914.
Located in the Fort until 1693, then Garden Street 1693–1835, Murray & Church Sts. 1835–49, Fifth Avenue & 21st St. 1849–90, 245 Madison Ave. 1890–1910, Park Ave. & 85th St. 1910–14, but always retained the South Church name.
Baptisms 1812–52, marriages 1812–53, in Records of the South Reformed Dutch Church in Garden Street in the City of New York, transcribed by the NYG&B Society, edited by Royden W. Vosburgh, 1921, NYG&B eLibrary's New York State Religious Records collection and NYPL Milstein Division (NYGB AZ+ Loc 09-715A).
RCA Archives (on Ancestry 1) has original baptisms 1812–52, 1862–1914; marriages 1812–57; members 1814–30, 1839–55, 1862–1914; deaths 1882–1914; consistory minutes and other admin. records 1811–1916, scrapbook 1863-1914, also under City=New York, “Legal Papers,” church not named.
Absorbed Prospect Hill church (see below) 1910. See also daughter churches Washington Square alias New South, and Manor, below.
Harlem
Organized 1660 but no records before 1806; still exists. Originally located at what is now First Ave. & 127th St., see later addresses in WPA Inventory (pp. 29–31) and below.
Marriages 1816–36 in Record volume 8 (1879); baptisms 1806–36, marriages 1807–14, members 1806–38, accounts 1813–28, in Record volumes 117–19 (1986–88); baptisms 1806–1944, marriages 1807–1942, members c.1850–1945 on former NYG&B microfilm N.Y.Co. 32, not in NYPL catalog; disinterments from vaults and churchyard, 1869–75 (Harlem Cemetery, Dutch Church Disinterments 1869-1875, eLibrary).
1886 assumed name First Church of Harlem and created Lenox Ave. Church in a collegiate arrangement; 1918 First Church closed, merged into Lenox Ave. church which was renamed Harlem Reformed; 1929 moved to 67 East 89th St., renamed East 89th St. Church, later closed.
Elmendorf Chapel created 1908, later renamed Elmendorf Reformed Church, at 171 East 121st St., is the current successor to the 1660 church.
German Reformed
Organized 1758, dissolved 1968.
Located in Nassau St. between Maiden Lane and John St. 1758–1822, 21 Forsyth St. near Canal 1822–61, 129 Norfolk St. near Stanton 1861–97, 351–55 East 68th St. 1897–1968 where known as the East 68th Street Church.
Earliest records at New-York Historical Society, Manhattan; marriages 1759–1805, members 1759–86, deaths and burials 1764–1803, all transcribed by Charles Farrell and published in Record volumes 126–28 (1995–97).
Farrell’s complete transcript, including baptisms 1758–1805, titled Records of the German Reformed Church of New York City, 1758-1805, is in NYPL Milstein Division (NYGB AZ Loc 09-67). The whereabouts of the records for 1805–23 is not known.
Later original records are at RCA Archives (digitized as East 68th Street Church in Ancestry 1 under City=New York City and Manhattan), including baptisms 1823–1964; marriages 1863–65, 1880–1963; members 1861–1906; funerals 1902–65; consistory minutes and other admin. records 1784–1967.
Records are in German until 20th century. In 1867 this church absorbed the Third German Mission, organized 1852 (Haberstroh p. 56 says Mission’s records are at RCA archives; they are not identified as such in Gasero’s guide or on Ancestry.com, but possibly are part of the East 68th St. records described here).
Greenwich (Village)
Organized 1803, dissolved 1866.
Located Charles St. and Amos (now West 10th) St. 1803–26, Bleecker St. and Amos 1826–63, 46th St. and Sixth Ave. 1863–66.
Baptisms 1806–58, marriages 1808–59, members 1804–59, in Records of the Reformed Dutch Church at Greenwich in the City of New York, transcribed by the NYG&B Society, edited by Royden W. Vosburgh, 1920, NYG&B eLibrary New York State Religious Records collection and NYPL Milstein Division (NYGB AZ+ Loc 09-685).
Original records at RCA Archives are in Ancestry 1: baptisms, marriages, members 1804–66, deaths 1858–66, pew book 1857–64, consistory minutes and other admin. records 1803–66.
Bloomingdale
Originally Church of Harsenville, organized 1805, dissolved 1913. Located Broadway cor. future 69th St. 1805–16, Broadway & 68th 1816–69, 71st near 9th (Columbus) Ave. 1869–86, Broadway & 86th 1886–1906, West End Ave. & 106th 1906–13.
Baptisms 1808–81, marriages 1808–77, members 1807–81, in Hopper Striker Mott, The New York of Yesteryear, 1908.
Original records at RCA Archives in Ancestry 1: baptisms 1806–81, 1902–11; marriages 1808, 1869–77, 1900–11; members 1806–81, 1900–13; consistory minutes and other admin. records 1805–1913.
North West
Organized 1808, dissolved 1918.
Located Franklin (formerly Sugar Loaf) St. 1808–54, 145 West 23rd St. 1854–71, Madison Ave. and 58th St. 1871–1915.
Incorporated as North West Protestant Reformed Dutch Church but commonly called Franklin St. Church while at first address, North West Church while on 23rd St., and renamed Madison Avenue Reformed 1871.
Baptisms 1808–50, marriages 1808–50, in Records of the Madison Avenue Reformed Church in the City of New York, transcribed by the NYG&B Society, edited by Royden W. Vosburgh, 1921. NYG&B eLibrary New York State Religious Records collection and NYPL Milstein Division (NYGB AZ+ Loc 09-711).
Original records at RCA Archives, in Ancestry 1 as North West, also listed as “Church records, v 1-5” without church name: baptisms 1808–1914, marriages 1808–1909, members 1808–1915, deaths 1887–1915, dismissals 1914–18, consistory minutes and other admin. records 1808–1919. “Church records, v 1-5” includes copy of Vosburgh.
Market Street
Organized 1819, dissolved 1869. Located corner Market & Henry Sts.
In 1869 became Presbyterian Church of the Sea and the Land. Original records at RCA Archives, in Ancestry 1: baptisms 1864–65, marriages 1864–66, members 1819–66, consistory minutes and other admin. records 1819–1869.
Per WPA, New-York Historical Society has pew books 1840–60, interments 1835–57, minutes 1819–43.
Houston Street
Organized 1823, dissolved 1859.
Located corner Houston & Greene Sts. 1823–52, Seventh Avenue near West 12th St. 1852–59. Also called Greene Street Church and renamed Seventh Avenue Church 1852.
Original records at New-York Historical Society (baptisms, marriages, members, some deaths, all 1823–59), transcribed 1987–88 by NYG&B Librarian Joan Bogert Ripperger Frye, NYG&B manuscript vol. NY-58, not found at NYPL July 2017; indexed by Thelma E. Smith, “Index of the records of the Reformed Dutch Church at the corner of Green [sic] and Houston Streets, New York City,” 1989, NYPL Milstein Division (NYGB AZ Loc 09-536).
Merged 1859 with West Church to form Union Church, below.
Manhattan
Organized 1829, dissolved 1873.
Located Third St. near Ave. B 1829–43, 71 Ave. B 1843–73. Original records at RCA Archives, in Ancestry 1 (under both City=Manhattan and New York City): baptisms 1833–78 [including seven from minister’s personal record 1875–78], marriages 1834–73, members 1829–72, deaths 1837–70, consistory minutes and other admin. records 1829–73.
Started by Philadelphia Classis of German Reformed Church but in same year changed affiliation to RCA. See Avenue B Church, below.
21st Street
Organized 1836, dissolved 1877. Located 47 East 21st St. 1836–67, 40th St. near 6th Ave. 1869–72, other addresses 1872–77.
Renamed St. Paul’s 1869 but called 40th St. Church until 1872. Original records at RCA Archives, in Ancestry 1 (as St. Paul’s): baptisms 1839–73, marriages 1840–72, members 1836–73, consistory minutes and other admin. records 1836–77. Not same as St. Paul’s Evangelical Reformed, an RCUS church, see below.
Washington Square
Organized 1837, dissolved 1877.
Located Washington Sq. East (University Place) corner of Washington Place.
After the South Church (see above) burned in the great 1835 fire, a dispute among the members led some to found this church, also called the New South Reformed Dutch Church in Washington Square.
Original records at RCA Archives, in Ancestry 1 (Washington Square under City=Manhattan and New South Dutch under City=New York City, apparently two copies of the same records): baptisms 1837–78, marriages 1828–80 (sic), members 1837-75, elders’ minutes 1837–75. WPA notes marriages 1828–35, prior to this church’s founding, are private records of Rev. Hutton from German Valley and Fox Hill, New Jersey.
German Evangelical Mission Church
Organized 1838, united 1911 with Zion Presbyterian Church to form Zion German Evangelical Church (see Bronx, below).
Located Houston St. cor. Forsyth 1838–69, Second St. near First Ave. 1869–93, Houston near Forsyth 1893–1911. Original records at RCA Archives, in Ancestry 1 (as German Evangelical Mission under City=New York City (also City=New York, “Marriages [Partly German],” church not named): baptisms and marriages 1835–1944 (including Zion), members 1835–50, deaths 1850–73, consistory minutes and other admin. records 1839–1910.
Mount Pleasant Protestant Reformed Dutch Church
Organized 1846, dissolved 1867.
Located 158 E 50th St.
Original records at RCA Archives, in Ancestry 1: baptisms, marriages, members, 1846–67, consistory minutes 1846–66, building subscription book 1859.
Central Reformed Protestant Church
Organized 1856, dissolved 1861.
Located 144 East 9th St. Per WPA, Central existed as part of the Ninth Street Church 1831–36, as one of the Collegiate churches 1836–55, and in 1856 occupied the building erected in 1837 by Ninth Street (no Ninth Street Church records survive).
Original records at RCA Archives, in Ancestry 1: members 1856–59, consistory minutes 1855–60.
Fourth German Reformed Protestant Dutch Church
Organized 1854, dissolved 1919.
Located 252 W. 40th St. 1854–59, 248 W. 35th 1859–61, 143 W. 31st 1861–62, 410 W. 45th 1862–1919.
Original records at RCA Archives, in Ancestry 1: baptisms, marriages 1858–1924 (sic). Haberstroh p. 64 calls it Fourth German Mission with some different addresses.
Union Reformed Protestant Dutch Church alias Union Church at Sixth Avenue
Organized 1859, dissolved 1900.
Located 25 Sixth Ave.
Formed by union of Seventh Avenue Church (previously Houston St., above) and West Church (no records). Original records at RCA Archives, in Ancestry 1: baptisms 1859–90, members 1859–93, consistory minutes and other admin. records 1850 (sic)–1894.
Prospect Hill Reformed Dutch Church
Organized 1860, dissolved 1910.
Located Third Ave. near 87th 1860–69, 230 East 85th 1869–86, Park Ave. & 87th 1886–1903, 1153 Park 1903–06, 1451 Lexington 1906–10.
Original records at RCA Archives, in Ancestry 1 (under City=New York City and City=Manhattan): baptisms, marriages, members (in one vol.) 1860–98, history 1908. Merged with South Church (see above) 1910.
Manor
Organized 1854, dissolved 1956.
Various locations 1854–73, 350 West 26th St. 1873–1956. Originally Manor Mission and then Manor Chapel of South Church, became independent church in 1923.
Original records at RCA Archives, in Ancestry 1: baptisms 1875–1940, marriages 1882–1949, members 1864–1949, deaths 1811 (sic)–1955, dismissals 1886–1936, consistory minutes and other admin. records 1932–56, misc. papers 1863–1956. According to WPA, records up to 1883 were copied from the South Church registers.
Holland Reformed Church
Organized 1866, dissolved 1897.
At various addresses 1866–72, 279 W. 11th St. 1872–97.
Original records at RCA Archives, in Ancestry 1: baptisms, marriages, members 1866–98, consistory minutes 1866–99. A church probably attended by recent immigrants or temporary residents from the Netherlands, as records are in the Dutch language.
Avenue B
Organized 1874, merged 1919 with German Evangelical Church of St. Peter’s, Williamsburg (Brooklyn), to form Trinity Reformed Church, Ridgewood, Queens.
Located Fifth St. & Ave. B. Successor to Manhattan Reformed Church, dissolved 1873 (see above).
For records of Trinity see Religious Records of Queens and Nassau Counties.
Hamilton Grange
Organized 1887, merged 1937 with Fort Washington Collegiate.
Located West 145th St. & Convent Ave. 1887–1906, 149th & Convent 1906–37.
Original records at RCA Archives, in Ancestry 1: baptisms, marriages, deaths 1888–1937, members 1888–1912, 1924–38, consistory minutes 1934–37, other admin. records 1907–38. Also in Ancestry 1 under City=New York, “List of Members 1907–1938,” church not named.
In Ancestry 1, City=New York, “Papers,” are 176 images of miscellaneous papers concerning various RCA churches, and two Birth Certificates, for Fritz Hellstrom, Sweden 1863, and Euphemia Christie, Scotland 1879. WPA and city directories list some additional non-collegiate RCA churches for which there are no published or filmed records, and it is not clear whether the original records, if any, survive.
Bronx RCA Churches
What is now The Bronx was formerly part of Westchester County and was largely rural until the mid-19th century when New York City’s population began expanding northward from Manhattan Island.
In 1874 the towns west of the Bronx River and south of the city of Yonkers were annexed to the City, and in 1895 the corresponding area east of the river also became part of the City. These areas were known as the Annexed District until 1898 when they became the Borough of the Bronx.
Following are five Bronx RCA churches for which records are available:
Fordham Reformed Protestant Dutch Church (now Fordham Manor Reformed Church)
Organized 1696 by the Collegiate Churches which owned Fordham Manor; lapsed 1776, reorganized as independent church 1802, still exists.
See WPA (pp. 35–36) for description of early buildings. The church at 71 West Kingsbridge Road was dedicated 1849; address today is 2705 Reservoir Ave., just north of West Kingsbridge Road.
Records of the Reformed Church of Fordham in the Borough of Bronx, City of New York, N.Y., formerly The Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Fordham, in the town of West Farms, Westchester County, N.Y., transcribed by The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, edited by Royden Woodward Vosburgh, 1921, eLibrary New York State Religious Records collection also NYPL Milstein Division (NYGB AZ+ Loc 09-3), contains baptisms and births 1793–1835, marriages 1836–88, members received 1836–1921, members dismissed 1850–51, consistory minutes 1819–69.
West Farms First Reformed Protestant Dutch Church
Organized 1839, dissolved 1948.
Located Boston Road & (future) East 179th St. 1840–1906, Fairmont Place & Prospect Ave. 1906–48.
Original records at RCA Archives, in Ancestry 1 (City=New York City): baptisms 1838–55, marriages 1845–53, members 1845–54, consistory minutes 1838–1916, other papers 1905–52.
Union Reformed Church of Highbridge
Organized 1860 as Union Sunday School of Highbridgeville, became a church 1874, dissolved 1900.
Located 1272 Ogden Ave. at 169th St.
Original records at RCA Archives, in Ancestry 1 (under City=New York City): baptisms 1859–90, members 1859–93, consistory and elder minutes 1880–94, some records to 1899.
Anderson Memorial Reformed Church of Belmont
Organized 1893,dissolved 1929.
Located 675 East 183rd St. Organized by Fordham church and named for pastor William Anderson; when dissolved most members united with West Farms.
Original records at RCA Archives, in Ancestry 1 (under City=New York City and City=Bronx): baptisms 1893–1928, marriages 1913–28, members 1893–1928, deaths 1898–1927, consistory minutes and other admin. records 1891–1929.
Zion German Evangelical Reformed
Formed 1911 by merger of German Evangelical Mission (organized Manhattan 1838, see above) and Zion German Presbyterian (organized Manhattan 1886), in 1944 merged into Church of the Master (RCA).
Located Stebbins Ave. near Chisholm; Church of the Master is at 2785 Lafayette Ave.
Original records at RCA Archives, in Ancestry 1 (as German Evangelical Mission under City=New York City, Zion German Presbyterian under City=New York City and City=Bronx): baptisms and marriages 1911–44, members 1911–25, minutes and other admin. 1911–34, plus earlier Presbyterian records.
Ancestry 1 and 2 under Bronx also list the Ocean Hill Church, which was actually in Brooklyn.
Manhattan and Bronx German Reformed (RCUS) Churches
As noted above, in addition to the German Reformed churches affiliated with the RCA there were others founded bv 19th century German immigrants which affiliated with the RCUS.
This was true in both Manhattan and the Bronx. These churches are identified by Haberstroh, with location of their records where known.
One church’s records are held by NYG&B:
St. Paul’s Evangelical Reformed Church
Organized about 1852, dissolved June 1948.
Located Suffolk St. near Delancey, Manhattan, 1852–1900; East 141st St., Mott Haven, Bronx, 1900–48. Originally called the German Evangelical Reformed Church, incorporated 1889 as St. Paul’s Evangelical Reformed Church in the City of New York.
Records in 15 bound registers were donated to The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society in 1999 by St. Paul’s Evangelical Church of Christ, 2134 Newbold St., Bronx, and are currently stored at NYG&B, but “are not accessible to the public due to their deteriorated physical condition.” (The donor, St. Paul’s Evangelical, was a church of the Evangelical Synod of North America which merged with the RCUS to form the Evangelical and Reformed Church and as explained above is now part of the United Church of Christ denomination. If St. Paul’s Evangelical Reformed had not dissolved it too would be a UCC church today.)
The 15 registers include baptisms and births 1852–1948, confirmations 1853–1920, marriages 1852–1948, deaths 1889–1923, and consistory and congregational minutes and financial accounts. Some records are in German and some in English. For further details of the contents see the St. Paul’s Evangelical Reformed Church Records Finding Aid. An index to marriages 1852–65 by Joan Koster-Morales is on the German Genealogy Group website. Access to the original records is by appointment only.
The True Reformed Church
A schism in the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church (now RCA) led to the formation of the True Reformed Church denomination in 1822.
In 1890 the True churches merged into the Christian Reformed Church, a denomination formed in 1857 by 19th Century Dutch immigrants to the Midwest who were dissatisfied with the RCA.
There was one True Reformed Church in New York City, organized 1823, still extant 1883, date dissolved not found, located in Greenwich Village on Bank, King, Perry, and possibly other streets.
One register containing records 1823–ca.1862 is now in the Archives of Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan, where it was filmed for the Family History Library.
It may be viewed on Ancestry.com in the collection “U.S., Dutch Christian Reformed Church Vital Records, 1856-1970,” under State=New York, City=New York City, Church=Bank Street. The records include minutes, members received and dismissed, baptisms, and marriages (date ranges for each category vary).
The French (Huguenot) Church of New York City, which like the Dutch and German Reformed churches was of Calvinist origin, is covered in the Research Aid “Records of Other Protestant Denominations of New York City.”