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RELIGION 



IN 



NEW NETHERLAND 



A HISTORY 

OF 

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS 
IN THE PROVINCE OF NEW NETHERLAND 

1623-1664 



A Dissertation presented to the University of Louvain to obtain 
THE Degree of Docteur es Sciences Morales et Historiques 



FREDERICK J. ZWIERLEIN, L. D. 

professor of church history at ST. BERNARD'S SEMINARY 
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK 



1910 

JOHN P, SMITH PRINTING COMPANY 

ROCHESTER, N. Y. 

>4 



K.'e.^lST^ 



TO THE MEMORY 

OF 

THE RIGHT REVEREND B. J. McQUAID, D. D. 

First Bishop of Rochester, N. Y. 

AND 
THE REVEREND L. E. LAPHAM, A. B. 

Former Professor of English 
AT St. Bernard's Seminary 

IN 
GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE 

OF THEIR PATERNAL INTEREST IN 
THE PREPARATION OF THIS BOOK 



OPUS QUOD INSCRIBITUR : lijligkn in New 
Netherland, a history of the development of the 
religious conditions in the Province of New 
Netherland (1623-1664) BY F. J. ZWIERLEIN, 

EX AUCTORITATE EMINENTISSIMI ET REVEREN- 

DISSIMI CARDINALIS ARCHIEPISCOPI MECHLI- 

NIENSIS ET LEGUM ACADEMICARUM PR^- 

SCRIPTO RECOGNITUM, QUUM FIDEI AUT BONIS 

MORIBUS CONTRARIUM NIHIL CONTINERE VISUM 

FUERIT, IMPRIMI POTEST. 

P. LADEUZE, 

RECT. UNIV. 

Datum Lo'vanii, die IQ Aprilis, A. D. igio 



Nihil Obstat 

J. F. GOGGIN, 

CENSOR LIBRORUM 

Imprimatur 

t THOMAS, 

EPISCOPUS ROFFENSIS 

7)atum 'Rfiffa, die XI Maii, MCMX 



PREFACE 



Professor Cauchie of the University of Loiijvain, 
Belgittm, first directed the author to limit his present 
work of historical research to the field of American 
Church History. Some results of this study are pre- 
sented in this book to the University of Louvain as a 
dissertation to obtain the degree of Docteur ^s Sciences 
Morales et Historiques. 

The choice of subject was due to the fact, that the 
author's own State offered the best opportunity for the 
beginning of such a study, and also to the consideration, 
that the Belgians as well as the Hollanders of today 
stiU feel a great interest in the history of the former 
province of New Netherland. 

It has been the author's constant aim to learn in 
the famous phrase of Ranke, "wie es eigentlich gewe- 
senist, " by as close and extensive a study of document- 
ary sources, as the time and the means at his disposal 
permitted. While there is room for improvement, 
there is tardly a statement in this book, which is not 
amply supported by the best of evidence. 

The lack of such a systematic study of the religious 
development of the province of New Netherland with 
a mistaken conception of the nature of religious liberty 



VI PREFACE 

in the Dutch Republic of the seventeenth century, has 
been the source of much error in many pubHcations 
dealing with the beginnings of the State of New York. 
References to such histories,' even when at variance 
with the main conclusions of this book, have been 
avoided as much as possible, as the author preferred to 
present the results of his work in a positive and not in a 
polemic light. 

Special thanks are due to the officials in the Hall of 
Records of Kings County, and in the Hall of Records 
of New York, to the library staffs of Cornell University, 
of the Long Island Historical Society, to Mr. D. Ver- 
steeg of the Holland Society Library, and to many 
friends, who were always ready to give advice and 
assistance. In conclusion the author wishes to express 
his deep sense of indebtedness to Mr. Leo Kelly, who 
kindly corrected the proofsheets of this book. 



St. Bernard's Seminary, 

Rochester, N. Y,, 

Easter, IQIO 



CONTENTS 



Introduction. 

I. The Dutch Background of the Re- i 
LiGious History of the Province * 
of New Netherland 9 

" II. General Relations of Church and 

State in the Colony 36 

III. The Dutch Reformed Church 61 

IV. Religion in New Sweden Before and 

After the Dutch Conquest 106 

V, The Religious Factors in the English 

Immigration 136 

VI. The Persecution of the Lutherans 187 

VII. The Persecution of the Quakers 213 

VIII. The Persecution of the Jews 247 

IX. Indian Missions in New Netherland 266 

Appendix 

A. New Netherland Chronicle 319 

B. A Select Bibliography 331 

vii 



INTRODUCTION 

Three periods can be distinguished in the religious 
history of the Province of New Netherland. The first 
period embraces the years from the discovery of the 
country by Henry Hudson to the beginning of organized 
colonization under the authority of the West India 
Company. During this time (1609-1624) , a few trading 
posts, but no religious institutions of any kind, were 
established by the Dutch. The second period begins 
with the practical establishment of the Dutch Reformed 
Church a few years after the arrival of the first colony 
and ends with the rise of organized dissent within the 
province in 1654. This marks the beginning of the 
third period, which is characterized by the promulga- 
tion and execution of oppressive colonial religious 
legislation down to the English conquest in 1664. 
These penal laws were a development of the clause in 
the charter of 1640 which allowed the public exercise of 
no other religion within the Province of New Nether- 
land than the Reformed, and this provision of the char- 
ter was only an explicit expression of the spirit of intol- 
erance which existed latent in the Dutch province from 
its very foundation. For ' ' concerning the Quakers, Luth- 
erans and other sectaries, their Honors (the Directors 
of the West India Company's Amsterdam Chamber) 
asserted that, from the beginning, they had established 

(1) 



2 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

the rule, that only the Reformed Religion should be 
exercised within your province. ' ' 

The policy of religious repression pursued in the 
Province of New Netherland on the outbreak of organ- 
ized dissent was not merely local in character. The 
colonial clergy, the natural custodians of the colony's 
orthodoxy, merited for their zeal in this regard the 
commendation of their ecclesiastical superiors in Hol- 
land, the Classis of Amsterdam, which insisted quite as 
vigorously with the Directors of the West India Com- 
pany in the Amsterdam Chamber on the repression of 
dissent in the colony, as the colonial clergy did with the 
civil authorities in the Province of New Netherland. 
The Director General did not fail to adopt all measures 
he judged necessary to fulfill the oath which bound him 
to maintain the exclusive worship of the Reformed Re- 
ligion, and the Directors in Holland did not at any time 
repudiate the policy of excluding all other worship, but 
they tried to persuade Stuyvesant to admit some con- 
nivance in regard to dissent, if this were possible, as they 
feared injury to the material interests of the Company, 
unless the policy of religious repression was tempered 
by some moderation. To insure this, all repressive 
ordinances were finally ordered to be submitted to the 
Directors before their promulgation in the province, 
but as late as the summer of 1663 one of the Directors 
plainly told the Quaker, John Bowne, that the religious 
liberty he demanded in New Netherland was not 
granted there. 

Religious conditions, however, were not uniform 
throughout the entire province, but were differentiated 
largely by the character of the local immigration. The 



INTRODUCTION 3 

Hudson River country, whether under the direct con- 
trol of the Director General or of the patroon of Rensse- 
laerswyck, was mostly settled by colonists of Dutch 
origin and of the Reformed persuasion. Here there 
was little chance for the organization of dissent and the 
attempts to organize a Netherland Lutheran Church 
were easily frustrated during the time of the Dutch rule. 
Greater difficulty was experienced on the mainlandi to 
the east and on the western end of Long Island, where 
the English from New England settled in large numbers 
under Dutch jurisdiction. This English immigration 
comprised two classes of colonists: Reformed, includ- 
ing Presbjiierians and Congregationalists, and dissenters 
from the Reformed Reliigion. The Presbyterians were 
recognized as orthodox in "everything," and the Con- 
gregationalists as orthodox "in fundamentals." Both, 
therefore, received the full religious liberty extended to 
the Reformed believers in the province. The dissenters, 
however, were unorthodox in doctrine as well as polity, 
and did not enjoy this religious liberty, but liberty of 
conscience in the Holland sense of the word, which 
respected the personal belief of the individual, and its 
expression in the narrow circle of the family, but penal- 
ized the organization of dissenting worship in private 
and public conventicles. The magistrates of Gravesend 
appealed to their charter, which guaranteed them this 
liberty of conscience with "no molestation from any 
magistrate or Minister that may extend jurisdiction over 
them," against the marriage regulations of Stuyvesant; 
Captain Underhill represented the force used by the 
same Director General in saddling the ministration of 
Doughty upon the town of Flushing as a violation of its 



4 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

charter, and finally the inhabitants of the same town at 
the instigation of Tobias Feake appealed to the charter 
in their protest against Stuyvesant's prohibition to give 
entertainment to the Quakers, but not at any time nor 
in any place did a body of English colonists' appeal to 
their charter to justify the organization of "unortho- 
dox" worship in public or in private conventicles. 
The religious conditions obtaining in the South, or 
Delaware, River country were closely dependent on the 
political changes effected in the course of its history. 
Occupied by a Dutch trading post and a few straggling 
settlers, it could not resist the intrusion of the Lutheran 
Swedes and the founding of New Sweden with the 
establishment of the Lutheran State Church. The 
admission of Dutch colonists from Utrecht with the 
privilege of exercising the Reformed worship attests for 
this region a greater degree of religious liberty than 
existed in any part of the Province of New Netherland. 
The conquest of New Sweden by the Dutch did not 
terminate Lutheran worship on the South River, as the 
outbreak of Indian hostilities necessitated the tolera- 
tion of the Swedish worship with the ministration of 
one of their ministers. The expenses of this invasion 
put the Amsterdam Chamber of the West India Com- 
pany deeply in debt to the City of Amsterdam, which 
now in compensation for its loan acquired a tract of 
land on the South River, where the exclusive exercise of 
the Reformed worship was maintained, until the official 
orthodoxy had to give way to obtain colonists to 

> John Bowne appealed to the Flushing charter in his arguments 
with the Directors at Amsterdam, but they refused to admit the 
appeal, as the charter was granted before the arrival of Quakers in 
the colony. 



INTRODUCTION 5 

strengthen the territory against the encroachments of 
the English settlers from Maryland. In 1662 the Men- 
nonites received permission to settle in the territory 
under the jurisdiction of the City of Amsterdam, and in 
the same year Hinyossa, the vice-director, offered to six- 
teen or eighteen families, most of whom were Finns, 
residing in the jurisdiction of the Company, the free 
exercise of their religion with other inducements' to 
attract them to the City's colony. 

There was, therefore, in all New Netherland, except 
the South River territory, an absolute prohibition of 
non-conforming religions outside of the family. No 
individual but the Quaker, who was outlawed, was 
molested for his personal belief, but no one was allowed 
on the plea of conscience to refuse the rate established 
by public authority for the support of a Reformed 
church. The attempt made in the colony to exclude 
the Jew failed, but various civic rights were only given 
to the Jew after a great deal of agitation and on the 
express command of the Directors in Amsterdam. 
The motives advanced for this attempted exclusion of 
the Jew and then of the restriction of his civic rights 
were not only economic but also religious in character. 

If we except the Quaker, no religious qualification 
was required by the Dutch for citizenship in the 
Province of New Netherland, but there was a manifest 
tendency to restrict office-holding to members of the 
Reformed Church, which was much accentuated on the 
outbreak of organized dissent in the colony. The 
Director General Stuyvesant was under oath to main- 
tain exclusively the Reformed worship. There is no 
evidence to show how his predecessors were bound in 



6 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

this respect, but there is ample proof that the oath was 
administered to subordinates in the colonial government 
and to the officials of the patroon Kilian van Rensselaer. 
Officials of Rensselaerswyck swore to promote "the true 
and pure service of God in conformity with the Christian 
Reformed Religion." The "Nine Select Men", appointed 
by Stuyvesant in 1647 to represent the people, were also 
"to promote the honor of God and the welfare of our 
dear Fatherland to the best advantage of the Company 
and the prosperity of our good citizens, and to the 
preservation of the pure Reformed Religion." On the 
creation of a municipal court at New Amsterdam in 
1653, the Burgomasters and Schepens were bound 
"under oath to help maintain the true Reformed Re- 
ligion and to suffer no other." The vice-directors, 
appointed on the conquest of New Sweden for that 
region, were sworn "to promote the Reformed Re- 
ligion," but Lutheran Swedes were also retained for 
inferior offices. Then on the erection of a small court 
of justice at Wiltwyck in 1661, the commissaries had 
also to swear that they would "maintain and exercise 
the Reformed Church service and no other." The 
judges were, therefore, to be "professors of the Re- 
formed Religion." Even the court-clerk had to prom- 
ise to promote "the glory of God and the pure service 
of His Word." There could hardly be any question of 
a religious qualification of this kind for office-holding in 
the towns settled almost entirely by English dissenters, 
but even here the Director General and Council did not 
fail to insist on a religious qualification when an op- 
portunity to do so was presented. "The English do 
not only enjoy the right of nominating their own magis- 



INTRODUCTION 7 

trates, but some of them also usurp the election and 
appointment of such magistrates, as they please, with- 
out regard to their religion. Some, especially the peo- 
ple of Gravesend, elect libertines and Anabaptists, 
which is decidedly against the laws of the Nether- 
lands." In Jamaica, after the ravages of the Quakers, 
Stu3rvesant purified the magistracy of the town by the 
appointment of Everett, Denton and Messenger, jvho 
could be trusted "to promote the Protestant cause," 
by repressing the exercise of any but the Reformed 
Religion in private as well as in public conventicles. 
Where the Reformed Church and the civil authority 
were so closely united as in Hempstead, appointment of 
any but church members to oflEice was practically im- 
possible. This was also true of the projected settle- 
ment of New Haven colonists on Achter Kol, where the 
magistrates were to be bound to "maintain the true 
and Protestant religion, soo as the same accordinge to the 
word of God is declared and in this province professed." 
Here the right of suffrage was to be restricted to church 
members. 

This brief review of the religious factors in the de- 
velopment of New Netherland establishes the existence 
of a consistent religious policy, which was fostered, as 
far as possible, in the colony by the provincial govern- 
ment and clergy, and in the fatherland by the Directors 
of the West India Chamber and by the Classis of 
the Reformed Dutch Church at Amsterdam. The fol- 
lowing chapters illustrate this conclusion in detail. 



CHAPTER I 

The Dutch Background of the Religious History 

OF New Netherland ' 

A correct view of the religious conditions of the 
mother country is essential to an understanding of the 
religious development of its colonies. This is espe- 
cially true, when the colonial church is identical with 
the church of the mother country, as was the case in the 
Province of New Netherland, where the Dutch Re- 
formed Church was established a few years after the 
foundation of the colony. 

* This introductory chapter differs greatly from the conventional 
sketches given in the books current in America, which seem to 
take Uttle account of the results of serious historical study in the 
field of Dutch religious history The well documented studies of 
A. C. De Schrevel, JRemi Drieux, ^vSque de Bruges et les troubles des 
Pays-Bas in the Revue d'Histoire EccMsiastique, ii 828-839; iii. 
36-65, 349-369, 644-688; iv. 645-678; of Eugdne Hubert, Les Pays- 
Bas Espagnols et La Rfepublique des Provinces Unis Depuis La Paix 
de Munster Jusqu'au TraictI D'Utrecht, 1648-1713, La Question 
Religeuse et Les Relations Diplomatiques (1907); of Knuttel, 
W. P. C. De toestand der Nederl. Katholieken ten tijde der Repub- 
liek, 2 vols. (18^2-4), are invaluable for an understanding of the 
Dutch religious mstory of this period. It has not been thought nec- 
essary to reprint excerpts from the documentary evidence, which 
are the authorities for this general introductory study, as these are 
easy of access to the reader in the works cited. The articles on the 
Netherland history of this period in the Cambridge Modem History 
and, above all, Blok's History of the People of the Netherlands, 4 
vols. (1907). are helpful guides. A good bibliography of the subject 
is given in all these works. 

(9) 



lO RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

The religious history of the Dutch Republic in this 
period is closely interwoven with the history of its 
struggle against the Spanish power. Dissatisfaction with 
the Spanish administration in the Netherlands had be- 
come so general towards the end of the sixteenth cen- 
tury, that all provinces united to obtain from their hered- 
itary sovereign the withdrawal of the Spanish soldiery 
and the recognition of their ancient charters and liber- 
ties. This national movement developed in spite of 
internal religious differences. In fact, a provisional 
settlement of the religious issue was effected in 1576 by 
the treaty of union known as the Pacification of Ghent. 
The fifteen Catholic provinces came to an agreement 
with the two Calvinist provinces and deferred the 
definitive regulation of the religious question in those 
places, where Calvinism had been established to the 
exclusion of the Catholic worship, until the convoca- 
tion of the States General after the successful expulsion 
of the Spanish soldiers and their adherents. These 
regions comprised the two provinces of Holland and 
Zealand with Bommel and allied territories. Mean- 
while,access to the Catholic and Calvinist provinces was 
to be free to the subjects and inhabitants of either side, 
provided nothing prejudicial to Catholic faith and wor- 
ship was attempted outside of Holland and Zealand and 
their allied territories. Every infraction of this pro- 
vision either by deed or word was punishable as a dis- 
turbance of the public peace. However, conditions 
were made quite tolerable for the Calvinists in the 
Catholic provinces, as all placards formerly published 
against heresy and all criminal ordinances of the Duke 
of Alva were suspended, except in a breach of the public 



THE DUTCH BACKGROUND II 

peace as indicated, until further orders from the States 
General. Thus the exclusive exercise of the Catholic 
worship was maintained in the fifteen Catholic prov- 
inces, while the Reformed Establishment was provision- 
ally tolerated only in the two Calvinist provinces. 
The provisional character of this settlement created 
some uneasiness in Calvinist circles, especially among 
the ministers of Leyden,but William of Orange reassured 
them by the statement that a long time would elapse 
before the convocation of the States General, upon 
whom the regulation of religion in these provinces 
would devolve. On the other hand, the Catholic party 
apologized for the toleration of the conditions obtaining 
in Holland and Zealand on the ground that the final 
settlement of religion in those rebellious provinces 
would result in the restoration of the Catholic Church 
by the future States General with its overwhelming 
majority of fifteen Catholic provinces. 

The Prince of Orange now plotted to complicate the' 
negotiations between the States General and the newly 
arrived Governor General, Don John of Austria. He 
worked for a more aggressive declaration of the coun- 
try's determination to obtain redress for its griev- 
ances. Although his efforts were successful in this re- 
gard, through the formulation of the Union of Brussels, 
the Catholic party succeeded, in spite of his influence, 
in incorporating in the document of union a pledge to 
maintain the Catholic Religion. Nevertheless, the Cal- 
vinist provinces also signed, but with the reservation 
that the articles of the Pacification of Ghent should not 
in any way suffer derogation in virtue of this act. This 
was done in the expectation that Don John would 



12 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

t 

refuse to yield to the demands of the States, and in the 
hope that the delay would bring about an infection of 
the Catholic provinces with Protestantism, which would 
furnish a pretext for the demand of the general tolera- 
tion of Calvinism in all the Netherlands. The Calvin- 
ists were destined to be disappointed. When Don John 
■v{ras fully persuaded that the Pacification of Ghent con- 
tained nothing contrary to the Catholic Religion and the 
authority of the King, he came to an agreement 
with the States General, which was confirmed in the 
Perpetual Edict of February 17, 1577. While the 
eleventh article recorded the pledge given by the States 
General at Luxemburg to maintain in everything and 
everywhere the Catholic Religion, the sixteenth article 
was careful to note that all the provisions of the Edict 
were subject to the articles of the Pacifica,tion of Ghent, 
which remained in full force. Before the ratification of 
this treaty, the States General had sent an embassy to 
the Prince of Orange to inform him of its contents and 
to explain that the pledge of the States General to 
maintain the Catholic Religion in everything and every- 
where had been taken at Luxemburg before the 
States of Holland and Zealand had joined the assembly 
of the States General at Brussels and consequently was 
binding only on the fifteen Catholic provinces.^ The 
Prince and the States of Holland and Zealand made 
some complaints, but offered to sign the treaty, if the 
States General promised first to have recourse to arms 

* This shows how erroneous is Blok's deduction: "The Catholic 
Religion was to be maintained everywhere (thus also in Holland 
and Zealand). This last stipulation was flagrantly at odds with 
the Pacification, etc." Blok. A History of the People of the 
Netherlands, iii. p. 114. 



THE DUTCH BACKGROUND I 3 

in case the Spaniards, were not withdrawn, and then not 
to recognize any Governor General until the grievances 
of the country were redressed. Don John showed his 
good faith by hastening the departure of the Spanish 
' soldiery through a loan of 27,000 florins to the States 
General. The withdrawal of the Spaniards again 
proved false the suspicions of the Calvinist party. Moril- 
lon wrote towards the end of April that the ConsiSto- 
rians of Holland and Zealand would never have ex- 
pressed their readiness to submit to the decision of the 
States in regard to religion, if they could have conceived 
possible the departure of the foreign soldiery. Then he 
accused these Calvinists of trying to make their people, 
who were enraged at their submission to the fifteen 
Catholic provinces, believe that the Spaniards would 
soon return. 

Meanwhile, Don John of Austria had come to the 
realization that the only obstacle to a complete pacifi- 
cation of the Netherlands at this time was the Prince of 
Orange with his adherents. The Governor did not 
hesitate to negotiate alone and in union with the States 
General, but all advances were met with new demands 
by the Prince, whose whole policy was now directed to 
undermine the authority of Don John and to create a 
rupture of the friendly relations of the States General 
with him. This open hostility of William of Orange 
convinced Don John of Austria that his life, or at least 
his liberty, was in danger and led him to seize the 
citadel of Namur to safeguard both. This fatal step 
wrought the triumph of William's policy. An Orange 
party began to dominate Brussels ; the States General 
had to yield to pressure, and William was requested 



14 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

to come to the city to give advice in the crisis. He 
soon dominated the negotiations and frustrated the 
attempts at a reconciliation with Don John. The 
arrival of the Archduke Matthias complicated the 
situation. He had been invited by some of the nobles, 
under the leadership of the Duke of Arschot, to replace 
Don John and to prevent the elevation of the Prince 
of Orange to this position, but the Archduke soon 
fell under the influence of William of Orange, who was 
created his lieutenant general at the request of 
Queen Elizabeth of England. The Prince's power 
had already been increased by his nomination as 
Governor of Brabant, which had been obtained 
from the States of that province by the exertion of 
violent popular pressure under the influence of his 
partisans. About the same time, the Duke of Arschot 
had been elected Governor of Flanders, but in the 
course of the session of the States of Flanders at Ghent 
the Prince and his adherents fomented a revolt, which 
resulted in the imprisonment of the Duke and some 
other Catholic leaders. A reign of terror under Calvin- 
ist tyranny ensued in Ghent, during which churches and 
monasteries were pillaged, monks and friars burnt alive, 
and the Blood Councillor Hessels and the ex-Procurator 
Visch hanged without any previous trial.' Similar 
flagrant violations of the Pacification of Ghent also 
took place elsewhere. Bruges, Antwerp and Brussels 
were made the scenes of incredible excesses by fanatic 
Calvinists. Retaliation on the part of Catholics ensued, 

* The Rev, George Edmundson, M, A., writes: "William dis- 
claimed any share in this act of violence, but it is difficult 
altogether to exculpate him," The Cambridge Modem History, 
vol. iii. chap, vi. The Revolt of the Netherlands, p. 248. 



THE DUTCH BACKGROUND 1$ 

and in Artois and Hainaut the Protestant minority was 
subject to persecution. The Prince of Orange now 
thought the country ripe for a departure from the Paci- 
fication of Ghent. The way had akeady been prepared 
on December lo, 1577, by a second Union of Brussels, 
which tried to impose on Catholics and Protestants an 
oath not to molest each other in the exercise of their 
religion. This was a violation of the Pacification 'of 
Ghent, as it extended the exercise of Calvinist worship 
to the fifteen Catholic provinces. Finally, in the month 
of June, 1578, William of Orange submitted to the 
States General a project entitled the Peace of Religion, 
which proclaimed full liberty of conscience and the 
tranquil possession of property, ecclesiastical as well as 
secular, until the assembly of a National Council. 
The Catholic Religion was to be restored again in Hol- 
land and Zealand and other places, where its public 
exercise had been interdicted. Wherever a hundred 
fathers of families. Catholic or Protestant, should make 
the denaand, the free exercise of their worship was to be 
conceded. In other places where the public exercise of 
one or the other worship could not be granted on ac- 
count of the small ntimber of its adherents, a private 
oratory was to be allowed within the home. Both 
Catholics and Calvinists were to be careful to avoid 
anythihg that might give offense to either party. 
Finally, all public offices, universities, colleges, schools, 
hospitals, hospices and public charities were declared 
open to aU. The project was referred by the States 
General to the provincial States, where the scheme met 
with decided opposition. Some cities accepted it under 
pressure from the Prince of Orange, but they made no 



1 6 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

attempt to execute its provisions; Meanwhile, the con- 
tinuation of Calvinistic excesses made the Catholic 
party realize the necessity of united action. The 
Union of Arras was formed on January 6, 1579, to main- 
tain, the Pacification of Ghent, the Catholic faith, the 
obedience to the king and the privileges of the nation. 
Although the Union of Arras professed to be based on 
the Pacification of Ghent, the clause suspending the 
placards against heresy was suppressed. The forma- 
tion of this Catholic league hastened the establishment 
of a Protestant league, already in process of formation, 
towards the end of the same month, the Union of 
Utrecht, also for the avowed purpose of strengthening 
the previous general union of the Pacification of Ghent. 
Nevertheless, according to this agreement, Holland and 
Zealand were free to act as they pleased in regard to 
religion, while the other provinces united in this league 
were to regulate themselves in accordance with the pro- 
visions of the Peace of ReUgion. While there was no 
straight line of cleavage produced between the North 
and South by the formation of these hostile leagues, the 
beginning was made that developed into the formation 
of two separate commonwealths. The southern cities 
of Ghent, Antwerp, Bruges, Ypres, Lierre and the Franc 
du Bruges gave their hearty support to the Union of 
Utrecht, but finally had to yield to the authority of the 
Duke of Parma, whom the Catholic Malcontents had 
recognized by the treaty of May 19. The conquests of 
Parma always entailed the restoration of the Catholic 
faith and of the placards against heresy, but capital 
punishment was no longer inflicted for heresy after 
1 597. Dissenters had the choice between reconciliation 



THE DUTCH BACKGROUND 1 7 

with the Catholic Church and exile, and those who pre- 
ferred the latter were given time to liquidate their 
estates. 

William of Orange now aimed at the consolidation 
of the northern union under a foreign sovereign. 
Finally, after much opposition, on September 19, 1580, 
the treaty was signed with the Duke of Anjou, who 
accepted the sovereignty of the Netherlanders. JEn 
virtue of this agreement, the Peace of Religion was to be 
observed in all the provinces with the exception of Hol- 
land and Zealand, where the Reformed Church was to 
be maintained as heretofore to the exclusion of the pub- 
lic worship of the Catholic religion. Nevertheless, even 
before the arrival of the Duke of Anjou, the first general 
placard against Catholics was promulgated on Decem- 
ber 20, 1581. Catholics were forbidden to assemble 
either in churches or private houses for the purpose 
of assisting at mass or of hearing a sermon, if these 
assemblies were judged to be of the nature to create dis- 
orders, to facilitate secret machinations with the enemy, 
or to occasion harm to the public interests. For the 
infraction of this measure a fine of one hundred florins 
was to be inflicted on the master of the house and also 
on the priest ofiiciating at the assembly. Furthermore, 
all means of Catholic propaganda were to be suppressed. 
The ecclesiastical dress was interdicted on the streets; 
no school could be opened without authorization from 
the local magistracy; the publication, sale and distri- 
bution of books, pamphlets, songs and other literature 
calculated to excite "the ignorant and weak" was pro- 
hibited under a fine of one hundred florins for the first 
ofifense and double the sum for the second offense. 



l8 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

Nevertheless, all intention to burden or to make inqui- 
sition into any man's conscience was disclaimed by the 
legislators. 

The French protectorate proved a failure in spite of 
all the efforts of William of Orange after his recovery 
from the wound inflicted in the attempted assassination 
on March i8, 1582. The Duke of Anjou had arrived in 
the beginning of the year, after the States General had 
previously abjured their allegiance to Philip II. The 
failure of Arijou in his attempt to obtain independence 
by the seizure of several cities made a continuance of 
his sovereignty practically impossible. However, the 
Prince of Orange persisted in negotiating for a recon- 
ciliation until the day of the Duke's death, June 10, 
1584, as he then saw no hope of help from the English 
Queen nor from the Lutheran Germans, who would 
have oppressed the Calvinists on the acquisition of 
power. Meanwhile, the States of Holland, Zealand and 
Utrecht were planning to confer sovereign authority 
over themselves on the Prince of Orange, who, according 
to one of the articles of the pact projected on this 
occasion, was to maintain exclusively the "true Re- 
formed Religion," but without molestation of anyone 
on account of his belief. Before these plans matured, 
William of Orange was murdered by Balthassar Gerard, 
to whom the publication of the King's ban had suggested 
the deed. This action entailed an increase of severity 
in the measures for the repression of the Catholics, 
amongst whom some had manifested satisfaction in the 
death of the main author of the revolt that had cost 
them the free exercise of their religion. The placard of 
November 21, 1584, decreed banishment for all organ- 



THE DUTCH BACKGROUND 1 9 

izers of Catholic worship within the United Provinces. 
The severity of this legislation was accentuated by the 
fact that Calvinism at this time was received univer- 
sally only in the one Province of Zealand, while in all 
other provinces the Catholics were much more numer- 
ous than the Calvinists, especially in Utrecht and the 
regions to the east, but not to the same extent in Hol- 
land and Friesland. 

After fruitless negotiations with the French King, 
the States sought protection from the Queen of Eng- 
land, with whom an agreement was finally concluded, 
according to which the surrender of the towns of Flush- 
ing, Brill and Rammekens was stipulated as pledges for 
the repayment of the expenses incurred by the Queen. 
The governorship was settled on Leicester, whose ad- 
ministration also proved a failure on account of the 
opposition excited by his measures against free trade 
with the enemy and his ambitious designs for the in- 
crease of his own authority at the expense of the States 
General with the help of the democratic opposition to 
the ruling oligarchies. His espousal of strict Calvinism 
gave him the support of the "precisians," who were 
working not only for the suppression of the Catholic 
Religion but also of all forms of Protestantism at vari- 
ance with Calvinism, and even of the more liberal Cal- 
vinism then more in favor amongst the ruling classes. 
The failure of Leicester's design to seize several cities 
after his second arrival in the Netherlands hastened 
his final departure. Before this the "precisians" had 
taken the opportunity offered by the Governor's favor 
to convene a National S3nnod, which attempted a per- 
manent organization of the Dutch Reformed Church on 



20 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

the strict principles of the Calvinist zealots. The 
Church Order then adopted was provisionally approved 
by the States but with the reservation of the right to exer- 
cise supervision over church and school. 

After the departure of Leicester, the executive 
power of the Council of State, on account of the objec- 
tionable presence of the three Englishmen amongst its 
members, was gradually absorbed by the States General, 
in which the influence of Holland predominated. , The 
consolidation of these provinces into the federal state of 
the Dutch Republic was largely due to the ability of 
Holland's great statesman, the Advocate John van 
Oldenbamevelt, supported by the able soldier, Maurice 
of Nassau, who had been appointed Captain General 
and Admiral of the Union by the States General. The 
tmion of all the Stadtholderates in the person of Maurice, 
with the exception of Friesland, where his cousin Wil- 
liam Lewis of Nassau held that position, was a great 
step towards the unification of the country. There 
was hardly any need of Holland to instruct this 
ardent Calvinist as its Stadtholder to maintain the 
Reformed Religion. As early as June 23, 1587, he 
had published an ordinance prohibiting pilgrimages 
and "other superstitions, "under a fine of twenty-four 
Carolus florins for each offense. This oppressive placard 
was renewed in 1588, 1590, 1591, and in more 
vigorous terms in 1647, no doubt on account of its 
frequent infraction. The offensive campaigns of Maurice 
cleared the federated provinces of Spanish garrisons 
and resulted in the formation of the new province 
of Stadt en Landen by the union of the city of 
Groningen with the Ommelands under the Stadtholder 



THE DUTCH BACKGROUND 21 

William Lewis in 1594. Drenthe was also placed 
under this Stadtholder, but, unlike the newly created 
province, it had no individual seat in the States Gene- 
ral. William Lewis organized the Reformed Church 
in both these provinces, where he hardly tolerated a 
vestige of Catholicism.' 

The alliances concluded by the States General with 
Henry IV of France and with Elizabeth of England 
against Philip II effected little for the advancement of 
Dutch interests. Shortly before his death, Philip again 
tried conciliation by erecting the provinces into a 
separate, but only nominally independent realm under 
the Archdukes Albert and Isabella, his daughter, who 
were united in marriage. The establishment of the new 
government at Brussels failed to conciliate the revolted 
provinces. Under the new sovereigns, war was then 
vigorously pursued, with occasional brilliant victories 
on both sides, but finally this continuous warfare pro- 
duced a state of mutual exhaustion. In spite of the 
opposition of Maurice and his strict Calvinist adherents, 

* A very severe placard was issued by the provincial States of 
Groningen against Catholics and Anabaptists. A fine of ten Ba- 
lers was inflicted on the persons giving their houses for a retinion of 
CathoUcs or Anabaptists. The same fine was placed on the 
preacher for the first offense; in the case of a repeated offense the 
latter was subject to fifteen days' detention on bread and water, and 
for the third offense to banishment. Persons assisting at the ser- 
vices were also fined ten Dalers. Marriages contracted before a 
Catholic priest were punished as concubinage. Cf. Brandt, Hist, 
d. Reformatie, ii. 14-15. 

In Drenthe, William Lewis of Nassau, on May 10, 1598, ordered 
the parish clergy to cease all divine service, to surrender the 
property of the churches and to leave their parsonages within three 
weeks. A new ordinance of March 19, 1599, forbade ecclesiastics 
to pass a single night in the province without special authorization. 
This severe legislation occasioned considerable emigration, and in 
a little time there was not an important CathoUc population in 
any place but Koevorden. (Cf. Maguin, Overzicht der kerkelijlce 
geschiedenis van Drenthe, cited in Knuttel, i. 40; Hubert, p. 86.) 



22 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

the peace negotiations which ensued led to the conclu- 
sion of the truce for twelve years on April 9, 1609. 
The plenipotentiaries of Albert and Isabella, although 
supported by President Jeannin, the saver of the Hu- 
guenots of Dijon after the night of St. Bartholomew, 
could obtain no concession in favor of Catholic worship 
except the promise that the States and Prince Maurice 
wotdd respect the exclusive exercise of the Catholic 
Religion in the Brabant territory occupied by the 
troops of the Republic. Soon frequent complaints 
were made of the violation of this promise by the Hol- 
landers. During the negotiations for the truce, the 
States General had shown themselves absolutely opposed 
to the free exercise of "papist " worship within their ter- 
ritories, and even denied the King of Spain the right to 
raise the question, as all decision in this matter entailed 
the exercise of sovereignty, and consequently could 
only depend on the sovereign States themselves. Mean- 
while, the Calvinist ministers were representing the 
demand of the King of Spain for freedom of Catholic 
worship as the initial step to the reconquest of the rebel- 
lious provinces. Under these conditions, the king, on 
the ratification of the truce, could only express the hope 
that the States would treat kindly the .Catholics who 
went among them during the time of its duration. 
Jeannin, prior to his departure, insisted again on the 
concession of religious freedom to Catholics, but the 
States could only be induced to promise in a general 
way that they would act with moderation. As soon 
as the news of the murder of Henry IV (May 14, 1610), 
whom Prince Maurice was preparing to assist in the 
reduction of the Duchy of Cleves, arrived in the United 



THE DUTCH BACKGROUND 23 

Provinces, there a was violent outbreak of hostility 
against "papists," manifested in the publication of a 
mass of insulting pamphlets. Also on this occasion, 
some Catholics were impolitic enough to add fuel to the 
flame. The States General were repeatedly urged to 
adopt stringent measures against papal superstition by 
the sjmods and classes of the Reformed Church and 
finally in response to this pressure an edict was pub- 
lished by this assembly in 1612 which prohibited m- 
struction in foreign Catholic or Jesuit schools,* meetings 
to celebrate Catholic worship and the ministry of priests 
from the southern provinces, whence many had crossed 
the border since the establishnient of the truce.' The 
Reformed were still in great fear of the Catholics, who 
even then formed two-thirds of the population, "la plus 
saine et la plus riche partie," as Oldenbamevelt wrote to 
Carleton. The rule of the intolerant Protestant minor- 
ity continued to be oppressive. In 1617, Rovenius, the 
Vicar Apostolic, made known to the Holy See the miser- 
able condition of the faithful in his charge. In many 
places, Catholics who neglected to have their children 
baptized in Calyinist churches incurred large fines and 
Catholics whose marriages were not contracted before 
a minister of the Reformed persuasion were punished 
as if they were living in concubinage.' In Amsterdam, 

• The States of Holland had placed a fine of 300 florins, 
March 12, 1591, on attendance at the Universities of Louvain, 
D61e and Douay, where instruction was contrary "to the true 
religion" and hostile to the fatherland. Wiltens-Scheltus, Ker- 
kelyck Placaatboek, i. 524. 

'The States of Holland, Sept. 13, 1601, ordered the detention of 
foreign monks, seized within the province, in prison on bread and 
water for six months. Hubert, Les Pays-Bas Espagnols et La 
Ripublique des Provinces-Unies etc., p. 76. 

' The States of Holland, July i, 1594, issued an edict, placing a 
fine of 100 pounds upon persons reciirring to the ministry of a priest 



24 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

the Jews had their S3Tiagogues, the Mahometans their 
meetings and all kinds of sects their conventicles; the 
CathoUcs alone were excluded from all participation in 
the toleration of Holland. There were many Catholics 
in Friesland,' but they could worship with safety only in 
the castles of the nobles, of whom many still gave a 
tepid allegiance to the old faith. In Geldem* and Zea- 
land, Catholics possessed little liberty and had to 
assemble secretly for worship,-while in Stadt en Landen 
the adherents of the old faith suffered more active per- 
secution. However, the condition of the Catholics was 
more tolerable in some of the cities. Through the con- 
nivance of the magistracy, which in several places was 
open to a bribe, the Catholics obtained a great deal of 
liberty in the exercise of their faith in Harlem, Gouda, 
Leyden, Alckmaar and Hoom.° 

for the baptism of their children and for the celebration of marriage. 
A fine of 5° pounds was also placed on the witnesses anda fine of 400 
pounds on the persons instigating the act. The same penalties were 
decreed for attendance at papist conventicles. Wiltens-Scheltus, 
Kerkelyck Placaatboek, i. §26. 

'Persecution of Catholics was most violent in this province. 
Thousands of Catholics found safety in flight, and only a small num- 
ber of priests remained in the province in deep concealment. 

* Here Catholics were numerous. The policy of the government 
was directed to paralyse their strength. In 1624 the States de- 
prived the clergy of the disposition of their revenues and declared 
null and void the sale, mortgaging, donation, exchange or any alien- 
ation of property on the part of "pretended" ecclesiastics or of papists 
in religious societies, sodalities and fraternities, etc. It was pleaded 
that many feared to adopt Calvinism and many returned to the old 
faith lest they might be disinherited. In 1640 the "klopjes" 
were declared incapable of receiving an inheritance. Pmally 
measures were directed to the prevention of assemblies, that the 
Catholics attempted to facilitate by the removal of the walls 
between neighboring houses. For details cf. works of Knuttel and 
Hubert, with documents cited. 

'This was true to a certain extent at The Hague, where the 
legations of the Kings of France and Portugal and of the Republic 
of Venice had their chapels, which remained open also to the inhabi- 
tants of the city in spite of the frequent protests of the States of Hol- 
land at the instigation of The Hague consistory. 



THE DUTCH BACKGROUND 2$ 

Meanwhile, the Reformed Church of the United 
Provinces was divided by the bitter controversies which 
raged between the "precisians" and the "libertines." 
In 1610 the liberal party, then also called Arminians 
from its chief exponent, assembled at Gouda and 
expressed in a "Remonstrance" their dissent from the 
teaching of strict Calvinism on the subject of predesti- 
nation, election and grace, and appealed to the decision 
of a National Synod, convened under the control of the 
civil power, as the States had "the supreme direction 
and the highest jurisdiction over ecclesiastical and lay 
affairs under God and in accordance with His Word in 
these territories." The precisians, or Gomarists, as 
they were also called from their leader, replied with a 
Counter-Remonstrance, which upheld the strict Calvin- 
ist tenets in uncompromising rigor and denounced 
their opponents as guilty of Socinian, Pelagian and 
papistical heresies. The large majority of the Protes- 
tant population rallied to the support of the Counter- 
Remonstrants, while the burgher oligarchies favored 
their opponents, who commanded a majority in the 
States of Holland, Utrecht and Overyssel. A confer- 
ence between the two parties arranged by the authority 
of the States of Holland and West Friesland failed to 
effect a reconciliation, and the attempt on the part of 
the States to establish commissarissen politicq, who were 
regularly to appear in the church assemblies and control 
the examination of candidates and the calls of the min- 
isters, was bitterly resented by the stronger party, who 
feared favor for Remonstrant preachers. Finally, the 
Counter-Remonstrants, in 1613, confident of an over- 
whelming majority, also demanded the convocation of a 



26 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

National Church Synod, but Oldenbamevelt feared lest 
the triumph of this party should lead to the domination 
of the Church over the State, and through his influence 
the proposals were rejected. To secure peace, the 
States of Holland, in January, 1614, prohibited the dis- 
cussion of disputed questions by the preachers in the 
pulpits and enjoined moderation in such abstruse 
matters. Violent opposition to this measure arose in 
several important towns, also in Amsterdam, but 
Oldenbamevelt was determined to overcome all 
opposition. When Maurice, who had begun to dis- 
trust the Advocate, gave his support to the 
Counter-Remonstrants and encouraged their oppo- 
sition to the authority of the States, Oldenbame- 
velt succeeded in inducing the States of Holland, 
in December, 16 16, to raise a force of four thousand 
men to be at the disposal of the magistrates for the 
enforcement of order. Although the two Stadtholders 
commanded the votes of four out of seven provinces 
in the States General, this assembly decreed the con- 
vocation of the National SjrQod by only a narrow 
majority. The States of Holland, in spite of a power- 
ful minority supported by Calvinist opinion through- 
out the province, refused to concur in the resolution 
of the States General. The seizure of a church at 
The Hague for the Counter-Remonstrants under the 
direction of Maurice led to the adoption of the 
"Scherpe Resolutie," proposed by the Advocate to 
the States of Holland, which refused to approve 
any convocation of a synod, national or provincial, 
infringing the sovereign rights and supremacy of 
the States in religious affairs. The city magistrates 
were directed to uphold the peace and to levy new 



THE DUTCH BACKGROUND 2/ 

forces for this purpose, if necessary; all officials, munic- 
ipal and provincial, all soldiers in the pay of the prov- 
ince, were required to take an oath of obedience to the 
States of Holland on pain of dismissal. Levies of 
troops were raised in Leyden, Harlem, Rotterdam, 
Gouda and other towns. In the meantime, Olden- 
bamevelt had gone to Utrecht, where the States under 
his influence refused to stop the levy on receiving tp.e 
warning of the States General in regard to the danger- 
ous character of such measures. Finally, Maurice, on 
the commission of the States General, entered the town 
at the head of his troops, and, on July 31,1618, the troops 
of the States in obedience to his commands laid down 
their arms. The Prince as Stadtholder immediately 
created a new Municipal Council of Counter-Remon- 
strants and a majority of the same party in the Provin- 
cial States. On August 20, the States General issued a 
placard for the dismissal of troops of Holland within 
twenty-four hours, and on the 29th the Advocate and 
his chief adherents were placed under arrest, which ter- 
minated in their judicial murder. After these arrests, 
Maurice with a strong retinue made a totir of the towns 
of Holland and purged the Municipal Councils and the 
Provincial States of their Remonstrant majorities. His 
work was approved by the States General, which assem- 
bled in November, and with the destruction of all oppo- 
sition the seven provinces unanimously approved the 
convocation of the National S3mod. 

The National Synod, assembled at Dortdrecht 
began its first session on November 13, 1618. The 
assembly consisted of more than one hundred members, 
amongst whom there were about thirty foreign divines 



28 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

and eighteen political commissioners representing the 
States. The Remonstrant minority was immediately 
put on trial for its teaching by the remainder of the 
Synod, from which they were finally ordered to with- 
draw after violent altercation. They then assembled 
in Rotterdam, where they denounced the tyranny of the 
dominant party, who condemned the Remonstrants as 
schismatics and heretics, and declared them unfit to 
hold any position in the churches, schools and univer- 
sities of the country. The former liberal movement in 
favor of a revision of the Creeds of the Dutch Reformed 
Church was definitely checked by the Sjmod's approval 
of the Netherland Confession and the Heidelberg Cate- 
chism without any change, as the orthodox Calvinist 
faith was thought to be briefly but completely set forth 
in these. Now the States General imposed the "Act of 
Cessation, " on pain of banishment, which deprived the 
Remonstrants of the right to preach and reduced them 
to the condition Of private individuals. Only one of the 
Remonstrant members of the Synod signed ; the remain- 
ing fourteen were forced to go into exile. In July, 1619, 
the States General prohibited the assemblies of the 
Remonstrants, but the ordinance was not enforced in 
the larger towns, as Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Gouda, 
although this connivance greatly annoyed the Calvinist 
zealots. In all about two hundred Remonstrant 
preachers were deposed and of these seventy signed the 
Act of Cessation, about forty finally accepted the 
articles of Dortdrecht, with restoration to the ministry 
as a reward, and about eighty went into exile. These 
last attacked the dominant party, "the little ministers 
of the new Holland inqtiisition, " with a mass of pam- 



THE DUTCH BACKGROUND 29 

phlets and lampoons, emanating mainly from the press 
in Antwerp, the headquarters of the Remonstrants. 
The work of purification also extended byond the min- 
istry. Church Cotmcillors, schoolmasters, etc., who 
were suspected of the heresy were likewise removed 
from their offices. Some municipal governments were 
also changed, although a Remonstrant magistrate here 
and there retained his position, when his removal wg,s 
more dangerous than his retention.* Under these cir- 
cumstances the Arminian spirit persisted in spite of the 
oppressive measures. 

The termination of the twelve years' truce brought 
an increase of severity in the treatment of the Catholics. 
Before this the Synod of Dortdrecht had petitioned the 
States General to see to the observance of the laws, to 
suppress definitively the exercise of Catholic worhip and 
to expel the Jesuits and foreign priests from the coun- 
try. In response to a second request of this nature, the 
States General, on February 26, 1622, issued a placard 
which prohibited Jesuits, religious of either sex and 
foreign priests from residing permanently or tempora- 

1 With the victory of the strict Calvinists the tendency to 
restrict official positions throughout the provinces to the members 
of that ^arty became still more pronounced. At the time of the 
formulation of the Union of Utrecht, it had been proposed to incor- 
porate a clause excluding from such positions all persons who were 
not members of the Reformed Church. This measure was not 
adopted, but various limitations in regard to office-holding in the 
provinces dated from that time. In 1616 certain elective capacities 
were denied to Catholics, In the Provinces of Overyssel and Gel- 
derland, no restriction was adopted tmtil after the termination of the 
truce. Thirty years later similar laws were adopted in Holland, 
where many non-reformed had seats in the municipal colleges. 
Although some cities, like Gouda, gave the preference to members of 
the "true Christian Religion," until then no one in the majority of 
cities was legally disquaUfied for the exercise of pohtical rights or 
for nomination -to office upon theological or religious grounds. 
Cf, Blok, A History of the People of the Netherlands, iii. 486. 



30 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

rily in the lands of the Republic, under the penalty of 
being arrested and imprisoned as enemies of the State. 
A second offense on their part entailed punishment for 
disturbance of the public peace. Their hosts in the 
land were subject to a fine of one hundred pounds 
Flemish for the first offense, double the sum for the 
second offense, and to the penalty of corporal punish- 
ment and banishment for the third offense. The 
priests who previously had been authorized to reside 
in the Republic were bound to report their names and 
places of residence to the local magistrate, if they 
wished to continue the enjoyment of this privilege. 
All correspondence with foreign ecclesiastics was pro- 
hibited to the subjects of the Republic, and letters of this 
kind were to be surrendered to the magistrate on their 
receipt tinder a fine of fifty pounds for every infraction 
of the law. Catholic ceremonies were interdicted not 
only in the churches but also in private houses. The 
master of the house was subject to a fine of two hundred 
florins, each person present to a fine of twenty-five 
florins, and the officiatingpriest to the penalty of ban- 
ishment. The priests who preached disobedience to these 
laws were to be prosecuted for sedition and subjected 
to corporal punishment, "even unto death," according 
to the gravity of the offense. Attendance at foreign 
Jesuit schools was again forbidden, and parents were 
ordered to recall their children from such places under 
a fine of one hundred florins for each month of delay. 
The congregations of devout women, "klopjes," were to 
be dissolved at once. Protestant orphans were not to 
be confided to the care of Catholic guardians, but to the 
care of the magistrate, if they had no near relations of 



THE DUTCH BACKGROUND 3 I 

the Reformed persuasion. Collections for all sorts of 
Catholic purposes were absolutely interdicted. Finally, 
the judges were commanded to execute the provisions 
of this ordinance without any relaxation, and they were 
threatened with the loss of their positions and with 
arbitrary punishment if they accepted a bribe from the 
delinquents. Those who denounced such practices 
were promised a reward of three hundred florin^. 
Still there must have been a great deal of conni- 
vance, as this placard was renewed in 1624, 1629 
and 1 64 1, and as the synods multiply in course of time 
their complaints of the boldness and superstition of the 
papists, "PauseHjke stoutigheden ente superstitien." 
Nevertheless, the States General did not recede from 
its intransigent attitude towards Catholic worship, 
although the edicts against the Remonstrants and 
other Protestant dissenters, such as Mennonites and 
Lutherans, gradually lapsed into desuetude under the 
moderate poUcy dictated by the successor of Maurice, 
his brother Frederick Henry, and supported by the 
municipal governments, who feared the domination of 
the Dutch Reformed Church in the event of further 
repression. In 1630 the States General refused to 
listen to the petition of the French ambassador for the 
concession of religious liberty to the inhabitants of the 
conquered city of Bois-le-Duc. On March 13, 1644, the 
Count d'Avaux, previous to his departure for Miinster, 
where he was to take part in the negotiations for a gen- 
eral peace, requested in the name of the Queen Regent 
of France a relaxation of the repressive ordinances 
against Catholics from the States General. This assem- 
bly protested against this presumptuous and unreason- 



32 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

able intervention of a stranger in the internal affairs of 
the Republic. A resolution was then passed by the 
States General to complete the penal legislation against 
Catholics on the plea that impunity to propagators of 
"Catholic superstitions" and the introduction of the 
papist hierarchy entailed undeniable dangers for public 
safety. The French plenipotentiary, Count d'Estrades, 
was not more successful in his attempt to have an 
article incorporated in the capitulation of the city of 
Hulst, granting the public exercise of the Catholic wor- 
ship. When Frederick Henry transmitted the petition 
to the States General, the assembly expressed their 
great astonishment at this pernicious proposition. 
In the following year, when the French and 
Dutch planned a joint attack on Antwerp, Cardinal 
Mazarin was able to obtain only the grudging consent of 
his Dutch allies to the concession of four churches for 
Catholic worship on the conquest of this city. The 
joint expedition never took place. 

The conclusion of the general peace of Munster in 
1648 brought to the Republic a recognition of its sov- 
ereignty by Spain. The CathoHcs, sorely harassed in 
the past by the oppressive measures of the States Gen- 
eral, which had often been anticipated and even rein- 
forced by the penal legislation of the provincial States 
and of the town councils, hoped for some relaxation of 
the persecution with the cessation of hostilities, but the 
Calvinist clergy was loud in its protestations against 
any concession to "Roman idolatry," which: would 
surely bring upon the Republic the anger of God. In 
spite of the opposition of the States of Holland, some 
relaxation was ordered by the States General within the 



THE DUTCH BACKGROUND 33 

territory proper of the Republic, but severe measures 
of repression were adopted for the territory recently an- 
nexed in the south, where> notwithstanding aU the efforts 
of the Spanish plenipotentiaries, the supremacy of the 
States was asserted in spiritual as well as temporal mat- 
ters. The death of the Prince of Orange with the birth 
of an heir eight days later gave an opportunity to the 
States of Holland to use its influence for an increase ^f 
the powers of the States by the reasstunption of many 
rights that had been acquired under stress of previoiis 
political necessities by the Princes of Orange. The 
Great Assembly of the United Provinces, opened Janu- 
ary i8, 1651, to discuss the situation, reindorsed the 
decrees of the National Ssmod of Dortdrecht, which 
were to be maintained in each province "with the 
power of the land." The five delegates from the pro- 
vincial Sjmods were not satisfied with this. They 
demanded drastic measures against "popish idolatry, 
superstition and hierarchy," against the "innumerable 
Jesuits, priests, curates and monks," overrunning the 
land "in thousands like locusts"; they insisted on the 
enforcement of the placards against other dissenters, 
against the public worship of the Jews, and against all 
attacks on the Reformed teaching, with the suppression 
of all crying public sins, lest it appear that the authori- 
ties have received the "sword" in vain. Holland pro- 
tested against the adoption of the measures of the 
Spanish Inquisition after the sacrifice of so much blood 
for liberty of conscience, but Zealand, with Friesland, 
Groningen and Overyssel, was willing to satisfy the 
demands of the Sjmods, while Gelderland and Utrecht 
hesitated. Finally, Holland was able to have its reso- 



34 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

lutiou adopted by the assembly, which decreed the mainr 
tenance of the ordinances of. the. National Sjmod of 
Dortdrecht, the enforcement of the placards against 
the Catholics and the retention of other sects "in all 
good order and quiet." The execution of this decree 
fell far short of the desires of the Calvinist ministers, 
who continually assailed the. civil authorities with 
their remonstrances, and Catholics and sometimes 
adherents of other persuasions had continually to fear 
the penalties that might be inflicted according to law 
by the magistrates under pressure of the ministers. 
Government circles were not so inimical to the consider- 
ations which De la Court advanced. He believed that 
self-interest should prevent the dominant Calvinists 
from the attempt to suppress people of other persua- 
sions, who were in the majority even in Holland, as per- 
secution might provoke their emigration, to the great loss 
of the country. He teUs us that most'of the "old in- 
habitants," peasants, moneyed men, and nobles in that 
province were still Catholics, while there were also 
many Protestants, but mostly Mennonites or Rijns- 
burgers. In spite of all past vexatious measures. 
Catholics still formed a large majority of the population 
in the Provinces of Utrecht, Gelderland and Overyssel, 
although many of the Reformed were to be found in 
some districts, as the Veluwe, since John of Nassau 
was able to throw his influence into the balance. De la 
Torre's report of 1656 gives a very small number of 
Catholics for the three northern provinces, and Blokin 
his history estimates the number of Catholics above the 
Meuse at about half a million. This geographical dis- 
tribution of the confessions represents the condition of 



THE DUTCH BACKGROUND 35 

religion in the Dutch Republic at the very moment 
when the colony of New Netherland passed into the 
hands of the English, on the eve of the second English 
war, in 1664. 



CHAPTER II 

General Relations of Church and State 
IN New NetherlaNd 

The successful organization of the Dutch East India 
Company in 1602 rendered feasible the formation of a 
West India Company to realize more effectually the 
humiliation of the power of Spain. Very early William 
Ussellinx, an ardent Calvinist and an enemy to "all 
heretics and erring spirits," advocated the organization 
of such a commercial company to prey on the Spanish 
possessions, from which their enemy drew the "sinews 
of war," and to plant there the saving faith and the gos- 
pel of Jesus Christ, whereby the heathen might be res- 
cued from the darkness of idolatry and be preserved 
from papistry.' Although the plan became popular, it 
was oppospd by the East India Company, which feared 
for its monopoly, and by Oldenbamevelt, who was 
anxious to avoid new complications with Spain. The 
successful negotiation of a truce in 1609 made any 
further effort on the part of Ussellinx fruitless. Never- 
theless, in the very same year, the discoveries of Henry 
Hudson on the North American coast, while employed 
by the Dutch East India Company in the search of a 

*Cf. O'Callaghan, Hist, of New Netherland, i. 31; prospectus 
for W. I. Co., Arg. Gust. p. 51, Jameson, William Usselinx.A. H. A. 
Papers, ii. 39. 

(36) 



CHURCH AND STATE 37 

passage to the East Indies, opened a period of Dutch 
discovery and fur-trade, which was increased consider- 
ably after the incorporation of the United New Nether- 
land Company in i6i4,with exclusive trading privileges 
for three years. After the fall of Oldenbamevelt, 
Ussellinx was conscious of a better chance to realize his 
projects, especially as there was no doubt of the renewal 
of hostilities on the expiration of the twelve years' truce^. 
He was, however, disappointed by the refusal of the 
States General to adopt many of his ideas in the charter 
of the new company. Ussellinx had planned a char- 
ter for the formation of a Protestant (Calvinist) colonial 
empire under a well-ordered administration, subject to 
regular supervision by the state, to control the mer- 
chants "who have gain for their north star and greed for 
a compass, and who would believe the ship was keeping 
to its right course, if it were almost wrecked by profit.'" 
The States General obtained considerable influence in 
the new association through its deputies on the govern- 
ing board, the College of the XIX, and through the 
requirement of its approval for warlike operations. 
For the West India Company was modeled after the 
East India Company, mainly for spoils and privateer- 
ing, according to the more warlike plans of the 
maritime cities of Holland. 

While no mention of religion was made in the char- 
ter of the West India Company, or in the subsequent 
agreement between the managers and the principal 
adventurers, religious motives were not absent in the 
adoption of the charter. Abraham Sixt, ambassador 

• Blok, A Hist, of the People of the Netherlands, iv. 3-5 ; 
Jameson, William Ussdinx, A. H. A. Papers, ii. 66-67. 



38 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

of the Elector Palatine Frederick, is said to have iirged 
this scheme to promote the Protestant cause in the 
Bohemian war. During the discussion of the drafts 
of the charter of the West India Company, Ferdinand 
had become Emperor, the Elector Palatine, the nephew 
of Prince Maurice and Count Frederick, had been 
chosen King of Bohemia, and the combination had 
been formed for the overthrow of the latter. The 
cause of Protestantism in Bohemia and especially of 
the German Calvinists appealed to the sjrmpathies of 
the party now ruling in the United Provinces, but in the 
end the controlling factor in shaping the new organiza- 
tion was the proximate expiration of the truce with 
Spain and the renewal of hostilities.' 

The interests of the new company naturally centered 
in the Spanish seas about Brazil and the West Indies, 
while the Province of New Netherland received scant 
attention, although organized colonization began 
there almost as soon as the time for the subscriptions to 
the company terminated in 1623. When the question 
of religion presented itself in regard to the colony, 
the West India Company, the proprietor of the 
province, assumed the same authority which the civil 
power exercised in religious matters within the United 
Provinces. In addition, the right of patronage was 
claimed by the company over the colonial church. 
Usselinx had proposed in his plan the establishment of 
a cotmcil or college of theologians, who were to supply 
the company with godly ministers and teachers to 
instruct not only the colonists and their children, but 

' Jameson, William Usselinx, A. H. A. Papers if. 66-67. 



CHURCH AND STATE 39 

also the Indians, in religion and learning.' Although 
no such provision was made in the charter finally 
adopted for the company, the deputies on foreign affairs 
of the Classis of Amsterdam soon acquired such a posi- 
tion in the ecclesiastical affairs of the Province of New 
Netherland. The stockholders of the company had 
been organized into five chambers representing various 
sections of the United Provinces, to whom was given,a 
proportional representation in a general executive 
board, the College of the XIX. In the general dis- 
tribution of the various enterprises amongst the indi- 
vidual chambers of the company, the most important 
chamber, located at Amsterdam, received the imme- 
diate management of New Netherland from the 
College of the XIX, ^ which practically lost all its 
power over the province when it refused to contribute 
to the expenses of the colony after the company's 
bankruptcy in 1645 i^ consequence of the vast expendi- 
tures entailed in its ineffectual efforts to retain the 
Dutch conquests in Brazil.' Henceforth, ' the Amster- 
dam Chamber bore the expenses alone and assumed a 
still more independent administration of New Nether- 
land. 

The Directors of the Chamber in the establi^- 
ment of churches and the appointment of preachers and 
other ministers of religion followed the rule adopted in 

* Van Rees, ii. p. 117, makes this a subject of a memorial to the 
Synod of Dort, Cf. Jameson, William Usselinx, A. H. A. Papers, ii. 
61-62. 

^ Cf. charter in O'Callaghan, Hist, of New Netherland, i. 399; 
Osgood, The Am. Colonies in the 17th Ceiituiy, ii. 96. Van Rens- 
selaer-Bowier MSS. (igo8), gives a revised version of the charter. 

'Directors to Stuyvesant, Jan. 27, 1649, Col. Docs. N. Y., 
xiv. 104. 



40 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

1624 by the SsTiod of North Holland, which gave to the 
Classis the charge of all the ecclesiastical interests in the 
colonies under the care of the Chamber located within 
the limits of its jurisdiction.' This practical solution 
of the question of the supervision of the colonial 
churches was immediately protested by deputies from 
Utrecht, Overyssel and especially of Gelderland, who 
held that the matter equally concerned all the churches 
of the land, and demanded that at least deputies from 
their respective synods might be admitted to a general 
assembly of delegates from the churches and classes, 
which had charge of colonial churches.'' Such a general 
assembly, which had first been suggested by the Synod 
of North Holla,nd at the expense of the commercial com- 
pany with jurisdiction over these colonies,' never was 
realized, and the individual classes continued to take 
charge of the colonial churches of the respective cham- 
bers within their jurisdiction. According to this rule, 
ministers were first sent to the colonies by the Classes of 
Hoom and Enkhuysen, but, with the concentration of 
business at Amsterdam, this classis acquired almost 
exclusive control of the colonial churches, although it 
was not authorized to do this any more than other 
classes, where there were chambers of the companies.* 
As early as 1628 Michaelius, the first minister of New 
Netherland, recognized the consistory of Amsterdam as 
the superior ecclesiastical authority of the colony.* 

'Synod of North Holland, Aug. 6, etc., 1624, Ecd. Recs. 
N/Y., i. 38-39. 

•Synod of North Holland, 1625, Atig. 12, etc. Ibid. 39. 
'Synod of North Holland, Aug. 6, 1624. Ibid 38-39. 

* Synod of North Holland, Aug. i, 1639. Ibid. 126. 

* Michaelius to Smoutius. Ibid. 54. 



CHURCH AND STATE 4l 

This course of action continued to be followed, but in 
1639 a decided attempt began to be made on the part of 
the protesting synods for the formation of an ecclesias- 
tical body that would have represented the entire 
Dutch Church in the supervision of colonial churches. 
In case of a refusal or a longer delay, these S3mods 
threatened to appeal for a remedy to the States General, 
whom their deputies were instructed to interest in this 
matter.' The majority of the classes in the Synod of 
North Holland declared the change unadvisable, but 
agreed by way of compromise to send the ecclesiastical 
acta of the colonial churches to the corresponding 
synods,* but this did not satisfy them. Deputies from 
the Synods of Gelderland, South Holland, Utrecht, and 
Overyssel submitted a remonstrance to the States Gen- 
eral, who were requested in the grant of new charters to 
give charge of everything necessary for the welfare of. 
the East and West India churches to a board of deputies 
from the synods of all the United Provinces. On the 
advice of the States General, the Synod of South Hol- 
land agreed to a conference with the Synod of North 
Holland in the presence of the correspondents from the 
other synods. The old rule was maintained, but the 
classes in charge of colonial churches were to submit a 
full annual report of the condition of these churches to 
their synods, of which a summary was to be incor- 
porated in the synodal acts, and communicated to all 
the synods of the United Provinces. The corres- 
pondents were to take with them, at their own expense, 

•S3mod of North Holland, i6«, Aug. i, etc., Eccl. Recs. N. Y., 
i. 123-126; 1640, Aug. 21, etc.. Ibid. 132-134; Oct. 30, Ibid. 135. 

» Synod of North Holland, 1641, Aug. 13, etc., Art 29, Ibid. 
138-139- 



42 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

copies of the minutes of these classes and of any docu- 
ments bearing on these matters. If any difficulties 
arose in regard to doctrine or church polity in the colo- 
nial churches, which could not be readily solved by the 
particular classis or synod, the advice of the sjmods of 
the land was to sought, unless there could be no delay, 
and then the facts of 'the case were to be communicated 
to them. The last article in this plan shows that the 
protesting synods wished to make it possible for persons 
under their jurisdiction to serve the colonial church. 
Those who manifested such a desire were to be held in 
good commendation by the classes in charge of such 
churches, provided they had the necessary qualifica- 
tions.^ Although the Synod of South HoUand provis- 
ionally accepted these propositions, it gained the 
approval of other synods very slowly.^ By 1648 it was 
accepted by all the synods, except Utrecht, which 
finally also agreed to the plan two years later.' Thus 
the Classis of Amsterdam remained undisturbed in the 
direction and supervision of the colonial church of New 
Netherland. Ministers, Comforters of the Sick, and 
Schoolmasters had to quahfy themselves for work in 
New Netherland before the Classis, who then presented 
them to the Directors of the Amsterdam Chamber, and 
on their appointment gave them the necessary call, for 
which a special formula had been adopted in 1636.' The 

1 Synod of North Holland, Aug. 12, etc. Eccl. Recs. N. Y. 
i. 158-161. 

2 Synod of North Holland, 1643, Ibid. 173-4, etc.; 

1644, Avig. II, etc., Art. 28. Ibid. 183-4; 1645, Aug. 8, etc., Art 
ao. Ibid, 190. 

^ Synod of North Holland, 1648, Aug, 11, etc., Jbid.232; 1650, 
Aug. 6, etc.. Ibid. 277-8. 

* Cf . Ibid. 92-99. 



CHURCH AND STATE 43 

correspondence of these ministers in the colony of New 
Netherland manifests in detail the influence of the 
Classis of Amsterdam on the religious conditions which 
developed in the colony and forms one of the main 
sources of information for the history of this period. 

Although the States General frequently intervened 
in the civil administration of the Province of New 
Netherlands there is hardly any trace of its interven- 
tion in ecclesiastical matters. The condition of religion 
in the colony, revealed in the Remonstrance of the people 
of New Netherland to the States General in 1649, 
seemed to call for redress in spite of the opposition of 
the Company. In the following year, the States General 
resolved that "New Netherland, being at present pro- 
vided with only one clergyman, orders shall be given 
forthwith for the immediate calling and support of at 
least three preachers, one to attend to divine service at 
Rensselaer's colony, the second in and about the city of 
New Amsterdam, and the third in the distant places ; 
and the commonalty shall also be obliged to have the 
youth instructed by good schoolmasters,"' but the 
Directors of the Amsterdam Chamber claimed that 
" the colony of Rensselaerswyck must provide its own 
clergyman, while New Amsterdam is provided and there 
is none yet required in the outlying places. '" There 
was again fear of the intervention of the States General 
in the separatist movement of the Lutherans from the 
Reformed Church of New Amsterdam, although the 
States General had approved the exclusive establish- 

iCf. Osgood, The Am. Colonies in the 17th Century, ii. 97-98. 
• * Provisional Order for the Government, Preservation and Peo- 
pling of New Netherland. Col. Docs. N. Y., i. 389. 

* Observations of Chamber of Amsterdam. Ibid. 392. 



44 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

ment of the Dutch Reformed Church in the charter of 
Privileges and Exemptions of 1640. At this time, the 
Classis of Amsterdam feared that an appeal on the part 
of the Lutherans for freedom of public worship might be 
allowed by the States General, but their fear was ground- 
less, and nothing was done to revoke the exclusive 
establishment of the Reformed Church of New Nether- 
land. 

Within the Province of New Netherland, the govern- 
ment was vested in the Director General, assisted by an 
advisory council, upon whom all other officials of the 
company in the colony were dependent for their 
authority.* The Director, as supreme magistrate, 
retained the direct conti^ol of the colonial church even 
after the establishment of inferior local courts in vil- 
lages and in the city of New Amsterdam. The local 
courts had no jurisdiction over criminals and delin- 
quents guUty of blasphemy, violation of God's Holy 
Name and religion. Such cases were reserved to the 
judgment of the Provincial Court.' All measures rela- 
tive to the erection of churches and schools and the 
support of these institutions had to be confirmed, 
approved and commanded by the Director General and 
Council, except when there was question of churches 
established within patroonships, such as Rensselaers- 
wyck on the North River and New Amstel on the South 
River.* Comforters of the Sick, ministers and school- 
masters were usually appointed by the Directors of the 
Amsterdam Chamber, commissioned by the Classis of 

* Cf. Osgood, The Am. Colonies in the 17th Centvuy, ii. 100, sqq' 

* This is the reason why the town minutes of this period contain 
little information on the religious life of the people. 

* Cf . Col. Docs. N. Y., xiii. 198. 



CHURCH AND STATE 45 

Amsterdam, but inducted by some colonial official in 
the name of the Director General. When an appoint- 
ment was made directly by the Director General to the 
ministry of a Dutch Reformed Church, as in the case of 
PoUiemus, this was subject to the approval of the civil 
and ecclesiastical authorities in the fatherland. Such 
approval was not sought for the English orthodox min- 
isters, who came into New Netherland with their aon- 
gregations, but the exercise of their ministry needed the 
approval of the provincial government. This is the 
reason of the censure incurred by the Reverend Mr. 
Fordham, who gave up the exercise of the ministry in 
Hempstead without the Wish and the knowledge of the 
provincial government. Stuyvesant, therefore, refused 
to admit him "in such mennor of comminge again. "^ 
Later the Director General and Council appealed 
directly to the Chamber of Amsterdam and the Classis 
of Amsterdam for orthodox English ministers. The 
fulfilment of these requests would have brought the 
appointment of English ministers into full conformity 
with the appointment of the Dutch ministers. 

Appointments to minor offices within the churches 
illustrate still more the close dependence of the church 
on the chief magistrate. When Megapolensis needed 
a new chorister in his church at New Amsterdam, he 
requested the appointment from the provincial coun- 
cil.* When the term of office for a church warden had 
expired, the local magistrates presented a double num- 

1 Stuyvesant to the magistrates of Hempstead, July 14, 1657; 
Doc. Hist. N. Y., iii. 118-119; Col. Docs. N. Y., xiv. 396. 
» O'Callaghan, Cal. Hist. MSS. (Dutch),!. 146. 



46 RELIGION IN NEW NETHBRLAND 

bet of persons for the office, from which the Director 
General and Comncil selected a new church warden.' 

The school, which was also a religious institution, 
was likewise under the direct control of the colonial 
government. The presumption of Jacob van Corlaer 
to teach in a school without the order of the Director 
General and Council brought a very clear assertion of 
the powers of the government, which then refused to 
grant the requisite permission even in spite of the hum- 
ble supplication of the Burghers and inhabitants and 
the intercession of the Burgomasters and some Schepens. 
Stuyvesant declared that "school teaching and the 
induction of a schoolmaster depends absolutely on the 
right of patronage."^ This principle found a good 
illustration in the petition of the magistrates of Bos- 
wyck, who requested the approval of their contract 
with Boudewyn Maenhout as reader and schoolmaster. 
The Director General and Council fulfilled the request 
on the condition that the schoolmaster be first exam- 
ined by the reverend clergy of New Amsterdam and 
declared fit for the performance of his duties.' This 
regulation was probably due to the place of religion in 
the Dutch colonialschool, where the principles and fun- 
damentals of the Christian religion were also to be incul- 
cated. One of the last ordinances of the Dutch provin- 
cial government ordered the two schoolmasters of New 
Amsterdam, Pietersen of the principal school and Van 
Hoboocken of the branch school in the Bouwery, to 
bring their children to the church on Wednesday to be 

* Cf. Recs. New Amsterdam, vii. 142, 144, 17S. 237, passim. 
' Ibid ii. 348; Col. Docs. N.Y., xiv. 412, 413-14. 
° Council minute, Dec. 28, 1662, Ibid 519. 



CHURCH AND STATE 47 

examined after the sermon in the presence of the rev- 
erend ministers and elders in the catechism taught dur- 
ing the week.' 

The right of patronage, while it conceded the priv- 
ilege of church control in the appointment of the minis- 
ters, entailed the obligation of furnishing a revenue 
sufficient for their support. The budget of the Com- 
pany for New Netherland contained the monthly item 
of one hundred and twenty florins for the support o! a 
clergyman, and of thirty florins for the support of a 
schoolmaster, who was at the same time precentor and 
sexton.^ On the formation of patroonships, the pa- 
troon and the colonists were bound to seek ways and 
means to support their ministers of religion. This was 
the case in Rensselaerswyck and New Amstel. The 
colonists in the jurisdiction of the Company desired the 
formation of a glebe, as appears in the Remonstrance of 
1649, but no glebe was formed until the arrival of Pol- 
hemus, in 1654, on the petition of the court of Midwout. 
Here the attempt was made to find all support of the 
ministry amongst th^ people. Later the Company 
offered to contribute six hundred guilders for the sup- 
port of a minister on the condition that the inhabi- 
bitants raise an esqual sum.' These arrangements only 
affected the Dutch Church ; the English had to support 
their ministers without any aid from the government of 
New Netherland. 

Governmental control extended not only to the 
regulation of the affairs of church and school, but also 

• Laws and Ordinances of New Netherland, p. 461. 
>Col. Docs. N.Y.,i. iss- 
» Doc. Hist. N. Y., iii. 434. 



48 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

to the observance of general public morals. This was 
especially true of the directorship of Peter Stujrvesant. 
He published with much greater frequency than 
his predecessors days of public prayer and thanks- 
giving, which he ordered to be celebrated with 
sermons and prayers in the English as well as the 
Dutch churches of the province. This was done 
sometimes to placate divine wrath, outraged by the sins 
of the people, sometimes to avert the impending evil 
of an Indian war or of a pestilential disease, sometimes 
to preserve the purity of the Calvinist faith endan- 
gered by the growth of dissent ; in a word, to implore 
temporal and spiritual blessings for Church and State.' 
Wherever he noticed grave abuses in the religious and 
moral life of the people, he attempted to remedy the 
evil. Although there was an ordinance not to tap beer 
during divine service, as early as 1641, the conflict 
between the former minister of New Amsterdam, the 
Reverend Everardus Bogardus, and the former Di- 
rector General William Kieft, had trained the people to 
the violation of the Sabbath. Shortly after his arrival, 
StuyTT^esant saw that "the disregard, nay contempt, of 
God's holy laws and ordinances, which command us to 
keep holy in His Honor His day of rest, the Sabbath, 
and forbid all bodily injury and murder," was due to 
the prevalence of drunkenness amongst the inhabitants. 
He, therefore, prohibited all brewers, tapsters and inn- 
keepers, on the Lord's day of rest, to "entertain people, 
tap or draw any wine, beer or strong waters of any kind 
and under any pretext before two o'clock in case there 
is no preaching, or else before four, except to a traveler 

* Passim in Col. Docs. N. Y., i, ii, iii, xii, xiii, xiv. 



CHURCH AND STATE 49 

or those who are daily customers, fetching their drinks 
to their homes." There was a double punishment 
attached to the violation of this ordinance. One af- 
fected the person found drinking liquor, who was sub- 
ject to a fine of six guilders, and the other affected the 
brewer, tapster or innkeeper, who" was to be deprived of 
his occupation for the violation of the law. Further- 
more, no liquor was to be sold on any day after the ring- 
ing of the bell in the evening, which took place at abo?it 
nine o'clock.* 

In the following year, the Director General dis- 
covered that his orders "against unreasonable and 
intemperate drinking" were not observed, "to the 
great scandal and reproach of this community and 
neighboring strangers, who visit this place, also to the 
vilification and contempt of God's Holy Word and 
our ordinance, based thereon." He complained that 
"this way of earning a living and the easily made 
profits therefrom please many and divert them from 
their first calling, trade and occupation, so that they 
become tapsters and that one full fourth of the City 
of New Amsterdam has been turned into taverns for 
the sale of brandy, tobacco and beer."* After he 
had arranged "for the further obervance of the Sabbath 
with the knowledge of the servant of God's Word" by a 
sermon, in the afternoon as well as in the forenoon, with 
the usual Christian prayers and thanksgiving, he re- 
quested and charged all officials, subjects and vassals 
to assist at these services, during which ' ' all tapping, 
fishing, hunting and other usual occupations, handi- 

*Recs. of New Amsterdam, i. 1-2, May3i, 1647. 
^ Ordinance, March 10, 1648. Ibid., 7-8. 



so RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

crafts and business, be it in houses, cellars, shops, 
ships, yachts, or on the streets and market places," 
were forbidden, "under the penalty of forfeiting all 
such wares, goods and merchandise and of redeem- 
ing them with the payment of twenty-five florins, 
to be applied until further orders for the support 
of the poor and the churches, besides a fine of one 
pound Flemish, payable by purchaser as well as 
seller, employee as well as employer, half of it going 
to the officer, the other half at the discretion of the 
court." Any person violating the Sabbath by ex- 
cessive drinking, "to his disgrace and the offense 
of others, " was subject to arrest by the Fiscal or 
any superior or inferior officer, and to arbitrary pun- 
ishment by the court.' Regulations were also made to 
restrict the number of taverns, and to punish the sale 
of liquor to the Indians. 

The ordinances for the observance of Sunday were 
not intended to be enforced only at New Amsterdam. 
As soon as the whole of the South River again came 
under the authority of the West India Company, 
in 1655, the vice-director, Jean Paul Jacquet, and his 
commissaries were instructed "to observe and have 
observed the placards and ordinances made and 
published heretofore against drinking on the Sabbath 
and the profanation of the same."^ 

The severity of the law was increased considerably in 
1656. The Director General and Council forbade on the 
Lord's day of rest "the usual work of plowing, sowing, 

* Ordinance, April 29, 1648. Recs. New Amsterdam, i. g. 

2 Provisional Instructions. Nov. 29, 1655. Col. Docs. N. Y., xii. 



CHURCH AND STATE 5 1 

mowing, carpentering, woodsawing, forging, bleaching, 
hunting, shooting or anything else, which on the other 
days may be a lawful occupation, under the penalty of 
one pound Flemish, payable by each person so offend- 
ing. ' ' Double this fine was established for ' ' any idle and 
forbidden exercises and plays, excessive drinking bouts, 
frequentation of taverns or tipplinghouses, dancing, 
playing cards, ball or trick-track, tennis, cricket, or 
ninepins, pleasure-boating, driving about in carts or 
wagons, before, between or during divine service." 
Tavemkeepers and tapsters could not keep open their 
places or sell to anyone any brandy, wine, beer or other 
liquor, directly or indirectly, before or during the ser- 
mon, except under the penalty of six florins for each 
guest. Each person found drinking was also subject 
to a fine of three florins. The same penalty was in- 
flicted for the sale of liquor after the mounting of the 
guard or the ringing of the beU at night on week-days 
as on Sundays. An exception was, however, made 
in this regard in the case of servants and boarders 
or on public occasions, with the consent and by the 
order of the magistrates.' A violation of the Sab- 
bath ordinance entailed a severe sentence on April 1 1 , 
1658, when Andrew Vrydach, a mason, was sentenced 
to lose six months' wages and to stand guard for 
the same period for being intoxicated and flghting 
during divine service.^ In i66i,- various forms of 
servile labor were interdicted on the Sabbath under 
a penalty of one poundfFlemish for^the first offense, 

1 Ordinance, Oct. 26, 1656. Recs. of New Amsterdam, i. 24; 
ii. 204, sqq. ' 

2 CotmcU minutes. Jtdy 11, 1658. O'Callaghan, Cal. Hist. MSS. 
(Dutch),!, p. 198. 



52 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

double as much for the second oflEense, "and four 
times double as much" for the third ofifense. The 
same penalties were decreed for the sale of liquor on 
Sunday, and the drunkard found on this day was to be 
conveyed to the guardhouse, where he was to remain 
at the discretion of the commissaries and in addition 
was to be fined one pound Flemish for the benefit of 
the officer who arrested the prisoner.' In 1^6.3, Stuy- 
vesant complained not only that the Sunday laws were 
not observed, but that they were "by some misinter- 
preted and misconstrued, as if the previously enacted 
placards referred to and applied to the maintenance and 
sanctification of only half the Sabbath." The Director 
General and Council, therefore, commanded the observ- 
ance not only of a part but of the whole Sabbath, 
and warned the people that, "pending the Sabbath, 
from the rising to the setting of the sun, no customary 
labor shall be performed, much less clubs kept." The 
Director General and Council also forbade "all unusual 
exercises, such as games, boat, cart or wagon racing, 
fishing, fowling, running, sailing, nutting or picking 
strawberries, trafficking with the Indians or any like 
things, and amongst other things all dissolute and licen- 
tious plays, riots, calling children out to the streets and 
highways." The penalty for the violation of this ordi- 
nance was the forfeiture of the upper garment (het 
Oppercleet) or six guilders, according to the decision of 
the court, for the first offense, double for the second, and 
exemplary punishment for the third offense. * The pla- 

' Ordinance, Nov. i8, 1661. Laws and Ordinances of New 
Netherland, 415-16. 

' Ordinance, Sept. 10, 1663. Recs. New Amsterdam, iv. 301-2. 



CHURCH AND STATE 53 

card was sent to the Burgomasters and Schepens, but 
they did not publish it, because they "found themselves 
aggrieved in several particulars." Their successors, in 
the spring of 1664, judged the observance of the ordi- 
nance highly necessary, but they did "not dare to pub- 
lish such a placard, as divers sections thereof are too 
severe and too much opposed to Dutch liberties."* 
The municipal court was constrained to come to sopie 
understanding with the Director General and Council, 
as various persons were brought before them on the 
usual court day for the violation of the Sabbath.^ 

The customs of the fatherland had been the occasion 
of friction before between the Director General and 
Council and the court of Burgomasters and Schepens. 
Some farm servants had intended to ride the goose* on 
the feast of Bacchus at Shrovetide, but Stu3rvesant 
thought it "altogether unprofitable, unnecessary and 
censurable for subjects and neighbors to celebrate such 
pagan and popish feasts and to practice such evil cus- 
toms in this country," while the Burgomasters and 
Schepens contended that such customs were "tolerated 
and looked at through the fingers in some places of the 
fatherland." Nevertheless, the Director General and 
Council sent the court messenger, Claes van Elsland, 
with a prohibition to the farm servants, who paid no 
respect whatever to the order of the Director General. 

^ Court minute, March i8, 1664. Recs. New Amsterdam, v. 

38-39- 

? Court minute, May 13, 1664. Ibid. 60. 

'"There was a game called 'Pulling the Goose,' introduced at 
New Amsterdam in 1654. A goose with head and neck smeared 
with grease was suspended between two poles. Men rode at full 
gallop, and tried to grasp it as they passed." Tuckerman, Peter 
Stuyvesant, p. 152. 



54 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

Some of the delinquents were then summoned before 
the Director General and Council to be tried and 
fined for contempt. Several behaved insolently to- 
wards the chief magistracy, and were committed by 
the Director General and Council to prison.' On the 
protest of the Burgomasters and Schepens, the Director 
General and Council informed them that the estabUsh- 
ment of an inferior court of justice under the name 
Schout, Burgomasters, and Schepens or Commissaries in 
no way infringed or diminished "the power and authority 
of the Director General and Council to enact any ordi- 
nances or issue particular interdicts, especially those 
which tend to the glory of God, or the best interest of 
the inhabitants, or will prevent more sins, scandals, de- 
baucheries and crimes, and properly correct, fine and 
punish obstinate transgressors."^ When Cornelius van 
Tienhoven informed the Burgomasters and Schepens 
of the country-people's intention to ride the goose again 
in the following year, he was instructed, in response to 
his inquiry, "seasonably to declare the same to be 
illegal," as it had been forbidden by the Supreme 
Councillors.' 

The prevalence of concubinage and irregularities in 
contracting matrimony, which occasioned the former, 
also called for Stuyvesant's intervention soon after his 
advent to the Province of New Netherland and 
repeatedly during the course of his administration. 
According to the laws of the Netherlands, and the 

f" * Stuyvesant to Schout, Burgomasters and Schepens. Feb. a6, 
1654. Recs. New Amsterdam, i. 172; Col. Docs. N.Y., xiv. 249. 

' Stuyvesant to Schout, Burgomaster and Schepens. Feb. 26, 
1654, Recs. New Amsterdam i. i73;|Co]. Docs. N. Y., xiv. 249. 

'Court minute. Feb. 8, i6ss- Recs. New Amsterdam, i. 286. 



CHURCH AND STATE 55 

adjoining provinces and countries, persons desiring to 
enter the state of matrimony had to give notice of their 
bans, which were to be published on three consecutive 
days of prayer or of court session in the jurisdiction, 
place or village where the two contracting parties were 
residents and had lived for the past year. If these parties 
were residents of different villages, places, or districts, 
the bans had to be published in both places and proof 
of no lawful hindrance had to be produced to the mag- 
istrates or beadles at the place, where, after the publi- 
cation of the bans, they wished to be married.* In 
violation of this legislation, William Harck, the sheriff 
of Flushing, had solemnized a marriage between 
Thomas Nuton, a widower, and Joan, the daughter of 
Richard Smith, against her parents' consent and con- 
trary to law. On April 3, 1648, the sheriff was fined six 
hundred Carolus guilders, dismissed from ofi&ce, and the 
marriage was annulled; Thomas Nuton was sentenced 
to pay a fine of three hundred guilders and to have the 
marriage again solemnized after three proclamations.^ 
Although the clergy of New Amsterdam were the com- 
missaries of matrimonial cases, Stuyvesant himself 
sometimes intervened, as in the case of the maid Wil- 
lemeyntje, who had been deceived by a promise of mar- 
riage by Ralph Clark.' In spite of the law, magistrates 
again published the bans of matrimony for persons 
who resided outside of their jurisdiction, and solem- 
nized such marriageSjbut on January 19, 1654, an ordi- 

* Stuyvesant and Council to magistrates of Gravesend. Feb. 
10, 1654. Col. Docs. N. Y., xiv. 245-6. 

2 Council Minute. April 3, 1648. O'Callaghan, Cal. Hist. MSS. 
(Dutch), i. p. 116. 

^ Ibid. pp. 126-127, 130. 



S6 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

nance was issued that prohibited this practice and 
bound the contracting parties to prove that their bans 
had been published where they had resided for the 
previous year.' This legislation had been occasioned 
especially by the illegal proceedings of the Court of 
Gravesend, which published the bans of matrimony 
between Johan van Beeck and Maria Verleth, residents 
of New Amsterdam, without the consent of Stuyvesant, 
who had been made the guardian of the bridegroom by 
the father in Holland. This breach of the correct 
practice of the ecclesiastical and civil order of New 
Amsterdam was thought to prepare "a way whereby 
hereafter some sons and daughters, unwilling to obey 
parents and guardians, will, contrary to their wishes, 
secretly go and get married in such villages or else- 
where. "'' The magistrates of Gravesend contended 
that van Beeck was a freeman of their village and that 
the intervention of the Director General in this matter 
was a violation of their charter, but Stuyvesant retorted 
that he was also a freeman of New Amsterdam and 
of Amsterdam, that matrimony must be concluded 
according to divine and human laws, with the consent 
of parents, tutors or guardians, and that no infraction of 
the privileges of their charter was intended.' On Feb- 
ruary lo, 1654, the court messenger was sent to Graves- 
end to renew the marriage ordinance of the Province of 
New Netherland, and to declare all marriages not con- 
cluded according to this statute, unlawful, "as contrary 
to all civil and political laws and ordinances, in force 

1 O'Callaghan. Cal. Hist. MSS. (Dutch) i. p. 134. 
* Court minute, Jan. 26, 1654. Recs. New Amsterdam, i. 155. 
'Stuyvesant to magistrates of Gravesend, Jan. 20, 1654, Col. 
Docs. N. Y., xiv. 243 ; Feb. 10, 1654, Ibid. 245-6. 



CHURCH AND STAXfe. 57 

here, in our fatherland and among all our Christian 
neighbors.'" On the same day, the Burgomasters and 
Schepens of New Amsterdam, requested by Johan van 
Beeck to proclaim properly the bans of his marriage 
with Maria Verleth, remonstrated . with the magis- 
trates of Gravesend for their action in this case and 
attempted to obtain a mutual promise to prevent such 
irregularities in the future. 'Johan van Beeck con- 
tinued to push his petition for a publication of the 
bans of his contemplated marriage bejEore the muni- 
cipal court. The circumstances of the case were care- 
fully weighed by the magistrates: the institution of 
matrimony, the teaching of the Apostle of the Gentiles, 
the proper ages of the contracting parties, the consent 
of the parents of the girl, the distance of the father- 
land and the difficulty of communication on account 
of the war between Holland and England, and finally 
the danger of disgrace for both families from further 
delay. While the magistrates admitted the correctness 
of the views of the Dutch theologians, that "we must 
not tolerate or permit lesser sins, in order thereby to 
avoid greater ones," they thought that "by a proper 
solemnization of marriage the lesser and greater sins are 
prevented." The Burgomasters and Schepens of New 
Amsterdam, therefore, were of the opinion that the. 
proper ecclesiastical proclamations of the bans be- 
tween Johan van Beeck and Maria Verleth ought to be 
made at the earliest opportunity, to be followed after- 
wards by their marriage.* Some days later a poster 

1 Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 245. 

^CouncU minute, Feb. 19, 1654. Recs. New Amsterdam, i, 
16S. 



58 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

was put up by Johan van Beeck in various places of the 
city that contained this resolution of the Burgomasters 
and Schepens, the difficulties opposed by Director 
Stuyvesant to his marriage at Gravesend and at New 
Amsterdam, and his reasons for leaving the neighbor- 
hood to seek a safe retreat elsewhere.* Stuyvesant 
immediately demanded a copy of the resolution of the 
municipal court, which he reiterated again a week later, 
and sent a letter to all governors, deputy governors, 
magistrates and Christian neighbors, setting forth that 
Johan van Beeck and Maria Verleth had run off to New 
England to get married, and requesting them not to 
solemnize the marriage, but to send back the runa- 
ways.* When Stuyvesant learned that Van Beeck had 
been married by an unauthorized countryman, 
named Goodman Crab, living at Greenwich, against the 
laudable customs and laws of the United Netherlands, 
contrary to the advice and command of his lawful 
guardian, the Honorable Director General, and with- 
out a previous publication of the bans, he declared the 
marriage unlawful, and condemned Johan van Beeck 
and Maria Verleth to live separately under the penalty 
of being punished according to law for living in con- 
cubinage.' Nevertheless, two years later Maria Ver- 
leth, the widow of Johan van Beeck, in the lawsuit for 
a surrender of letters addressed to her husband, that 
had arrived after his death, received a favorable decis- 
ion from the Burgomasters and Schepens who based 

1 Council minute. Feb. 27, 1654. O'Callaghan, Cal. Hist. MSS. 
(Dutch), i. 135-136; Stuyvesant to Burgomasters, etc., March ^i, 
1654, Recs. New Amsterdam,!. 174. 

2 O'Callaghan, Ibid. 

3 Council minute. Sept. 14, 1654. Col. Docs. N. Y., xiv. 291. 



CHURCH AND STATE 59 

their decision on the order of the court, of the 19th 
of February, 1654, according to which "respect must 
be paid to the proclamation of the church and con- 
sequently to the marriage tie of the said young people." 
They could not, therefore, pronounce the marriage 
illegal.* 

New legislation seemed necessary to the Director- 
General and Council in 1658. Some persons did* not 
proceed to the solemnization of their marriage, even 
after the bans had properly been proclaimed three 
times, but delayed the ceremony even for months to the 
detriment of good order and the customs of the father- 
land. The Director, therefore, ordered the marriage to 
be celebrated within at least a month of the third pro- 
clamation, if there was no legal opposition ; in the case 
of further delay, he commanded the reasons to be sub- 
mitted under a penalty of ten florins for the first week 
after the expiration of the month and twenty florins for 
each successive week, until the parties reported the 
reason of their disobedience. Furthermore, no man and 
woman were allowed to keep house together like man 
and wife, before they were legally married, "under a fine 
of one hundred florins, or as much more or less as their 
position admitted." Such persons were to be fined anew 
every month, according to the orders and customs of the 
fatherland.' In 1660, Stuyvesant addressed a circular 
letter to the clergy from Fort Orange, in which he noti- 
fied them, that they were not to publish any bans of 

* Court minute. Feb. 7, 1656. Recs. New Amsterdam, i. 36. 
^Ordinance. Jan. 15,1658. Ibid. 37-38; ii. 304. 



6o RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

marriage, unless the parties had lived at least a year and 
a half to two years in their district.* 

There was, therefore, no lack of paternal legislation 
to uplift the tone of public morality and religion in 
the Province of New Netherland, at least during the 
directorship of Peter Stu5rvesant. However, most of 
the measures adopted for this purpose found little 
response in the life of the people. The Dutch inhabi- 
tants were largely indifferent to religion ; the professed 
members of the Dutch Reformed Church never ma- 
nifested great zeal in the practice of their faith; and all 
attempts at the organization of dissenting worship 
were strictly prohibited by law, and did in fact entail 
persecution. 

» O'Callaghan. Cal. Hist. MSS. (Dutch), i. 215. 



CHAPTER III 

The Dutch Reformed Church * 

No provisions for religion are found in the Records 
of New Netherland until the arrival of the Director Gen- 
eral Peter Minuit in 1626. For during the first two 
years of organized colonization under May and Ver- 
hulst, the small number of settlers, who were for the 
most part Protestant Walloons, exiles from the southern 
Provinces of the Spanish Netherlands, seem not to have 
had any kind of public worship. The public religious 
life of the Dutch colony, therefore, really began with the 
arrival of the two Comforters of the Sick, Sebastian 
Jansz Crol and Jan Huyck, in the company of the 
Director Peter Minuit.' This office in the Church of 
HoUand had attached to it the particular duty of 
admonishing and comforting the sick according to an 
elaborate form, "The Consolation of the Sick" or 
' ' Instruction in the Faith and the Way of Salvation to 
Prepare Believers to Die Willingly,"^ but in places desti- 
tute of an organized ministry the Comforters of the Sick 
conducted divine service, although they were warned 
under no pretext to arrogate to themselves whatever 

^Doc. Hist. N. Y. iii, 28, citation from Wassenaer, Historic 
van Europa, xii, 38. 

'Cf. Form in, Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 47; Manual of Reformed 
Church of America, Corwin, pp. 18-19. 

(61) 



62 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

properly belonged to the ministerial office. This 
divine service was very simple. It consisted of prayer, 
singing of psalms, the reading of some chapters of the 
bible and of some sermon of aii orthodox Reformed 
minister.* This later became the model for the public 
worship allowed by the provincial authorities in the 
new settlements, English as well as Dutch, that could 
not be provided with an orthodox minister.^ In all 
gatherings of the people, the Comforters of the Sick led 
in prayer according to the nature of the occasion. In 
the community, they were to be the watchful custodians 
of the faith and of the moral law, who were to instruct 
the ignorant, admonish siimers to repentance and 
amendment of life, and encourage the weak to perse- ' 
verance in virtue. Accordingly on Sundays, Sebastian 
Jansz Crol and Jan Huyck read from the Scrip- 
tures and the commentaries to the commonalty that 
Minuit had concentrated on Manhattan Island. Mean- 
while, Frangois Molemacker was busily engaged in 
building a horsemill, over which was to be constructed 
a spacious room that would accommodate a large con- 
gregation. This structure was to be adorned with a 
tower, in which were to be hung the Spanish bells cap- 
tured at Porto Rico by the Dutch fleet the preceeding 
year.' 

^ Cf . Instructions for the Comforters of the Sick, Adopted in 
Classis of Amsterdam, May 5, 1636, Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i, 96-97. 

2 The same policy was also adopted in Brazil by the College of 
the XIX. "The smaller places shall be served by precentors, Com- 
forters of the Sick and schoolmasters, who shall ofiEer up public 
prayers, read aloud from the Old and New Testament and from 

grinted sermons; and tune the psalms." Proceedings of the 
oUege of the XIX. Ibid. 193. 
^ Narratives of New Netherland. Wassenaer's Historical Ver- 
hael. p. 83-4, Dyer points out the fact that, while the wooden 
structure erected solely for church purposes by Wouter Van Twiller 



THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH 63 

This provisional form of worship ceased with the 
arrival of the first Dutch minister, Jonas Michaelius, in 
the spring of 1628, whose services had been engaged for 
three years.* The population of New Amsterdam then 
numbered about two hundred and seventy souls, includ- 
ing men, women and children, but a portion of the Wal- 
loons were going back to the fatherland, either because 
the years of their service had expired or because liiey 
were of little use to the company.^ Although the peo- 
ple were "for the most part rather rough and unre- 
strained," Michaelius found consolation in the love and 
respect which most of them manifested towards him. 
A consistory was at once organized, which comprised, 
besides the minister, two elders, Peter Minuit and Jan 
Huyghens, and the deacon Sebastian Crol. The latter, 
being also vice-director of the trading post of Fort 
Orange, was seldom in New Amsterdam. This led to 
the election of the two elders to assist the minister in 
all ecclesiastical matters that might occur. Both these 
elders, the Director of the Dutch colony, Peter Minuit, 
and his brother-in-law ,Jan Huyghens,had formerly held 
ecclesiastical ofl&ces, the one as deacon and the other 

became a landmark in drawing up deeds and mortgages, no reference 
of this kind occtirs in regard to the horsemill -until some time after 
the introduction of the English rule, in 1667. There were probably 
not two such primitive establishments for grinding the grain, as 
windmills were soon erected. Dyer believed that the lack of 
reference is probably due to its location on the waste lands north of 
the town, where in fact the horsemill of 1667 stood, viz., on Mill 
street, formerly Sleyck Strege. Cf. Dyer, A. M. Site of the first 
Sjmagogue of the congregation Shearith Israel of New York. Am. 
Jewish Hist. Soc. Pubs. No. 8. pp. 26-41. 

'Michaelius to D. Johannes Foreest, August 8, 1628. Man- 
hattan in 1628. Dingman Versteeg. 1904. p. 64. 

2 Michaelius to Smoutius August 11, 1628. Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i, 
33-54. Col. Docs. N. Y. ii, 763 etc. 



64 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

as elder in the Dutch and French churches respectively 
in Wesel. In the place of one of these elders, a new one 
was to be chosen every year from a double number 
lawfully proposed to the congregation. The occupa- 
tion of all the members of the first consistory in public 
business with the exception of the minister made 
MichaeHus fear the possibility of confusion and dis- 
order in ecclesiastical and civil matters. To avoid this 
danger, he requested precise instructions for the gov- 
ernors of the Province and the Synodal acts for himself, 
so that the relations of Church and State might be well 
regulated.* It is generally asserted that there is no 
trace of any nnisunderstanding between Minuit and 
Michaelius, but the Van Rensselaer-Bowier Manu- 
scripts disprove this. When the Director General and 
the secretary, Jan Van Remtuid, came into conflict with 
each other, the minister is declared to have been "very 
energetic here stirring up the fitre between them; he 
ought to be a mediator in God's Church and community 
but he seems to me to be the contrary."^ Kiliaen van 
Rensselaer in writing to Wouter van Twiller puts the 
blame on the colonial secretary, who had excited the 
minister against Minuit.' 

The church organized at New Amsterdam com- 
prised the Walloons and French, as well as the Dutch, 
although the Sunday service was performed only in the 
language of the latter, which all but a few individuals 
could understand. There was, therefore, no necessity 
for any special service in French, but Michaelius did 

»Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 52-53. 

' Van Rensselaer Bowier MSS. ed. by A. S. Van Laer, igo8. p. 

169. 

'Ibid. pp. 267-8. 



THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH 6$ 

administer the Lord's Supper to them in their native 
language. At this first administration of the Sacra- 
ment, there were fully fifty communicants, including 
the Walloons and the Dutch. Some of these made 
their first profession of faith, demanded prior to their 
admission to the Lord's Supper ; others had certificates 
from their churches in the fatherland. Michaelius, how- 
ever, could not insist upon the usual formalities ia re- 
gard to all, as some had neglected to bring these testi- 
monials with them under the impression that no church 
would be organized in the colony, and others had lost 
them in a general conflagration. He had, therefore, to 
be content with the testimony of their neighbors and 
with their conduct while in the colony. For the future, 
the Sacrament was to be administered every four 
months, until the advent of a larger number of people 
^ould make some other arrangement necessary.' 

Prom the beginning, Jonas Michaelius was forced to 
share in the hardships of colonial life. He had been 
promised some acres of land instead of the free table, 
which was his due, but the conditions of the colony 
were such, that it was impossible to procure either 
labor or live-stock even for money. Neither butter nor 
mitk was obtainable and the minister anticipated a hard 
winter with nothing but stale food imported from Hol- 
land, that was bad for his children as well as for him- 
self. The loss of his wife by death made these hard- 
ships even more difficult to bear.' 

The following year witnessed the explicit legal 

'Michaelius to Smoutius, Augtist ii, 1628, Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i, 

S3-S4. 

a Ibid. 63-64. 



66 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND ' 

recognition of the Dutch Reformed Church in the Pro- 
vince of New Netherland. The slow progress made in 
the colonization of the country led the Company to 
grant to its members who should plant colonies there a 
charter of privileges and exemptions,' by which feudal 
rights were guaranteed to such patroons. At the same 
time, freedom of colonization with hberal privileges was 
also offered to private persons in the United Provinces, 
who should settle there either on their own accoimt or 
in the service of their masters. According to the 
twenty-seventh article, "the Patroons and colonists 
shall in particular, and in the speediest manner endea- 
vor to find out ways and means, whereby they may 
support a Minister and schoolmaster, that thus the ser- 
vice of God and the zeal for religion may not grow cool 
and be neglected among them, and they shall from the 
first procure a Comforter of the Sick there. "^ Thus 
the first charter granted for the colonization of New 
Netherland by the West India Company made the 
maintenance of the ministry of the Reformed Chvtrch 
obligatory on the part of the patroons and the colonists. 
The Dutch Reformed Church, therefore, obtained a 
legal recognition of its establishment in the Province as 
early as 1629. At the time of the negotiation of this 
charter, the West India Company was anxious to ap- 
pear in the light of the champion of the Dutch national 

1 Col. Docs. N. Y. ii. SS^-T- Laws and OrdinanceSiOf New 
Netherland. 9. 

' The provision of the charter was not a piece of legislation 
adopted in particular for New Netherland, but is also found in the 
draft of the conditions for colonies in general by the College of the 
XIX, June 12, 1627 and November 22, 1628. Cf. Extract from Dutch 
Archives. U. S. Commission on Boundary between Venezuela and 
British Guiana, ii, pp. S^". 63- 



THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH 67 

cause and Faith, as the Directors feared the successfu 
conclusion of a truce with Spain to the great detriment 
of the interests of the Company, whose members, ac- 
cording to their remonstrance, had "most at heart 
the maintenance of the Reformed Religion and the 
liberties of our beloved Fatherland.'" 

Michaelius most probably left the colony shortly 
after the expiration of the three years for whicb his 
services had been engaged by the West India Company.* 
The Classis of Amsterdam then sent Everardus Bogar- 
dus to New Netherland,' where he arrived in the spring 
of 1633 with the new Director, Wouter Van Twiller. 

The welfare of the Reformed Church was now ad- 
vanced by the advent of the first schoolmaster, Adam 
Roelandsen, who was also sent out by the Classis of 
Amsterdam with the approbation and consent of the 
Directors of the Company. The duty of a Dutch 
schoolmaster in colonial days was not only to instruct 
in reading, writing and arithmetic, but also to implant 
the fundamental principles of the "true Christian 
Religion," to teach the children the customary prayers, 
and to train them to modesty and sobriety.* The 
building activity, with which Van Twiller inaugurated 
his directorship, included the erection of a church, later 

1 West India Go's Consideration on a truce with Spain. 
November 16, 1629. Col. Docs. N. Y. i, 40-2. 

* Jonas Michaelius was again proposed after his return to Hol- 
land by the Classis of Amsterdam in 1637 for the New Netherland 
mission, but was rejected in 1638 by the Assembly of theXIX.Cf. 
Eecl.Recs.N. Y. i, in, 114, 116. 

2 August 17, 1632, et. seq. Synod of North Holland at Alkmaar 
Art. 38. Ministerial changes. In the Classis of Amsterdam, Ibid. 
82-3. 

* Instruction and Credential Letter for Schoolmasters going 
to the East or West Indies or elsewhere. Ibid. 98-99. 



68 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

characterized by DeVries as a "mean bam,'" with a 
dwelling house and stable adjoining for the use of the 
minister, the Reverend Bogardus. 

In the summer of the following year, the friendly 
relations between the Church and the Provincial author- 
ities were again disturbed.* Although the occasion of 
the quarrel is unknown, Bogardus was accused of hav- 
ing sent a letter to Wouter Van Twiller, which was not 
dictated "by the spirit of the Lord," but "by a feeling 
unbecoming heathens, let alone Christians, much less a 
preacher of the Gospel." He is said to have described 
the Director as "a child of the devil, an incarnate vil- 
lain, whose buckgoats are better than he," and to have 
threatened him with "such a shake from the pulpit, on 
the following Sunday, as would make him shudder."' 
Somewhat later the peace of the Church of New Amster- 
dam was again disturbed by the trouble arising between 
the minister and the Schout Fiscal of the Province, 
Lubertus van Dincklagen, who in 1636 was sent to Hol- 
land by the Director and deprived of his wages for three 
years for his censure of the bad administration of the 
Province. He claimed he had been excommunicated 
by the machinations of the Reverend Everardus 
Bogardus and driven into the wilderness to escape the 
persecution instituted against him, where for days he 

* Extracts from Voyages of David Pieterzen de Vries. N.Y. Hist. 
Soc. Col. 2d. Ser. iii, loi. 

* Kiliaen van Rensselaer also puts the blame for this upon the 
secretary, Jan van Remund.who had stirred up the minister against 
Wouter Van Twiller. The Governor was accused of running "out 
on the street after the minister with a naked sword;" of being 
"proud and puffed up, always drunk as long as there is any wine. . . 
lazy and careless, hostile to the minister and no defender of relig- 
ion, etc." Van Rensselaer BowierMSS.fip. 267-8, 271. 

s Surpmons of Bogardus before Council by Kieft. June 11, 1646, 
Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv, 69. 



THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH 69 

had been forced through the lack of necessary food to 
sustain himself on the grass of the field. ^ On his 
arrival^^at Amsterdam, he instituted proceedings against 
Wouter Van Twiller with the States General for the 
recovery of his salary and against Bogardus with the 
Classis for the removal of the excommunication.* He 
submitted a lengthy paper to the ministers of the Clas- 
sis with an accusation against Everardus Bogasdus, 
which "referred to his bad government of the Church, 
as well as his conduct^^and walk."" The States General 
finally "seriously" urged the College of the XIX to 
grant Lubbertus Van Dincklagen full redress, but the 
Classis postponed action until the return of the minister 
to Holland, which was expected to occur soon. Wil- 
Ham Kieft, meanwhile, superseded Wouter Van Twiller 
as Director. When Bogardus, in the summer of 1638, 
requested of the Council permission to depart for the 
Fatherland to defend himself against Lubbert Van 
Dincklagen, his request was refused, as the Council 
judged it "necessary to retain the minister here, so that 
the Church of God may increase more and more every 
day. "* The consistory of New Amsterdam repeatedly 
sent testimonials to the Classis in favor of their minister, 
whose cause was also espoused by the new Director, 
William Kieft.' While the Classis promised to take to 
heart their case "in order to maintain the honor of their 

*Acts of Classis of Amsterdam. March iq, 1640. Eccl. Recs. 
N.Y.i, 127. 

2 Acts of Deputies . May 7 , 1 640 . Ibed. 129. 

'Acts of Classis of Amsterdam. April 7, 1636. Ibid, i, 88. 

* Council minute. July 8, 1638. Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv, 10. - 

"Acts of the Deputies. November 19, 1641, Eccl. Recs. JT. Y. i, 
142; April 7, 1642, Ibid, i, 149; April 22, 1642, Ibid. 151. 



7© RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

worthy pastor, the Reverend Everardus Bogardus," 
the ministers were determined to do justice towards 
LubbertusVan Dincklagen.' The case wasstill pending 
in May, 1642, but the pubUshed documents of the Clas- 
sis fail to disclose its issue. 

A new impulse to colonization was given on July 
19, 1640, by the publication of a new charter of Free- 
doms and Exemptions which was extended to all in 
friendly relations with the Netherlands. The West 
India Company took this occasion to establish still more 
formally the Dutch Reformed Church. "And no 
other religion shall he publicly admitted in New Nether- 
land, eoccept the Reformed, as it is at present preached and 
practiced by public authority in the United Netherlands; 
and for this purpose the Company shall provide and main- 
tain good and suitable preachers, schoolmasters and Com- 
forters of the Sick. "' Although this clause was intended 
to strengthen the position of the Dutch Reformed 
Church in the Province of New Netherland, the privi- 
leges extended by the charter to foreigners became the 
occasion of a large growth of dissent with the conse- 
quence of an attempt to infringe upon the exclusive 
establishment of the Reformed Church, which led to 
persecution. 

Greater zeal for the Reformed Religion was also 
manifested after the publication of the new charter of 
Freedoms and Exemptions. The need of a new and 
more substantial church had heen felt for some time. 
In 1640 the Director and Council appropriated a por- 
tion of the fines imposed by the court of justice to raise 

'Acts of Deputies, May s, 1642. Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i, 152. 
2Col. Docs. N.y.i, 123. 



THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH 7 1 

the funds necessary to defray the expense of the new 
building.* In spite of this, nothing was accomplished 
until two years later, when Captain De Vries urged 
Kieft to follow the example of the English, who always 
build a fine church immediately after the erection of 
their dwellings. The West India Company ought not 
to be less zealous, as it "was deemed to be a principal 
means of upholding the Reformed Religion against the 
tyranny of Spain." Kieft demanded that De Vries 
show his love for the Reformed Religion by the donation 
of one hundred guilders, which the latter promised to 
do, if the Director himself would generously subscribe 
for this purpose in behalf of the Company. They were 
in hopes that the remainder could be raised by the 
community.^ A favorable opportunity for this pre- 
sented itself in the wedding of the daughter of the 
Reverend Bogardus. The Director "set to work after 
the fourth or fifth drink ; and he himself setting a lib- 
eral example, let the wedding guests sign whatever they 
were disposed to give towards the church. Each, then, 
with a light head, subscribed away at a handsome rate, 
one competing with the other; and although some 
heartily repented it when their senses came back, 
they were obliged, nevertheless, to pay."' Accord- 
ingly a contract was let to John and Richard Ogden, of 
Stamford, to build a stone church at New Amsterdam, 

* O'Callaghan. Hist, of NewNetherland. i, 259. 

' Extracts from the Voyages of David Pieterzen de Vries. N. Y. 
HisJ. Society Coll. 2d. Ser. iii (1857), 101-2. Prom the "Korte 
Historiael Ende Joumaels Aenteyckeninge," by David Pieterz. de 
Vries. Narratives of New Netherland. p. 212. 

' Remonstrance of the People of New Netherland to the States 
General, Col. Docs. N. Y. i. Representation of New Netherland. 
Narrativesof NewNetherland. p. 326. 



72 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

seventy-two feet long, fifty-two feet wide and sixteen 
feet high, for the sum of two thousand five hundred 
guilders.' On the advice of De Vries, a site was chosen 
for the new church within the fort, that the faithful 
while assembled in worship might be guarded against 
a sudden attack of the Indians. The walls of the 
building were soon raised and the roof covered with oak 
shingles, but the immediate completion of the building 
was retarded by the rise of factions within the Dutch 
community and by the outbreak of Indian hostilities. 
The inscription on the church even became a matter of 
complaint to the commonalty against the government 
of Kieft, who asserted therein that he had the commtm- 
ity build the temple. 

Sinno 1642; 

aoiilUam Hiift. WittcUttr--<Bmttatl; 

^tett tit (BtmttnU tit^m 'dtmvel 9Doen Bpufcoen. 

A grievance was also later found in the position of 
the church in the fort, as "a fifth wheel to a coach," 
whereas the opponents of the governor would have pre- 
ferred it in a more central location for the greater acco- 
modation of the people at large. However, these 
objections were only urged after the development of 
unpleasant relations within the colony.^ 

The building activity of the church wardens at New 
Amsterdam had been stimulated largely by the intelli- 
gence that the colonists of Rensselaerswyck contem- 
plated the erection of a church. Although this colony had 

» Cf. copy of the contract in O'Callaghan, Hist, of New Nether- 
land, i, 262 note I. 

2 Remonstrance of the People of New Netherland to the States 
General, July 28, 1649, Col. Docs. N. Y. i, 271-318; or Representa- 
tion of New Netherland. Narratives of New Netherland, p. 320. 



THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH 73 

been founded in virtue of the charter of Freedoms and 
Exemptions granted in 1629, the settlers had remained 
without the religious comforts which a church and 
resident clergyman might bring to them in the wilds of 
America. Nevertheless, the public exercise of religion 
was not neglected in the colony. The officials were 
bound tinder oath to promote ' ' the true and pure service 
of God in conformity with the Christian Reformed 
Religion . . . taught and maintained in the churches 
and schools of the United Provinces.'" Whenever a 
council meeting was held, a prayer had ' 'to be offered 
up by the most suitable person,in order that the blessing 
of God" might rest upon the assembly and bestow upon 
its members "wisdom and understanding" in their 
deliberations.^ On Sundays and holidays, the people 
of the colony came together to hear read some chapters 
of the Bible and the special lessons and exposition of 
God's Holy Word assigned for the day in the Book of 
Homilies, which a Reformed divine.Schultetus, had com- 
posed for family use.' It was usually the duty of the 
"officer and schout" of the colony to read and to offer 
up public prayers in these asseipblies.* Thus the 
patroon hoped to have his colonists trained in the com- 
mandments, the psalms, in pious reading, in modesty, 
love and decency, until means could be found to send a 

' Cf. Instructions for Adriaen van der Donck.JMay 14, 1641, 
Van Rensselaer-BowierMSS. 703. 

' Kiliaen van Rensselaer to Jacob Albertsz Planck, May 10, 
1638. Ibid. 415. 

• Instructions to Rutger Hendricks van Soest, schout, and to 
theCquncil, July 20, 1632. Ibid. pp. 208. 

* Ibid. 251. Contract between Kiliaen van Rensselaer and 
Jacob Albertz Planck, March 4, 1634. 



74 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

minister from Holland.' The schout, Jacob Planck, 
wrote that three hundred florins a year might be raised 
in the colony, but Kiliaen van Rensselaer knew fuU 
well, that no minister could be found to go there for that 
sum.* Meanwhile, in response to the request of the 
patroon, Eaeft allowed the minister at Manhattan occa- 
sionally to go to Rensselaerswyck to console and 
admonish the colonists there and to celebrate the 
Lord's Supper with them.' 

Ten years after the foundation of the colony the 
exemption of the settlers from the payment of taxes 
ceased, and the patroon then expected to develop 
resources for the support of an organized ministry from 
the tithes to be paid by the inhabitants.* He antici- 
pated within a short time sufficient revenue from this 
source for the erection of a small church, for which he 
himself sent the model, of a parsonage for the minister 
and of a dwelling for the sexton.^ However, the people 
of the colony opposed the payment of the tithes, to the 
great annoyance of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, who 
thought it "childish to think of a minister going there 
from here to be paid by the inhabitants individually. 

1 Letter. Kiliaen van Rensselaer to Jacob Albertz Placnk 
October 3, 1636, Van Rensselaer-Bowier MSS. 328. Commission 
to Arent van Ciirler, as secretary and bookkeeper, May 12, 1639. 
Ibid. 434. 

2 Letter. Kiliaen van Rensselaer to Pieter van Miinnickendam, 
Mays, 1638. Ibid. 408. 

3 Letter. Kiliaen van Rensselaer to William Kieft, May 17, 
1638. Ibid. 404: William Kieft to Kiliaen van Rensselaer August 
14, 1638. Ibid. 423, Kiliaen van Rensselaer to Kieft May 12, 1639. 
Ibid. 431. 

* Commission to Pieter Comelisz van Munnickendam as receiver 
of tithes and supercargo of the vessel, May 12, 1639. Ibid, p 436. 

* Cf . Instructions for Cornells Teimisz van Breukelen as the rep- 
resentative of the patroon, August 4, 1639. Ibid. 459. Kiliaen van 
Rensselaer to Arent van Ctirler, July 18, 1641. Ibid. 561. 



THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH 7$ 

He who is a servant of Jesus Christ, would then become 
a servant of the people, and when it came into the 
farmer's heads, they would give nothing at all."* 
The patroon insisted on his right to the tithes, as it was 
"the means appointed by the Lord God himself," as it 
was "in use throughout all Christendom," and espec- 
ially as "the patroons by the Twenty-seventh article of 
the Freedoms" were bound "to endeavor to find means 
for the promotion of the service of God. "' 

The new charter again urged the duty of maintain- 
ing a minister in the patrponships, and in 1 642 Kiliaen 
van Rensselaer requested the Classis of Amsterdam to 
assist him in obtaining the services of the Reverend 
John Megapolensis, Jr., of the Church of Schoorel in the 
Classis of Alkmaar.' The ministers were most willing 
to second the efEorts of the patroon, and so John Mega- 
polensis was duly called to "proclaim Christ to Christ- 
ians and heathens in such distant lands," and further- 
more commissioned "to preach God's word there; to 
administer the holy sacraments of baptism and the 
Lord's Supper; to set an example, in a Christian-like 
manner by public precept ; to ordain elders and deacons; 
to keep and govern, by and with the advice and assist- 
ance of the same, God's congregation in good discipline 
and order, all according to God's Holy Word, and in 
conformity with the government, confession and cate- 
chism of the Netherland churches, and the Synodal 
acts of Dortdrecht. "* The patroon made liberal pro- 

1 Kiliaen van Rensselaer to Arent van Curler, May 30, 1640, 
Rensselaer- Bowier MSS. 489. 

^ Instruction to Arent van Curler, June 16, 1640. Ibid. 404. 

'Classis of Amsterdam, March 17, 1642. Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i, 
145-6. 

* Call of Rev. Megapolensis, March 22, 1642. Ibid. i. 146-8. 



76 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

visions for the maintenance of the minister, whose ser- 
vices were engaged for six years.* When the ship was 
about to sail, the Directors of the West India Company 
unexpectedly claimed the exclusive right to approve 
the appointment of the colonial clergy. There was no 
time to argue the case without delaying the departure 
of the vessel, and a compromise was allowed by the 
patroon, who consented to the approval of the minis- 
ter's commission by the Directors without any pre- 
judice to his rights as patroon of the colony.'' 

KiUaen van Rensselaer did not limit the authority 
of Domine Megapolensis to ecclesiastical matters, but 
also made the minister the arbiter of all disputes 
arising between the chief official of the colony, 
Arent van Curler, and the next officer in rank, 
Adriaen van der Donck. He was instructed to "have 
an eye to the rights and advantages of the patroon, 
that the common welfare may not suffer from mis- 
understanding, contention and the like." The 
Domine's decision was to stand unquestioned until 
the patroon himself could look into the matter at issue.' 
However, there is no evidence of friction between the 
minister and the officials. In fact, Arent van Curler 

O'Callaghan's Hist, of New Netherland. i, 449; Mtmsell's Annals 
of Albany, i, 21, 92. 

1 Contract in O'Callaghan, Hist, of New Netherland. i. 448-9. 
He was given free passage and board on ship for himself, wife and 
four children. If he shoidd fall into the hands of the Dunkirkers, 
the patroon promised to ransom him and dtiring his detention to 
give forty guilders monthly for his support. A parsonage was to be 
erected in the colony and a salary of one thousand and ten 
guilders yearly, with an increase of two hundred and fifty gfuilders 
yearly for the three following years, was stipulated. 

^ Ibid. 449, also in Van Rensselaer-Bowier MSS. p. 606-8. 
Dattesdifier; here April 6, in O'Callaghan, March 6. 

^ Memorandtan from KiUaen van Rensselaer for Johannes Mega- 
polensis. June 3, 1642. Van Rensselaer-Bowier MSS. 618. 



THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH. 77 

wrote the patroon that he never failed to ask the minis- 
ter's opinion before he began any new enterprise and 
always thankfully received his counsel.' 

Megapolensis did not find a church edifice 
ready for his use. On August 17, 1642, he had 
to preach his first sermon in the storehouse, 
where about one hundred persons had assembled.' 
The minister did not find the people all that he desired,' 
and Kiliaen van Rensselaer had to confess that matters 
were "in such a state, that hardly any semblance of 
godliness and righteousness" remained. Many, hard- 
ened in their sins, now absented themselves from divine 
service, "so as not to hear the Word of God."* The 
patroon, therefore, sent a draft of an ordinance, which 
made attendance at divine worship, at least once a 
week, obligatory upon all adults, unless they were 
excused by sickness or some other good reason. Severe 
fines were to be decreed for the violation of this ordi- 
nance, and the minister was directed occasionally to 
preach at Rensselaers-Steyn, even on some week-day, 
to give the people of that region more opportunity to 
fulfill this obligation.* The worst crimes enumerated 
by the patroon as prevalent in the colony were dishon- 
esty, licentiousness and drunkenness.* Kiliaen van 
Rensselaer suspected "that Fort Orange is a wine cellar 

' Van Curler to Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, June i6, 1643. O'Calla- 
ghan, Hist, of New Netherland, i, 457. 

'Kiliaen van Rensselaer to Johannes Megapolensis. March 13, 
1643. Van Rensselaer-Bowier MSS. 652. A church was finished 
only a year later. 

* Ibid. 647. 

' Redress of the abuses and fatdts in the colony of Rensselaers- 
•wyck, September s, 1643. Ibid 686-7. 

• Ibid. 694-5. 
« Ibid. 687-88. 



78 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

to debauch my people, exhausting them as long as they 
can find something to pay, and after that charging it to 
my account."* He, therefore, also planned severe 
legislation to limit the importation of liquor into the col- 
ony according to the needs of each family, but to the 
exclusion of dissipation and drunkenness. Offenses 
of this kind were also to be punished by heavy fines, 
which were to be doubled, if the culprit proved to be an 
officer, "as wine and spirits are the cause of God's 
wrath, of the patroon's loss and of all evils. "^ 

On the outbreak of the Indian war, the Dutch min- 
ister at Manhattan, Everardus Bogardus, "many times 
in his sermons freely expressed himself against the hor- 
rible murders, covetousness, and other gross excesses."* 
On several occasions, the Dutch in their revolting 
cruelty even outraged the blunted moral sense of the 
Indian savage. The ravages of the war, which re- 
duced the Dutch settlers almost to the last extremity, 
made the government unpopular, and Kieft attempted 
to shift the responsibility for the war upon his advisors. 
One of these, Maryn Adriaesen, became so incensed at 
this treachery of the Director General, that he made a 
murderous but unsuccessful attack upon Kieft. 
The minister espoused the cause of the unfortunate 
man from the pulpit "in the most brutal maimer." 
Later he again attacked Kieft.* "What are the 
great men of the country but receptacles of wrath, 

1 Kiliaen van Rensselaer to William Kieft, June 8, 1642. Van 
Rensselaer-BowierMSS. 632. 

' Redress of the abuses and faults in the colony of Rensselaers- 
wyck. Ibid. 

•Broad Advice. N. Y. Hist. Soc, Coll. 2d. Ser. iii, (1857), 
261-2. 

* Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv, 69-73. 



THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH 79 

fountains of woe and trouble? Nothing is thought of 
but to plunder other people's property — to dismiss^ — to 
banish — to transport to Holland." It was unfortunate 
for the welfare of the Dutch community that this min- 
ister's life was also a scandal on account of his intem- 
perance, which took away a great deal of the force of 
this telling criticism of Kieft's government. The 
Director General represented the minister as' ' a seditious 
man, who sought nothing else than to excite the peo- 
ple and the servants of the company against him, who 
was their sovereign ruler." Kieft now absented him- 
self entirely from church attendance "to avoid giving 
greater scandal," but a series of recriminations took 
place between the Director General and the Dutch 
minister, which was unworthy of their respective 
offices and did great harm to the moral and religious 
life of the commonalty. Kieft's example drew away 
from the church the officials and servants of the Com- 
pany, "who all did not attend the administration of the 
Lord's Supper, or even the meetings to hear God's 
Word."* The officers and soldiers were permitted to 
perform all kinds of noisy plays about the church dtir- 
ing the sermon and scoffed at the faithful who came to 
partake of the Lord's Supper. While the minister was 
engaged in preparing the faithful for this solemn relig- 
ious act, orders were given to beat the drum and to dis- 
charge the cannon several times. Kieft finally began 

* Cf . also tetter of John Backerus to Classis of Amsterdam, 
August 1 5 , 1 648 . "I had to observe with my own eyes that none of 
the officers here would come to church, when our brother Domine 
Everardus Bogardus preached. For there was such important 
questions and differences between our said brother on one side, and 
his Honor, General William Kieft, with certain officials, on the other, 
that there was a mutual aversion." — Eccl. Recs. i, 233. 



8o RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

to realize that he could not continue in this course and 
attempted to obtain a reconciliation without compro- 
mising his dignity, but the minister had been too 
deeply outraged, and he naturally allied himself to 
the party, working for the removal of the incom- 
petent governor, whom he openly attacked, outside of 
the church in the gatherings of the people on the occa- 
sion of weddings and christenings, and in the church in 
the course of his sermons. The matter came to a crisis 
in the beginning of 1646, when Kieft called upon 
Bogardus to answer for his continual opposition to the 
government. "Inasmuch as your duty and oath im- 
periously demand the maintenance of the magistracy; 
and whereas your conduct stirs the people to mutiny 
and rebellion, when they are already too much divided, 
causes schism and abuses in the church and makes us a 
scorn and a laughing stock to our neighbors, all which 
cannot be tolerated in a country where justice is main- 
tained, therefore, our sacred duty imperiously requires 
us to prosecute you in a court of justice, and we have 
accordingly ordered a copy of these our deliberations to 
be delivered to you to answer in fourteen days." 
Bogardus, who had hitherto neglected to recognize any 
letter of the Director, was constrained to answer this 
bill of indictment, but his first reply was considered fu- 
tile and absurd, and his second answer slanderous. 
After some further correspondence, the minister refused 
to enter into "a deep discussion of this affair" and chal- 
lenged the competency of the Director and his council. 
The Director refused to allow that the matter trans- 
cended his powers, but, to obviate all pretext of slander, 
he declared his willingness to submit the case to the 



THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH 8l 

judgment of "impartial judges of the Reformed Relig- 
ion," such as the ministers Megapolensis and Doughty 
and two or three impartial members of the Province, 
unless meanwhile another Director should arrive, who 
might then decide the matter. Bogardus saw his 
opporttinity and immediately appealed to the new 
Director and Council, but Kieft refused to entertain this 
appeal, as the time of the arrival of the new Dir|ctor 
was uncertain, and it was high time "to put a stop to 
the scandal and disorder which have prevailed hither- 
to." Nevertheless, the prosecution was not pressed in 
the end, probably on account of the intervention of 
Domine Megapolensis, who at the request of the 
Director was allowed by Bogardus to preach in his pul- 
pit," in order that we may with more fervor pray God in 
the midst of the congregation that he would dispose 
you and our hearts to a Christian concord." The ter- 
mination of Kieft's tenure of office prevented a new out- 
break of hostile feeling from either party within the 
colony, as both postponed further action in the matter 
until their arrival in the Fatherland. In the following 
summer, both Kieft and Bogardus embarked for Hol- 
land "to terminate their disputes of long standing be- 
fore the Directors,"' but shipwreck in the Bristol Chan- 
nel, where both perished, relieved them from render- 
ing their accounts. 

Peter Stuyvesant, the new Director General, who 
was joined at Curajoa by the minister John Backerus, 
foiind New Amsterdam in a low state. "Where the 



^John Backerus to Classis of Amsterdam, June 29, i648- 
^ccl. Recs. N. Y. i, 232. 



82 



RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 



shepherd errs, the sheep go astray."' The congrega- 
tion numbered about one hundred and seventy mem- 
bers, most of whom were "very ignorant in regard to 
the true rehgion and very much given to drink." 
John Backerus, whose services had been engaged tem- 
porarily, believed that "the source of much evil and 
great offense would be removed," if the seventeen tap- 
houses were closed, with the exception of three or four. 
The vice of intemperance had obtained such sway that 
the minister despaired of being able to accomplish any- 
thing with many of the older people, who were "so far 
depraved that they are now ashamed to learn anything 
good."^ His hope was with the children, who might be 
influenced by the pious example of a new pastor and of 
a good schoolmaster. The abuses that had developed 
during the strife between Kieft and Bogardus had 
retarded the growth of religion and education. The 
church, although begun in 1642, still remained uncom- 
pleted, no schoolhouse had as yet been erected, and 
Kieft had been accused of misappropriating the funds 
collected for both these purposes. As the resources of 
the Directors were too limited to allow any vast expen- 
diture, Stuyvesant now endeavored to obtain assis- 
tance from the people by the formation of a representa- 
tive board of "Nine Select Men," who, as good and 
faithful representatives of the commonalty, were "to 
promote the honor of God and the welfare of our dear 
fatherland to the best advantage of the Company and 
the prosperity of our good citizens, to the preservation 

* Directors to Stuyvesant, April 7, 1648. Col. Docs. N.Y. xiv, 

84. 

' Backerus to Classis of Amsterdam, September 2, 1648. Eccl 
Recs.N. Y. i, 236. 



THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH 83 

of the pure Reformed Religion, inculcated here and in 
the churches of the Netherlands."* Arrangements were 
made to procure means to complete the church and to 
provide a schoolhouse with a dwelling for the school- 
master. Meanwhile, on the request of Stuyvesant and 
the church of Manhattan, William Vestensz was sent as 
Comforter of the Sick and schoolmaster by the Classis of 
Amsterdam, with the approval of the Directors gf the 
West India Company.^ 

A total destitution of the ministry now threatened 
the Province of New Netherland. John Backerus 
demanded to be released of his temporary charge by the 
appointment of another minister, who "must have full 
liberty in denouncing sin, for which he will find the way 
already prepared, and he must do his duty with the good 
example of a decent life himself."' The authorities in 
Amsterdam felt constrained to grant his request, but 
they were put to great trouble, as the six years' service 
of Domine Megapolensis expired at this time and he also 
was anxious to return home to rejoin his wife and 
children and to attend to the liquidation of an estate, 
in which he was greatly interested.* Nevertheless, 
Stu3rvesant, with the full approval of the Directors in 
Amsterdam, hoped to engage the services of Megapolen- 
sis after his dismission from the church at Rensselaers- 
wyck. The Classis of Amsterdam was also anxious 
that Megapolensis shoiild accept a call to the church of 

'■ Council minute, November 14, 1647. O'Callaghan, Cal. Hist. 
MSS. (Dutch) i, p. 114; Hist, of New Netherland, ii, 37-38. 

2 Classis to Megapolensis, January 10, 1650. Eccl. Recs. N. Y. 
i, 266. 

8 Backerus to Classis of Amsterdam, September 2, 1648. Ibid. 
236. 

* Directors to Stuyvesant, January 27, 1649. Col. Docs. N. Y. 
xiv. 107. 



84 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

New Amsterdam. Although the patroons of Rensse- 
laerswyck would gladly have seen Megapolensis con- 
tinue his residence in their colony, they were not willing 
to hold him there against his will. However, they 
requested him to make some arrangements before his 
departure for the continuation "of some form of wor- 
ship, such as the reading of some chapters of God's 
Word, or some good homily. "' When Megapolensis 
arrived at New Amsterdam, on his way to the father- 
land, Backerus had already left the town for E>urope. 
His departure had been hastened by the measures 
adopted by Stuyvesant to repress any protest of the 
people against his autocratic government, which he 
feared might also be made the subject of this minister's 
discourse in the pulpit. At the same time, he protested 
that he did not wish to gain control of "ecclesiastical 
affairs which are left at the full disposal of said ministers 
and consistory," wherein the Director General offered 
all the aid and assistance that could lawfully be de- 
manded from the chief magistrate of the country. In 
regard to other things, the minister was personally 
instructed by the Director General "not to read himself 
or have read by any of the church officers from the pul- 
pit or elsewhere in the church at the request of any of 
the inhabitants any writing, petition or proposal having 
relation to the municipal or general government," until 
such writing had been signed by the Director himself 
or by the secretary on the order of the Director and 
Coui^cil.' 

*Acts of Deputies. Classis of Amsterdam, March 29, 1649. 
Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 249. 

' Council Minute, May 8, 1649. Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 114. 



THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH 85 

On the departure of Backerus, the Director General 
and Council determined to press Megapolensis to remain 
and to supply here the service of the Word and the 
administration of the Holy Sacraments for the honor of 
God, the advancement of his Church, and the salvation 
of men.* Megapolensis finally yielded to these per- 
suasive arguments of the Director and Council. Un- 
like his predecessors, he was of one mind and spirit Vith 
the provincial government on the religious and politi- 
cal issues which presented themselves in the course of 
time. This was especially manifested six years later in 
the policy adopted for the repression of religious dissent. 

The abuses that had developed in the course of 
Kieft's administration, and the ineffectual efforts to 
obtain redress of their grievances from Stuyvesant, led 
the people to appeal directly to the States General in 
1649.* The failure of the company to endow the Church 
of New Amsterdarn with property sufficient to give a 
fixed revenue for the support of religion was urged in 
these complaints as a grievance of the commonalty. 
The education of the youth had also suffered from 
neglect. Some material had been gathered for the erec- 
tion of a school, but the first stone had not yet been laid, 
although a plate had long been passed around to raise 
funds. However, the proceeds of this collection were 
not in the hands of the provincial authorities, but in the 
hands of one of the remonstrants, Jacob Couvenhoven. 
No charitable institutions in the nature of an hospital, 
or of an orphan asylum, or of a home for the aged had 
been erected. The Directors claimed that their re- 

' Council minute, Aug^ust 2, 1649. Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 116. 
' Col. Docs. N. Y. i. 217-300, 335, 340. 



86 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

sources at present were too limited to allow the erection 
of buildings, which were not very necessary. They 
believed that the poor could be well cared for with the 
proceeds of voluntary offerings and the fines, that were 
given to the Deaconry, as it was able to loan the com- 
pany in New Amsterdam the sum of nine hundred to a 
thousand guilders.' 

The Remonstrance finally led to the incorporation of 
the city of New Amsterdam with a municipal cotirt of 
Burgomasters and Schepens. The minutes of this court 
open on February 6, 1653, with a prayer, in which they 
thank God for his past blessings, beseech Him for 
strength and light in the administration of justice, so 
that they might be able to exercise the power entrusted 
to them "to the general good of the community and 
to the maintenance of the church."^ Stuyvesant had 
attempted in vain to obtain some financial assistance 
for the maintenance of the civil, ecclesiastical and mili- 
tary servants of the company. ° Finally, in the fall of 
this year, Stuyvesant granted the Burgomasters and 
Schepens the usual excise on wine and beer con- 
sumed in the city of New Amsterdam, which they were 
to farm out to the highest bidder, if in return they paid 
subsidies for the maintenance of the works of the city, 
and the salaries of its ecclesiastical and civil servants.* 
When a semi-annual payment became due, the minis- 
ters Megapolensis and Drisius applied to Stuyvesant, 

'Representation of New Netherland (1650). Narratives of 
New Netherland, p. 327. Van Tienhoven's Answer. Ibid. p. 361-3. 

' Recs. New Amsterdam, i, 48-9. 

° Directors to Stuyvesant, Jime 26, 1653. Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 
306. 

* Coturt minute, November 29, 1653. Recs. New Amsterdam, i. 

130- 



THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH 87 

who ordered the Burgomasters and Schepens, in accord- 
ance with their promise, to provide the salaries of the 
ministers of the Gospel,' but the Burgomaster and 
Schepens now offered only to pay out of the excise the 
salaries of one minister, one precentor, who was at the 
same time schoolmaster, and of one beadle.^ When 
Stuyvesant saw that these men were not willing to 
fulfill their promise, he revoked the concession at the 
excise, which he farmed out immediately to the highest 
bidder, to pay the clergy and place them above want.' 

The incorporation of the city of New Amsterdam did 
not change the position of the deaconry of the Dutch 
Reformed Church in regard to the poor. The deacons 
were instructed by the Director General and Council to 
exercise as heretofore the office of orphan-masters 
towards the widows and orphans, but they were com- 
manded now to apply to the Burgomasters and 
Schepens, or in case of necessity to the Director 
and Council for the appointment of curators, who 
were to be responsible to the municipal court.* How- 
ever, in the following year, at the instance of the 
Burgomasters and Schepens, Stuyvesant appointed 
regular orphan-masters, who were organized Febru- 
ary, 1656, into a separate body, "whose duty it shall 

* Director General and Council to Burgomasters and Schepens. 
June I, 1654. Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 268-9. Recs. New Amsterdam, 
i. 206. 

2 Burgomasters and Schepens to Director and Council. August 
21 and 31. Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 288-9. Recs. New Amstetdam, i. 
232. 

' Council minute, June i, 8. Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 268-9)271-2. 
Recs. New Amsterdam, i. 206. 

* Council minute, February 26, 1653. O'Callaghan, Cal. Hist. 
MSS. (Dutch) i, p. 131. Cf. Minutes of Orphan Masters of New 
Amsterdam. Prefaceby BertholdFernow. pp. vi-viii. 



88 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

solely be to attend to orphans and minor children 
within the jurisdiction of the city and to administer 
their property in and out of the city and oversee such 
administration by others." The deacons retained the 
care of the poor, but such great demands were made 
upon them by the poor of other towns, that the deacons,- 
on June ii, 1661, requested the Director General and 
Council to have the adjacent villages make weekly col- 
lections for their own poor.' Such provisions were 
made by the ordinance of October. It speaks well for 
the good sense of the Dutch that goods and merchan- 
dise, belonging to the board of deacons and other chari- 
table institutions, were exempt from the fee for weigh- 
ing. The weigh-master was instructed to weigh these 
free and for God's sake.' This was the only exemption 
allowed from such taxes. The question of exemption 
from the Burgher excise and a tax on slaughtered 
cattle in regard to the clergy was discussed in 1656 by 
the court of New Amsterdam, which finally decided that 
no person was to be exempt from such taxes, ^ as the 
Director General himself offered to pay.' Nevertheless, 
in 1 66 1 Alexander Carolus Curtius, the rector of the 
Latin school, contended that professors, preachers and 
rectors were exempt from excise taxes in Holland, but 
the court decided that the rector was to pay the excise.* 
After the departure of Megapolensis from Rensse- 

* Council min-ute, June 11, 1661, O'Callaghan. Cal. Hist. 
226. MSS. (Dutch) i. Ordinance, October 22, 1661. Ibid. 230. 

' Laws and Ordinances of New Netherland, April 11, 1661. p. 

393- - 

' Court minute, October 2, 1656, October 26, October 30. Recs. 
New Amsterdam, ii, 179, 204. 

* Cotirt minute. January 25, 1661. Recs. New Amsterdam, iii, 
353- 



THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH 89 

laerswyck, this colony remained without a clergyman 
until the arrival of the Reverend William Grasmeer in 
1650. He was a son-in-law of Megapolensis and for- 
merly pastor at Grafdyck in the Classis of Alckmaar, 
where he had been found guilty of domestic quarrelling, 
abandonment of his wife, and drunkenness.' He was 
deposed from the ministry and his deposition was con- 
firmed by the Synod of North Holland. As soon ^ the 
Classis of Amsterdam learned of his resolution to go to 
New Netherland, the deputies earnestly warned the 
colonial authorities not to allow him to exercise any 
duties of the ministerial office, until he had given satis- 
faction to the Classis of Alckmaar. Nevertheless, Wil- 
liam Grasmeer was able to obtain a call to the pastorate 
of the church of Rensselaerswyck by means of two cer- 
tificates, which he had obtained under false pretenses 
from the deacons and elders of Grafdyck and from the 
pastor of Alckmaar, the Rev. Knierus (JohnKnyi).^ 
The Classis of Amsterdam with the approbation of the 
patroon informed the church of Rensselaerswyck that 
they could not allow William Grasmeer to remain in the 
ministry of the colony, "lest God's Holy Name be blas- 
phemed, your colony demoralized, and the good order 
and discipline of the church be trampled under foot.'" 
This decided opposition led Grasmeer to return to Hol- 
land and seek a reconciliation with his ecclesiastical 
superiors in the hope of then receiving an appointment 

^ Classis of Amsterdam to church of Rensselaerswyck, Febru- 
ary 20, 1651. Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 290. 

'Classis of Alckmaar, November 28, 1650. Ibid. 283. Classis of 
Amsterdam, January 2, 1651, Ibid. 286. 

'Classis of Amsterdam to church of Rensselaerswyck. February 
30, 1651. Ibid. 289. 



90 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

as the second minister at New Amsterdam.' Stuyve- 
sant had recommended the case of this minister to the 
Directors of the Amsterdam Chamber, but the Synod of 
North Holland had first to approve the reconciliation of 
Grasmeer/ which was done only in August, 1652, after 
a repentant acknowledgment of his sins.* 

Meanwhile, the services of two ministers had been 
obtained for the colonial church, which apparently pre- 
cluded the return of William Grasmeer to the colony. 
Stuyvesant had urged the appointment of a min- 
ister with some ability to preach to the English, who 
had settled in New Amsterdam, and were members of 
the Reformed Church. At this time, disturbances in 
England led the Reverend Samuel Drisius to retreat to 
Holland, where he declared his willingness to the Clas- 
sis of Amsterdam to be employed in the ministry of 
New Netherland. Immediately the deputies of the 
Classis recommended his appointment as assistant to 
Domine Megapolensis in the church of New Amsterdam, 
as he was able to preach in both languages, English and 
Dutch, and if necessary even in French, and thus would 
prove ' ' a great instrument for the propagation of God's 
Holy Word and glory."* The Directors readily con- 
ceded the request of the Classis. A few months later 
Gideon Schaats, schoolmaster at Beets, received a call to 
the church of Rensselaerswyck, for which he was or- 

' Acts of Classis of Amsterdam, February 12, 1652. Eocl. Recs. 
N.Y.i. 301. 

'Directors to Stuyvesant, April 4, 1652. Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 

174- 

' Synod of North Holland, August 12, et seq., 1652. Eccl. Recs. 
N. Y. i. 312-13. 

* Directors to Stuyvesant, April 4, 1652. Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 
173. Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 303-6. 



THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH 9 1 

dained by the Classis of Amsterdam.' His contract 
with John van Rensselaer bound him ' ' to use all Christ- 
ian zeal there to bring up both the heathen and their 
children in the Christian religion ; to teach all the ca- 
techism and instruct the people in the Holy Scriptures, 
and to pay attention to the office of schoolmaster for old 
and young; and further to do everything befitting a 
public, honest and holy teacher for the advancement of 
divine service and church exercise among young and 
old."' Thus while Gideon Schaats exercised the minis- 
terial office, he also held the office of a schoolmaster in 
the colony of Rensselaerswyck. With the new minister 
there also arrived a new Schout of the colony, Gerrit 
Swart, who was instructed "above all things to take 
care, that Divine Worship shall be maintained . . con- 
formably to the Reformed Religion," as publicly 
taught in the United Provinces, and "that the Lord's 
Day, the Sabbath of the New Testament, be properly 
respected both by the observance of hearing the Holy 
Word, as well as the preventing of all unnecessary and 
daily labor on said day. ' ' ' Gideon Schaats found a con- 
gregation of about one hundred members in the colony, 
but sometimes there was an attendance of three or four 
hundred at the church, and the new minister estimated 
that there might be a congregation of six hundred, but 
for the taverns and villainous houses, that had many 
visitors. "There are many hearers, but not much sav- 
ing fruit." He could hardly rely on any support 
from the people, who preferred "to gamble away or lose 

1 Classis of Amsterdam, Acts of Deputies, 1652, April 15, 
May 6. Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 308-9. 

2 Contract in O'Callaghan, Hist, of New Netherland, ii. 567.] 

3 Ibid. 566-7. 



92 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

in bets a ton of beer at twenty-three or twenty-four 
guilders, or some other liquor." The better class were 
too few to be able to make up any deficiency of his sal- 
ary. There was not even a house for the new minister, 
as the house that had been occupied by the former 
preacher was allotted to the new schout-fiscal,' and the 
congregation refused to build a new parsonage. The 
patroon of the colony only allowed the minister two hun- 
dred guilders for rent, while the rent of a decent domi- 
cile cost at least four hundred guilders. This forced 
the Rev. Gideon Schaats to come to some arrange- 
ment with the deaons of the church, from whom he 
obtained the use of the poor-house for his dwelUng 
place, as there were then very few poor people in the 
colony. Meanwhile, a small new church had been 
erected in the heart of Beverwyck, which was then a 
village of about one hundred and twenty houses. 
Most of the inhabitants were in the employ of the West 
India Company, and when the second contract with 
patroon of the colony expired in 1657, van Rensselaer 
refused to pay any longer for services, which were 
mainly to the advantage of the servants of the com- 
pany.^ He was then reappointed "at the request of 
the inhabitants of Fort Orange and Beverwyck," by 
Stuyvesant at a salary of one hundred florins a month, 
which the company expected to be raised for the greater 
part by the congregation.' The labors of Gideon 

1 Commission of Gerrit Swart. O'Callaghan, Hist, of New 
Netherland, ii. 564. 

2 Schaats to Domine Laurentius, June 27, 1657. Eccl. Recs. N. 
Y. i 385-6. 

*Directorsto Stuyvesant, May 20, 1658. Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. , 
419- 



THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH 93 

Schaats bore fruit in spite of the discouraging outlook, 
for in 1660 he estimated the number of church mem- 
bers at about two hundred, although at that time he 
was fearful of' the ravages which might be inflicted 
upon his congregation ' by the toleration of Lutheran 
worship in the colony.' * * •« 

The Dutch settlements on Long Island were depen- 
dent for religious ministration on the church of New 
Amsterdam until 1654, when the Reverend John T. 
Polhemus arrived from Itamarca, in Brazil, whence the 
Dutch had been expelled by the Portuguese. In the 
beginning of this year, the West India Company had 
invited the Classis of Amsterdam to find a suitable per- 
son to take charge of public worship on Long Island, and 
had appropriated for his support six hundred guilders 
as an annual salary. No one was found to take the 
place.* Thus the advent of Polhemus to the Dutch 
colony was opportune, and he immediately received 
a call to minister to the inhabitants of Midwout and 
the adjoining towns, subject to the approval of the 
Classis of Amsterdam and the Directors of the 
Company. It was resolved to erect in Midwout' a 
building, about sixty or sixty-five feet in length, twenty- 
eight feet in width and twelve or fourteen feet high. 
A chamber in the rear was planned for the use 
of the preacher, while the front part was to be 
devoted to divine service. The building was intended 

* Schaats to Classis of Amsterdam, September 22, 1660. Eccl. 
Recs. N. Y. i. 483. 

^ Acts of Deputies. Classis of Amsterdam. March 2, 1654. Ibid. 

324- 

'Council minute, December 17, 1654. Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 

310. 



94 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

to become a parsonage and bam, as soon as the inhabi- 
tants collected more funds and the material necessary 
for a church. The erection of this edifice was confided 
to a commission, composed of the Reverend Megapolen- 
sis, Jan Snediger and Jan Strycker. On the erection of 
a parsonage and the grant of a parcel of land, Midwout 
felt too poor to bear further expenses alone* and per- 
mission was granted to call upon the inhabitants of 
Breukelen and Amersfoort to cut and hew timber to be 
used in the construction of a building for the exercise of 
Divine Service.^ Poverty also made the support of the 
minister impossible for one single town, and Stuyvesant, 
on the petition of the magistrates, directed a collection 
to be taken up in the villages of Breukelen, Midwout 
and Amersfoort for the support of the minister, but 
Breukelen and the adjacent places agreed to contribute 
according to their means, only on the condition that 
Domine Polhemus would officiate alternately at 
Midwout and Breukelen, which the Director General 
and Council readily allowed.' This arrangement met 
with serious objections from the people of Gravesend 
and Amersfoort, who were thus compelled every 
other Sunday to travel four hours each way, "all for 
one single sermon, which would be to some very 
troublesome and to others utterly impossible," while 
Midwout was only two hours walk from each town. A 
compromise was now effected according to which the 
Sunday sermon was to be delivered in the morning at 
Midwout, which was nearly equally distant from the 

» Council minute, June 15, 1655. Col. Docs. N.Y. xiv. 337. 
2 Council minute, February 9,1655. Ibid. 311-12. 
'Letter to Director General and Council, February 25^ 1656. 
Ibid. 338. 



THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH 95 

three other towns, but the usual afternoon service was 
to be changed to the evening and was to be held alter- 
nately in Breukelen and Amersfoort.* 

The lot of Domine Polhemus was not more enviable 
than that of Domine Schaats. He received no com- 
pensation whatever for almost the first two years of his 
ministry from the Dutch settlers of Long Island. In 
his poverty, he was compelled to draw from the Com- 
pany's warehouse the necessaries of life to the amount 
of nine hundred and forty-two florins. This debt was 
remitted on the petition of the minister by the Provin- 
cial authorities in return for the services rendered dur- 
ing this time.' Another just cause of complaint was 
given to Polhemus, when winter set in, with the parson- 
age in such an uninhabitable state, that he with his wife 
and children had to "live and sleep on the bare ground 
and in the cold."' Stuyvesant had sent one hundred 
hemlock planks for the ceiling and wainscoting of the 
house, but the Commissaries Jan Snediger and Jan 
Stryker disposed of them to other persons atid for other 
usages, so that the parsonage remained unfinished in 
spite of the approach of winter. A restitution of the 
stolen property and the completion of the dwelling- 
house was peremptorily ordered by the Director Gen- 
eral.* A new difficulty was presented by the question 
of the minister's salary. It was finally determined 
to raise the sum from the three towns of Midwout, 

* Council minute, March 15, 1656. Stiles, Hist, of Brooklyn, i. 

13°- 

2 Council minute, January 29, 1658. Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 

411-12. 

'Letter to Stuyvesant, December 14, 1656. Ibid. 370-1. 
*Order of Stuyvesant, December 21, 1656. Ibid. 376. 



96 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

Amersfoort and Breukelen, of which the first town 
was to be assessed four hundred florins and the 
other two three hundred respectively. In the begin- 
ning of 1657, the court of Midwout, with the consent of 
Stuyvesant, levied a tax of ten florins upon each lot or 
parcel of land, of which there were about forty in the 
town.* The same plan was also pursued in Amersfoort, 
which, with the voluntary contributions promised by 
Gravesend, thus hoped to realize the three hundred 
guilders, for which it was assessed for the support of the 
minister.'* Breukelen alone was not content. This 
community was too small and too impoverished to be 
able to satisfy the demands made upon its resources for 
a ministry, which had not been engaged by the town, 
but had intruded itself against the wishes of the inhabi- 
tants. Besides the service of Domine Polhemus had 
proved unsatisfactory, inasmuch as the minister gave 
them only "a prayer instead of a sermon, that was fin- 
ished before they could collect their thoughts, so that he 
gives small ediflcation to the congregation." The mag- 
istrates thought that it might be more profitable to the 
people, if one of their own number were appointed "to 
read a sermon from a book of homilies every Sunday." 
They did not dispute the good will of Polhemus, but 
they believed that his faculties had been weakened by 
old age. Nevertheless, if he should persist to minister 
as before to them, they would give some voluntary con- 
tribution, but the congregation refused to be bound to 
any fixed sum in spite of the former promise of the 



'Council minute, March 28, 1656- Col. Docs. N. Y.xiv. 345. 
2 Council minute, January 15, 1657. Ibid. 378-9. 



THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH I 97 

magistrates of the town, as ' ' there are many who cannot 
make any contribution, and whom it would be more 
necessary to support.'" Stuyvesant refused to enter- 
tain the reasons alleged in this remonstrance and 
threatened to use force, and the intimidated magistrates 
agreed for this year to raise the promised three hundred 
florins, through the levy of a tax provided they were 
excused from any further contributions, tmless "con- 
ditions in the meantime improved in New Netherland 
and the fatherland.' 

In the fall of the following year, 1658, Polhemus 
and Jan Stryker began to erect the church proper on 
the order of Peter Stu3rvesant.' Meanwhile, the magis- 
trates of Midwout had obtained from the Director Gen- 
eral and Council an endowment for the support of the 
church, school and minister through the formation of a 
glebe. Twenty-five morgens were to furnish revenue 
to maintain the church in good repair; another lot of 
twenty-five morgens was set aside for the support of a 
school and divine service, and two more lots, contain- 
ing together fifty morgens, were attached to the parson- 
age for the direct support of the minister, on condition 
that the inhabitants of Midwout would make up any 
deficiency^in his salary. This arrangement was to hold 

* Petition of Brooklyn, January, 1657. Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 
380-2. 

2 Letter to Director and Council, January, 1657, Ibid. 382-3. 
The schout of Breukelen, Peter Tonneman, brought suit against 
Lodewyck Jan Martin, Nicolaes, the Frenchinan, Abram, the mu- 
latto and Gerrit, the wheelwright, for refusing to pay the levy of six 
guilders, "making none but frivolous excuses, one for instance, that 
he was a Catholic, the other that he did not understand Dutch, 
etc. " They were condemned to pay twelve guilders, as a warning 
example to others. Council minute, March 26, 1658. Ibid. 413-14. 

* Council minute. January 4, 1663. Ibid. 520. 



98 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

good, until the tithes became due, when further orders 
would be given.' Thus the company was almost 
entirely relieved of the support of religion in Midwout 
with the exception of occasional subsidies.^ 

The inhabitants of Breukelen were never quite recon- 
ciled to this arrangement of divine service on Long Island 
and in 1659, "on account of the fatigue of the journey 
from Breukelen to Midwout and the great age of Rev- 
erend J. Polhemus, to whom it proves burdensome," 
they requested a preacher for themselves for the promo- 
tion of religion and their own edification.' Accordingly 
the Classis of Amsterdam, on the recommendation of the 
West India Company, called the Reverend Henricus 
Selyns to the ministry of the Church of Breukelen, 
where upon his ordination he was commissioned "to 
preach the entire and saving Word of God ; to adminis- 
ter the Sacraments according to the institution of 
Christ ; to lead in public prayers of the congregation ; 
and in union with the officers of the church, to preserve 
discipline and order ; all in conformity with the Confes- 
sion of Faith of the Netherland Church and the Heidel- 
berg Catechism."* On the arrival of the Reverend 
Seljms, the peace negotiations with the Esopus Indians 
so preoccupied the Provincial government, that his in- 
stallation at Breukelen was delayed several months, 
during which the Company gave him an allowance for 
his support. Meanwhile, the magistrates of Breukelen 

* Council minute, January 29, 1658. Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 410. 

2 Pour hundred fls. advanced by Company, Sept. 30, 1660. 
Coimcil minute, Ibid 482-3. Acknowledgment of subsidy of 
four hundred, fifteen and ten fls. Council minute March 29, 
1 661. Ibid. 49c>. 

' Council minute, Sept. 3, 1660. Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 479-80. 

* Call, February 16, 1660. Ibid. 466. 



THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH 99 

discovered that they could only raise three hundred 
guilders yearly towards the salary of Seljms, who had 
been promised one thousand two hundred florins a year. 
The company then had to contribute the tithes of the 
village, and Stuyvesant himself offered to give to the 
new minister two hundred and fifty florins a year on the 
condition that the Domine preached on Sunday evening 
at his own Bouwery.^ This offer was accepted and on 
September 3, 1660, Nicasius de Sille, the schout fiscal of 
New Netherland and Martin Krieger, a Burgomaster 
of New Amsterdam were sent to Breukelen to install 
Domine Selyns in his new charge, where he was cor- 
dially received by the magistrates and the consistory, 
and greeted by Domine Polhemus. Divine service was 
carried on in a bam, but the people expected to erect a 
church the next winter. On his arrival at Breukelen, 
Selyns found one elder, two deacons, twenty-four mem- 
bers, thirty-one householders and one hundred and 
thirty-four people. His congregation also comprised 
the Ferry, Wallabout and Gowanus, and his audience 
was often increased by visitors from Midwout, New 
Amersfoort and even from Gravesend. People from 
Manhattan came to the service on Sunday evening at 
the Bouwery, which was also a place of relaxation and 
pleasure; Stuyvesant had there forty negroes besides 
the household families, and Selyns contemplated the 
organization of a separate consistory at this place or at 
least the election of one deacon, if not of an elder, who 
might take charge of the alms, which were then provis- 
ionally received by the deacons from New Amster- 

* Council minute, Augfust 30, 1660. Col. Docs. N.Y. xiv. 479. 



lOO RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

dam.* A year after the organization of a separate 
church in Breukelen, a schoolmaster, who was also sex- 
ton, chorister and precentor, was hired in the person of 
Carel De Beauvois.^ On the departure of Domine 
Selyns after the expiration of his time of service in the 
summer of 1664, the schoolmaster was commissioned to 
read prayers and a sermon from an approved author 
every Sunday in the church for the improvement of 
the congregation, until another minister could be 
found.' Selyns reported that during his ministry the 
church membership with God's help and grace had 
increased fourfold.* 

There was also another minister, who had come to 
the Province of New Netherland at the same time as 
Domine Selyns, but had been ordained to minister to 
the inhabitants of Esopus. This was the Reverend 
Hermanus Blom, who had before been in the cotmtry 
while yet a proponent, and at the invitation of Stuyve- 
sant had preached in several villages, to the great satis- 
faction of his hearers. After an opportunity was given 
by the Director General to the inhabitants of Esopus to 
hear Blom,° they petitioned the provincial authorities 
to give him to them as their minister, and resolved to 
prepare a good Bouwery for his support, to which later 
settlers would also have to contribute proportionately 
to the obligations assumed by the present petition- 

1 Letter to Classis of Amsterdam, October 4, 1660. Eccl. Recs. 
N. Y. i. 488. 

* Contract, July 6, 1661. Stiles, Hist, of Brooklyn, i. 429. 
' Stiles, Ibid. 145. 

* Letter, June 9, 1664. Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 548. 

* Stuyyesant to Lourissen at Esopus, August 11, 1659. Col. Docs: 
N, Y. xiii' 102. ^ j,^. 



THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH 1 01 

ers.' Stu3rvesant recommended their case, and Blom, 
on his return to Holland, was ordained and commis- 
sioned to preach at Esopus with the full approval of the 
Company, which promised to pay six hundred guilders 
yearly, while the balance up to ten or twelve hundred 
guilders was to be raised by the community, but paid to 
the minister by Stuyvesant in his capacity of chief mag- 
istrate of the Province.* After some delay in his instal- 
lation, which was also due to the Indian difficulties in 
the Esopus country, he finally was inducted in Septem- 
ber of 1660. The anxiety of the new minister in regard 
to his support was put at rest by the promise of the 
inhabitants to raise seven hundred guilders as their share 
of his salary, if his farm should fail.' A primitive form of 
divine service had already been organized some years 
previous to the arrival of the new minister. The com- 
pany had given the office of precentor to Andries van der 
Sluys, who led in prayer and read an approved homily 
at the Sunday meeting, catechised the children and 
taught them also the art of reading and writing.* On 
the arrival of Domine Blom, the church of Wiltwyck 
only counted sixteen members, but in the course of a 
few years the membership increased to sixty.* Stuy- 
vesant did all in" his power to foster the life of the 
church. On the erection of a smaU court of justice at 
Wiltwyck in 1661, the commissaries had also to prom- 

*Petition, Augfust 17, 1659- Col. Docs. N. Y. xiii. 103. 

* Directors to Stuyvesant, December 22, 1639. Ibid. 129-30. 
'Contract. March 4, 1661. Ibid. 194. 

* Megapolensis and Drisius to Classis of Amsterdam, August $• 
1657. Eccl. Recs. N.Y. i 397-8. Andries van der Sluys to Stuyve- 
sant, September 28, 1658. Col. Docs. N. Y. xiii. 91. 

" Letter of Blom, September 18, 1663. Doc. Hist. N.Y. iii. 582-3. 



I02 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

ise and swear in the presence of the Ahnighty and 
Everpresent God that they would "maintain and exer- 
cise the Reformed Church service and no other." The 
judges were, therefore, to be "professors of the Re- 
formed ReHgjon, as now preached in the United 
Netherland Churches in conformity with the Word of 
God and the order of the Synod of Dortdrecht." 
Even the court-clerk had to promise "to promote and 
help, as far as his position is concerned, the glory of God 
and the pure service of His Word."* 

The church suffered a severe blow in 1663 from the 
hostilities of the Indians, who slew twenty-four persons, 
and carried off forty-five prisoners. The dead left 
behind them many intestate estates, which became 
the occasion of serious differences between the magis- 
trates and the minister with his consistory, between 
whom relations had already become somewhat strain- 
ed. The magistrates were accused of arrogating to 
themselves the disposition of what was collected 
in the community either for the church or for the 
poor, while Domine Blom and his consistory were 
accused of opposing the magistrates in the appoint- 
ment of administrators and in the inventory of estates 
left without any heirs or testamentary disposition. 
The minister claimed that he had only opposed the 
payment of the surplus of such estates in a particular 
case after the settlement of all liabilities to the magis- 
trates, until it had been ascertained whether the over- 
seers of the poor had any claim to the money, as the 
church had the care of the poor, who were then a 

'Council minute. Col. Docs. N. Y. xiii. 196, 35)8; Laws of 
New Netherland, 396. 



THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH 103 

heavy burden. Stuyvesant directed that the money 
should be placed in charge of the overseers of the poor, 
until there was proof who had a right to the money. 
The magistrates complained that this put the whole 
matter in the hands of DomineBlom and his consistory, 
Albert Heymansen, as no deacon had ever been ap- 
pointed, who could read or write. They were still 
more dissatisfied by the fact that Stu3rvesant, had 
neglected to recognize their petition for the farming of 
the excise on beer and wine, as the expenses of the vil- 
lage were increasing and they were daily dunhed for 
arrearage on the Domine's house.* 

Even after the arrival of Selyns and Blom, Stuy- 
vesant informed the Directors that there were still 
three or four villages in need of preachers. New Utrecht 
and Gravesend on Long Island, New Haarlem on Man- 
hattan Island and Bergen, a newly planted village of 
about thirty families across the North River.^ At 
Haarlem, a church, partly French and partly Dutch, 
had been formed, to which the Reverend Michael Sipe- 
rius ministered for a short time in 1659 on his arrival 
from Curagoa, where he had been located before.' 
EvU reports in regard to his life had reached the Classis 
of Amsterdam, which were not belied by this Dutch 
minister's conduct in New Netherland.* "He behaved 
most shamefully here, drinking, cheating and forging 
other people's writings, so that he was forbidden not 

•Correspondence in Col. Docs. N. Y. xiii. 306-7; 311, 318. 
'Letter, October 6, 1660. Ibid. 189. 

*Beck to Stuyvesant, August, 1659. O'Callaghan. Cal. Hist. 
.MSS. (Dutch), i. p.331. 

* Clasais ofiAmsterdam to Drisius, December 5, 1661. Eccl. Recs. 
N.Y,i. 514. 



I04 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

only to preach but even to keep school." This soon led 
to his departure forVirginia,*and the church of Haarlem 
was not supplied with a new minister in spite of Stuy- 
vesant's petition. The people of Bergen' declared 
their willingness to raise a goodly sum for the support 
of a minister in their village, but as in the case of other 
villages of New Netherland this petition was also in 
vain. There were no ministers in Holland with suffi- 
cient zeal to prompt them to abandon their native 
country to labor in the struggling colonies of New 
Netherland, and the Company felt its resources too 
limited after its bankruptcy to assume additional bur- 
dens for the rich endowment of colonial churches, that 
would attract to them the young ministers or candi- 
dates to the ministry, at the beginning of their career.* 
The only minister, who was ordained and sent to New 
Netherland on the eve of the English conquest, at the 
instance of the West India Company, was Samuel Mega- 
polensis, the son of the old minister, who had recom- 
mended* him to the Classis of Amsterdam for this min- 
istry, as he was qualified through several years' attend- 
ance at the Academy of Cambridge in New England to 
preach to the English, who were in great want of 
preachers, and consequently open to the inroads of 
schism and heresy.* In fact, Stuyvesant had asked the 
Directors to locate two English preachers in the English 
towns as early as 1659, but the Directors felt that it 

1 Drisius to Classis of Amsterdam, August 5, 1664. Eccl. Recs. 
N.Y. i. sss. 

'Petition, November 1662. Col. Docs. N. Y, xiii 332-3. 

■Cf. Classis of Amsterdam to Backerus, April 26, 1549- Eccl. 
Recs. N.Y. i, 250. 

* Letter, September 25, 1658. Ibid. 436. 

' Megapolensis and Drisius to Classis of Amsterdam, September 
24, 1658. Ibid. 43»-3- 



THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH lOS 

wovdd be dangerous to draw any preachers from Eng- 
land, while that country was so disturbed, "not only in 
her political, but also in her ecclesiastical government.'" 
They wanted a minister "who would conform hknself in 
government" with the churches of New Netherland, 
"free from Independent and other New England 
notions," as the Directors informed the Classis of 
Amsterdam.* Nevertheless, no one was sent untfl the 
appointment of Samuel Megapolensis, and when he 
arrived just previous to the departure of Domine Seljms, 
he was expected to take the place of this minister at the 
Bouwery and at Breukelen." Thus the English vil- 
lages were still left destitute, but they had already 
passed from the jurisdiction of the Company and soon 
all New Netherland was in the hands of the English. 
However, an article in the capitulation guaranteed the 
free exercise of the Reformed Religion.* 

'Directors to Stuyvesant, December 23, i6s9- Col. Docs. N.Y. 
xiv,45i. 

' Acts of Classis of Amsterdam, January $, 1660. March i, 1660. 
Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 462, 470. 

•Drisitis to Classis of Amsterdam, August s. 1664- Ibid. 554. 

* Col. Docs. N. Y. ii. 250-53. 



CHAPTER IV 

Religion in New Sweden before and after 
THE Dutch Conquest 

The Swedish immigration to territory claimed by the 
Dutch became an important factor in the development 
of the religious history of the Province of New Nether- 
land. The attention of the Crown of Sweden had been 
directed to American colonial enterprise by the original 
projector of the Dutch West India Company, the exiled 
Antwerp merchant, William Usselinx. After his de- 
parture from the Netherlands, he had been engaged by 
Gustavus Adolphus to assist in the establishment of a 
Swedish trading company to do business in Asia, Africa, 
America and Magellica, for which he received a commis- 
sion from the King, December 21, 1624.* Although 
Usselinx had been a champion of orthodox Calvinism, 
who could not even regard the Remonstrants but as 
free-thinkers, heretics, apostates from the Reformed 
Religion, and enemies of the State, he did not appar- 
ently scruple to work for the extension of the Swedish 
power and consequently of the Lutheran faith, whose 
bishops and ministers he endeavored especially to inter- 
est in the project, "the good means, which God has 

» Col. Docs. N. Y. xii. 1-2. 

(106) 



NEW SWEDEN I07 

graciously granted and given to the Honor of his Name, 
and the growth of his Church." Through this company, 
he argued, the " glory of God would be much in- 
creased, His blessed Word and holy Gospel planted 
and spread among all kinds of people, and 
many thousand souls would be brought to the 
true knowledge and understanding of God, who 
until now have lived and still live in dreadful fiea- 
thenish idolatry and great wickedness." Usselinx did 
not limit the inducements to motives of this highly 
spiritual order. The bishops and the inferior clergy 
with all other classes of society were to profit in the pros- 
perity, which the establishment of the trading company 
would cause in the country ; the preferment of the more 
learned of the clerical body "to dignities and positions " 
was thus to be promoted.* At the same time, Usselinx 
tried to move the Huguenots of Prance and also "all 
good Netherlanders, who for the sake of their faith and 
the freedom of the Netherlands have been exiled from 
Brabant, Flanders and the Walloon country and dis- 
persed throughout Europe," to subscribe to his great 
commercial project.* In spite of all these efforts, the 
sum of only 110,000 Dalers was realized by subscrip- 
tion.' On June 14, 1626, Gustavus Adolphus, King of 
Sweden, signed the charter, which again insisted that 
the heathen and the savages were to "be made more 
civilized and taught morality and the Christian reli- 
gion by mutual intercourse and trade."^ Although 

» Col. Docs. N. Y. xii. 5,. 

* Usselinx. Naerder Bericht, cf. Jameson. Am. Hist. Papers 
ii. 107-8 

'Jameson. Ibid. 274. 
*Col.Docs.N.Y.xii. 7. 



Io8 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

Usselinx traveled extensively in the interests of the 
South Company of Sweden, little was accomplished to 
advance the realization of the colonial enterprise^ 
which was still more impeded in 1629 by the demand 
made by the King upon the vessels of the Ship and 
the South Companies, then united into one.' Gustavus 
Adolphus had entered on his great war in Germany, 
that three years later led to his death on the field of 
battle. 

Meanwhile, Usselinx had proposed an enlargement 
of the company, which was to become a great inter- 
national Protestant association, but the amendment to 
the charter, drawn up to that effect on October 16, 1632, 
does not bear the signature of Gustavus Adolphus, 
whose death occurred three weeks later. The Mercu- 
rius Germaniae of William Usselinx was intended to set 
forth the advantages of this commercial project to the 
Germans, whose religious zeal he attempted to en- 
kindle by citing the example of the bishops and pastors 
in Sweden, where "a special prayer has been composed 
for this, and is read at public worship and hours of 
prayer."' In the beginning of 1634, a charter was 
sanctioned, which in its amplified form also extended 
its privileges to the German Evangelical Nation. 
Usselinx now compiled the Argonautica Gustaviana to 
advocate this project, but the whole scheme collapsed, 
as far as Germany was concerned, with the defeat of 
Nordlingen. He now went to France, but failed in 
his endeavor to obtain the support of Louis XIII, to 
whom he represented the South Company as a great 

'Jameson. Am. Hist, Papers ii. 165. 
'Ibid. _ 



NEW SWEDEN 109 

means to undermine the Spanish power. His attempt 
to obtain a imion of the West India Company and the 
Swedish South Company, for which he received a com- 
mission from the Swedish Chancellor Oxenstiema, was 
also barren of any result. Although the proposals 
addressed to the States General in his memorial of April 
21, i636,were virtually rejected, some Dutch merchants 
became interested in the project of a Swedish expedi- 
tion to the coast of Guinea. As early as June 3, 1635, 
the Swedish chancellor had received a letter from 
Samuel Blommaert, a merchant of Amsterdam and a 
partner in the Dutch West India Conipany, who re- 
quested some information in regard to the Guinea 
trade.* The negotiations with these Dutch merchants 
were not entrusted to William Usselinx, but to Peter 
Spiring, another Dutchman in the service of Sweden, 
who went to Holland in 1636 to obtain subsidies 
for Sweden from the States General. He was also 
instructed "to observe whether it might not be pos- 
sible in this conjuncture to obtain some service in 
affairs of commerce or manufactures."* In Holland, 
Peter Minuit, the former Director General of the West 
India Company's Province of New Netherland, was 
recommended as the most competent person to give 
advice on any enterprise of trade or colonization to 
America.' Further|negotiations led to the organiza- 

l^^i June 3, 1635. Odhner, The Founding of New Sweden. Hist. 
Soc. Pa. Mag. Hist, and Biogr. iii. 273. 

2Ibid. 274. 

' Ibid. Brief van Samuel Blommaert aan Axel Oxenstiema. 
December 26, 1635, in the collection published by G. W. Kem- 
kamp in Bijdragen en Mededeelingen van Het Historisch Genoot- 
schap. Te Utrecht, 25 Deel, 1908, p. 90. Brief van Samuel Blom- 
maert aan Axel Oxenstiema, November 26, 1636. Ibid. p. 104. 



no RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

tion of a Swedish and Dutch combination, whichj 
however, had at its disposal very hmited resources. 
The whole capital invested did not exceed 24,000 
florins,' of which one-half was subscribed in Holland by 
Blommaert and Peter Minuit, and the other half in 
Sweden by the three Oxenstiemas-Axel, the Chancel- 
or, his brother Gabriel Giistafsen and the treasurer, 
Gabriel Bengtson — ^the Admiral Clas Fleming and Spir- 
ing. This company had not been formed to realize the 
projected expedition to Guinea, as this was considered 
too expensive for its limited resources; it was now 
resolved to trade and colonize on a part of the North 
American coast, which had not yet been occupied by 
either English or Dutch. Usselinx looked with an 
unfavorable eye on this small enterprise, which realized 
so little the gigantic schemes, that he had planned and 
stni advocated. He wrote to Beyer, the Queen's se- 
cretary: "There is in my opinion little to be obtained 
thence but furs, skins and tobacco, which gave good 
profit when it was worth as many gulden as it is now of 
Lubeck shillings, besides the filthiness of it is to honor- 
able people a great drawback, seeing how injurious it is 
to the health."* 

Two small vessels of the United South and Ship 
Company, the Kalmar Nyckel and Gripen, were char- 
tered and the whole expedition placed under the 
charge of Peter Minuit, while Samuel Blommaert was 
to remain in Holland as the commissary of the Dutch 

^ It finally took thirty-six thousand florins to fit out the expedi- 
tion. Cf . Blommaert's letter to Axel Oxenstiema, January 6 1838, 
G. W. Kemkamp in Bijdragen en Medeehngen van Het Historisch 
Genootschap. Te Utrecht, 29 Deel, 1908, p. 146. 

^Usselin to John Beyer, March 16, 1639. Ibid p. 147, note i. 



NEW SWEDEN III 

Swedish Company in Amsterdam. The Dutch part- 
ners of this corporation, who were also associates in the 
West India Company, no doubt wished to avoid all col- 
lision with the Company, and the letters of Blommaert 
speak of this expedition as the "voyagen till Florida."* 
This is also the title given to the instructions for Peter 
Minuit, preserved in the Archives of the Kingdom of 
Sweden at Stockholm. Sprinchom concluded from the 
fact that the document is without a signature, that 
these instructions can only be regarded as an outline of 
a plan for this expedition. According to this docu- 
ment, if Minuit was able to sail from Gottenburg 
early in the year, he was to proceed directly to the ' ' lie 
de Sable" and take possession of it on behalf of the 
Crown of Sweden. Then he was to trade with the 
Indians along the coast, while on his way to the South 
River, where he was to take possession of a well-defined 
tract of territory to be called by the name of Nya Sve- 
rige.^ Only after the conclusion of commercial relations 
with the Indians there, was the smaller vessel to be des- 
patched to take possession of Florida and thus the 
expedition also took upon itself the character of a hos- 

* Blommaert, January 14, 1637, informed, the Swedish Chancel- 
lor that Spiring and he had "goetgevonden een compagnie te for- 
meren om te bevaeren en behandelen de custe van Florida te Terra 
Nova." G. W. Kemkamp in Bijdragen en Mededeelingen van Het 
Historisch Genootschap (te Utrecht), 29 Deel. igoS.p. 106. He 
sent Mintiit with "alle pampieren en becheiden, dienende tot een 
voyage naer Florida en bygelegen landen." 'Letter, February 11, 
1637. Ibid. 107. He wrote repeatedly to the Swedish Admiral 
Fleming "wegen onse equipage naer Florida." Letter, June 6, 
1637. He urged the expedition to sail "om v6or September de 
kust van Florida aan te doen." Letter, September 9, 1637. 
Ibid. 132. 

2 There is no evidence in Blommaert's letters to Oxenstiema, 
that he knew of this intended settlement on the South River before 
the actual occupation of this land by Minuit. 



112 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

tile demonstration against Spain, whose adherents were 
to be "boldly attacked" wherever found, whereas the 
Dutch and English residing in New Sweden were to be 
treated as friends. The enmity towards Spain is stiU 
more patent in certain instructions, that amount practi- 
cally to organized piracy against Spanish vessels in the 
waters of the West Indies.' 

Minuit sailed from GottenbUrg late in the fall. 
After stopping in the Dutch port of Medemblik, he 
directed his course to the South River, where he 
arrived early in 1638. The Director of New Sweden 
immediately purchased from the Indians a small piece 
of land at Paghahacking, upon which he later built a 
fort named Christina in honor of the young Queen of 
Sweden.' Although the Dutch at Fort Nassau further 
up the river and the provincial authorities protested 
against the advent of these colonists as an intrusion 
into territory Within the Province of New Netherland, 
the Swedes, according to the orders of the Directors in 
Holland, were to be permitted on the conquest of New 
Sweden to hold the land upon which Fort Christina 
stood,with a certain amount of garden land for the cul- 
tivation of tobacco, ' 'as they seem to have bought it 
with the knowledge and consent of the Company. ' '• 
Yet the Chamber of the West India Company at Enck- 

' Sprinchom.t The Hist, of the Colony of New Sweden. Penna. 
Mag. of Hist, and Biogr. viii. 254, note i . Blomnaaert frequently 
included the capture of .good Spanish prizes in West India waters 
in his projected instructions for Minuit and in his communications 
to the Swedish Chancellor. Cf. letters, ed. by Kemkamp in Bijdra- 
gen, etc. 29 Deel. pp. 122, 128-9, 133, 139. 

'Details in Blommaert's letters: September 4, 1638, Ibid, 
pp. 157-8, November 13, 1638. Ibid. 161-167, January 28, 1640. 
Ibid. 170-189. 

»Col. Docs. N.Y.xii. 90. 



NEW SWEDEN II3 

huysen seized a heavily laden Swedish ship arriving at 
Medemblik in the fall of 1638 on the plea of illegal 
trading within the Company's American territory. 
The ship was released only at the command of the 
States General in order to avoid any complication with 
Sweden at the time. 

The first period of the history of New Sweden 
reflects the Dutch and Swedish elements in the colisti- 
tution of the Company. However, the influence of 
Sweden predominated from the very beginning. This 
was largely due to the fact that its colonial expeditions 
had to be organized in Sweden and carried out under 
the Swedish flag on account of the fear of the Dutch 
West India Company's power in Holland. The Direc- 
tors in fact felt that Samuel Blommaert' and his asso- 
ciates, "although members of the same college," were 
doing more harm than good. During the first years of 
the colony's existence , there was a good percentage of 
Dutch immigration into New Sweden. In fact, the 

1 Blommaert himself had scruples on account of his activity in 
the Swedish project of colonization, as director of the West India 
Company, even while he thought it was directed to the Florida 
coast. He did not allow his subscription to be inscribed in his own 
name but in that of Minuit. Letter, May 6, 1637, Bijdragen, etc. 
p. 116-117; July '23, 1637, Ibid. 125. This may have led Blom- 
maert to suggest the erection of a chamber of the West India Com- 
pany in Gottejiburg instead of an independent company, but this 
was not done. Cf. Letter, August 22, 1637. Ibid. p. 130. When he 
learned of the settlement on the Delaware, he communicated his 
fears to the Swedish Chancellor, that he might have to suffer in con- 
sequence of a protest probably to be addressed to the States Grcneral 
by the West India Company against this intrusion into its territory. 
He then indicated the line of defense to be taken by the Swedish 
Ambassador. The land between South River and Charles River 
"is tot sonder possessie zewest," so that Minuit founded New 
Sweden there. Cf. Letter, September 4, 1638, Ibid. 157; November 
13, 1638, Ibid. p. 162. Aitzema, Staat en Oorlogh, p. 247. O'Cal- 
laghan.ii, 573. 



114 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

first colonization under Minuit was almost entirely- 
Dutch. Lieutenant Mans Kling, who was left in com- 
mand of the twenty-three men in Fort Christina, when 
Minuit' sailed in the fall to the West Indies, is the only 
Swede expressly mentioned amongst the first colonists. 
This is probably the reason why no Swedish clergyman 
of the Lutheran faith accompanied the first expedition. 
The _ exclusive occupation of the colonists in the fur 
trade, which caused "about thirty thousand florins 
injury" to the Dutch West India Company in the first 
year, nearly proved the ruin of the colony. In the sec- 
ond spring, they found themselves under the necessity of 
choosing either to remain and perish, or to abandon 
New Sweden and seek relief with the Dutch. The 
authorities at Manhattan assured them a cordial 
welcome. 

This happy solution of the Swedish question for New 
Netherland was prevented by the timely arrival of a 
new Director in the person of Peter Hollander with a 
goodly number of colonists and fresh provisions. 
The new members of the colony were mainly Swedes, in 
consequence of the action of the Swedish government, 
which had ordered the deportation of Swedish married 
soldiers with their families, who had evaded service or 
were guilty of some offense, under promise to permit 
them to return in two years. The spiritual wants of 
the Swedish population found their provision in the 
ministration of the Lutheran clergjmian, Reorus Torkil- 

1 Minuit perished in a hurricane while visiting a Dutch captain 
in his ship Het Vliegende Hert. According to instructions, he was 
cruising for a rich Spanish prize. Blommaert to Oxenstiema 
November 13, 1638 and January 28, 1640, Bijdragen, pp. 161; 
177-8. 



NEW SWEDEN IIS 

lus, from Ostergotland, who labored in the colony until 
his death in 1643. In the beginning of the same year, 
which witnessed the organization of the first Swedish 
Lutheran Church in America, Hendrik Hoogkamer and 
associates from Utrecht' obtained a charter to establish 
a settlement under the Crown of Sweden on the South 
River, where they were authorized to take up as much 
land on both sides of the river as they needed, bul^not 
within "at least four or five German miles from Fort 
Christina." The "unrestrained exercise of the so- 
called Reformed Confession" was guaranteed to these 
Dutch colonists, upon whom also devolved the support 
of their ministers and schoolmasters with "a care of the 
religion, instruction and conversion of the savages."* 
A commission was also issued for Joost van Bogaerdt 
as special commandant of the Dutch colony at an an- 
nual salary of two hundred Rix Dalers, "to be remitted 
to his banker in Holland" by the Swedish resident at 
The Hague. Bogaerdt arrived in New Sweden in the 
fall of 1640 and settled three or four miles below 
Christina. In the following year, a contingent of 
"roaming Finns" and others, collected by Mans Kling 
arrived in New Sweden, and increased the Lutheran 
population of the colony." The Swedes had purchased 
additional land from the Indians and attested the so- 
vereignty of their Queen in the purchased territory by the 
erection of "the arms and crown of Sweedland. " On the 

'Cf. Blommaert to Axel Oxenstiema, January 28, 1640. Bij- 
dragen, etc. pp. 173-4; Memorie van de Heer Hoochcamer on dem 
Heer Resident Spierinck te Verthoonen. Ibid. pp. 189-192; 
Gegenbedencken eingebrachtes Memorial, etc., Ibid. pp. 192-193. 

* Hazard Annals, 51 seq. Odhner, 400-2. 

' Odhner, C. T., Ibid. The Fotinding of New Sweden, Penn- 
sylvania. Mag. of History and Biography, iii. 418. 



Il6 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

arrival of Mans Kling, further purchases were made, so 
that the Province extended "from the borders of the 
Sea to Cape Henlopen in returning southwest towards 
Godjm's Bay; thence towards the great South River, as 
far as the Minquaaskil, where Fort Christina is con- 
structed; and thence again towards South River, and 
the whole to a place which the savages call Sankikah," 
now Trenton Falls.' 

By this time the Dutch Swedish Combination, that 
had been organized for the purpose of trade and coloniza- 
tion ,on the American coast, not yet occupied by 
either the Dutch or the English, was transformed into a 
national trading company of Sweden. The first step 
towards the complete nationalization of the company 
was the permission granted to the old Ship and South 
Company of Sweden to embark its capital in this 
association in return for a monopoly of the tobacco 
trade in Sweden, Finland or Ingermanland.^ When 
the Dutch partners showed some opposition to the 
plans of trade and colonization, pursued by the Swedes, 
the government resolved to buy out the Holland part- 
ners, "since they are a hindrance." The Swedish resi- 
dent at The Hague was instructed to pay 18,000 guldens 
of the subsidies obtained from the States General to the 
Dutch associates, on the condition that they abandon 
all further claims.' This marks the second period of 
the history of New Sweden. 

A new company was now formed under the name of 

1 Col. Docs. N.Y. xii. 28 note. 

2 January 12,1641. Ibid. 21-22. 

'February 20, 1641. Kammararkivet. Odhner, o. c. Penna. 
Mag. History and Biography iii, 400. 



NEW SWEDEN II7 

the West India, America, or New Sweden Company, 
which commissioned John Printz, a soldier of the 
Thirty Years' War, as the new Governor of the Crown's 
province in America. His instructions commanded him 
to "labor and watch that he render in all things to 
Almighty God the true worship which is his due, the 
glory, the praise, and the homage which belong to him, 
and to take good measures that the divine service is 
performed according to the true confession of Augs- 
burg, the Council of Upsala, and the ceremonies of the 
Swedish church, having care that all men, and espe- 
cially the youth, be well instructed in all parts of Chris- 
tianity, and that a good ecclesiastical discipline be 
observed and maintained." In spite of this establish- 
ment of the Swedish Lutheran Church in the Province 
of New Sweden, the Dutch colonists, who had come 
there under the authority of the Crown of Sweden, were 
not to be disturbed in the rights, which had been 
guaranteed them in religious matters by their charter.^ 
Printz was also instructed to treat the Indians "with 
much humanity and kindness " and try to convert them 
from their idolatry and "in other ways" to bring them 
to civilization and good government.^ This zeal for 
religion led to the reinforcement of the ministry of the 
colony by the Reverend John Campanius Holm, who 
arrived, with the new Governor at Fort Christina on 
February 15, 1643.^ While Printz strengthened his 

* O'Callaghan, History of New Netherland. Cf. Hazard's Re- 
gister of Penn. iv. 177, 178, 200, 2ig, 220, 221, 314, 373. 

* Keen, New Sweden in Narrative and Critical History of Amer- 
ica, ed. Justin Winsor. iv. 453. Acrelius, History of New Sweden, 

3S-39 ■ 

' Odhner, The Founding of New Sewden. Penna. Mag. History 
and Biography, iii. 409. 



Il8 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

hold upon the South River by the erection of a strong 
fort of heavy hemlock logs, called. New Gottenburg , on 
the Island Tinicum, about twelve miles below Philadel- 
phia, and later of another fort on the east shore of 
the bay near Salem Creek, sickness was weaken- 
ing the population. During the summer, seventeen of 
the male emigrants died, amongst whom was the first 
pastor of the colony, the Reverend Reorus Torkillus.' 
Thus the colonial ministry was again reduced to one 
Swedish minister. About this time, the chancellor 
Brahe wrote to Printz, hoping that he would "gain firm 
foothold there and be able to lay so good a foundation 
in tain vasta terra septentrionali, that with God's 
gracious favor the whole North American Continent 
may in time be brought to the knowledge of His Son 
and become subject to the crown of Sweden." The 
Chancellor further gives expression to his fear that the 
Swedish colonists might be contaminated by the relig- 
ious ideas and practices of the English and Dutch. 
Therefore, says he, "adorn your little church and priest 
after the Swedish fashion, with the usual habiliments 
of the altar, in distinction from the Hollanders and 
English, shunning all leaven of Calvinism," as "the out- 
ward ceremonial will not the less move them than others 
to sentiments of piety and devotion. "^ The reply of the 
Governor to this letter reveals the measures adopted by 
the authorities for the public worship of God in the col- 
ony. "Divine service is performed here in the good old 
Swedish tongue.our priest clothed in the vestments of the 
Mass on high festivals, solemn prayer-days, Sundays, and 

iKeen, 458. Narrative and Critical History of America. 12 
^Keen.Ibid. 459. 



NEW SWEDEN II9 

Apostles' days, precisely as in old Sweden, and differing 
in every respect from that of the sects around us. Ser- 
mons are delivered Wednesdays and Fridays, and on aU 
other days prayers are offered in the morning and after- 
noon ; and since this cannot be done everjrwhere by our 
sole clergyman, I have appointed a lay-reader for each 
place, to say prayers daily, morning and evening, and 
dispose the people to godline ss. All this has longibeen 
witnessed by the savages, some of whom we have had 
several days with us, attempting to convert them; but 
they have watched their chance, and invariably run off 
to rejoin their pagan brethren."* Campanius Holm 
in course of time succeeded in acquiring a knowledge of 
the Lenni-Lenape tongue, into which he translated 
Luther's catechism; the work was begun at Tinicum, 
but completed after his return to Sweden in 1648.^ 
His efforts to convert the savages bore little fruit. He 
confessed that he only succeeded in convinc- 
ing them of the relative superiority of the 
Christian religion.' The building activity, which 
followed the burning of New Gottenburg, 
also included the. erection of a church on the 
Island of Tinicum, which was decorated according to 
the means at the disposal of the Governor "after the 
Swedish fashion. ' ' This church, with the burying ground 
adjoining, was consecrated by the Reverend Campanius 
Holm, September 4, 1646.* The arrival of two Luth- 
eran clergymen, Lars Carlson Lock and Israel Fluvian- 

'Keen. Narrative and Critical History of America, iv. 459. 

* The catechism was printed at Stockholm in 1696. A copy is in 
the library of Am. Phil. Soc. 

'Cf. Campanius Holm (grandson of minister). Description [of 
New Sweden. Translation by Du Ponceau, Penn. Hist. Soc. 
Memoirs, iii. Separate edition, 1834. 

*Keen, 1. C.461. 



I20 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

der, the son of Printz's sister, in the fall of the next year 
made it possible for the old minister to leave for the 
fatherland in the spring of 1648.' Israel Fluviander 
(Holgh?) either died or left New Sweden early in the 
year, as Lock was then the only clergyman residing in 
the Province.^ 

Printz himself was anxious to be relieved from the 
burden of his office. He wrote to this effect to Peter 
Brahe in 1650, promising his successor as good a posi- 
tion in the colony as he could find in Sweden. ' ' I have 
taken possession of the best places, and still hold them. 
Notwithstanding repeated acts and protests of the 
Dutch, nothing whatever has been accomplished by 
them ; and where on several occasions, they attempted 
to build within our boundaries, I at once threw down 
their work ; so that, if the new governor brings enough 
people with him, they will very soon grow wear^'- and 
disgusted, like the Puritans, who were most violent at 
first, but now leave us entirely in peace.'" The neces- 
sity of strengthening the authority of Sweden on the 
South River by new settlements of Swedes, who were 
still few in number, became most patent in the following 
year, when Stuyvesant, instructed to maintain ' ' the 
rights of the company," which was then contemplating 
a settlement of the boundary question between the two 
jurisdictions, invaded New Sweden with a force of one 
hundred and twenty men, who were joined at Fort 
Nassau by eleven sail. This post was dismantled and a 
new fort was erected on the west bank of the river, 

1 Sprinchom, History of Colpny of New Sweden, Penn. Mag. 
of History and Biography, viii. 22. 

2 Ibid. p. 245. 

'Keen, Narrative and Critical History of America, iv. 466. 



NEW SWEDEN 121 

between Forts Christina and Elfsburg near the present 
site of New Castle, which was called Fort Casimir, 
where twenty-six families settled. As a result of Stuy- 
vesant's activity ,Printz had to abandon all but the three 
principal posts : New Gottenburg and Christina on the 
South River , and Nya Korsholm on the Schuylkill. At 
this time, New Sweden counted a population of about 
two hundred souls, who could attempt nothing against 
the Dutch with the resources at their disposal.' The 
precarious situation of the Province, where nothing had 
been heard from Sweden for four or five years, finally 
moved Governor Printz to leave the colony in the fall 
of 1653 for Sweden, under promise to return in ten 
months or send back a vessel and cargo.^ Meanwhile, 
a new expedition had been organized, and on February 2, 
three hundred and fifty emigrants, including women 
and children, sailed for the South River from Sweden, 
where Printz arrived only in April. Two clergymen, 
Petrus Hjort and Matthias Nertunius, accompanied 
these new colonists.' A number of newly appointed 
officials also embarked, amongst whom must be men- 
tioned especially John Claesen Rising, Commissary and 
Assistant Councillor to the Governor. He was commis- 
sioned as temporary governor, as soon as Printz's 
departure from the Province became known in Sweden. 
This was shortly after the departure of the expedition 
from Gottenburg for America. When Rising arrived off 
the Dutch Fort Casimir, and found it defended only by a 
dozen soldiers under Gerrit Biker, he thought the time 

*Keen, Narrative and Critical History of America, iv. 467-68. 
* Ibid. 470. 

'Sprinchom, Carl. K. S., History of Colony of New Sweden, 
Penn. Mag. of History and Biography, viii. 22. 



122 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

had come ' ' for action which it were culpable to neglect." 
The Dutch submitted without any show of resistance. 
The post was named anew Fort Trinity in honor of the 
feastday on which it was captured.' The whole South 
River was now in the power of the Swedes. When the 
Directors of the Dutch West India Company in Amster- 
dam heard of the capitulation of Fort Casimir, they 
ordered Stuyvesant to invade New Sweden as soon as 
the ship De Waag, carrying thirty-six guns and two 
hundred men, arrived at New Amsterdam.* Upon its 
arrival, Stu3rvesant had completed his preparations and 
on August 26, 165 s, he sailed with a force of three hun- 
dred and seventeen soldiers' for the South River, where 
the Swedes, barely numbering five hundred souls, after 
some resistance submitted to the Dutch.* 

The condition of the Reformed Church on the South 
River had never been satisfactory to the Dutch. The 
religious issue, presenting itself on the conquest of New 
Sweden, probably accounts for the presence of the 
Dutch minister Megapolensis in the expedition, which, 
according to Stuyvesant's proclamation,' was not only 
to promote the welfare of the Province of New Nether- 
land, and its good inhabitants, but also the Honor of 
God's Holy Name and the propagation of His Holy 

* Keen, Narrative and Critical History of America, iv 472-3- 

2 Col. Docs. N. Y. xii. 88-89. 

' Cf . catalogue of Frederick MuUer & Cie. Geographie-Voya- 
ages, 1910. Deux lettres originales concemant la prise de forte- 
resse Casimir au Zuydt Rivier (Deleware) par les Hollandais sur 
les Su6dois, en 1653, "Johannes Bogaert schriiver" d. Bontemantel, 
"den 28 augustij 1655 opdereedevan de Menades" et "Int schip 
de Waegh den 31 October, 1655, "4 pp. in fol. O'Callaghan gives the 
number of soldiers at 600 to 700. 

<Col. Docs. N.Y. xii. 98-106. 

°Ibid. 92. 



NEW SWEDEN 1 23 

Gospel. These thoughts must have been prominent in 
the sermon preached to the Dutch troops on the Sun- 
day after the occupation of Fort Casimir.* The sepa- 
ratist movement of the Lutherans in New Amsterdam 
had akeady entered an acute stage,' that boded little 
good for a religious settlement favorable to the Luth- 
eran Swedes in the subjugated territory. There were 
then three Swedish Lutheran ministers on the ^outh 
River: Lars Carlson Lock, Peter Hjort and Matthias 
Nertunius. It was the intention of the Dutch to expel 
all three, although they themselves had no preacher to 
place there, but while the negotiations for the surrender 
of New Sweden were pending, news of a serious out- 
break of Indian hostility at New Amsterdam made it 
imperative for the Director General to conclude mat- 
ters on the South River and return to Manhattan as 
soon as possible.' 

These troubles made him consent to the seventh 
article of the capitulation, stipulating that "those who 
will then remain here and earn their living in the coun- 
try, shall enjoy the freedom of the Augsburg Confes- 
sion, and one person to instruct them therein."* 
When the West India Company received the account of 
these proceedings, the Directors did not hesitate to let 
Stujrvesant know that they would have preferred an 
unconditional surrender, as "what is written and sur- 
rendered in copy can be preserved for a long time and 

» Col. Docs. N. Y. xii. loi. 

* Cf . iafra. chap. iv. 

' Megapolensis and Drisitis to Classis of Amsterdam.^ August 5, 
1657. Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 39S-6- 

* Ibid. i. 39S-6. Col. Docs. N. Y. i. 608. 



124 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

sometimes appears at the most awkward moment.'" 
However, the interests of the Reformed Church were 
also safeguarded by the oath, which the Director Gen- 
eral imposed upon his vice-director on the South River, 
Jean Paul Jacquet. He had to promise and swear to 
maintain and advance as much as possible "the Re- 
formed Religion, as the same is preached here and in the 
Fatherland conformably to God's word and the Synod 
of Dort."^ The two ministers, Peter Hjort and Mat- 
thias Nertunius, who had been stationed at Fort Casi- 
mir and Fort Christina, were sent to New Amsterdam, 
and finally transported, with Governor Rising and 
others who refused to submit to Dutch authority, to 
Europe. Thus the Reverend Lars Carlson Lock was 
the only Lutheran clergyman, who remained to minister 
to the Swedes and Finns, of whom at least two hundred 
lived on the river above Fort Christina. The Dutch 
ministers of New Amsterdam do not give a very flatter- 
ing report of this man. "This Lutheran Preacher is a 
man of impious and scandalous habits, a wild, drunken, 
unmannerly clown, more inclined to look into the wine 
can than into the Bible. He would prefer drinking 
brandy two hours to preaching one . . . Last spring 
this preacher was tippling with a smith and while yet 
over their brandy, they came to fisticuffs and beat each 
others heads black and blue; yea, the smith tore all 



* Col. Docs. N. Y. xii. 119. 

2 Ibid. 117. This same oath (accidental changes of a word 
here and there) was taken by William Beeckman, appointed Com- 
missary of the West India Company on the South River, July 30, 
1658, by the Director General and Council. 



NEW SWEDEN 12$ 

clothing from the preacher's body, so that this godly 
minister escaped in primitive nakedness."* 

The minutes of the administration of Jean Paul Jac- 

quet, the vice-director on the South River, refer to this 
minister as the ecclesiastical deputy in matrimonial 
cases.* Under Jacquet's successor, William Beeckman, 
the Swedish minister came into a conflict with the au- 
thorities on account of his action in these matters, which 
was at variance with Dutch legislation on matrimony. 
Lock was fined fifty guilders early in 1660 for marrying 
a couple without the publication of the barms and 
against the will of the parents. One of the Swedish com- 
missaries, Oele Stille, contended that the matter was not 
within the jurisdiction of the vice-director, who had noth- 
ing to do with the Swedish minister, but that the correc- 
tion of such affairs belongedto the consistory of Sweden.' 
Trouble of a more serious nature arose for the Reverend 
Lars Carlson Lock, when he attempted a second mar- 
riage with a young girl of seventeen or eighteen years 
after he had obtained a divorce, subject to Stuyvesant's 
approbation, from his former wife, who had fled in a 
canoe with a depraved character named Jacob Jongh.* 
OnApril 14, 1662, he was informed by Beeckman that his 
marriage was illegal, as he had married himself, which 
was contrary to the law of matrimony ; that he ought 
to have first asked and obtained a divorce from superior 
authority according to the laws of the fatherland., A 
heavy fine was imposed on him for taking an inventory of 

* Megapolensis and Drisius to Classis of Amsterdam. August s, 
1657. Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 39S-6. 

* August 9, 1656. Col. Docs. N. Y. xii. 150-151. 

3 Wm. Beeckman to Stujrvesant, April 28, 1660. Ibid. 307. 
< Ibid. 355, 357.358-60. 



126 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

the belongings left by Jacob Jongh, who was indebted 
to the company to the extent of two hundred and forty 
guilders,' but Lock appealed to Stuyvesant for pardon 
and a remission of the fine, as his offense was due to 
ignorance. His self-marriage had been performed with 
out any bad intention and he would have willingly sub- 
mitted to the usages of the Reformed Church, if they 
had been known to him.^ Acrelius states that Lock, 
who had been suspended from the exercise of his minis- 
try some time, finally obtained a confirmation of his di- 
vorce from Stuyvesant, who also approved his second 
marriage. He was then again permitted to exercise 
his ministerial office among the Swedes.' 

Another Lutheran minister came to the colony, a 
year after the conquest of the Province, in the ship 
Mercurius, which had sailed with eighty-eight emigrants 
from Gottenburg before the cessation of the Swedish 
rule.* Although Stuyvesant was imable to prevent 
the emigrants from disembarking, he hadHerr Matthias 
returned to Sweden in the same ship.' The vice-direc- 
tor did not allow his two sons, bom during his admin- 
istration on the South River, to be baptized by the 
Lutheran minister," but he continually urged the 
appointment of a Dutch Reformed minister in that 
region as a means of promoting immigration thither. 

'Minutes of Court at'Altona, April 14, 1662. Col. Decs N. Y. 
xii. 366. 

* Lock's petition to Stuyvesant, April 30, 1662. Ibed 367. 

' Acrelius, History of New Sweden. Historical Society of Penn- 
sylvania. Memoirs, xi. loo-ioi. 

* Sprinchom, History of the Colony of New Sweden, Pa. Mag. 
of History and Biography, viii. p. 145. 

' Acrelius, History of New Sweden. Historical Society of Penn- 
sylvania . Memoirs xi. p . 9 2 . 

* Col. Docs. N. Y. xii. 410. Beeckman to Stuyvesant. 



NEW SWEDEN 1 27 

Like his predecessor, he was also bound under oath "to 
promote the Reformed Religion, as the same is taught 
and preached in the Fatherland and here according to 
God's Word and the Synod of Dortrecht.'" In the 
absence of an ordained minister, a layman was ap- 
pointed to read to the Dutch on Sundays from the Pos- 
tilla. This had been done immediately after the 
Dutch conquest,* and in a letter of January 14, 166S, to 
Stujrvesant, Beeckman wrote that Jan Juriaens Becker 
was reading the sermon on Sundays.' The limited to- 
leration extended to the Swedes did not include the 
toleration of other forms of dissent. When a fugitive 
Quaker from Maryland, Captain Woeler (Wheeler?) did 
not show the vice-director any sign of respect on the 
plea that his conscience did not allow it, Beeckman 
bluntly told him that his conscience could not tolerate 
such a persuasion or sect. Nevertheless j he was ready 
to tolerate him until further orders from Stuyvesant, 
provided no other Quakers would foUow him into the 
Dutch jurisdiction ; otherwise, he would enforce at once 
the orders of the provincial government against this 
sect.* 

Meanwhile , a new jurisdiction had been introduced 
on the South River, which, however, was not entirely 
removed from the control of the Director General of 
New Netherland. The expenses incurred for the recov- 
ery of the South River had put the company deeply in 

' Col. Docs. N. Y. xii. 220. Council minute, October 28, 1658. 

^Megapolensis and Drisius to Classis of Amsterdam. Augfust s, 
1657. Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 395-6. 

8 Wm. Beeckman to Stuyvesant. O'Callaghan, Cal. Hist. MSS. 
N. Y. (Dutch), i. 340. 

* Wm. Beeckman to Stuyvesant, February 15, 1661. Col. Docs. 
N. Y. xii. 336. 



128 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

debt to the City of Amsterdam. To liquidate this debt 
and at the same time to strengthen the southern boun- 
dary of the Province, the Directors of the Amsterdam 
Chamber and the Burgomasters of the City carried on 
negotiations, which finally resulted in the cession of 
Fort Casimir and the territory on the west side of the 
river , from Christina Kill to the mouth of Delaware Bay, 
to the City of Amsterdam. The Burgomasters, in their 
draft of the conditions for the settlement, did not 
neglect to provide for religion. They proposed to erect, 
in the market-place or some other convenient spot of the 
colony ; a public building suitable for divine service, a 
house for the minister, aiid also a school, which might 
serve at the same time as the residence of the school- 
master, whose ofl&ce included the duties of sexton and 
psalmsetter. The salaries of both were to be paid pro- 
visionally by the City, unless the Company decided 
otherwise.' In a later draft, the City of Amsterdam 
only offered to send there a schoolmaster, who was also 
to read the Holy Scriptures and set the Psalms,^ but the 
States General, in its ratification of the report of its com- 
mittee on the conditions for this settlement, insisted on 
the installation of a preacher and consistory as soon as 
the colony should number about two hundred families." 
By the spring of 1657, from one hundred and 
twenty-five to one hundred and eighty immigrants had 
settled at Fort Casimir, which now received the name 
of New Amstel , Here the vice-director of the City of 
Amsterdam Jacob Alrichs, took up his residence. 

1 Col. Docs. N. Y. i. 620. 

2 Ibid. 631. 
'Ibid. 637. 



NEW SWEDEN 1 29 

In the absence of a clergyman, Evert Pietersen, 
who had accompanied the settlers in the capacity of 
Schoolmaster and Comforter of the Sick, "read God's 
Word and led in singing." When the Directors of the 
City's colony had collected about three hundred more 
colonists, they requested the appointment of a minister 
to accompany them to New Netherland.' The Classis 
of Amsterdam hastened to fulfill their request, as these 
ministers realized how much diligence and labor were 
"required to prevent false opinions and foul heresies 
from becoming prejudicial to the pure truth" in New 
Amstel, where there were already many "of all manner 
of pernicious persuasions." They, therefore, seized the 
opportunity and earnestly urged the Mayor and Com- 
missioners at Amsterdam "to establish some order in 
opposition to general license." The Mayor and Com- 
missioners readily promised that, as soon as they 
received information that the sects carried on the exer- 
cise of their religion in the colony, they would look into 
the matter and adopt the measures necessary to pre- 
vent such license. At the same time, they protested that 
they could not force the consciences of men, which the 
ministers expressly stated they did not desire.'' About 
this time, the vice-director, Alrichs, who considered it a 
scandal for the neighboring people and new-comers not 
to have either church or minister in New Amstel, 
insisted in a letter to his superiors in Amsterdam, on 
the necessity of the presence of a minister in the colony, 
' ' that those , who have little knowledge or light,may not 

* Council minute of Amsterdam. March 9, 1657. Col. Doc. 
N. Y. ii. 4. 

2 Classis of Amsterdam to Consistory of New Netherland, 
May 25. 1657- Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i.378. 



130 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

become backsliders, and those, who are still weak in the 
faith, may be further strengthened."' Before this let- 
ter reached Holland, the Classis of Amsterdam had 
already called and ordained the Reverend Everardus 
Welius for this post.^ On the arrival of the new 
clergyman at the South River, a church was organized 
with Alrichs and Jan Williams as elders and with two 
deacons, one of whom, Pietersen, also performed the 
duties of a precentor and Comforter of the Sick. Everar- 
dus Welius, to the sorrow and grief of the colony, only 
officiated a short period, as he died on December 9,1659. 
During his ministration, the church, which formerly 
counted only nineteen members, had increased to the 
number of sixty.' A few months before this, the Com- 
missioners of the colony at Amsterdam had an oppor- 
tunity to make good their promise to repress dissenting 
worship in New Amstel. The Swedish parson had 
dared to preach there without permission. On August 
22, 1659, they wrote to their vice-director, Alrichs, that 
he "must by proper means, put an end to or prevent 
such presumption on the part of other sectaries," "as 
yet no other religion but the Reformed can or may be 
tolerated there."* 

The official orthodoxy of the colony began to give 
way in 1662 to the urgent necessity of obtaining colon- 
ists to repel English encroachments from Maryland. A 
company of Mennonites projected a settlement within 
the jurisdiction of the City's colony at the Whorekill on 

1 Alrichs to Commissioners, April 13, 1657. Col. Docs. N. Y 
ii. 7. 

* Acts of Classis of Amsterdam . Eccl . Recs . N . Y . 1. 3 7 1 . 
'Col. Docs. N. Y. ii. iii-in. 
< Ibid. 61. 



NEW SWEDEN 13I 

the South River, and on January lo, 1662, adopted a 
very curious constitution, consisting of one hundred 
and sixteen articles, to regulate the affairs of the colony. 
They unanimously agreed to exclude from the society 
all clergymen "for the maintenance of peace and con- 
cord," as the appointment of one minister would not 
harmonize so many opposing sects, and the appoint- 
ment of a. minister for each sect was not only intpos- 
sible, but "an inevitable ruinous pest to all peace and 
union." Furthermore, they had no need of a clergy- 
man, inasmuch as "they were themselves provided with 
the Holy Scriptures, which all ministers agreed in pro- 
nouncing the best, and which they considered the 
most peaceable and most economical of preachers." 
The ministry brought nothing but "an almost endless 
chaffering and jangling," on the proper interpretation 
of the Scriptures, which after aU were only "efforts to 
interprete other men's interpretations." They, there- 
fore, believed it wiser "to arrive, by certain and sound 
reasoning, beyond all uncertain cavil about Scripture, 
at a right rule for the establishment of good morals and 
the direction of civil affairs," which might be attained 
by plenty of schools and sound laws. Nor did they feel 
the need of the clergy for the administration of the sac- 
raments, as Baptism and the Lord's Supper were to 
them only "signs or ceremonies becoming rather weak 
children than men in Christ." Nevertheless, public 
worship was not to be neglected. On every Sunday 
and holiday, the inhabitants were to assemble in the 
morning to sing a psalm and listen to the reading of a 
chapter from the Bible by some one of the society, 
appointed in turn. This simple service was then to be 



132 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

concluded by another hymn, after which the court 
was to assemble for the transaction of public business. 
Although the society was to be composed of persons of 
different creeds, each member of the community had to 
declare his religious persuasion, for "all intractable 
people, such as those in communion with the Roman 
See, usurious Jews, English stiffnecked Quakers, Puri- 
tans, foolhardy believers in the millenium, and obsti- 
nate modem pretenders to revelation" were not 
admitted into the colony.' In April, twenty-five 
Mennonite families declared their willingness to settle 
in theCity'scolony in New Netherland, if the City would 
loan each family two hundred guilders in addition to the 
passage money, for the repayment of which the whole 
body was to be bound. The authorities only granted 
each family a loan of one hundred guilders, including 
their passage money. ^ A few months later, the con- 
tract' between the Burgomasters and Regents of the 
City of Amsterdam and Pieter Cornelius Plockhoy, the 
leader of the Mennonite settlers for the South River, 
was concluded for the tract of land at the Whorekill, 
which was to be exempt from all taxation for a term of 
twenty years. Twenty-five hundred guilders were 
raised by the City of Amsterdam and loaned to this 
association, which was also bound in its entirety for the 
repayment of this debt. 

In the summer of the same year, Hinyossa, 
the successor of Alrichs, who had died in 1659, offered 

> O'Callaghan, New Netherland, ii. 465-9- Kort Verhaal van 
Niewe Nederlandt, Gelegenthiet, Natutirlyke Voorrechten byzon- 
dere Bequaemheyt tur Vervolkingk, etc. 

* Col. Docs. N. Y. ii. 176. 

'Ibid. 176-177. 



NEW SWEDEN I33 

sixteen or eighteen families, most of whom were 
Finns, residing in the jurisdiction of the company, 
the free exercise of their reUgion with other inducements 
to attract them to the City's colony.* A year later the 
colonists of New Amstel, who professed the Augsburg 
Confession, with the consent of the Director and Council 
of the colony called a Lutheran Swede, Abelius Zets- 
coom, to the exercise of the ministry, although h'e was 
not yet ordained at the time. He was accused of bap- 
tizing children, while not in sacred orders, but the 
testimony of Beeckman, the Company's vice-director, 
acquitted him of this charge. The Swedes in the 
Company's jurisdiction were also anxious to have his 
services as their schoolmaster, for which they offered 
him as high a salary as their minister Lars Carlson 
Lockenius received, but the Swedes of New Amstel 
refused to allow him to accept the offer. There was also 
some opposition on the part of Lock, and the Commis- 
saries had to force him to allow Zetscoom to preach in 
the Swedish Church at Tinnicum on the second day of 
Pentecost.^ However, Acrelius states that Abelius 
Zetscoom never presided over any congregation on the 
South River as an ordained minister,' and Domine 
Selyns, inhis letter of June 9, 1664, speaks of him as a 
person who has changed the Lutheran pulpit for a 
schoolmaster's place. Two reasons are advanced by 
this minister in the same letter for the speedy appoint- 
ment of a Reformed minister in the place of Domine 

' Wm. Beeckman to Stuyvesant, June 21, 1662. Col. Docs. 
N. Y. xii. 384. 

2 Ibid. 431-432, 438,447,466. 

^Acrelius, History of New Sweden. Historical Society of 
Pennsylvania. Memoirs xi. i o i . 



134 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

Hadson, who had died on his passage to America, both 
of which manifest the condition of the orthodox faith 
on the South River at the time. The children had not 
been baptized since the death of the Reverend Welius, 
five years ago, and there were many persons in this 
region with "abominable sentiments," "who speak dis- 
respectfully of the Holy Scriptures."' Meanwhile, the 
Directors of the Company had conceeded to the Burgo- 
masters of Amsterdam all the territory on the west side 
of the river and a tract three miles wide along the entire 
east bank. Thus the friction that existed between the 
magistrates of the City's colony and the authorities of 
the Company's colony at Altona was happily terminated. 
Since the death of Alrichs, the whole policy of his succes- 
sor, Hinyossa, was to claim independence from the con- 
trol of the Company's authority. He refused to have 
the proclamations of thanksgiving days sent by Stuy- 
vesant published, and appointed days of thanksgiving in 
his own name instead.^ A settlement of the question 
became urgent. The cession of this territory was also 
made in the hope that thus a barrier would be placed 
to the ertcroachments of Maryland, by active coloniza- 
tion on the part of the City of Amsterdam as the 
Burgomasters were bound to transport four hundred 
settlers thither every year. Although the City had 
even thought of restoring to the Company the territory 
previously obtained, the Burgomasters now persuaded 
themselves to continue and even increase their colonial 
enterprise, as "there is now as good an opportunity as 

'Selyns to Classis of Amsterdam. Jtme g, 1664. Eccl. Recs. 
N.Y.i. ssp. 

2 Col. Docs. N. Y. xii. 390. 



NEW SWEDEN I3S 

ever can offer for increasing the population with num- 
bers of men, mechanics, etc., from home and from Ger- 
many, Norway, East and Westphalia and those 
countries, to which those of the Faith throughout the 
entire of France, also the Waldenses, have been sub- 
jected.'" The Burgomasters had already received appli- 
cations from some families residing in the vicinity of 
Rochelle, who only desired to make sure before "their 
departure that they did not need to be in fear of the 
Indians. Thus the control of the South River passed 
into the hands of the Burgomasters of Amsterdam more 
than a year previous to its surrender to the English. 

1 Col. Docs. N. Y. ii. 201. 



CHAPTER V 

The Religious Factors in the English Immigration 

A constant stream of English immigration into the 
Province of New Netherland began when the West 
India Company, tmder pressure from the States General 
surrendered, in the fall of 1638, its monopoly of the fur 
trade, opened to free competition also the other internal 
trade of New Netherland to colonists of the Province, 
and extended all these privileges not only to the inhabi- 
tants of the United Provinces, but also to their allies 
and friends who might be inclined to sail thither to 
engage in the cultivation of the land.* Although this 
English immigration was at first composed only of 
individual settlers from Virginia and New England, the 
Provincial government in the year following felt the 
necessity of assuring itself of their allegiance. The 
EngUsh settlers were, therefore, ordered to subscribe to 
an oath of fidelity "to their High Mightinesses the 
Lords States General, his Highness of Orange, and the 
Noble Director and Council of New Netherland; to fol- 
low the Director or any of his Council, wherever they 
shall lead; to give instant warning of any treason, or 

* O'Callaghan, History of New Netherland, i. 200-3 (The 
proclamation is here printed in full.) Broadhead, History of New 
York, i. 288. 

(136) 



THE ENGLISH IMMIGRATION 13 7 

other detriment to this country that shall come to their 
knowledge; to assist to the utmost of their power in 
defending and protecting with their blood and treasure 
the inhabitants thereof against its enemies."' 

Meanwhile, the States General continued to demand 
from the Company a new charter for these settlers, 
which would correspond to the conditions resulting 
from this change of its colonial policy. The Statdfe Gen- 
eral wished to have measures adopted, that would lead 
to an increase of the population of the Province, so that 
all danger of its loss through a foreign invasion might be 
eliminated. At this time, the patroons had made an 
unsuccessful attempt to obtain greater independence 
from the Company and a greater restriction of private 
enterprise in the colony. This was the burden of the 
new project of colonization which they had submitted 
to the States General.'' The West India Company had 
also submitted a draft of the articles and conditions 
which were to regulate the future colonization and trade 
of New Netherland. 

The religious legislation of this new charter marks 
the beginning of a new era in the religious his- 
tory of the colony. The first charter of this kind 
made the maintenance of the ministry of the Reformed 
Church obligatory on the part of the patroons and 
colonists, which thus obtained a legal recognition 
as early as 1629, a year after the arrival of the first min- 

1 O'Callaghan, o. c. 208 ; Alb. Recs, ii. Council minute, August 
II, 1639, in O'Callaghan. Cal. Hist. MSS. (Dutch), i. p, 68-69. A 
month later Captain Underhill and a few families received permis- 
sion to reside in New Netherland on taking the oath of allegiance. 
Ibid. 

' O'Callaghan, History of New Netherland, i. 198-9. 



138 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

ister of the Dutch Reformed Church.* With the exten- 
sion of the rights of trade and property to foreigners, 
there might naturally be expected an increase of dis- 
sent. This may be the explanation of the more detailed 
religious legislation in the articles proposed by the West 
India Company, which recognized the importance of 
establishing the proper order for public worship in the 
first commencement and planting of the population 
according to the practice established by the govern- 
ment of the Netherlands. The decree which followed 
is of great interest, on account of the close resemblance 
of its phraseology to the decree drafted by Stuyvesant 
against the conventicles which later arose principally 
amongst the English settlers of Long Island. Al- 
though religion was to be taught and preached in the 
Province of New Netherland "according to the confes- 
sion and formularies of unity . . . publicly accepted in 
the respective churches" of the fatherland, no person 
was thereby to be "in any wise constrained or ag- 
!' grieved in his conscience," but every person was to be 
"free to live in peace and all decorum, provided he take 
care not to frequent any forbidden assemblies or con- 
venticles, much less collect or get up any such ; and fur- 
ther abstain from all public scandals and offenses 
which the magistrate is charged to prevent by all fitting 
reproofs and admonitions, and if necessary to advise the 
Company from time to time of what may occur there 
herein, so that confusion and misunderstanding may 
be timely obviated and prevented." The Company 

'Cf. Art. xxvii. The union of minister, schoolmaster and 
Comforter of the sick, evidently refers to the Dutch Reformed 
Church. Col. Docs. N. Y. ii. SS1-7. 



THE ENGLISH IMMIGRATION 1 39 

then defined the religious duties of the inhabitants still 
more in detail. Every inhabitant was bound not only 
to fulfill his civic duties, but also to attend faithfully to 
any religious charge that he might receive in the 
churches, without any claim to a recompense. Fur- 
ther each inhabitant and householder was to bear such 
tax and public charge as would be considered proper for 
the maintenance of preachers. Comforters of the*Sick, 
schoolmasters and similar necessary officers.* This 
charter with the "New Project" was again referred to 
the Chamber of the West India Company at Amsterdam 
and a reconsideration of the entire case of New Nether- 
land with the deputies of the States General recom- 
mended.^ No definite result was immediately attained, 
and, in the spring of 1640, the deputies of the States Gen- 
eral were again instructed to assist in the deliberations 
of the West India Company and to take special care 
that no abuse might be introduced under cover of the 
fifth article, which decreed the administration of jus- 
tice "in all civil and criminal matters according to the 
forms of procedure and the laws and customs already 
made or to be enacted."' Two months later the 
attention of the States General was again called to the 
affairs of New Netherland, when complaint was made 
that the West India Company had refused the offers of 
the Count of Solms, who wished to plant a colony in 
New Netherland with some of his vassals, who had been 
driven out of the County of Solms by the war. The 
patience of the States General was almost exhausted. 

> Cf. Arts 6 and 8. Col. Docs. N. Y. i. 112. 
* Ibid. 114-15. 
' Ibid. 117. 



140 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

Their deputies to the Assembly of the XIX were to urge 
free access to New Netherland for the. Count of Solms 
and other inhabitants of those countries. They were 
also instructed to return with the conditions of such col- 
onization, which the West India Company had been 
ordered to enact. If the Company failed to submit the 
new charter for approval and ratification to the States 
General, their High Mightinesses threatened to grant 
such a charter independent of the Company through 
the plentitude of its own power.' Finally on July 19, 
1640, the new charter of Freedoms and Exemptions was 
promulgated, of which "all good inhabitants of the 
Netherlands and all others inclined to plant any colon- 
ies in New Netherland" might take advantage. The 
provisions of this revised charter in regard to religion 
are much less liberal in tone than the articles that had 
been proposed before by the Company. The subjec- 
tion of the Church to the civil authority, which is 
expressed in all the Confessions of the Reformed 
Churches, also found its expression in this charter. 
It reserved to the Company the founding of churches, 
and to the Governor and Council the cognizance of all 
cases of religion.^ The decree renewing the establish- 
ment of the Dutch Reformed Church in a negative form 
emphasizes the hostile spirit of the new constitution of 
the country towards dissent. "And no other religion 
shall he publicly admitted in New Netherland except 

1 Proceedings of States General, May 31, 1640, in Col. Docs. N.Y. 
i. 118. The house of Solms had a county of about four hundred 
square miles, situated on the banks of the Lahn, near Nassau, 
Hesse and Wetzlar. Cf Bouillet, iv. 319 Calvinism was preval- 
ent in that region. 

2 Cf. two last Arts, of the Freedoms and Exemptions. Ibid. 123 



THE ENGLISH IMMIGRATION 141 

the Reformed, as it is at present preached and practiced 
by public authority in the United Netherlands; and for 
this purpose the Company shall provide and maintain 
good and suitable preachers, schoolmasters, aitd com- 
forters of the sick."^ 

The effect of the concession of this new charter on 
the religious character of the population of the Dutch 
Province is well summarized in the description dfawn 
by Father Jogues a few years later. ' ' On this Island of 
Manhate and its environs there may well be four or five 
hundred men of different sects and nations ; the Director 
General told me that there were persons there of eigh- 
teen different languages." Although the Dutch were 
very generous in their treatment of Father Jogues, and 
later of other Jesuit missionaries, they were evidently 
bent on impressing him with the idea that dissenters 
from the established religion were only present in the 
colony on the sufferance of the local authorities, as he 
had been informed in all likelihood by the Director Gen" 
eral himself that the colony had "orders to admit none 
but Calvinists." However, the Jesuit had observed that 
there were ' ' besides Calvinists in the colony Catholics, 
English Puritans, Lutherans, Anabaptists, here called 
Mnistes, etc."^ Ten years later, the diversity of reli- 
gious opinion amongst the inhabitants of the Province is 
still more emphasized in the remonstrance which 
Domine Megapolensis sent to the Classis of Amsterdam 
as a protest against the admission of the Jews into the 
Province of New Netherland. "For as we have here 
Papists, Mennonites and Lutherans among the Dutch; 

» Col. Docs N.Y. i. 123. 

2 Doc Hist. N Y. iv. 15. Jes. Rels. ix. , 



142 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

also many Puritans or Independents, and many athe- 
ists and various servants of Baal among the English 
under this government, who conceal themselves under 
the name of Christians; it would create still greater 
confusion, if the obstinate and immovable Jews came 
to settle here."* It may be interesting to note that the 
religious situation remained practically the same even 
after the cessation of Dutch rule. Governor Andros 
reported in 1678 that there were "religions of all 
sorts, one Church of England, several Presbyterians and 
Independents, Quakers and Anabaptists, of several 
sects, some Jews, but Presbyterians and Independents 
most numerous and substantial."^ Eight years later 
Governor Dongan affords a still clearer insight into the 
diversity of belief and the prevalence of religious indif- 
ference. "Here be not many of the Church of Eng- 
land; few Roman Catholics; abundance of Quakers; 
preachers, men and women especially ; singing Quakers ; 
ranting Quakers ; Sabatarians ; Antisabatarians ; some 
Anabaptists; some Independents; some Jews; in short 
of all sorts of opinion there are some, and the most of 
none at all."' This religious indifference was not 
merely a later development under English rule, but a 
part of the heritage received from the Dutch. 

The concession of the new charter of Freedoms and 
Exemptions for New Netherland coincided with the rise 
of a migratory movement in New England, where the 
poverty of the soil gave the settlers little inducement to 
remain. In the words of Winthrop, "many men began 

» Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 336. 
2 Col Docs. N. Y. iii. 26a. 
s Ibid. 41 S 



THE ENGLISH IMMIGRATION 1 43 

to enquire after the Southern parts."' Some began to 
move into the Dutch jurisdiction ; others settled in ter- 
ritories claimed by the Dutch, but placed themselves 
imder English jurisdiction, which, by successive en- 
croachments, had been extended almost to the North 
River itself. The government of New Netherland was 
too feeble to do much more than protest against this 
invasion of its territories. These encroachments were 
not extended across the Sound to Long Island until the 
spring of 1 64o,when some inhabitants of L3mn, ' ' straight- 
ened at home," attempted to begin a new plantation 
at Cow Bay on Long Island under a grant from "a 
Scotchman named Farrett, the agent of Lord Stirling," 
who had received a grant of the whole of Long Island in 
1635 from the Plymouth Company at the request of 
Charles I. On their arrival, the arms of the High and 
Mighty Lords the States General were torn down from 
the tree to which they had been affixed, and a "fool's 
face" drawn in their place. Information of these high- 
handed proceedings led to the arrest and final expulsion 
of the English settlers, who now laid the foundations of 
a new plantation, Southampton, on the east end of the 
Island, unknown to the Dutch authorities.* In the 
year following, several families from Lynn and Ipswich 
sent agents to Long Island to select a suitable site for 
a plantation. Challenged by the Dutch, they were led 
to treat with the Governor of the Province of New 

i Winthrop's Joiimal, i. 333. Cf. Prank Strong. "A Forgotten 
Danger to the New England Colonies." Report of Am. H. A, 1898, 

p. 77-94 

* Winthrop's Journal, Hist, of New England, ii. 4-s. (Origin. 
Narratives of Am. Hist.) Cf. Cotton Mather, Magnalia Christi, and 
Lechford, Plain Dealing or Newes from New England. 



144 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

Netherland about the conditions for a settlement of the 
English under Dutch jurisdiction. Kieft no doubt 
thought that settlements of Englishmen, bound by an 
oath of allegiance to the States General and to the West 
India Company, would prove a good barrier to further 
encroachments on the part of New England govern- 
ments. The English were, therefore, permitted to settle 
in Dutch territory on equal terms with the other colon- 
ies of the Province' in accordance with the provisions 
of the charter of 1640, which became the basis of all 
future grants from the Dutch to the English. This 
guaranteed them practically "the very same liberties, 
both ecclesiastical and civil, which they enjoyed in the 
Massachusetts."^ They were not granted, as some his- 
torians seem to think, freedom of religion, but freedom 
of their religion. The pronoun is essential and saves the 
"fair terms" to the English from being a violation of 
the colonial charter just promulgated by the West 
India Company. Both the Dutch of New Netherland 
and the English of New England felt that their religion 
did not differ "in fundamentals." Robinson himself, 
the founder of the "New England Way," had declared 
as early as 1619 "before God and men, that we agree so 
entirely with the Reformed Dutch Churches in the mat- 
ter of religion, that we are ready to subscribe to all and 
every one of the articles of faith of those churches, as 
they are contained in the Harmony of Confessions of 

* Journal of New Netherland (1641-1646). Col Docs, N. Y. i. 
i8i; For the conditions of an English colony, Cf. Council minute, 
June 6, 1641, in Col. Docs. N. Y, xiii. 8. 

2 Winthrop's Journal, ii. 35 (ed. Orig Narratives of Early Am, 
Hist.) 



THE ENGLISH IMMIGRATION 1 45 

Faith."' In the following year, the New Netherland 
Company submitted a memorial to the States General 
with the request that Mr. Robinson might be permitted 
to depart with four hundred families from Holland and 
England to settle under Dutch protection in North 
America and ' ' to plant forthwith everywhere there the 
true and pure Christian religion."* The petition was 
denied, as the States General was planning to ref)lace 
the old provisional Company by the West India 
Company. The consciousness of the "close union and 
the congruity of the divine service of the two nations" 
foimd expression even in the year in which these fair 
terms were offered to the English of Ipswich and Lynn. 
The Reverend Mr. Hugh Peters of Salem, who was sent 
to England to negotiate with Parliament in regard to 
New England affairs, was also instructed to go, if pos- 
sible, to the Netherlands to treat with the West India 
Company for a peaceable neighborhood with its colony 
of New Netherland. According to the fifth article of 
the propositions which he was to submit to the Com- 
pany in the name of Massachusetts and Connecticut, he 
was to request "that the company, knowing that the 
English in America amount to about fifty thousand 
souls, may be pleased to inform us in what manner we 
ban be employed in advancing the great work there, 
being of the same religion with themselves."' This 
feeling of solidarity in religion was also manifested by 
the Dutch in the Netherlands. When the Dutch heard 

• The Canons of the Synod of Dort. Robinson, Apology 6, in 
Brodhead, Hist, of N. Y. i. 119-120. 

2 Col. Doc. i. 94-95, cited by O'Callaghan, Hist, of New Nether- 
land, i. 84. 

8 Col Docs. N. Y. ii. 150-1. 



146 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

that the Westminister Assembly "had agreed upon a 
certain plan of church government, practically the same 
in most points as that of the Reformed Church of this 
country, and had laid the same before the Parliament of 
England ... for approval," they experienced great 
gladness and singular "satisfaction" in "the assurance 
that between the English Church and our Church there 
should be effected a similar form of govenmient."*^ 
Even the triumph of Independency over Presbyterian- 
ism in England did not change this friendly feeling of 
the Dutch towards the English Puritans. Upon the 
restoration, the States General of the United Provinces 
permitted "all Christian people of tender conscience in 
England and elsewhere, oppressed, full liberty to erect 
a colony in the West Indies between New England and 
Virginia in America, .on the conditions and privileges 
granted by the committees of the respective chambers 
representing the Assembly of the XIX. .Therefore, if 
any of the English, good Christians . . shall be rationally 
disposed to transport themselves to the said place 
under the conduct of the United States, (they) shall 
have full liberty to live in the fear of the Lord."' 
Thus both English Congregationalists and English 
Presbyterians found a welcome in! New Netherland, 
although the authorities, civil and ecclesiastical, of the 
Province naturally favored the latter, whose agreement 
with the Reformed Church was not limited to "funda- 
mentals," but also extended to church polity in detail. 
When the Court of Massachusetts learned of the 
intention of these families in Lynn and Ipswich to set- 

» Synods of North and South Holland, Eccl Recs. N. Y. i. 192. 
' Doc. Hist N Y. iii. 37-39- 



THE ENGLISH IMMIGRATION 1 47 

tie in Dutch jurisdiction, the magistrates did not object 
to their departure from their present place of residence, 
nor did they try to dissuade them from their project on 
religious grounds. The matter was discussed from a 
purely political point of view. "The court were 
oflfended and sought to stay them, not for going from 
US', but for strengthening the Dutch, our doubtful 
neighbors, and taking that from them which oup king 
challenged and had granted a patent of . . to the earl of 
Sterling, especially for binding themselves by an oath of 
fealty."' The court of Massachusetts was successful in 
its remonstrance, and the leaders of this movement of 
immigration "promised to desist." In spite of this, the 
discussion in the court of Massachusetts was of great 
importance in the history of New Netherland, as it 
doubtlessly widely diffused a knowledge of these fair 
terms for an English settlement under the Dutch 
throughout New England. Religious persecution on 
the part of New England authorities wotild make the 
argument of the Massachusetts Court less cogent in the 
minds of the oppressed. In fact, the emigration from 
New England into the Dutch settlements on Long 
Island and the mainland was chiefly Presbyterian in 
character, occasioned by the controversy between the 
Presbyterians and Congregationalists of New England 
as to the extent of the Abrahamic covenant in the mat- 
ter of baptizing the children of those who were not 
church members. However, also a goodly number of 
Independents in course of time settled in the English 
towns in the Dutch jurisdiction. 

1 Winthrop's Journal, ii. 35 (ed. Orig. Narratives.) 



148 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

Early in 1642, the Rev. Francis Doughty, Presbyter- 
ian minister, and his associates obtained a patent from 
the Director General and Council of New Netherland for 
a settlement at Mespath on Long Island . Doughty had 
been a Church of England clergjonan. Silenced for 
non-conformity, he emigrated to Massachusetts in 1637, 
and settled at Cohannet, now Taunton, where he soon 
"found that he had got out of the frying pah into the 
fire."* According to the account of Lechford, there 
was a church gathered in Taunton, comprising ten or 
twenty to the exclusion of the rest of the inhabitants. 
Doughty "opposed the gathering of the Church there, 
alleadging that according to the Covenant of Abraham, 
all mens children that were of baptized parents, and so 
Abraham's children, ought to be baptized." In obe- 
dience to the request of the ministers of the church, the 
magistrate ordered the constable to expel him from the 
Assembly on the plea that he was raising a disturbance. 
He was then forced to leave the town with his wife and 
children.^ Doughty evidently had a following amongst 
the inhabitants of the town with Presbyterian ten- 
dencies who were not church members. Francis 
Doughty first went to Rhode Island, to which also Mr. 
Richard Smith, "a most respectable inhabitant and 
prime leading man in Taunton in Plymouth Colony" 
came, on leaving Plymouth "for his conscience's sake, 



' Remonstrance of New Netherland to the States General, July 
28, 1649. Care must be exercised in the use of this document, as the 
author Dr van der Donck is pleading the case of his father-in-law 
the Rev. Doughty. 

2 Lechford, Plaine Dealing, p. 91 (ed. J. H. Trumbull). 



THE ENGLISH IMMIGRATION 1 49 

many difficulties arising."* In the following year, some 
English residing at Rhode Island, at Cohannock, and 
other places commissioned Doughty as their agent to 
negotiate a charter for a settlement under the Dutch 
jurisdiction that they might "according to the Dutch 
Reformation enjoy freedom of conscience."^ Kieft 
readily granted Doughty and his associates freedom of 
conscience according to the Dutch Reformation m. the 
clause of the Mespath patent, which gave them power 
' ' to exercise the Reformed Christian Religion and church 
discipline, which they profess."' The members of this 
colony, which soon numbered eighty persons, employed 
Doughty as their minister. As "he had scarcely means 
enough of his own to build a hut,"* his associates pre- 
pared a bowery for him in the colony, upon the proceeds 
of which he was to live, while he discharged in return 
the duty of preacher among them.* 

In the autumn of the same year, John Throgmorton, 
who had left Massachusetts on account of religious per- 
secution, of which "fiery" Hugh Peters judged him as 
worthy as Roger Williams, Requested Kieft for permis- 
sion to settle under his jurisdiction with thirty-five fami- 
lies and to live in peace, "provided they be allowed to 

1 This is the testimony of Roger Williams in 1679. Cf. Riker, 
Annals of Newtown, 25, note i; also Flint, Early Long Island, p. 164, 
note I. 

' Tienhoven's answer to the Remonstrance of July 28, 1649, Col. 
Docs. N. Y. i. 424-31. 

' Book of Patents GG. p. 49, Riker, o. c. 413, O'Callaghan, Hist. 
of New Netherland, 1.425. 

* Lechford in the earlier draught of his account of the Cohannet 
strife of Doughty added: "And being a man of estate, when he 
came (to) the country, is imdone." M. H. S. MS Cf. note 136 of 
Trumbull's edition, p. 91. 

' Tienhoven's answer to the Remonstrance of July 28, 1649. Col. 
Docs. N. Y.-i. 424-31. 



ISO RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

enjoy the same privileges as other subjects and to 
freely exercise their religion." The Director General 
and Council, in virtue of the desires of the Company, 
granted the petitioners permission to settle in the 
Cotmty of Westchester, which was then known as 
"Vredeland" or "the land of Peace.'" The following 
summer, the patent was issued for the territory that he 
and his companions had occupied, but it makes no men- 
tion of religion.' Mrs. Anne Hutchinson, with Collins, 
her son-in-law, and all her family,also moved, in the sum- 
mer of 1642, into Dutch territory and settled only a few 
miles east of the Throgmorton settlement on Pelham 
Neck near New Rochelle. The memory of her resi- 
dence there is still preserved in the name of Hutchin- 
son's River, the small stream that separates the Neck 
from the town of East Chester. The New England 
authorities understood very well the signification of this 
secession. Winthrop tells us that "these people had 
cast off ordinances and churches, and now at last their 
own people, and for larger accommodations had sub- 
jected themselves to the Dutch."* The New England 
mind was inclined to see the hand of God in the calami- 
ties which the Indian war brought upon these settle- 
ments of wayward Englishmen.' ' ' ' 

Kieft had provoked a general uprising of the Algon- 
quin tribes against the Dutch by the massacre of the 
River Indians, men, women and children, who had 
taken refuge at Vriesendael, Pavonia and Manhattan 
from the Mohawks in search of the tribute from these 

' Council minute, October 2, 1642. Col Docs. N, Y. xiii. 10. 

2 Ibid. 

' Winthrop's Journal, ii. 138. 



THE ENGLISH IMMIGRATION 151 

Indians. The Presbyterian settlement of Mespath was 
invaded and the settlers "were all driven from their 
lands with the loss of some people and the destruction 
of many cattle, of almost all their houses and whatever 
they had."' The colonists now found a refuge during 
the war on Manhattan Island, where Doughty, sup- 
ported by the voluntary contributions from the English 
and Dutch of the City, administered to his fiockjtwho 
were even allowed the use of the Dutch church in the 
fort, as they were in agreement with the Dutch Re- 
formed Church "in everything."* The English colonists 
of Westchester County were less fortunate than the 
people of Mespath. The Indians "came to Mrs. Hutch- 
inson's in way of friendly neighborhood, as they had 
been accustomed, and taking their opportunity, killed 
her and Mr. Collins, her son-in-law, and aU her family," 
with the exception of a little grand-daughter, eight 
years old, who was taken captive. After four years, on 
the conclusion of peace, she was delivered to the Dutch 
Governor by the Indians and then restored to her 
friends in New England. Winthrop states that "she 
had forgot her own language, and all her friends, 
and was loath to have come from the Indians."' 
Feelings of pious exultation were expressed at the 
destruction of Mrs. Anne Hutchinson in the "Rise, 
Reign and Ruin of the Antinomians," which Charles 
Francis Adams in the able introduction to his 
scholarly edition in the Prince Society Publications 

* Remonstrance of New Netherland to States General. Col. 
Docs. N. Y. i. 305. 

2 Remonstrance and Answer of Tienhoven, Ibid 
» Winthrop's Journal, ii 138; 276-277. 



152 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

attributes not to Rev. Th. Welde, but to the 
pen of Governor Winthrop, with the exception of the 
introduction. "God's hand is the more apparently 
seen herein, to pick out this woeful woman, to make her 
and those belonging to her an unheard-of heavy 
example of their cruelty above others."* The Indians 
then attacked Throgmorton's settlement and killed 
"such of Mr. Throgmorton's and Mr. Comhill's fami- 
lies as were at home ; in all sixteen, and put their cattle 
into their houses and there burnt them." Fortunately 
a boat touched at the settlement at the time of the 
Indian attack, to which some women and children fled 
and were saved, but two of the boatmen going up to the 
houses were shot and killed. The few settlers who 
escaped removed again to Rhode Island.' 

The fate of Captain Daniel Patrick wasfalso con- 
sidered by Winthrop as a punishment from God. 
Patrick had been brought from Holland, where he was 
a common soldier of the Prince's guard, and given a 
Captain's commission by the Massachusetts Bay 
Colony. Although there was little religion or 
morality in the soldier, he was admitted a member of 
the church of Watertown and made a freeman. Pat- 
rick soon "grew proud and very vicious, for though 
he had a wife of his own, a good Dutch woman and 
comely, yet he despised her and followed after other 
women. ' '* On the discovery of his evil life, Captain 
Patrick removed to Connecticut and, in company with 
Robert Feake, began in 1639 the settlement of Green- 

' Adams, Charles Francis, ed. Antinomianism in the Colony of 
Massachusetts Bay, 1636-38. 
* Winthrop's Jotimal, ii. 138. 
'Ibid. 153. 



THE ENGLISH IMMIGRATION 1 53 

wich on the coast, within twenty miles of the Dutch. 
The settlers later bought a title to this region from one 
of the neighboring sachems, but the purchase was soon 
protested by the Director General Kieft, who had 
already secured a formal cession of this territory from 
the Indians. For two years, these Englishmen re- 
fused to submit to Dutch authority, "having been 
well assured that his majesty of England had pre- 
tended some right to this soil." However, when 
they could no longer "presume to remain thus, on 
account of the strifes of the English, the danger con- 
sequent thereon, and these treacherous and villainous 
Indians, of whom we have seen sorrowful examples 
enough," they placed themselves "under the pro- 
tection of the Noble States General, His Highness the 
Prince of Orange, and the West India Company, 
or their Governor General of New Netherland. "' 
Now Patrick became guilty of a grave infraction of 
New Engird church discipline, as he "joined to their 
church, without being dismissed from Watertown. ' ' 
When the Indians arose against the Dutch, Captain 
Patrick took refuge in the neighboring town of Stam- 
ford, to which later a company of one hundred and 
twenty. Dutchmen came on his promise to direct 
thetti to the Indians. .When he failed to fulfil his 
promise, he was accused of treachery by the Dutch, 
but Patrick replied with "ill language" and finally 
spat in the face of a Dutchman. Stung bythis insult, 
the Dutchman shot Patrick behind in the head as he 
turned to go out of Captain Underhill's house, and 

iQathof fidelity, April 9, 1642. O'Callaghan, Hist, of New 
Netherland. i. 252-3, note. 2. 



1 54 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

"so he fell down dead and never spake." The mur- 
derer was imprisoned but escaped out of custody. 
"This was the fruit of (Captain Patrick's) wicked 
course and breach of covenant with his wife, with the 
church, and that state who had called him and main- 
tained him, and he found his death from that hand 
where he sought protection. It is observable that he 
was killed upon the Lord's day in the time of the after- 
noon exercise, (for he seldom went to public assem- 
bhes.) '" 

In the spring of 1644, another English colony of 
Presbyterians settled on Long Island under the 
Dutch jurisdiction. When the church of Wethersfield 
had been so rent by "contention and alienation of 
minds" that the two mediators, sent out by the parent 
church of Watertown, "could not bring them to any 
other accord than this, that the one party must remove 
to some other place, "^ the seceders obtained from New 
Haven the lands that the colony had bought from the 
Rippowan Indians, and founded the town of Stamford. 
Over thirty families were settled by the fall of 
1641. A feeling of dissatisfaction also developed in 
some inhabitants of this town, which led to a migration 
from Stamford to Long Island. This in all probability 
was occasioned by a change in the right of suffrage, 
necessitated by the incorporation of Stamford into the 
Colony of New Haven, which limited its right of suf- 
frage to church members. The Presbyterians, who had 
amongst their number two ministers of their persuasion, 
Richard Denton and Robert Fordham, sent a commit- 

' Winthrop's Jemrnal, ii. 154. 
' Ibid. i. 307-8. 



THE ENGLISH IMMIGRATION ISS 

tee* to Long Island in 1643 to purchase lands from the 
Indians. Early in the following year, the English were 
settled "in the great plain, which is called Hempstead, 
where Mr. Fordham, an English minister, had the 
rule."" The reference to Mr. Fordham very likely is 
due to his civil position in the new settlement, as the 
ministerial office was not then exercised by him, but by 
Richard Denton, who is later described by the Outch 
ministers of New Amsterdam as "sound in the faith, of 
a friendly disposition, and beloved by all."' It is not 
strange, therefore, that the settlement of Hempstead 
received a patent with the same religious provisions as 
were contained in the patent of Mespath. Thus the 
settlers received full power and authority "to exercise 

* This committee was composed of Robert Fordham and John 
Carman. 

^ Broad Advice. N. Y. Hist. Soc. Col. 2d. Ser iii. 257 (1857.) 
In 1642 Lechford speaks of him as a minister out of office. 

* Megapolensis and Drisius to Classis of Amsterdam, October 22, 
1657. Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 410-11. Cotton Mather -writes: "The 
apostle describing the false ministers of those primitive times calls 
them clouds without water, carried about.of winds. As for the true 
men of our primitive times, they were indeed 'carried about of 
winds', though not winds of strange doctrine, yet the winds of hard 
sufiering did carry him as far as from England into America: the 
hurricanes of persecution wherein doubtless the 'Prince of the 
powers of Air' had its influence, drove the heavenly clouds from 
one part of the heavenly church into another. But they were not 
clouds without waters, when they came with showers of blessings 
and rained very gracious impressions upon the vineyard of the Lord. 
Among those clouds was our pious and learned Mr. Richard Denton, 
a Yorkshire man, who having watered Halifax, in England, with 
his fruitful ministiy, was by a tempest there hurried into New 
England, where first at Weathersfield, and then at Stamford, his 
doctrine dropped as the small rain, his speech distilled as the dew, as 
the small ram upon tender herb, and as showers upon the grass. 
Though he were a little man, yet he had a great soul ; his well accom- 

glished mind, in his lesser body, was an Iliad in a nut shell. I think 
e was blind of an eye, yet he was not the least among the seers of 
Israel; he saw a very considerable portion of those things which the 
eye hath not seen. He was far from cloudy in his conceptions and 
principles of divinity, whereof he wrote a system, entitled Soliliquia 



156 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

the Reformed religion, whidi they profess,' with the 
ecclesiastical discipline thereunto belonging." It may 
be of interest to note that the name of Richard Denton 
is not fotmd in the list of the patentees.^ 

The history of the early church of Hempstead 
reveals no polity of the church apart from the govern- 
ment of the town. This close union of things spiritual 
and temporal is well symbolized in the use of the same 
edifice both as a church and as a town-house for the 
transaction of public business. It also was manifested 
in an order issued by the General Court with the consent 

Sacra, so accurately considering the fourfold state of man, in his 
created purity, contracted deformity, restored beauty and celestial 
glory, that judicious persons, who have seen it, very much lament 
the churches being so much deprived of it. At length he got into 
Heaven beyond the clouds, and so beyond storms; waiting the 
return of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the clouds of Heaven, when he 
will have his reward among the saints." Magnalia Christi, i. 398. 

His epitaph also gives a flattering estimate : 

Hie jacet et fruitur Tranquilla sede Richardus Dentonius Cujus 
Fama perennis erit. 

Incola jam coeli velut Astra micantia fulget. 

Quemultes Fidei Lumina Clara dedit. 

Flint, Early Long Island, 126. 
* Patent, November 16, 1644, printed in Thompson, History of 
Long Island, ii. 5-6. 

2 It would be of interest to have the question solved of the 
relation of the document on file in the Public Record Ofiice, London, 
dated 1628, to the settlers of the village of Hempstead on Long 
Island The Lord Keeper Coventry has endorsed it: "this letter 
was set up on the church of Hamsted in County Hertford and deliv- 
ered by Mr Sanders of the Star Chamber." It is addressed, 
"Michael Mean- well to Matthew Mark- well at his house in Muse- 
much parish," from Little- worth, which is the name of a parish in 
Berks. The letter gives the reasons why the author and some others 
have decided to go to New England. The objections urged against 
the Established Church refer both to polity and doctrine. Ceremo- 
nies, that have no express warrant in the Word of God, may not be 
used in the worship of God without sin. On appeal to the works of 
Cartwright, Penry and Knox, exception is taken to the teaching, 
that God's predestination resulted from his foreknowledge of good 
and evil, that Christ died for all men, that all children baptized are 
saved, that a man may fall away from grace, and that the Sabbath 
is not a divine institution. N. E. Hist, and Gen. Reg. 1. 398. 



THE ENGLISH IMMIGRATION 1 57 

of a full town meeting, September i6, 1650, which con- 
fessed that "the Contempt of God's Word And Sab- 
baths is the desolating Sinn off Civill States and Plan- 
tations, and that the Publick preaching of the Word, by 
those that are called therevnto is the Chiefe and ordi- 
narie meanes ordayned of God for the Converting, Edi- 
fying and Saveing of y^ Soules of the Elect, through the 
presence and power of the Holy Ghost therevnto f)rom- 
ised." The General Court, therefore, decreed "That 
All persons Inhabiting In this Towne or y® Limitts 
thereof shall duely resort and repaire to the Publique 
meetings and Assemblies one the Lords dayes And 
one the Publique dayes of fastings and thanksgivings 
appointed by Publique Authority, both one the fore- 
noones and aftemoones." Persons, who should absent 
themselves "w'th out Just and Necessary Cause apr 
j^oved by the particular Court," were to "forfeict, for 
the first offense, five guilders, for y^ second Offense ten 
guilders. And for y* third Offense twenty guilders." 
Those who prove refractory, perverse and obstinate, 
were to be "Lyable to the further Censtire of the Court, 
Eyther for the Agravation of the fine, or for Corporall 
punishment or Banishment." Finally, persons who 
would inform the magistrates or the particular Court 
about the neglect or contempt of this order were to be 
rewarded by one half of the fine, the other half of which 
was to be converted to public use.* Seven years later, 
on the growth of Quaker dissent, the Director General 
approved this order of the General Court of Hempstead 
and commanded the magistrates of the town to execute 

1 Hempstead Town Recs, i. 56-58. 



IS8 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND ' 

its provisions against trespassers. This was no doubt 
done at the instance of the town authorities themselves. 
The united action of the town authorities and the Pro- 
vincial Government is also indicative of the sense of the 
union of the Church of the town with the Reformed 
Church of the Province. This is also shown by the mi- 
nistration of Richard Denton in the English Congregation, 
organized in the capital of the Province, which wor- 
shipped in the same church building within the fort 
as the Dutch and French Reformed. An hour was as- 
signed to them, that would not conflict with the use of 
the church by the Dutch congregation. The dis- 
tinction between English Church and Dutch Church is 
clearly drawn in an ancient book of records in the 
Briggs family. "Sarah Woolsey was bom in New 
York, August y* 3d, in y^ year 1650, August 7, she was 
baptized in y= English church by Mr. Denton, Capt. 
Newtown godfather, George Woolsey was bom in New 
York, October 10, 1652 ; October 12 he was baptized in 
the Dutch church, Mrs. Newton godmother. Thomas 
Woolsey was bom at Hempstead, April 10, 1655, and 
there baptized by Mr. Denton. Rebeckar Woolsey 
was bom at New York Febmary 13, 1659, Febraary 16 
she was baptized in the Dutch church, Mr. Bridges, god- 
father and her grandmother godmother." ' This close 
communion with the provincial Church hardly admits 
any doubt in regard to the character of the Church of 
Hempstead, and its minister, who moreover is expressly 
designated by the Dutch clergyman as a "Presbyterian 
preacher, who is in agreement with our church in 

i Briggs, C. A., Puritanism in N. Y. Mag. of Am., Hist, xiii, 42. 



THE ENGLISH IMMIGRATION 1 59 

everything.'" However, the inhabitants of the town 
were not all of the same religious persuasion,even before 
the manifestation of Quaker dissent. There were some 
Independents, who listened attentively to the sermons 
of Richard Denton until he began to baptize the 
children of parents who were not church members, 
when they rushed out of the assembly." 

In spite of the close union of spiritual and ternporal 
matters, the minister of Hempstead had to complain 
that he was getting in debt through lack of salary. To 
the sorrow of the Dutch authorities, he left New Nether- 
land to seek a better living in Virginia.' Mr. Robert 
Fordham seems to have now taken up the work of the 
ministry in the place of Richard Denton. He also left 
the town of Hempstead and gave up the exercise of the 
ministry without the wish and knowledge of the pro- 
vincial government, which later refused to admit him 
"in such mennor of comminge againe."* Meanwhile, 
Richard Denton had returned to New Netherland, but 
the clergy of New Amsterdam was not more successful 
in inducing him to remain than the Director General 
who endeavored to ensure him his share of the tithes of 
the village, if he should again consent to exercise his 
calling there.' He finally went to England to claim a 
legacy of four htmdred pounds, lately left by a deceased 
friend, which he and his wife could not obtain except 

* Megapolensis and Drisius to Classis of Amsterdam, Augfust s. 
1657. Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 397-8. 

2 Ibid. 

* Megapolensis and Drisius to Classis of Amsterdam, October 
22, 1657. Ibid. 410-11. 

*Stuyvesant to Magistrates of Hempstead, Jtdy 17, 1657, Doc. 
Hist. N. Y. iii. 118-119; Col. Docs.N. Y.xiv. 396. 
6 Ibid. 



l6o RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

by their personal appearance.' The authorities of both 
town and Province were anxious to obtain "an able and 
orthodox minister." In 1660, Stujrvesant took ad- 
vantage of the departure of a New England minister, 
Mr. William Leveretts (Leveridge) by boat from New 
Amsterdam to acquaint the Directors with the needs of 
the English, who had been deprived of religious instruc- 
tion for some time. In the spring of 166 1, the Director 
General was informed that there were many unbaptized 
children in Hempstead in consequence of the long va- 
cancy in the ministry of the town. He promised to send 
as soon as possible one of the Dutch ministers to admin- 
ister the sacrament, "hoopinge and not doubtinge 
that yow will use all possible meanes that the 
towne may tymely be ,supplyed with an able and 
orthodox minister to the edification of God's glorie 
and yotir owne Salvation." A few weeks later, 
Samuel Drisius visited the town, preached a serpion, 
and baptized forty-one children and an aged 
woman.' Finally, the services of the Rev. Jonah 
Fordham, the son of the old minister Robert Fordham, 
who had removed to Southampton, were engaged by the 
town of Hempstead. The minister 's salary was fixed at 
seventy pounds sterling a year, which was to be raised 
by a rate levied on every man in town. When some 
refused "to contribute to the Maintenancy of a Protes- 
tant Minister," the magistrates were empowered by the 
provincial council "not only to constrain those that are 
unwilling, but by further denyal to punish them as they 

' Megapolensis and Drisius to Classis of Amsterdam, October 2 2, 
1657. Eccl Recs. N. Y. i. 410-11, 

*Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 497. Stuyvesant to Magistrates of 
Heemstede, March 25, 1661. 



THE ENGLISH IMMIGRATION l6l 

in aequity shall think meete."* In 1663, Hempstead 
showed its appreciation of the work of Mr. Fordham by 
voting him, in addition to the ordinary allotments of the 
inhabitants, an estate valued at £200. On the death of 
his father, he returned to Southampton, where he 
labored in the ministry probably tmtil the arrival of the 
Rev. Mr. Taylor in 1680.' 

On the termination of the disastrous Indian war in 
1645, two English settlements on Long Island succeeded 
in obtaining a charter. This was evidently formulated 
by the patentees to avoid a recurrence of New England 
persecution, to which they had been subjected prior to 
their removal to New Netherland. At this time, Kieft 
was ready to make any possible concession that would 
attract new settlers and retain in the country the old 
inhabitants, for there was no hope for the improvement 
of the Dutch Province without an increase of its popu- 
lation, that had been seriously reduced during the 
Indian war. As the settlers of these two towns were 
apparently not considered within the pale of the Re- 
formed Church, the Director General was not in a posi- 
tion to grant them the exercise of theReformedReligion, 
which alone could be publicly practiced accprding to the 
constitutional charter of the Freedoms and Exemp- 
tions of 1640. Although he did not guarantee them 
religious autonomy, he granted them "Liberty of Con- 
science," which was further defined as freedom from 
"molestacon or disturbance from any Magistrate or 
Magistrates, or any other Ecclesiastical Minister, that 
may extend jurisdiction over them." A precedent for 

' Council minute, May i6, 1662. Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 513. 
' Thompson, Hist, of Long Island, ii. 21-22. 



1 62 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

this concession was found in "the Custome and manner 
of Holland. " The settlers of the town of Flushing were 
the first to receive this concession in their charter. A 
few months later Gravesend received a charter with the 
same provision. 

The Reverend Francis Doughty had returned to the 
colony of Mespath upon the termination of the Indian 
war. Now internal dissensions arrested the progress of 
the settlement. Doughty claimed the privileges of a 
patroon and demanded from the settlers payment of 
their lands and an annual quitrent.' His associates, 
Richard and William Smith, opposed these proceedings 
because the minister was only one of a number of equal 
patentees.* These contentions probably gave rise to a 
defamatory song concerning the minister and his 
daughter, for which William Gerritsen, on June 10,1645, 
was found guilty of libel and sentenced to stand bound 
to the May-pole in the fort with two rods around his 
neck and the libel over his head untU the conclusion of 
the English sermon, and threatened to be flogged and 
banished, if he should dare to sing the song again." 
Doughty was evidently then ministering to the English 
congregation of New Amsterdam, whither he had again 
returned after a half year's residence in the Mespath 
Colony. The case between Doughty and his associates 
was brought before the Provincial Court, and the Direc- 
tor General and Council decided that he had no control 



* Tienhoven's answer to the Remonstrance, July a8, 1649. Col. 
Docs. N. Y. i, 424-31. 

2 Council minutes, February 7, March 7, 1646. O'Callaghan, Cal, 
Hist. MSS. (Dutch), i. 107-8 

* Council minutes, June 10, 1645. Ibid. 95. 



THE ENGLISH IMMIGRATION 1 63 

over any other land in the colony than his own farm. 
His associates were therefore free to "enter upon their 
property." When Doughty threatened to appeal from 
the sentence of the Provincial Court, Kieft had the min- 
ister arrested, imprisoned for twenty-four hours, and 
fined twenty-five guilders. Doughty now endeavored 
to obtain permission to leave the Dutch Province, but 
this was steadily refused, as he was indebted to the 
Company to the amount of eleven hundred florins, 
which had been advanced to the minister in goods and 
necessaries of life.' 

Stuyvesant was not the man to compromise the 
authority of his predecessor, but he was favorable 
enough to Francis Doughty,especially on account of the 
destitute circumstances of the English towns, as far as 
a religious ministry was concerned; The representa- 
tives of Flushing, intimidated by the threats of Stuy- 
vesant,^ signed a contract with Francis Doughty, who 

1 Remonstrance of New Netherland, July 28, 1649. Col. Docs. 
N. Y. i. 341. Representation of New Netherland, Narratives of 
New Netherland, pp. 334-335. Answer of Van Tienhoven, Novem- 
ber 29, 1650. Col. Docs. N Y i. 424-31. Narratives of New Nether- 
land, pp. 366-8. 

2 This transaction seems to be indicated in the vindication of 
Captain Underhill, who gathered together, in 1653, his reasons for 
renouncing "the iniquitous government of Peter Stuyvesant over 
the inhabitants living and dwelling on Long Island, in America." 
He urged against Stuyvesant, that "he hath in violation of 
liberty of conscience and contrary to hand and seal, enforced 
articles upon the people, ordering them otherwise against the laws of 
God and man to quit the country within two months." 
Col. Docs. N. Y. Ji. 151-2. Underbill's accusations seems to rest 
on the religious provisions of the charter granted by Kieft with 
its guarantee of freedem of conscience, without molestation from 
magistrate or minister and the forced signing of the Articles, as the 
contract between Doughty and the church of Flushing is called 
in the Court minutes of New Amsterdam. Recs. New Amsterdam, 
i. 179. There is nothing else in the early years of Stuyvesant's 
directorship that would give any foundation to Underbill's accu- 



164 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

was thus assured a salary of six hundred guilders a 
year, to be raised from the voluntary contributions of 
the inhabitants of the town. Under these circum- 
stances, a conflict might be expected to develop in 
Flushing. In fact, differences soon manifested them- 
selves and many began to absent themselves from the 
sermon and refused to contribute their share to the 
maintenance of the minister.' In spite of Stuyvesant's 
intervention, the salary remained unpaid.^ The differ- 
ences even became more pronounced and disturbed the 
peace and unanimity of the town, which seems to have 
been rent into two factions.' William Harck, the 
sheriff of Flushing and his associates with the represen- 
tatives of the opposite party : Thomas Sael, John Law- 
rence, and William Turner, presented their case to the 
Director General and Council with the request for a 
pious, learned and Reformed minister, who was to be 
supported by the contributions of each inhabitant ac- 
cording to his abiUty. The Director General and Co\m- 
cil admitted the justice of theii- case and resolved to 
adopt the measures necessary to promote peace, union 
and tranquility in ecclesiastical and civil affairs. 
Doughty 's restive nature could not suffer this to pass in 

sation. O'Callaghan's insertion ''of belief" after articles is mis- 
leading. Hist, of New Netherland. ii. 226. 

1 Megapolensis and Drisius to Classis of Amsterdam, August 5, 
1657. Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 397. In the letter of October 22, they 
accompany their request for two English preachers with the petition 
"that direction may be given to the magistracy that the money be 
paid by the English to the magistrate, and not to the preacher, which 
gives rise to dissatisfaction." 

' Mandeville, Flushing, Past and Present. When Doughty insti- 
tuted a suit for the payment of his salary, it was discovered that 
the contract had been destroyed, William Lawrence's wife having 
"put it under a pye." Cf. Flint, Early Long Island, p. 1 74. 

» Col. Docs N.Y.xiv. 8a. 



THE ENGLISH IMMIGRATION 1 65 

silence; he attacked the civil authorities from the pul- 
pit. This brought him into conflict with the new 
Schout, Captain John Underhill, who, in his first official 
act, ordered the church closed, because the minister 
"did preach against the present rulers, who were his 
masters."' / Doughty remained some years in New 
Netherland, vainly endeavoring to collect his salary.' 
Finally, he went to Virginia, with the permission of 
Stuyvesant, who was then accused of exacting a pro- 
mise from the minister not to complain anywhere of the 
treatment he received in New Netherland.' A few 
years after Doughty's departure, the Dutch ministers 
complained to the Classis of Amsterdam that many of 
the inhabitants of Flushing became "imbued with 
divers opinions" and it was "with them quot homines 
tot sententiae."* However, the inhabitants were not 
molested on account of this divergence of private belief 
until they violated the charter of Freedoms and Exemp- 
tions by the public exercise of dissenting worship. In 
1656, William Wickendam, a cobbler from Rhode Island, 
came to Flushing claiming a commission from Christ 
and found recognition amongst its people. The sheriff 
himself, William Hallet, placed his own house at the dis- 
posal of the preacher for his reUgious meetings. Here 
several times he expoimded and interpreted God's 
Holy Word, went with the people into the river and 
baptized them, and even administered to the sheriff and 

' Waller, Hist, of Flushing, 24-25. 

2 Recs. of New Amsterdam, i. 179. 

^ Col. bocs. N.Y. i. 341, Remonstrance of New Netherland, July 
28, 1649 

* Megapolensis and Drisius, August 5, 1657. Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 
396-7- 



1 66 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

others "the bread in the form and manner in which the 
sacrament is usually celebrated and given." This was 
done without any authority, ecclesiastical or secular, 
contrary to the ecclesiastical rules of the Fatherland 
and especially to the placards of the Director General 
and Council, " expressly forbidding all such conventicles 
and gatherings, public or private, except the usual meet- 
ings, which are not only lawfully permitted, but also 
based on God's Word and ordered for the service of 
God, if they are held conformably to the Synod of Dort 
as in our Fatherland and in other churches of the 
Reformed Faith in Europe."' As soon as information 
of these proceedings reached New Amsterdam, the 
Fiscal was despatched to Flushing to arrest the preacher 
and the sheriff. William Hallett was degraded from his 
office, fined fifty pounds Flemish for neglect of duty, 
and banished from the Province of New Netherland. 
A few days later, he petitioned for the remission of the 
sentence of banishment, which was granted on the pay- 
ment of the fine and the costs of the trial. ^ William 
Wickendam, in accordance with the provisions of the 
placard against conventicles, was condemned to a fine 
of one hundred pounds Flemish. After the payment of 
the fine and the costs incurred in his case, he was also to 
be banished from the Province, but as he was very poor, 
with a wife and children, and a cobbler by trade, his fine 
was remitted on the condition that, if he were caught 
within the province again, he was to pay the fine. 

No appeal was made to the charter of the town by 

' Col Docs. N. Y. xiv. 369-70 Megapolensis and Drisins to 
Classis of Amsterdam. Eccl. Reos. N. Y. i. 396-7. 

» O'Callaghan, Calender of N. Y. Hist. MSS. (Dutch), i. p. 178. 



THB ENGLISH IMMIGRATION 167 

the condemned prisoners for the manifest reason that 
the charter of Flushing did not guarantee freedom of 
worship, but freedom of conscience, It was only when 
this freedom of conscience seemed to be called into ques- 
tion by "an order from the Hon. Director General not 
to admit, lodge and entertain in the said village any one 
of the heretical and abominable sect called the,Quakers," 
that the people of Flushing appealed to the right guar- 
anteed in their charter. 

Although Gravesend received its charter a few 
months after Flushing, it had been settled as early as 
1643,' shortly after the outbreak of the Indian war. 
The same savages, who destroyed the English settle- 
ments on the mainland as far as Stamford, crossed the 
Sound and assaulted Lady Moody in her house, but they 
were repulsed repeatedly by the forty men, who had 
gathered there in the new colony.^ She had also left 
fair possessions in New England for conscience' sake. 
Two years after her arrival in Lynn in 1^38, she had 
received a grant of four hundred acres of land from the 
General Court.' In Salem, she was also the proprietor 
of a flat-roofed house, but one story high, which had its 

1 Before this there was a small English settlement on Dental 
(Turtle) Bay, called Hopton, which had been broken up by the 
Indians. These old settlers joined the followers of Mrs. Moody in 
founding Gravesend. The former were iadifierent in regard to 
religion, while the latter had left New England precisely on account 
of their deeply religious convictions, for which they were persecuted 
there. Under these circumstances "it was resolved to relegate the 
matter of religion in the new settlement entirely to the individual as 
a matter with which the organized community had no concern. 
And so in the laying out of lots no reservation for church purposes 
was made or intended to be made." Cf. W. H. Stillwell, Hist, of 
Ref. Prot. Dutch Church of Gravesend, Kings County. 

2 Winthrop's Journal, ii. 138. 
' Mass. Recs. i. 123. 



l68 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

roof carried off by a high wind in 1646 without injury to 
any of the inmates.* Lechford tells us that "the good 
Lady was almost undone by buying Master Humphries 
farme, Swampscot, which cost her nine or eleven hun- 
dred pounds."* Towards the end of the year 1642, 
Lady Deborah Moody, Mrs. Xing, and the wife of John 
Tilton were presented at the Quarterly Court "for 
houlding that the baptism of infants is not ordained of 
God."' The following year, she was also "dealt withal 
by many of the elders and others, and admonished by 
the church of Salem,whereof she was a member, but,per- 
sisting stm and to avoid further trouble, " she removed 
"from imder civil and church watch" to the Dutch on 
Lotig Island with many others likewise infected with 
Anabaptism.* Under these circumstances, it is not 
strange that the inhabitants of Gravesend should also 
obtain a charter that granted them ' 'the free libertie of 
conscience according to the costome and manner of Hol- 
land, without molestation or disturbance from any 
Madgistrate or Madgistrates or any other Ecclesiastical 
Minister that may ptend jurisdiction over them. ' ' ' The 
patentees received the power and authority to build a 
town or towns, which must have excluded any disquali- 
fication for the office of a magistrate on the ground of 
Anabaptismj Nevertheless, the Director General Stuy- 
vesant and his Council insisted on a religious qualifica- 
tion for office in their answer to the remonstrance, that 

1 Winthrop's Journal, ii. 289. 

2 Lechford, Plaine Dealing, 98-09. 

* Lynn Recs. in Flint, Hist, of Early Long Island, 106, notes 
1-2. 

* Winthrop's Journal, ii. 126. 
6 Doc. Hist N. Y. 1.41 1. 



THE ENGLISH IMMIGRATION 1 69 

several acted as oificers and magistrates without the 
consent or nomination of the people.' " The English 
do not only enjoy the right of nominating their own 
Magistrates, but some of them also usurp the election 
and appointment of such magistrates, as they please, 
without regard to their religion. Some, especially the 
people of Gravesend, elect libertines and Anabaptists, 
which is decidedly against the laws of the Netherlands."* 
There was, however, no forcing of the conscience in 
Gravesend until the arrival of the Quakers in the town. 
Shortly before this, the Dutch ministers of New Amster- 
dam still classified in their report to the Classis of Am- 
sterdam, the people of Gravesend as Mennonites. "The 
majority of them reject the baptism of infants, the 
observance of the Sabbath, the office of preacher and 
any teachers of God's Word. They say that thereby all 
sorts of contentions have come into the world. When- 
ever they meet, someone or other reads to them.'" 
In the light of the consistent religious policy of Stuyve- 
sant and the Dutch clergy, this toleration of Mennonite 
worship, attested in these words of tfie Dutch ministers 
of New Amsterdam, is so surprising a fact that it is open 
to suspicion. Is it a slip of the pen of the writers, 
occasioned by a description of Mennonite tenets and 
practices, which were well known to them? In fact, 
Domine Mega;polensis seems to have been as vigilant for 
the repression of the Mennonites as of other dissenters. 
The peculiar tenets of their religion in regard to an 

1 Remonstrance, O'Callaghan, Hist, of New Netherland, ii. 245. 

2 Deduction by Director General and Coimcil, Col. Docs. N. Y. 
xiv. 233-35. 

^ Megapolensis and Drisius to Classis of Amsterdam, August 5, 
1657. Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 396-7. 



17° RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

organized ministry made them as ready to attack a 
"hireling" ministry, as the Quakers later became. On 
February 12, 1652, Megapolensis requested the Director 
and Council to restrain the Anabaptist Anna Smits 
"from using slanderous and calumniating expressions 
against God's Word and his servants."' Meanwhile, 
the Quaker movement gained adherents in the town, 
who soon became the object of a religious persecution. 
Another party also arose in Gravesend, which appealed, 
on April 12, 1660, to the Provincial government for 
relief in their religious destitution. Ten of the 
inhabitants of the village, only two of whom were 
English, the sheriff Charles Morgan and Lieutenant 
Nicholas Stillwell, informed the Director General and 
Council that "the licentious mode of living, the 
desecration of the Sabbath, the confusion of reli- 
gious opinion prevalent in the village made many grow 
cold in the exercise of Christian virtue, and almost sur- 
pass the heathens, who have no knowledge of God and 
his commandments." They requested, therefore, that 
"a preacher be sent here, that the glory of God may 
be spread, the ignorant taught, the simple and innocent 
strengthened, and the licentious restrained." Stujrve- 
sant and his Council were well pleased with this 
remonstrance and promised to fulfill their request, as 
soon as possible, but the English put an end to the 
Dutch rule before the promise was realized.^ 

The old settlement of Mespath never recovered 
entirely from the calamities of the Indian war. Even 
after the reoccupation of the colony, the dissensions 

> Council minute. Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 15S-6. 
2 Council minute, April 12, 1660. Ibid. 406. 



THE ENGLISH IMMIGRATION 171 

between the colonists and their minister, Francis 
Doughty, impeded the increase of its population. In 
1652, some New England settlers with some individuals 
from Hempstead — all formerly inhabitants of the Con- 
necticut shore — obtained permission from Stuyvesant 
to plant a new colony in the vicinity of the old settle- 
ment on the lands not yet occupied, which was, there- 
fore, commonly known as Newtown, although its official 
name was Middelburg. The privileges of the charter of 
1640 were also extended to the new settlement with the 
free exercise of their Protestant religion.' Some of the 
inhabitants were Presbyterians, but the great majority 
of them were Independents . ^ Shortly after the founda- 
tion of the town, the permission and assistance of the 
Director General was obtained to appropriate ground 
and to erect a building, which was to serve both as a 
church and a residence for the minister.^ The services 
of an Independent John Moore were engaged, who did 
not administer the sacraments, as he declared that he 
had received in New England only license to preach. 
Dissatisfied with the meager and irregular payment 
from his hearers, Mr. Moore in 1656 went totheBarba- 
does to seek a better living.* The Dutch ministers of 
New Amsterdam immediately showed their interest in 
the religious welfare of Newtown. They wrote to Hol- 
land for a minister to supply the vacancy created by 
the departure of Mr. Moore.' In the absence of a, 

* Riker, Annals of Newtown, 26-27. 

^ Megapolensis and Drisius to Classis of Amsterdam, August S^ 
1657. Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 396-7. 
^ Riker. Annals of Newtown, 40. 

* Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 396-7. 

^Onderdonck, H. Jr. Queens County in Olden Times. Am. Hist.. 
Rec. i. 4. 



172 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

preacher, "some inhabitants and unqualified persons 
ventured to hold conventicles and gatherings and 
assumed to teach the Gospel." Megapolensis and 
Drisius, therefore, petitioned the Director General and 
Council, on January 15, 1656, to intervene and provide 
for the continuance of legitimate religious worship 
during the absence of Mr. Moore by the appointment of 
a suitable person to read the Bible and some other 
orthodox work on Sunday, until other provisions were 
made. Stuyvesant entrusted the choice of a suitable 
reader to the two ministers with the advice of the 
magistrates and the best informed inhabitants of New- 
town. At the same time, he expressed his decision to 
have placards issued against those persons who,without 
either ecclesiastical or secular authority, acted as 
teachers in interpreting and expounding God's Holy 
Word.' On February i , 1656, all religious meetings, ex- 
cept the Reformed, were prohibited under severe penal- 
ties.' Meanwhile, the wife of John Moore, with her seven 
or eight children, apparently continued to dwell in the 
town minister's house. In the beginning of the year 
1657, information was lodged with Stuyvesant that 
some of the inhabitants had in fact given Mr. Moore 
this house for his private use. The Director General 
promptly insisted that this house had been built "for a 
public use and successively for the Ministrij," and 
ordered the magistrates to submit an explanation of 
this strange proceeding.' Mr. Moore again returned to 
Newtown and doubtless took up again the work of the 

1 Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 336-7. 

'Recs. New Amsterdam, i. 20-21; ii. 34-35. 

s Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 384. 



THE ENGLISH IMMIGRATION 1 73 

ministry in the town, but he died on October 13,1657, of 
a pestilential disease, which was then prevalent in the 
English settlements of NewNetherland and in the towns 
of New England.* Newtown was thus destitute of its 
ministry at the very, time that the "raving Quakers" 
began "to disturb the people of the province" and "to 
pour forth their venom. "^ The town feared "that 
some of the inhabitants might be led away by the intru- 
sion of the Quakers and other heretics." A petition 
was, therefore, presented in 1661 to the Director General 
who was requested to aid in obtaining a minister in the 
place of the deceased John Moore.' The inhabitants 
evidently felt the need "off the publyck meaneis of 
grace and salvation." Although their request for a 
minister could not be fulfilled, they engaged, doubtless 
with the consent of Stuyvesant, a schoolmaster for the 
education of their children "in Scholastical discipline, 
the way to true happiness," who was also to be their 
' ' souls help in dispencinge God 's Word ' ' every Lord's day. 
In return for his services, the town wished to give to 
Richard Mills the use of the minister's house and glebe, 
but the town's right to dispose of this house was 
disputed by Francis Doughty, who had married the 
widow of the former minister, Mr. Moore, whose 
salary does not seem to have been paid in full. 
There was imminent danger that the house and bam, 
neglected during the course of this dispute, would 

* Megapolensis and Drisius to Classis of Atnsterdain, October 
32, 1657. Eccl. Recs. N Y i. 410-11. 

' Megapolensis and Drisius to the same, September 24, 1658, 
Ibid. 432-33- 

' Brodhead, Hist, of New York, i. 689-90. 



174 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

go to rack and ruin for want of repair, to the great 
injury of religion in the town, which would thus 
be deprived of these resources for the continuance 
of a public ministry: Stuyvesant again insisted 
that the house and land "beeinge with our know- 
ledge, Consent and helpe buildt for the publyck 
use of the ministry," could not be "given and 
transported for a private heerytadge." Francis 
Doughty was, therefore, commanded to give and grant 
peaceful possession of this house and land to the School- 
master Richard Mills, and the magistrates and the 
inhabitants of the town ordered on their part to give to 
the heirs of Mr. Moore what was their due.^ Stuyvesant 
evidently tried to be very just towards Francis Doughty. 
On April 20 of the same year, Richard Mills was ordered 
to deliver to Mr. Doughty, trees, etc., planted and left 
on the lot of the deceased Mr. Moore.^ After the surren- 
der of the minister's house, the town thoroughly re- 
paired the building. In the following year, the Rever- 
end William Leverich removed from Huntington, where 
he had been pastor, to Newtown, which welcomed his 
advent. Measures were adopted by the town to raise 
a salary for the new minister. Later the town gave 
him two parcels of meadow "for his encouragement 
among them," to which were added twelve acres more 
at the east end of Long Traines Meadow. The inhabi- 
tants now felt the need of a more suitable place of wor- 
ship, and on January 9, 1663, voted to build a meeting- 
house, but the disturbances leading up to the surrender 

' Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 496- 

2 Council minute, April 20, 1661. O'Callaghan, Cal. Hist. MSS, 
N..Y. (Dutch), i. 233. 



THE ENGLISH IMMIGRATION '. 1 75 

of the Dutch Province to England prevented the realiza- 
tion of this design under Dutch rule.' 

In the meantime, the English had again encroached 
on the Dutch territory on the mainland. In 1655, 
Thomas Pell of Fairfield claimed the Vreeland tract in 
Westchester in virtue of a purchase from the Indians 
and sold lands there to several persons from Connecti- 
cut. The English settlers refused to give heed to the 
protest of the Dutch, who, in the spring of the following 
year, sent an armed expedition against the English 
squatters. Twenty-three were taken as prisoners to 
New Amsterdam, where most of them submitted to the 
authority of the Dutch and were permitted again to 
return to their old settlement under the provisions of 
the charter of 1640.' The inhabitants of this settle- 
ment, which the Dutch called Oostdorp, were Inde- 
pendents.' The Dutch commissioners, who went there 
on December 29, 1656, to administer the oath of ofl&ce 
to the newly chosen magistrates, witnessed their Puritan 
service, which was conducted by two laymen, Robert 
Basset and a Mr. Bayly, probably the ruling elders of 
the church. The gathering consisted of about fifteen 
men and twelve women. On the conclusion of a prayer 
by Mr. Bayly, a sermon of some minister in England 
was read by Robert Basset. After this, another prayer 
was said by Robert Basset and a psalm was sung by the 
congregation, which then dispersed.* There was pro- 
bably no change in their worship while under Dutch 

* Riker, Annals of Newtown, 53. 

* Cf. Brodhead and O'Callaghan, passim. 

3 Megapolensis and Drisius to Classis of Amsterdam, August 5, 
1657. Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 396-7. 
< Doc. Hist. N. Y. iii. S57-8. 



176 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

jurisdiction, which was terminated, on its annexation 
by Connecticut, in the fall of 1663 . 

, In 1656, colonists, mostly from Hempstead, who de- 
sired "a place to improve their labors," received land 
and.leave to settle beyond the hills by the South Sea at 
Canarise. This was the beginning of the village of 
Jamaica, which was known to the Dutch by the name 
of Rustdorp. The new settlement enjoyed the usual 
privileges possessed by the villages of Middelburg, 
Breuckelen, Midwout and Amersfort.* Although Quaker 
dissent manifested itself in the town of Jamaica a 
month after the arrival of the Quakers in New Amster- 
dam, the town at large was of one way of thinking in 
religion, so that church affairs were considered and 
transacted at the town-meetings.' Drastic measures 
were adopted by the Director General to stem the 
Quaker movement, which was also favored somewhat 
through the lack of an orthodox minister. It was 
in response to the urgent request of some of the 
townspeople, that Stuy^vesant, in the beginning of 
1 66 1, sent Domine Drisius to baptize their children. 
On this occasion, the Dutch minister preached twice in 
Jamaica and baptized eight children and two aged 
women.' The position of the orthodox faith was 
strengthened in the town by the appointment of new 
magistrates : Richard Everett, Nathaniel Denton, and 
Andrew Messenger. These men had been informers 
against the Quakers in town, and Stuyvesant felt that 
they could be trusted to promote the Protestant cause, 

1 O'Callaghan, Hist, of New Netherland, ii. 323 

2 Onderdonck, H. Jr. Antiquities of the Parish Church, Jamaica. 
Am. Hist, Rec. i. 27. 

' Col Docs. N. Y. xiv. 489-90. 



THE ENGLISH IMMIGRATION 1 77 

that is, to see to the execution of the government's ordi- 
nances, prohibitive of the exercise, public and private, 
of any religion but the Reformed.' 

In the spring of the following year, the town ordered 
a house to be built for the minister with the proceeds 
obtained from the rates levied on the meadows and 
house-lots. The town considered this to be the most 
just distribution of the burden, as "every man's right 
and proportion in the township did arise from the 
quantity of meadow land he did possess."^ The ser- 
vices of the Reverend Zacharia Walker were then en- 
gaged. He had been educated at Cambridge, but had 
not been ordained,' for the town later agreed to give 
Mr. Walker five pounds "provided he should continue 
with them from year to year, and should likewise pro- 
cure an ordination, answerable to the law, thereby to 
capacitate him not only for the preaching of the Word, 
but for the baptizing of infants."* This, however, 
occurred after the termination of the Dutch rule. The 
town showed a great deal of zeal for religion in 1663. 
On February 14, the salary of sixty pounds per annum 
was voted for the maintenance of the minister; this sum 
was also to be procured "by rates which are to be levied 
on lands and estates."' On March 2, the parsonage,with 
the "accomodations belonging to it", was given to Mr. 
Walker and his heirs. It was not an absolute gift. If 
the minister left the town without a just cause, the 

1 Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 491-2. 

2 Flint, History of Early Long Island, 1.203. Onderdonck, H. 
Jr. History Rec. i. 27. 

' Thompson, History of Long Island, ii. 99-100. 

*Ibid. p. loi. 

5 Onderdonck, H. Jr., History Rec i. 27. 



178 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

house and land was to revert to the town upon paying 
for such labor, as he had expended upon it, but if the 
town was the cause of his departure, then he was to be 
paid for what the house was worth. In the case of his 
death, the town reserved to itself the right of pre-emp- 
tion, if his wife should decide to sell.' These liberal 
conditions were no doubt intended to make more certain 
this minister's continuance among them. The town 
now felt the need of a separate meeting house, 
which was built the same year. It was again 
agreed at the town-meeting that all the inhabi- 
tants of the town should pay toward the maintenance of 
a minister according to what they possess. " There may 
have been some growth of dissent with a consequent 
refusal on the part of the dissenters to submit to the 
church rates imposed by the town. Such a movement 
was favored by the disturbed condition of the Island on 
the encroachments of English authority. 

A very significant movement of emigration from 
New Haven began to manifest itself on the restoration 
of Charles II. This colony only grudgingly acknow- 
ledged the King and in consequence had good reason to 
fear that the plan of Connecticut to absorb New Haven 
might be realized, as the King moreover bore no 
friendly feeling to this colony on account of its readiness 
to shelter the regicides Goffe and Whalley from 
his vengeance. The incorporation' of New Haven 
was easily obtained by Governor Winthrop in the new 
charter graciously conceeded to the colony of Connecti- 

* Thompson, History of Long Island, ii. 100. 
2 Onderdonck, H. Jr. Antiquities of the Parish Chtirch, Jamaica 
Town Recs. 



THE ENGLISH IMMIGRATION 1 79 

cut. There was no attempt made by New Haven to 
hinder this union. In fact, a large party had gradually 
developed within the colony, which was not content 
with the restriction of the franchise to church members, 
and was apparently satisfied to be placed under the 
government of Connecticut, which made no such re- 
striction. As soon as some of the most ardent adher- 
ents of the strict theocratic system of New Haven 
became aware of the probability of this change, they 
sought a place of refuge imder the Dutch government, 
where they could still administer justice according the 
strict code of Moses and restrict their franchise to the 
elect. They were encouraged in this design by the 
invitation extended by the States General to all the 
English of tender conscience, oppressed in consequence 
of the restoration, to settle in America under the juris- 
diction of Governor Stuyvesant on the conditions 
established by the West India Company.* The negotia- 
tions for the establishment of this settlement illustrate 
most clearly the attitude of Stuyvesant and the West 
India Company towards the ''New England Way," even 
in its most exaggerated form. 

Stuyvesant had repeatedly recognized the spiritual 
kinship which the Dutch bore to the churches of New 
England. On the outbreak of the war between Eng- 
land and Holland in 1652, he bewailed the existence of 
this enmity, asy religion will become wounded and the 
gospell schandaUsed to the reioycing and triumphing of 
the enemies thereof, who will upon all occasions be 
ready to adde fueU to^the fire." Even at this time, he 

1 Doc. History N. Y. iii. 37-39. 



l8o RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

urged the continuance of all love and friendship 
between the two colonies, especially because of "our 
ioynt prfession of ourr ffaith in our Lord Jesus Christ not 
differing in fundamentalls."* The same idea is ad- 
vanced in the course of the negotiations with the New 
Haven petitioners in still greater detail. Application 
was first made by John Stickland of Huntington in the 
name of a company of Englishmen for information 
whether the disposal of the land at Achter Kol was still 
free and whether encouragement would be given to 
these Englishmen, if they should persist in their project 
to settle there on an inspection of the locality.^ In the 
beginning of June, 1661, Stuyvesant requested the 
English to send some of their number to view the 
land, after which the conditions for such a settlement 
might be established.' Every courtesy was shown 
to the English envoys. On their return to New Haven, 
a committee was empowered by the English to conclude 
the terms, under which they with their friends and pos- 
terity could gradually settle in New Netherland at 
Achter Kol "for the enlargement of the Kingdom of 
Christ in the Congregational way and all other means of 
comfort in subordination hereimto." They were in 
hopes that "the glory of God and benefit and welfare of 
the Dutch nation in America and the honor of their 
principals in Europe" would be promoted in a larger 
measure by their plantation than by any other settle- 
ment under Dutch jtirisdiction. As they were "true 

1 Stuyvesant to Gov. Endicott. Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 1 79. 
' Jomi Stickland to Brian Newtown, April 29, 1661. Col. Docs. 
N. Y. xiii. 195. 

' Jtine 2, 1661. Ibid. 



THE ENGLISH IMMIGRATION l8l 

men and noe spies," who wished to obtain only good, 
righlteous and honest things for themselves, their pos- 
terity and like-minded friends,' they requested a plain 
and clear answer to their proposals, which were sub- 
mitted, dated November 8, 1661, from Milford, N. E., 
with the signatures of the committee: Benjamin Ffen, 
Richard Lawe, Robert Treatt, and Jasper Gun..^ The 
English were evidently bent on transferring all ^their 
civil and ecclesiastical institutions to the projected 
settlement. The newly planted church or churches of 
the^English were "to enjoy all such powers, privileges 
and liberties in the Uongregational way as they have 
enjoyed in New Ehgland . .- . without any disturbance, 
impediment or impositions of any other forms, orders 
or^ customs." They insisted that this approval of their 
churches be acknowledged by some public testimony 
upon record. Thus far they had asked for nothing that 
had not already been conceded to others in the Dutch 
Province, because there wa s "no d ifference iti the fun- 
damental poincts of the worship of God betwixt [the 
Dutch churches] and the churches of New England as 
onely in the Rueling of the same."' The church-polity 
of the former was' Presbyterian, while that of he 
latter was Congregational. Now the Provincial 
government was asked not only to allow a corporate 
existence to individual churches, but also to allow these 
English churches planted under the Dutch government, 
when they should consent "to consociate together for 
mutuall helpfuUness," to. call a Synod and establish 

1 Matthew Gilbert to Director General, November 8, i66t. Col. 
Docs. N. Y. xiii. 208. 

2 Ibid. 209-10. 

3 Stuyvesaat to Milford, November 28, 1661. Ibid, 210. 



l82 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

"by common consent such orders according to scripture 
as may be requisite for the suppressing of hairesies, 
schismes and false worships and for the establishment of 
truth with peace in those English churches." They 
also demanded the Governor and courts of New Amster- 
dam to protect the English churches and Sjmods 
"from any that oppose them or be injurious to them." 
The realization of this projected colony was impeded by 
the demand for practical autonomy in civil affairs, 
which the new colonists wished to regulate without the 
right of appeal to the Provincial government, "accord- 
ing to the fundamentals receiued in New Haven Col- 
lonie," as far as it should suit "Christ's ends" and the 
conditions of the new settlement. Stuyvesant was 
ready to give the petitioners the usual privileges of the 
charter of 1640 in regard to the election of magistrates, 
the administration of justice and all civil affairs,* but 
this apparently did not satisfy the demands of the New 
Haven people, who sent John Gregory in the following 
spring to New Amsterdam to negotiate more favorable 
terms. Stuyvesant was willing to make all possible 
concessions in regard to religion and he again adverted 
to the fact "that there is noe at the least differency in 
the fundamentall points of religion, the differency in 
churches orders and government so small that wee doe 
not stick at it, therefore have left and leave still to the 
freedom ofEyour owne consciences."^ In fact, Stuyvesant 
had before expressed the hope that even these differen- 
ces would be removed " by a neerer meetinge and con- 
ference ' ' between the Dutch and English ministers with 

* Col. Docs. N. Y. xiii. 210-1 1. 
^ Ibid. 216, March 11, 1662. 



THE ENGLISH IMMIGRATION 1 83 

the restilt of a "lovinge unity" between their respective 
churches. This feeling of religious solidarity was further 
attested in the words of the oath which the magis- 
trates of the new English settlement were to take. 
They were to be bound to "maintain the true and 
Protestant religion soo as the same accordinge to the 
word of God is declared and in this Province is pro- 
fessed."* There was no mention of religion in the 
oaths of the settlers and the military ofl&cers in the 
township. 

Stuyvesant was not so ready to accede to the 
demand of these English in civil matters, "which do not 
scruple the consciency," although he was ready to 
make some concessions, especially by raising the sum of 
the fine from which appeal might be taken. He also 
wrote privately to Robert Treatt that he would con- 
sider any just and weighty reasons in favor of further 
concessions which he would urge, if necessary, even on 
his superiors in Europe, so that all reasonable satis- 
faction might be given.^ This led to further negotia- 
tions between the Director General and Council and the 
English deputies, Robert Treatt, Philip Grues and John 
Gregory, for the purpose of clearing up some details 
which the Eiiglish considered not sufficiently outlined 
in the previous concessions of the Director and Council- 
The demands in religious matters had before been cate. 
gorically conceded, but now a more detailed account of 
the nature of their demand for the right of organizing a 
Synod made Stuyvesant realize the gravity of the mat- 
ter. He had no objection that the church or churches 

iCol. Docs. N. Y. xiii. 217. 
2 Ibid. 218. 



1 84 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

of this colony should take advice with some English 
minister or churches within the Dutch Province, but he 
now demanded that the approbation and consent of the 
Governor and Council be obtained for the calling of a 
Synod.' He readily yielded, however, to their demand 
to restrict the right of suffrage to church members and 
granted them power to make laws, which would be con- 
firmed by the Director General and Council, if they 
proved not to be repugnant to the laws of the United 
Netherlands and the Province of New Netherland.^ 
All other dernands were also granted. Negotiations 
now ceased for some time, as the English were waiting 
for the return of Mr. Winthrop in the hope of a settle- 
ment of the claims of the Dutch, disputed by Coimecticut, 
and also as no further concessions could be made with- 
out the consent of the Directors in HoUand.^ Mean- 
while, Stuyvesant sent a report of these proceedings to 
the Directors, who warmly approved the plan of the 
English to settle tinder the Company's jurisdiction at 
Achter Kol, as they would serve as a strong outpost 
against the Raritan and Nevesink Indians. This was 
of such importance to the Dutch Province that the 
Company was ready even to make concessions in the 
matter of appeal in criminal and capital cases. There 
were grave reasons against the concessions, as the New 
Haven colonists punished with death adultery, fornica- 
tion, and similar offences according to the Law and Word 
of God, whUe the laws of the Netherlands were much 
more lenient in this regard. Nevertheless, the Company 

I'May 30, 1662. Col. Docs. N. Y. xiii. 221. 

' Ibid. 222. 

'jRobert Treatt to Stuyvesant, June 29, 1663 Ibid. 267. 



THE ENGLISH IMMIGRATION 185 

waived the right of appeal in all these cases, when the 
crime imputed was confessed by the criminal, and 
when the criminal was one of their own people. The 
right of appeal was to be granted in all dubious cases 
and when the criminal happened to be a Hollander, who 
had settled among the English.' A few months after 
the receipt of this letter, Robert Treatt again wrote to 
Stujrvesant to learn whether he had been emppwered 
by the Directors in Holland to grant them "free lib- 
erty" to "be a free people of themselves to act subordi- 
nately for themselves both in aU CiviU and Ecclesiastical 
Respects."^ Stuyvesant now granted them full liberty 
to plant churches in the Congregational way and to 
organize them into a Synod. Their laws would also be 
approved, if they were found to concur with the Holy 
Scriptures by the Director General and Council and no 
appeal was to be granted from "capital sentences, 
wherein the partys are Convinced by owne Confession, 
but in dark and dubious matters, especially in Witch- 
craft,"^ the sentence of death was to be executed only 
on the approbation of the Governor General and Coun- 
cil. In civil matters, only cases over a hundred pounds 
Flemish could be appealed. All other demands were 
conceded without modification.* With this the 

1 Col. Docs. N. Y. xiii. 239-40. 

2 Ibid. 267. 

' The reason of the special mention of witchcraft appears in the 
letter of Stuyvesant to the people of Hartford, December 13, 1662. 
". .me brother-in-lawe (being Necessitated to make a Second Voyage 
for aide his distressed Sister, Judith Varleth Imprisoned as we are 
Informed uppon pretend accusation off Witcherye.we really beleeve 
& out her knowne education, Lyfe, Conversation & profession oflE 
faith we deare assure, that Shee is innocent of such a horrible Crimen 
& therefore I doubt not he will now as formerly fynde your honnrs 
favour & ayde for the Innocent." Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 518. 

« Ibid. 281. 



l86 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

matter ended, doubtless on account of the rumors 
that were prevalent in the New England colonies at this 
time, that the Province of New Netherland was soon to 
be subjected to English authority. In spite of the con- 
quest of the Dutch Province, some of the New Haven 
people persisted in their design to settle in those parts 
on the presentation of a favorable opportunity. This 
occurred on the creation of the Province of New Jersey, 
which offered them permission to settle under a town 
constitution, limiting the franchise to communing 
church members. This settlement, under the leader- 
ship of Robert Treatt and the minister Abraham Pier- 
son, was established between the years 1665-67, with 
colonists from Guilford, Branford and Milford, on the 
Passaic River. The town first received the name of 
Milford, which was soon changed to Newark, the 
English home of its pastor.' 

1 Cf. Fiske, Dutch and Quaker Colonies in America, ii. 12-15. 



CHAPTER VI 

The Persecution of the Lutherans 

For many years the Lutherans in New Netherland 
joined in the public worship of the Reformed Religion. 
Some of the principal Lutherans even became church 
members and joined the Dutch Calvinists in the 
celebration of the Lord's Supper. The ecclesiastical 
and civil authorities of New Amsterdam were thus led 
to look for a realization, in the new world, of those fond 
hopes for a union of the two greatest Protestant confes- 
sions, which had long been disappointed in Europe. 
They felt that the fusion of the Lutheran element into 
the Calvinist body ensured"" the welfare, prosperity 
and edification of the church in this place," where the 
full benefit of the Reformed faith had hitherto been 
enjoyed through its exclusive establishment, which the 
Director General and Council and the Burgomasters 
and Schepens were bound under oath to maintain.* 
When the separatist movement of the Lutherans began 
to manifest itself, the civil authorities of New Amster- 
dam did not show less zealous care for the defense and 

1 Letter of Megapolensis and Drisius to Classis of Amsterdam 
October 6, 1653, in Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i 317-18. Report of the Bur- 
gomasters and Schepens on the petition of the ministers against the 
toleration of Lutheran services, July 14, 1657. Ibid. i. 3I9. 

(187) 



1 88 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

maintenance of the Reformed Religion than the eccle- 
siastical authorities, who, in obedience to the command 
of the Classis of Amsterdam, " employed aU diligence 
to ward off the wolves from the tender lambs of Christ."' 

On October 4, 1.653, the Lutherans petitioned the 
Director General for permission to call a Lutheran min- 
ister from Holland and to organize a separate congre- 
gation for the piiblic exercise of the Unaltered Augsburg 
Confession here in New Netherland. They had twice 
submitted a similar petition to the Governor, and 
had also addressed letters to the States of Holland and to 
the Directors of the West India Company to this effect.* 
A twofold pretext was advanced in these letters' to 
Holland for their separation from the Reformed Church. 
They objected to the second question of the formula of 
baptism, used in the Dutch Church of New Amsterdam, 
in which, according to their statement, they were asked 
whether they acknowledged the dogma taught in the 
Christian Church "there" as the true doctrine. This 
was equivalent to a denial of their Lutheran Confession. 
Then they also objected to the strictness with which the 
Dutch ministers demanded the parents and sponsors to 
be present at the baptism of their children. 

As soon as the Lutheran petition came to the know- 
ledge of the Dutch ministers in New Amsterdam, they 
appealed to Stuyvesant, who "would rather relinquish 
his office than grant permission in this matter, since it is 

gi Letter of Classis of Amsterdam to consistory in New Nether- 
land, May 26, 1656. in Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 348-9. 

2 Letter of Megapolensis and Drisitis to Classis of Amsterdam, 
October 6, 1653, Ibid. 317-18. 

* Letter of the same to Director General and Council, August 23, 
1658. Ibid. 428-30. 



PERSECUTION OF THE LUTHERANS 1 89 

contrary to the first article of his commission, which 
was confirmed by him with an oath not to permit any 
other than the Reformed Doctrine." Tl^e ministers 
were not only disturbed by the fear that this would 
tend tq the injury of the church and the increase of dis- 
sensions, but also by the thought that it would pave the 
way for other sects, so that in time New Netherland 
would become a receptacle for alT kinds of heretidfe and 
fanatics.' They, therefore, hastened to enlist the ser- 
vices of their ecclesiastical superiors in Holland, the 
Classis of Amsterdam, and also addressed themselves 
directly to the West India Company. The Classis or 
Amsterdam was even less tolerant of ecclesiastical dif- 
ferences in New Netherland than the ministers in the 
colony itself.^ In their eyes, the concession of the free- 
dom o£ religious worship to the Lutherans would entail 
the concession of a similar privilege to the Mennonites 
and English. Independents, and even to the Jews, who 
had, in fact, made this request of the Governor and had 
"also attempted to erect a synagogue for the exercise 
of their blasphemous religion."' The Classis expressed, 
with deep emotion, its realization of the fact that under 
such circumstances a pastor's work would have greatly 
increased and his path would have been beset with 
obstacles and difficulties, which would interfere with a 
minister's good and holy efforts for the extension of the 

1 Letter of Megapolensis and Drisius to Classis of Amsterdam, 
October 6, 1653, in Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 317-18. 

2 The right of the English Independents to the free exercise of 
their religion in public , though not always regarded with the greatest 
favor, was never disputed by either Stuyvesant or the ministers of 
New Amsterdam. 

3 Letter of Classis of Amsterdam to consistory of New Amster- 
dam, May 26, 1656, in Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i, 348-9. 



190 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

cause of Christ. Under the influence of the Classis of 
Amsterdam, the Directors of the West India Company 
also classed with the Mennonites the English Inde- 
pendents amongst those who might urge claims for the 
freedom of religious worship upon the concession of 
such a privilege to the Lutherans. Some uneasiness 
was experienced in regard to the States of Holland, 
who might be inclined to grant the Lutheran petition, 
but these fears of the Classis were set at rest by the 
promise, by which the Directors of the West India Com- 
pany bound themselves to resist any such concession.* 
In this matter, the decision of the West India Company 
was pronotinced finally on February 23, 1654, when the 
Directors resolved hot to tolerate any Lutheran pastors 
there, nor any other public worship than the true 
Reformed. The Classis of Amsterdam was perfectly 
satisfied and did not doubt but that henceforth the 
TJ-efctrms^ Doctrine "would be maintained without 
being hindered by the Lutherans and other erring 
spirits."^ When the Directors of the Company an- 
nounced to Stuyvesant their absolute denial of the 
Lutheran petition, "pursuant to the customs hitherto 
observed by us and the East India Company," they 
recommended him to deny all similar petitions, but 
"in the most civil and least offensive way, and to em- 
ploy all possible but moderate means in order to induce 
them to listen, and finally join the Reformed Church, 

» Classis of Amsterdam, Acts of Deputies, February 23, 1654, 
in Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 322. 

2 Classis of Amsterdam to Megapolensis and Dnsius, February 
36, 1654- Ibid. 323. 



PERSECUTION OF THE LUTHERANS 19I 

and thus live in greater love and harmony among them- 
selves."' 

The Lutherans remained quiet for a short time, but 
the next year they found a leader for the promotion of 
their cause in the person of Paulus Schrick, who had 
just returned from HoUand.'' Although the public 
exercise of their faith had been interdicted, there was 
thus far no legislation in New Netherland to preveht the 
organization of private conventicles. They now began 
to hold divine services with prayer, reading, and singing, 
in the expectation of finally receiving a minister of their 
own persuasion from the fatherland.' The Dutch 
ministers felt justified in their opposition by the resultsof 
this separate organization of the Lutheran worship. The 
Lutherans in New Amsterdam were a poor, uneducated 
people without any proper acquaintance with the 
teachings of Dr. Luther ; they could, therefore, give the 
Dutch ministers no other reason for the faith that was 
in them than that "their parents and ancestors were 
Lutherans, as Paulus Schrick their leader once in his 
wisdom declared."* They were Lutherans and would 
remain such. The ministers considered this blind op- 
position to the preaching of the Divine Word. Tolera- , 
tion was out of the question, as the separatist move- 
ment gave rise to great contention and discord not only 
among the inhabitants and citizens in general, but also 
in families. In fact, some husbands had forced their 

1 Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 250. 

z Letter of Megapolensis and Drisixis to Director General and 
Cotmcil, August 23, 1658, in Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 429. 

' Petition of the Lutherans to the Director General and Council, 
October 24, 1656, Ibid. p. 359- 

* Ibid, p. 429. 



192 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

wives to leave the Dutch Reformed Church and attend 
their conventicles. There was imminent danger, there- 
fore, of a large leakage in the membership of the 
Dutch Reformed Church of New Amsterdam. Thus the 
Lutheran movement "would prove a plan of Satan to 
smother this infant, rising congregation almost in its 
birth, or at least obstruct the march of truth in its pro- 
gress."* 

The Lutheran issue entered a new phase on the suc- 
cessful termination of Stuyvesant's expedition of con- 
quest to the South River. Here a commercial colony 
under the authority of a company, composed originally 
of Swedes and Dutch, had become nationalized to the 
exclusion of the latter element.^ As far as religion was 
concerned, this resulted in the establishment of the 
Lutheran Church on the Delaware, where divine service 
was to be "zealously performed according to the Unal- 
tered Augsburg Confession, the Council of Upsala, and 
the ceremonies of the Swedish Church."" The out- 

1 Remonstrance of Megapolensis and Drisius to Burgomasters 
and Schepens, July 6, 1657, in Eccl Recs. N. Y. i. 387-88. 1 

2 Cf. Odhner, C. T., The founding of New Sweden, in Pennsyl- 
vania Magazine of History and Biography, iii. 1879. 

' The position of the Lutheran Church in Sweden is well sum- 
marized in the Church Act of 1686 under King Charles XI, that also 
reflects the conditions obtaining in the earlier period, in question 
here. "In our kingdom and in the countries belonging theireto, all 
persons shall profess solely and simpljr the Christian doctrine and 
the Christian faith, which is contained in the Holy Word of God, in 
the prophetical and apostolic scriptures of the Old and New Testa- 
ment, and which is comprehensively stated in the three chief sym- 
bols, the Apostolic, the Nicene, and the Athanasian, as well as in the 
tFnaltered Augsbturg Confession of the year 1530, adopted 1593 by 
the Council at Upsala and explained in the entire so-called Book of 
Concord. And all those who assume any o£Sce as teachers in the 
churches, academies, gjrmnasia or schools, shall at their ordination, 
or when they receive a degree imder oath solemnly subscribe this 
doctrine and confession." Cf. John Nicum.The Confessional History 



PERSECUTION OF THE LUTHERANS 1 93 

break of Indian hostilities at New Amsterdam, on the 
eve of the surrender of New Sweden to Stuyvesant, 
made it impossible to abolish entirely the public exer- 
cise of the Lutheran worship. According to the Articles 
of Capitulation, one of the three Lutheran ministers, the 
Reverend Lars Lockenius, was allowed to remain to 
minister to the Swedes and Finns, of whom at least two 
hundred lived on the river above Fort Christina. Chus 
the Lutheran religion enjoyed, within certain limits of 
the subjugated territory, official recognition and could 
be exercised in public. 

This concession, however, did not result in an exten- 
sion of this privilege throughout other parts of the 
Province of New Netherland. In fact, there a stricter 
policy of religious repression in regard to other confes- 
sions than the Reformed was indicated in the points of 
advice,' submitted by the Director General to avert 
such calamities as the Indian war in the future. He 
firmly believed that the war had been the punishment 
of the sins of the community. Such "common, private 
and public sins, as drunkenness, profanation of the 
Lord's Name and Sabbath, swearing in public and in 
private, done even by the children on the street, meet- 
ings of sectarians and other irregularities" were to "be 
forbidden by the renewal of good orders and placards, to 
be promptly executed and by the issue and strict observ- 
ance of new orders, to prevent as much as possible such 
occurrences." 

The Lutherans at Amsterdam continued still to 

of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in theUnited States, in Am. Soc. 
of Church History, iv. 1892. 

1 Col. Docs. N Y. xiii. S3, dated November 27, 1655. 



194 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

assemble for the private exercise of their worship. 
Nevertheless, the proximate occasion for the decree 
against conventicles was not given at Amsterdam but 
at Middelburg (Newtown). The inhabitants of "this 
town were mostly Independents, with a few Presbyter- 
ians. The latter could not be supplied with a Presby- 
terian preacher, but a Mr. John Moore, who claimed to 
have been licensed in New England to preach, but not 
authorized to administer the sacraments, attended 
to their spiritual needs. On the departure of Mr. 
Moore, "some inhabitants and tmqualified persons 
ventured to hold conventicles and gatherings . and 
assumed to teach the Gospel." Other places in New 
Netherland were as destitute of an authorized ministry 
and there was imminent danger in the minds of the 
preachers of New Amsterdam that this bad example 
would find imitation and result in quarrels, confusion 
and disorders in Church and commonalty. On the re- 
ceipt of a petition from the ministers of New Amster- 
dam for his intervention, Stuyvesant expressed his 
decision to have placards issued against those persons, 
who, without either ecclesiastical or secular authority, 
acted as teachers in interpreting and expounding God's 
Holy Word. Stuyvesant also felt that this was a viola- 
tion of the political and ecclesiastical rules of the 
fatherland, and an occasion for an outbreak of heresy 
and schism. Consequently, all such conventicles, both 
public and private/were'prohibited by the Director Gen- 
eral and Council under li^yy penalties in the ordinance 
of February i, 1656.* Persons presuming to ex- 

> Recs. of New Amsterdam, i. 20-ai; ii. 34-3S; Eccl. Recs. 
N.Y. 1,343-4. 



PERSECUTION OP THE LUTHERANS 1 95 

ercise, without due qualifications, the office of preacher, 
reader or chorister in such meetings, were subject to a 
fine of one hundred pounds Flemish ; a fine of twenty- 
five pounds Flemish was incurred by any other man or 
woman who took part in such an assembly. 

The penalties established by Stuyvesant were an 
innovation, but the remainder of the ordinance was 
largely modelled upon the second provision df the 
"Proposed Articles for the Colonization and Trade of 
New Netherland,"* presented to the States General by 
John de Laet, a Director of the West India Company, 
August 30, 1638, of which the bare essentials were 
retained in its final form in the ' ' Freedoms and Exemp- 
tions," granted by the West India Company to Patroons 
and other planters of colonies in 1640.' The latter 
decree admitted the public exercise of no other religion 
than the Reformed, as preached and practiced by pub" 
lie authority in the United Netherlands, for which the 
Company was to provide and maintain suitable minis- 
ters, preachers, schoolmasters and Comforters of the 
Sick ; the former expressly stated, in addition, that no 
person "shall be hereby in any wise aggrieved in his 
conscience, .provided he avoid frequenting any for- 
bidden assembly or conventicles, much less collect or 
get up any such." The Director General and Council 
also declared in their ordinance that the religious wor- 
ship of the Reformed Church was alone autHorized" and" 
extended this decree iiot only to the publicjneetings but 
also to private meetings, assembled for worship in the 
Province of New Netherland. Stuyvesahi^' like so 

1 Col. Docs. N. Y.i. iio-ii; Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 121. 

2 Col.Docs.N. Y.i. 119-23. 



196 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

many other ardent Calvinists of his day, eagerly desired 
the close union of the various ' national Calvinist 
churches, which had found an early expression in the 
presence of delegates from these churches in the 
National Synod of Dortrecht (16 18-19). He, there- 
fore, appealed to the religious service of the 
Reformed Church, conformably to the Synod of 
Dortrecht, practiced in the Fatherland and the other 
Reformed churches of Europe, as the rule which 
was to establish the character of divine worship in his 
province. Thus, even at this time, Stuyvesant was 
ready to grant patents to new colonists, conceived 
along the lines followed by Kieft in his patents to Mes- 
path, March 28, 1642,^ and to Hempstead, November 16, 
1644,^ which assured the colonists the "exercise of the 
Reformed Religion, which they profess with the eccles- 
iastical discipline theretmto belonging." The mind of 
Stuyvesant on this point is clearly manifested later in 
his long correspondence with the Milford inha;bitants, 
who intended to found a settlement under his jurisdic- 
tion, with freedom of worship, although they were not 
Presbyterians, as the Dutch, but Congregationalists.' 

Although the ordinance legislated for the repression 
of the freedom of religious worship in conventicles not 
within the pale of the Reformed Church, the Director 
General and Council were careful to include the more 
liberal provisions of the "Articles" that had been pro- 
posed by John de Laet in the name of the West India 

1 Book of Patents GG. p. 49; cited in Riker, Annals of New- 
town j). 413. 

' Thompson, History of Long Island, ii. 5-6. 

' Correspondence from April 29, 1661 to July 20, 1663. Col. 
Docs. N. Y. xiii. 197, et passim. 



PERSECUTION OF THE LUTHERANS 1 97 

Company to the States General for their approval. 
They did not "hereby intend to force the conscience of 
any to the prejudice of formerly given patents." This 
can only refer to the patentsj:xf_ Flushing* and Graves- 
end,^ which had been granted in 1645 by Kieft imme- 
diately after the termination of the ruinous Indian war, 
in all probability to raise the distressed condition of 
the Province by attracting new colonists on such liberal 
conditions. Both patents grant "Liberty of conscience 
according to the Custome and manner of Holland, with- 
out molestacon or disturbance from any Magistrate or 
Magistrates, or any other ecclesiastical minister, that 
may extend jurisdiccon over them." Stuyvesant's 
interpretation of this liberty of conscience did not 
include, freedom of worship either in public or private 
conventicles. However, he expressly stated that he 
had no desire to invade the sanctuary of the home with 
this legislation, which did not affect '"the reading of 
God's Holy Word, family prayers and worship, each in 
his own housed' _Thus the ordinance distinguished 
three kinds of worship: i, worship in public con- 
venticles; 2, worship in private conventicles; and 3, wor- 
ship within the family. The first two were limited to 
the .adherents of the Reformed Religion ; the last was 
ejttended to all. This precisely constituted "Liberty 
of conscience according to the Custome and manner of 
Holland."' The publication and execution of the 

1 Laws and Ordinances of New Netherland, New York Deed 
Book, ii. 1 78, i. Waller History of Flushing, Appenidx. 

2 Doc. History New York, i. 411. 

* Cf . Hubert's learned investigation of the religious legislation of 
Holland in his work: Les Pays-Bas Espagnols et La R^publique 
des Provinces Unies, etc., especially his conclusion on p. 97. 



1 98 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

ordinance was entrusted to the fiscal and inferior 
magistrates and schouts throughout New Netherland, 
and its presence in some of the town records shows 
the fideUty with which these orders were fulfilled.' In 
this way, the Director General and Council believed 
that they had made ample provisions for "the glory 
of God, the promotion of the Reformed Religion and 
public peace, harmony, and welfare." 

Although the decree against conventicles did not 
affect the position of the public worship of the Lutheran 
faith in the conquered territory of New Sweden, the 
Lutherans of New Amsterdam understood at once that 
their religious assemblies did come under the prohibitive 
ordinance. They, therefore, discontinued the divine 
services, which they had been holding regularly, in 
private, during the past year." The West India Com- 
pany was also under the impression that this decree 
had been directly aimed at the Lutherans. Its Direct- 
ors resented Stuyvesant's methods of repression, which 
were so alien to the spirit of conciliation, with which 
they tried to inspire his policy towards Lutheran dis- 
sent, but, in point of fact, they did not revoke the decree 
and expressly conceded only that measure of religious 
liberty, that had already been granted by the Director 
General himself: the free exercise of their religion in 

* Niemant vermach heimlike of openbare conventiculen of ver- 
gaderinghe houden t'sij int lesen, singen, of prediken op de ver- 
beurte van loo ponden vlaems, en voor te toehoorders van 
ghelike 25 ponden vlaems bij ijder een, wat Religie of Sec- 
ten het oock mochten sijn volgens den Placcat van den i February 
1656. Corte aenwijsinghe van enighe placcaten over beganene 
uisusenetc. Het Bouk Van Het Durp Utrecht Ap 1657. 

2 Petition of the Lutherans to the Director General and Council 
October 24, 1656, in Eccl. Recs. N. Y. L 359; and O'Callaghan, His- 
tory of New Netherland, ii. 320. 



PERSECUTION OF THE LUTHERANS 1 99 

the home.' They continued to insist on the lenient 
treatment of the Lutherans, and wished in the future 
to have such ordinances, submitted to them prior to 
their publication. This letter of the Directors must 
have soon come to the knowledge of the Lutherans, both 
in New Amsterdam and in Holland, as renewed agita- 
tion to promote the Lutheran cause became manifest in 
the colony as well as in the fatherland. At Amster- 
dam, the Lutherans again requested the Directors to 
concede the privilege of the public exercise of their 
religion in New Netherland and supported their request 
by an appeal to the customs obtaining in Holland, 
where they as well as others enjoyed this privilege.' 
The Classis of Amsterdam became very much disturbed 
by the rumors, which began to circulate in regard to the 
contemplated action of the Board of Directors, who, 
according to reports, had delegated a committee to con- 
fer with some of the magistrates of the City of Amster- 
dam' on the question of permitting, in all their colonies, 
"all sorts of persuasions ... to exercise their special 
forms of worship."* The Classis immediately directed 

1 Letter of Directors to Stuyvesant, June 14, 1656, in Col. Docs. 
N. Y.xiv. 391. 

^Classis of Amsterdam, Acts of Deputies, xx 361,' in Eccl. 
Recs. N. Y. i. 354. For the extent of toleration in the Netherlands 
at this time, cf. Blok, a History of the People of the Netherlands, 
and especially the mono^aph of E. Hubert, Les Pays-Bas 
Espagnols et La RdpubUque des Provinces Unies (1648- 17 13). 
La Question Religieuse et Les Relations Diplomatiques. 

*The West India Company, July 12, 1656, to relieve the 
strained condition of its finances, surrendered to the City of Amster- 
dam some of its territory on the South River from the west side of 
Christina Kill to Bombay Hook at the mouth of the river. Here 
the city founded its colony of New Amstel. Cf. the histories of 
O'Callaghan and Brodhead. 

* Classis of Amsterdam. Acts of Deputies, vi. 33; xix. 25,. 
in Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 357. October 10, 1656. 



200 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

its deputies on Indian affairs to wait upon these Direct- 
ors and magistrates of Amsterdam and insist on the 
"injuriousness of the general permission of all sorts of 
persuasions," but they could only learn that the mattear 
was still far removed from a settlement. ^ , 

Meanwhile, the Lutherans at New Amsterdam had 
received word from fellow-believers in Holland that 
they had obtained a decree from the Directors of the 
West India Company, according to which the Unaltered 
Augsburg Confession was to "be tolerated in the West 
Indies and New Netherland under their jurisdiction in 
the same manner as in the fatherland under its praise- 
worthy government." They, therefore, petitioned Hhe 
Director General and Council to allow them again to 
celebrate with prayer, reading and singing, until the 
arrival of a minister of their own persuasion, whom they 
expected to receive from the Fatherland next spring. 
Stuyvesant refused to alter his decree against conven- 
ticles and all public gatherings "except those for the 
divine service of the Reformed Church prevailing 
here," but he again declared that no one was to "suffer 
for this belief, nor be prevented each in his family from 
reading, thanksgiving, and singing according to their 
faith." If there were to be any changes in this legisla- 
tion, they were to be made by the Directors of the Com- 
pany, to whom the petition was finally sent. Thus the 
issue was again presented for settlement at Amsterdam, 
where the Classis instructed its deputies on Indian 
affairs "with all serious arguments ... to check, at the 

* Classis of Amsterdam, Acts of Deputies, vi. 39, i. 360 in Eccl. 
Recs. N. Y. November 7, 1656. 
t 2 Petition of the Lutherans, October 24, Ibid. i. 656, 359. 



PERSECUTION OF THE LUTHERANS 20I 

beginning, this toleration of all sorts of religions, and 
especially of the Lutherans, lest God's Church come to 
suffer more and more injury as time goes on."' 

The deputies of the Classis soon learned that the 
Directors of the West India Company had in fact 
resolved to connive at the free exercise of dissenting 
worship. Their representations against the adoption 
of this religious policy influenced the Directors finally to 
abide by the resolution of the preceding year.^ The 
petitioners were told that the concession of religious 
worship to the Lutherans exceeded the powers of the 
West India Company and depended on the States 
General, to whom they were referred.' Stuyvesant 
was, therefore, oflEiciaUy informed that it was not 
the intention of the Directors to grant to the 
Lutherans any more liberty in their worship than 
"the permission quietly to have their exercises 
at their own houses."* The deputies were not so 
successful with the Biirgomasters of the City of Amster- 
dam, from whom they could only extort the indefinite 
promise that they would attend to the matter at the 
proper time, when information should arrive that the 
sects carried on the exercise of their religions. The ma- 
gistrates of Amsterdam declared that they could not 

1 Acts of Classis of Amsterdam, xix. 42.; v. 41, Eccl. Recs. N. Y. 

i- 372- 

2 Classis of Amsterdam. Act of Deputies, vi. 45, Ibid, 375. 
April 10, 1657. 

Classics of Amsterdam to Consistory of New Netherland, May 
25. 1657, Ibed. 378. 

Col. Docs, N. Y. xiv. 386-88. The Classis writes in the lettera 
" We cannot interpret this in any other way than that every one must 
have the freedom to serve God quietly within his dwelUng in such 
manner as his religion may prescribe, without instituting any pub- 
lic gatherings or conventicles. When this interpretation is recog- 
nized, our complaints will cease." 



202 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

force the consciences of men, and the ministers denied 
that this was the purpose of their intervention. Under 
these circumstances, the Classis, not feeling entirely at 
ease, resolved to encourage "the consistory in New 
Netherland to continue in their good zeal to check these 
evils in every possible way; diligence and labor are 
required to prevent false opinions and foul heresies from 
becoming prejudicial to the pure truth." This is also 
the burden of the letter,* which the Classis of Amster- 
dam sent the consistory of New Netherland, to intro- 
duce the Rev. Everardus Welius, the first minister to 
the City's colony of New Amstel. 

The departure of a Lutheran minister, John Ernest 
Goedwater, for New Netherland in the ship ' ' De Molen " 
on a mission from the Lutheran consistory was a new 
cause of anxiety to the Classis of Amsterdam. The 
Dutch ministers recognized the inconsistency of the 
concession of freedom of worship to th,e Swedish 
Lutherans on the South River and of its denial to the 
Dutch Lutherans on the North River at New Amster- 
dam. ■ The Classis, therefore, resolved that the Directors 
were to be urged to correct this abuse in the territory 
of the West India Company and the Burgomasters 
requested to instruct their vice-director Abrichs to 
oppose the Lutherans and other sects in the district 
subject to the authority of the City of Amsterdam.' 
Both promised to be on their guard, and not permit, 
but rather endeavor to prevent the public exercise of 
the Lutheran worship . ' Stuyvesant, nevertheless, f aith- 

»Eccl.Recs.N.Y. i. 378. 

2 Classis of Amsterdam, Acts of Deputies, May 7, 1657, Ibid 

377- 

' Acts of Classis of Amsterdam, Ibid. 382. 



PERSECUTION OF THE LUTHERANS 203 

fully fulfilled the stipulation of the treaty with the 
Swedes, which guaranteed them the freedom of their 
Lutheran worship, until the termination of his authority 
by the English conquest, and there is no evidence that 
the clergy of New Amsterdam made any attempt to 
change his policy in this regard.* The Classis was 
gratified with better results from the commissioners of 
the City's colony, who, on August 22, 1659, resehted 
"the bold undertaking of the Swedish parson to preach 
there in the colony without permission," and 
ordered the vice-director "by proper means to put an 
end to or prevent such presumption on the part of 
other sectaries," because "as yet no other religion but 
the Reformed can nor may be tolerated there. "^ 

The arrival of the Lutheran minister at New Amster- 
dam called forth a vigorous protest from the Dutch 
clergy of the town, who summarized, in a remonstrance 
of six points,' directed to the Burgomasters and Sche- 
pens, the injurious consequences of the exercise of the 
Lutheran confession not only to the religious, but also 
to the political interests of this place, as the strife in 
religious matters resulting therefrom would produce 
confusion in political matters and thus a united and 
peaceful people would be transformed into a Babel of 
confusion.* The ministers no doubt had in mind the 
Colony of Rhode Island, which they regarded as the 
cess-pool of New England, full of erring spirits and 

1 This fact should not be forgotten by those historians who wish 
to throw the full responsibility for the policy of religious repression 
on Stuyvesant and the clergy at New Amsterdam^ The matter was 
not at all so local. ■ 

2Col. Docs.N.Y.ii. 61. 

3 Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 386-88. 

*Ibid. 



204 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

etithusiasts.* The Burgomasters and Schepens imme- 
diately summoned the Lutheran preacher to appear 
before them for examination. He frankly confessed 
that he had been sent by the Lutheran consistory of 
Amsterdam to occupy the position of preacher here, as 
far as it was now permissible, though he felt confident 
that the ship "Waag" would bring the news of the 
concession of freedom of worship, which the Directors 
of the West India Company had under consideration at 
the time of his departure from the fatherland. The 
Burgomasters and Schepens could not believe that the 
Directors would tolerate any other worship than the 
true Reformed in this place, as the oath, which they 
took on the assumption of their office, "tojhelp main- 
tain the true Rgformed Religion and to suffer no other 
religion or sects," had received the approval of the 
Directors. They, therefore, forbade the Lutheran min- 
ister to hold either public or private conventicles, and 
also to deliver to the Lutheran body in the city the let- 
ters, that he had brought from the Amsterdam 
consistory, until further orders. Then, as the 
matter concerned not only the city but the 
whole Province, they reported* these proceedings 
to the Director General and Council, who com- 
mended in every particidar their action and or- 
dered the Burgomasters of this city and also all 
inferior courts strictly to enforce the ordinance of 
February i, 1656, against conventicles, as this was 
"necessary for the maintenance and conservation not 

* Megapolensis and Drisius to Classis of Amsterdam, August 14, 
1657, etc., ilccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 400. 
2 Ibid. 389. , 



PERSECUTION OF THE LUTHERANS 205 

only of the Reformed divine service, but also of political 
and civil peace, quietness and harmony.'" The Dutch 
ministers now experienced that it was easier to keep out 
an enemy than to expel an enemy once admitted. 
They petitioned the authorities to send back to Hol- 
land the Lutheran preacher, who had come to the col- 
ony in such a capacity without the consent of ^^ the 
Directors of the West India Company.'' The Director 
General and Council, therefore, ordered him to leave in 
the ship "Waag," which was then ready to sail, con- 
sidering "this necessary for the glory of God, for the 
success of the Reformed Religion, and the common 
peace and tranquillity of the colony."' This order 
created great dissatisfaction among the Lutherans,who, 
at Fort Orange, had collected one hundred beaver skins, 
valued at eight hundred guilders, for the support of 
their minister.* They earnestly petitioned the Director 
General and Cotmcil to revoke the order, while they 
were quietly and without offense waiting for the tolera- 
tion of the Unaltered Augsburg Confession under the 
new orders, that they expected from their sovereigns, 
the States General and the Noble Directors of the West 
India Company. ° Anxious to trouble the waters, Goed- 
water refused to obey the orders of the Director and 

'■ Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 350. 

2 Megapolensis and Drisius to Classis of Amsterdam, August 5, 
i6S7. IMd. 393-4. 

' Sirector General and Covmcil to Lutherans, October 16, 1657, 
Ibid. 407. 

* Megapolensis and Drisius to Classis of Amsterdam, October 
aSi 1^57. Ibid. 409. The amount collected at New Amsterdam 
was unknown. 

* Petition of Lutherans, October 10, 1657, Ibid. 405. 



2o6 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

was resolved to persevere with his adherents.' Stuy- 
vesant became all the more determined in his demand, 
as the order of the Provincial Government had been 
treated with contempt. Goedwater was again com- 
manded, on October i6, 1657, to leave in one of the two 
ships about to sail,^ but he secretly carried off his books 
and bedding,' and concealed himself in the house of 
Lawrence Noorman, a Lutheran farmer,* to whom the 
Lutherans gave six guilders a week during the whole 
winter for the minister's support." The Fiscal was again 
ordered to place him under arrest for transportation to 
Holland at the earliest opportunity. Meanwhile, the 
Lutherans informed the Director General that their 
preacher was sick and requested the privilege of bring- 
ing him to the city for the medical care that he required. 
Stujrvresant granted the petition, but, on the arrival of 
Goedwater, immediately put him under the surveillance 
of the Fiscal, who was empowered to send the Lutheran 
minister to Holland on his recovery. This was done in 
the spring on the ship "De Bruynvisch." The Dutch 
ministers soon had the satisfaction of seeing the leader 
in the separatist movement of the Lutherans a punctual 
attendant at the Reformed service in his pew near the 
pulpit.* Their joy was, however, soon marred by the 

1 Megapolensis and Drisius to Classis of Amsterdam, September 
10, 1659, in Eccl. Rets. N.Y. 449. 

2 Director and Council to Goedwater, Ibid. 408. 

' Megapolensis and Drisius to Classis of Amsterdam, October 
25, 1657, Ibid. 412. 

* Megapolensis and Drisius to Director Greneral and Council, 
August 23, 1658, Ibid. 430. 

' Megapolensis and Drisius to Classis of Amsterdam, September 
34, 1658, Ibid. 433. 

° Megapolensis and Drisius to Classis of Amsterdam, September 
10, 1659, Rjid. 449. The statement of this letter, that Goedwater 



PERSECUTION OP THE LUTHERANS 207 

change which they were compelled to make by the 
Directors in the administration of the sacrament of 
baptism. 

While„the Directors were determined to uphold the 
Dutch religious estalDlishment to the exclusion of other 
forms of worship in the Province of New Netherland, 
they were anxious to eliminate everything that might 
deter the people of other persuasions from joining in 
the Reformed service of the Dutch Church. Thus, 
although the Directors at Amsterdam declared the ex- 
pulsion of the Lutheran minister to be in accord with 
their good intentions, they again expressed their dis- 
satisfaction with the vigorous measures, adopted by 
Stuyvesant in these proceedings, and insisted that he 
was to adopt in the future the least offensive and most 
tolerant means, so that in course of time such dissenters 
might be induced to listen to the preaching of the 
Reformed ministers and finally won over to the estab- 
lished church of the colony. To effect this, it was ne- 
cessary to do away with the grievances that occasioned 
the separatist movement of the Lutherans. The ques- 
tion addressed to parents and witnesses at baptism 
might be so formulated as not to be offensive to 
Lutheran ears, and less stress might be placed upon the 
presence of the parents and witnesses at the adminis- 
tration of this sacrament. A precedent for these 
changes in the usages of the Dutch Church of New 
Netherland was found in the practice of some of the 
churches in Holland even in their own time, and in the 

began to hold meetings and to preach, is evidently false in the light 
of the earlier letters, the Lutheran petitions, and Stuyvesant's 
answers. 



208 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

customs prevailing at the beginning of the Reformation, 
when circumstances also made it imperative for the 
Church to attract people of a different belief.* The 
Directors, therefore, ordered that the old formula of bap- 
tism, being "more moderate and less objectionable to 
those of other denominations," be used in the churches 
of the Province, and the words "present here in the 
church" be entirely omitted.^ Stu3rvesant gave a 
copy of this ordinance to the ministers, as soon as it 
came into his hands, and requested them to draw up 
"a full and correct view of the case."* 

The ministers declared their willingness to follow 
the example of the apostolic churches, who, though they 
gave freedom for the sake of the weaker brethren in 
minor matters, would not yield one iota to the obsti- 
nate and perverse, who came to spy out the liberty of 
believers and to bring Christians into bondage. They 
knew that the Synod of The Hague in i59i(Art. 28) put 
the question, proposed to parents and sponsors in the 
form — "Whether they acknowledge the doctrine con- 
tained in the Old and New Testaments, and in the 
articles of the Christian faith, and taught in conformity 
therewith, to be the true and perfect doctrine of sal- 
vation?" They were also aware that the S5mod of 
Middelburg in 1581 (Art. 21) made the use or omission 
of the clause — " the doctrine taught here" — optional. 
Nevertheless, they did not feel that they could change 
the formula of Baptism that had been used so long in 

1 Directors to Stuyvesant, May 20, 1658, in Col. Docs. N. Y. 
xiv. 418. 

2 Directors to Stuyvesant, June 7, 1658, Ibid. 421. 

' Director General and Council to ministers of New Amsterdam, 
August 19, 1658, in Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 427. 



PERSECUTION OF THE LUTHERANS 209 

the churches of New Netherland without perhaps giving 
offence to their own people. They, therefore, placed the 
decision of the question in the hands of the Classis of 
Amsterdam, their ecclesiastical superiors, whose advice 
they would take in the matter.* 

According to the report of the ministers, two years 
previously, Peter Jansen, "who was neither a Lutheran, 
nor of the Reformed Religion, and who had not intelli- 
gence enough to understand the difference between them, 
nibbled at these questions, but could not give any 
reason against them, or receive and try to understand a 
reason in their favor." The Lutherans also did not 
give a more satisfactory reason for their opposition dur- 
ing the last five or six years. They had accused the 
Dutch ministers of adding to the rite of baptism, the 
phrase: "According to the Synod of Dort." These 
words specified doctrines, which they were asked 
to acknowledge as true, but which were con- 
trary to their belief. The ministers denied this 
charge, although they did believe the teaching of 
this National Synod to be the truth, and they con- 
tended against the suppression of the objectionable word 
"here" as useless, inasmuch as, in spite of its omission, 
they would mean by the church, not the papal church, 
but the "true Protestant and Reformed Chitrdies." The 
ministers also denied the second charge of the Luther- 
ans, who had accused them of strictly compelling par- 
ents and sponsors to be present at the baptism of their 
children. Though several Synods' of the fatherland 

1 Megapolensi^ and Drisius to Director General and Council, 
Aug^t 33, 1658, in Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 431. 

2 The National Synod of Dort in 1574, Art. 61; the Synod of 
Middelbtirg, 1583, Art. 40; the Synod of The Hague, 1591, Art. 51 



2IO RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

had prescribed the presence of the parents at the bap- 
tism of their children, these provisions were not strictly 
enforced. This practice had also moved the ministers 
at New Amsterdam to be lenient in regard to this point 
until they noticed that young persons, who could 
hardly carry the child, and who had scarcely more 
knowledge of religion, baptism, and the vows than the 
child itself, presented children for baptism. To 
correct this abuse, the ministers had urged from the 
pulpit that none could so well fulfill the promises made 
in regard to the children at baptism, as the parents, 
who were, in fact, bound to do this by the Word of God.* 
They, therefore, directed that henceforth no half 
grown youths were to present children for baptism. 

The Classis of Amsterdam supported the ministers 
of the colony in their opposition, and begged them not 
to make any alterations in the customary forms, but 
the Directors persisted in their demands,^ and mani- 
fested so much displeasure, that the deputies of the 
Classis on Indian affairs delayed addressing them on the 
subject iintil further correspondence with the brethren 
in New Netherland.' The Directors were not satisfied 
with the fact, that the Lutherans were now again taking 
part in the divine service of the Reformed Church; 
they wished to exclude any possibility of another sep- 
aration, that might arise if they should continue to 

1 Megapolensis and Drisius to Director General and Council, 
August 33, 1658, in Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 430. 

2 Classis of Amsterdam, Acts of Deputies, vi. 134; xix. 53. 
Ibid. L 440; Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 429. Directors to Stuyvesant, 
February 13, 1659. 

SActs of Classis of Amsterdam, February 24, 1659, vi. 13$; 
xix. 54, in Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 442. 



PERSECUTION OP THE LUTHERANS 2X1 

employ such precise forms and offensive expressions, as 
the Lutherans could very easily obtain from the 
authorities in the fatherland the right of or- 
ganizing separate divine service, which the Direc- 
tors would then be powerless to prevent. Stuy- 
vesant was, therefore, again directed, on December 
29, 1659, to admonish the ministers to employ 
the old formula of baptism without waiting for 
further orders from the Classis of Amsterdam. Thus 
all dissensions in the Church and State of New Nether- 
land would cease.* The Directors of the Company had 
lost patience "with scruples about unnecessary forms, 
which cause more division than edification." Stuy- 
vesant loyally defended the preachers of New Amster- 
dam, "whose zeal in teaching, admonishing and punish- 
ing, whose peaceable and edifying life and conduct. . . 
compel them and us to pray, that God may give them 
long life for the best of his infant church here, and to 
assure your Honors that neither of them can be sus- 
pected of any leaven of innovation or turbulence." 
The Director General had, therefore, kept secret the 
severe condemnation of the ministers by the Directors , 
and he now requested them to send over some psalm- 
books or liturgies of the Reformed Church, in which the 
old formtda of baptism was given without the objec- 
tionable words, as this would facilitate the execution of 
their ordinance.* The Directors had already antici- 
pated this request by sending two testaments and 
psalm-books, containing the old formula, with the two 

* Directors to Stuyvesant, December 22, 1659, in Col. Docs. 
N. Y. xiv. 4SI. 

2 Stuyvesant to Directors, April 21, 1660, Ibid. 472. 



212 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

newly appointed preachers, Blom and Seljois, who, 
before their departure from Holland, had also promised 
the Directors to make use of it in the exercise of their 
clerical office.* When Megapolensis and Drisius 
learned this, they also resolved to use the old formula, 
prescribed by the Directors, "with the design of avoid- 
ing any division in the churches of this country."* 
At this time, a feeling of unrest was noticeable among 
some Lutherans at Fort Orange, who began to take up 
a subscription for the salary of a Lutheran preacher, 
but this movement soon subsided.' Here some Luth- 
erans had already joined the Dutch Church, and others 
were gradually being led to it. The Classis of Amster- 
dam, after consulting the Directors, instructed the Rev- 
erend Gideon Schaats, the minister of Beverwyck at 
Fort Orange, freely to inform those good people, "that 
they may dismiss their newly conceived hopes, since 
they may find abundant edification and comfort of soul 
through the blessing of the Lord in the Reformed wor- 
ship, if they harken diligently and endeavor to walk 
before God and man with a good conscience."* This 
proved the end of the separatist movement of the 
Dutch Lutherans in New Netherland until the termina- 
tion of the Dutch rule. 

• Directors to Stuyvesant, April i6, 1660, in Col. Docs. N. Y, 
3UV. 461. 

^Drisitis to Classis of Amsterdam, October 4, 1660, in Eccl 
Recs. N. Y. i. 486. 

* Gideon Schaats to Classis of Amsterdam, September 22, 1660, 
Ibid, 483. 

'Classis of Amsterdam to Gideon Schaats, December s, 1661, 
Ibid. 515- 



CHAPTER VII 

The Persecution of the Quakers * 

The ordinance, prohibiting dissenting worship, pub- 
lic and private, also inspired the measures enacted 
against the Quakers, who made their first advent into 
the Dutch colony the year following its adoption. 
Their arrival was not of the character to lessen the 
prejudices against this new sect, which had already 
Beeirimpl antod in th e minds of the civil and ecclesias- 
tical authorities of New Netherland by the accounts of 
Quaker activity received from Europe. The clergy saw 
in the Quakers the instruments of Satan to disturb the 
churches in America as well as in Europe, "wandering 
to and fro sowing their tares" among the people of the 
Province, but they trusted that God would baffle the 
designs of Satan;* the Director General and Council 
regarded them as anarchists, whose doings tended not 
only .to the subversion of the Protestant Religion, but 
also to the abolition of law and order, and to the con- 
tempt of civil authority. Under this conviction, Stuy- 
vesant, when he noticed the growth of Quaker dis- 
sent, proclaimed a day of prayer against the spiri- 
tual as well as the temporal calamities, with which God 

^ Megapolensis and Drisius to Classis of Amsterdam, August 
4, 1657, in Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 400. 

(213) 



214 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

was about to visit the Province for the thankless use of 
temporal blessings, "permitting and allowing the Spirit 
of Error to scatter its injurious passion amongst us in 
spiritual matters here and there, rising up and propa- 
gating a new unheard of abominable heresy^ called 
Quakers, seeking to seduce many, yea were it possible 
even the true believers — all signs of God's just judg- 
ment and certain forerunners of severe punishments."' 

On August 6, 1657, a ship entered the harbor of 
New Amsterdam, that carried no flag to reveal its charac- 
ter and fired no salute before the fort to announce its ar- 
rival. The Fiscal, who went onboard, received no sign of 
respect, and the Director General was not more favored, 
when he received the visit of the master of the vessel, 
who "stood still with his hat firm on his head, as if a 
goat." Hardly a word could be gleaned in regarci to 
conditions in Europe, but finally it was learned that the 
ship had Quakers on board. Although the Quakers 
reported that the Governor was "moderate in words 
and action," they (^eparted the following morning as 
silently as they had come and sailed eastward towards 
Rhode Island, where the Dutch thought that they 
would settle, as the Quakers were not tolerated in any 
other place. However, several Quakers had secretly 
remained behind, and endeavored to disturb and excite 
the people by the testimony, to which they believed 
themselves moved by the Spirit. Two young women^ 
Dorothy Waugh and May Witherhead," began to quake 
and go into a frenzy " in the middle of the street, crying 
out in a loud voice, that men should repent, for the day 

1 Proclamation, January 21, 1658,111 Recs. of New Amsterdam, 
ii. 346-7. 



PERSECUTION OF THE QUAKERS 21 5 

of judgment was at hand. A great tumult arose among 
the inhabitants of the Dutch town, who, not knowing 
what was the matter, ran to and fro, crying "fire" or 
something else of like nature. The two women were 
arrested and led to prison, where they continued to cry 
out and pray. After eight days ' detention, they were 
taken from prison, their arms pinioned behind them, 
and escorted between two negroes to a vessel at 
the dock, which soon set sail for Rhode Island.* 

Meanwhile, Robert Hodgson,with two other Quakers, 
had made his way from the mainland to Long Island, 
where his preaching found favor with the English set- 
tlers, amongst whom there were "many sincere seekers 
after Heavenly riches . . . prepared to appreciate 
those spiritual views of religion, which these gospel mes- 
sengers had to declare." At Gravesend and Jamaica 
they "were received with gladness." At Hempstead 
Hodgson also found settlers, who "rejoiced in the spread 
of those living truths, which were preached among 
them." Here the two Quakers who accompanied him 
went on to the east end of the Island, while Hodgson 
remained to preach in the English town. In the ab- 
sence of a suitable building, he appointed an orchard for 
a meeting, to which, on the Sunday after his arrival, he 
invited all the inhabitants of the town. Richard Gil- 
dersleeve, a justice of peace, was determined, to put a 
stop to such a violation of the law and issued a warrant 
for the arrest of the preacher. , The constable found 

■^Megapolensis and Drisius to Classis of Arnsterdam, August 
14,; October 22, 1657, in Eccl. Recs., N.Y,, i. 400, 409-ib Onder- 
donck, H., Jr., Old Meeting Houses of the Society of Friends in 
the City of New York. Am. Hist. Rec. i. 117-118. Annals 
of Hempstead, p. 5 



2l6 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

Hodgson "pacing the orchard alone in quiet medita- 
tion." He was at once arrested and confined in the 
house of Richard Gildersleevfe. While the justice of 
peace went to church, the Quaker attracted a large 
crowd of people before the house, "who staid and heard 
the truth declared." On his return, the magistrate, 
annoyed at being thus outwitted, committed the pris- 
oner to another house and immediately left for Man- 
hattan to inform Stuyvesant of the arrest. The 
Director General commended the zeal of the magistrate 
in suppressing the "Quaker heresy," and sent the Fiscal 
with a guard of twelve musketeers to bring Hodgson 
and those who had entertained him in their homes to 
the Fort in New Amsterdam. Meanwhile, Hodgson, 
had renewed his tactics of the morning. "In the after- 
noon," he says, "many came to me, and even those that 
had been mine enemies, after they heard the truth, con- 
fessed it." 

On the arrival of the Fiscal and guard, Hodgson was 
searched and his papers and Bible seized. . He was then 
bound with cords and remanded to prison. Mean- 
while, diligent search was made "for those two women 
who had entertained the stranger." As soon as they 
were found, they were placed under arrest, although one 
of them was burdened with a nursing infant. The two 
women were placed in a cart, to the tail of which Hodg- 
son was tied and thus dragged through the woods and 
over bad roads, "whereby he was much torn and 
abused." On their arrival at Amsterdam, the women 
were put in prison, but soon after they were again 
released and allowed to return to their homes. Hodg- 
son, however, was cast into a "dungeon full of vermin 



PERSECUTION OF THE QUAKERS 217 

and so odious for wet and dirt, as he never saw before." 
The Quaker no doubt proved defiant at the examina- 
tion before the Council. He was fined six htmdred 
guilders, in default of which he was sentenced to serve 
two years at the wheelbarrow with a negro. Hodgson 
attempted to argue the matter with the court, but he 
was not allowed to speak, and sent back to prison, 
"where no English were suffered to come to him." 
Some time later, he was taken out of this horrible dan- 
geon, and brought pinioned to the Council, where his 
hat was removed from his head and another sentence 
read to him in Dutch, that he did not understand,' 
"but that it displeased many of that nation did appear 
by the shaking of their heads." 

Some days after this, Hodgson, early one morning 
was chained to a wheelbarrow and ordered to work. 
When the Quaker refused, a pitched rope, about four 
inches thick, was put in the hands of a strong negro 
slave, who beat the prisoner until he fell to the ground. 
This brought no respite. The unfortunate man was 
lifted up and again beaten until he fell a second time. 
In spite of his miserable plight, Hodgson was kept in 
the heat of the sun, chained to the wheelbarrow, until 
he could no longer support himself and had to sit down. 
A second and a third day he was chained as before with 
a sentinel to prevent all conversation, but he refused to 
work, as he "had committed no evU." The Director 
General then again commanded him to work, as ' ' other- 
wise he should be whipt every day," but the Quaker 
merely demanded in reply, "what law he had broken 
and called for his accusers, that he might know his 
transgression." No answer was given, but Hodgson 



2l8 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

was again chained to the wheelbarrow and threatened 
with severer pimishment, if he should dare to speak to 
any person. When he refused to keep silent, he was 
confined to his dungeon for several days, "two nights 
and one day and a half of which, without bread and 
water." Then he was taken to a room, where he was 
stripped to his waist and hung to the ceiling by his 
hands with a heavy log tied to his feet, "so that he 
could not turn his body." Jle was then scourged with 
rbds by a negro slave until his flesh was cut into pieces 
after which he was kept in the solitary confinement of 
a loathsome dungeon for two days, when he was again 
made to undergo the same savage torture. Hodgson 
now felt as though he were about to die and asked that 
some English person might be allowed to come to him. 
An English woman was then allowed to bathe his 
wounds. She thought that he could not live until 
morning. When she told her husband of the horrible 
condition of the prisoner, he tried to bribe the Fiscal 
with the offer of a fat ox to obtain permission for Hodg- 
son's removal to his own house until he recovered. 
This was refused and the payment of the whole fine 
demanded. The Quaker would not consent to this and 
was kept "like a slave to hard work." Other persons 
also interested themselves in favor of the Quaker's 
release. An unknown person sent a letter to Stuy- 
vesant and cotmseUed him to send the obstinate Quaker 
to Rhode Island, as his labor was hardly worth the cost. 
When Stuyvesant's sister Anna, widow of Nicholas 
Bayard, interceded earnestly in behalf of the prisoner, 



PERSECUTION OF THE QUAKERS 219 

the unfortunate Quaker was liberated on the condition of 
leaving the Province.' 

By this time, Quaker preaching had so infected the 
English towns of Gravesend, Hempstead, Jamaica and 
Flushing, that the Director General and Council 
thought it advisable to adopt even more drastic meas- 
ures for the repression of these "seducers of the people, 
who are destructive unto magistracy and ministry." 
An ordinance was issued, which made vessels bringing 
Quakers into the Province subject to confiscation, and 
persons entertaining a Quaker a single night, liable to a 
fine of fifty pounds, of which one-half was to go to the 
informer.* The proclamation of this ordinance met 
with open resistence from the people of Flushing, who 
were unwilling to infringe and violate the patent of the 
town, granted in the name of the States General, which 
guaranteed "Liberty of Conscience, according to the 
custom and manner of Holland without molestacon or 
disturbance, from any magistrate or magistrates, or any 
other Ecclesiastical Minister, that may extend jurisdic- 
con over them."' The sheriff of Flushing, Tobias 
Feake, instructed the clerk Edward Hart to draw up a 
remonstrance against this violation of the privileges of 
the town of Flushing, to be submitted to the people for 

1 Onderdonck, H., Jr., Friends on Long Island and in New 
York, Annals of Hempstead, pp. 5-6; 93. O'Callaghan, Hist of 
New Netherland, ii. 347-3SO- 

2 Brodhead, Hist, of State of New York, i. 637. Thompson, 
Hist, of Long Island, ii. 74, note 

^ Remonstrance of the people of Flushing, December 27, 1657, 
Col. Bocs., N, Y., xiv. 402-404; Laws and Ordinances of New 
Netherland, New York Deed Book, ii. 178, printed in Appendix 
of Waller, Hist, of Flushing. The town of Gravesend has the 
same provision in its charter, and was not less infected with Quaker 
teaching. Nevertheless, Gravesend did not make a similar protest. 



220 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

their approval and then presented to the Director Gen- 
eral and Council.* A town meeting was assembled in 
the house of Michael Milner, where the clerk read the 
remonstrance to the people of the town. Thirty-one 
signed this protest. They cannot condemn the Quakers 
nor can they stretch out their hands to punish, banish 
or persecute them, when they are bound by the law to 
do good unto all men, especially to those of the house- 
hold of faith. If the alternative is placed before them, 
to choose between God and man, their conscience will 
not allow them to hesitate in the cljoice, as "that which 
is of God will stand, and that which is of man will come 
to nothing." They further declare that "the law of 
love, peace and liberty in the state, extending to Jews, 
Turks and Egyptians, as they are considered the sons of 
Adam, which is the glory of the outward state of Hol- 
land, so love, peace and liberty, extending to aU in 
Christ Jesus, condemns hatred, war and bondage." 
The Savior had pronounced woe tinto those by whom 
scandal cometh ; their desire ' ' is not to offend one of his 
little ones in whatsoever forme, name or title hee ap- 
peares in, whether Presbyterian, Independent^ Baptist 
or Quaker ; but shalU be glad to see anything of God in 
any of them ; desiring to do unto all men as wee desire all 
men to do unto us, which is the true law both of Church 
and State." They, therefore, conclude, that, if any 
Quakers should come to them in love, they cannot in 
conscience lay violent hands upon them, but give them 
free ingress into their town and houses according to the 

'• Cross-examination of Hart, Col. Docs., N. Y., xiv. 404-405; 
petition of Hart for pardon, January 23, 1638, Ibid. 409. 



PERSECUTION OF THE QUAKERS 221 

commands of their conscience and the provisions of 
their charter. 

This remonstrance was delivered to the Director 
General by Tobias Feake himself, who was immediately 
arrested by the Fiscal, Nicasius de Sille.* On the first 
day of the new year (1658), the two other magistrates 
who had signed the remonstrance, Edward Farrington 
and William Noble, appeared at New Amsterdam in 
answer to the summons of the Director General and 
Council, and were also immediately placed under 
arrest,* but, after their petition,' they were given the 
liberty to go about on Manhattan Island on promising 
to appear at any time on the summons of the court. 
The clerk, Edward Hart, was subjected to a cross-exam- 
ination, intended to reveal the circumstances of the 
composition of the remonstrance, and then also placed 
in confinement. The Fiscal, Nicasius de Sille^, accused 
the magistrates of having violated the articles of the 
charter of "Freedoms and Exemptions", which per- 
mitted the public exercise of no other religion than the 
Reformed, and also the placards issued by the Director 
General and Council. Farrington and Noble at first 
refused to acknowledge themselves guilty of any offense. 
They declared that they had considered the remon- 
strance in the light of a request for the information, 
whether the liberty of conscience might still be given, 
which they had tmderstood to be granted by their 
charter "without molistacion of Maiestrate or Minis- 

* Council minute, Jantiary i, 1658, Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 404. 
2 Ibid. 

» Ibid. 406. 

* Noble and Farrington to Director General and Council in 
answer to Fiscal, January 9, 1658, Ibid. 406-7. 



2 22 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

ter." This had been their conclusion of a close study 
of the patent, which they called their charter, and if 
they were in the dark in this matter, they desired to be 
corrected, as they did not know the articles, which the 
Fiscal had called their charter. They also protested 
that they had put into execution to the full extent of 
their powers their "Honners perticular wrting an order 
concerning y* Quakers." If they were, therefore guilty 
of any offense, it was at most the result of ignorance, 
which they pleaded as the excuse for having signed a 
writing offensive to the Director General and Council, 
presented by Tobias Feake. Their fault was graciously 
forgiven and pardoned on the written acknowledgment 
of their error and promise to be more cautious in the 
future and on condition of paj^ng the cost and mises of 
the law.' The clerk, Edward Hart, also obtained 
liberal treatment at the hands of the authorities under 
the same conditions. His request' for a pardon had 
been supported by several of the inhabitants of Flush- 
ing, where he always had been willing to serve his 
neighbors, whose circumstances he knew thoroughly, 
being one of the oldest inhabitants of the town. Finally, 
the Director General and Council pardoned him, as he 
had drawn up the remonstrance at the instigation of 
the schout, Tobias Feake, and as he had a large family 
dependent upon him for their support. 

Thus all the responsibility was thrown upon the 
schout of Flushing. Tobias Feake could not deny that 
he had received "an order from the Hon. Director Gen- 
eral not to admit, lodge and entertain in the said village 

1 Col. Docs N. Y. xir.'4o8, 409. 



PERSECUTION OF THE QUAKERS 223 

any one of the heretical and abominable sect called 
Quakers," and he was found guilty of having instigated 
"a seditious, mutinous and detestable letter of defiance 
wherein (he and his accomplices) justify and uphold the 
abominable sect of Quakers, who vilify both the political 
authorities and the ministers of the Gospel, and under- 
mine the State and God's service and absolutely 
demand, that all sects, especially the said abomin&,ble 
sect of Quakers, shall and must be tolerated and admit- 
ted." He deserved to be made an example to others, 
as he had not only violated the laws of the Province, 
but had also been unfaithful to his oath, official position 
and duty, as a subordinate officer of the government in 
the village of Flushing. Nevertheless, the Director 
General and Council decided to be lenient, as the pri- 
soner confessed his wrong doing andpromised to avoid 
such errors hereafter. He was degraded from his office, 
and sentenced to be banished from the Province of 
New Netherland, or to pay a fine of two hundred florins 
in addition to the costs of the trial.* Stuyvesant could 
well be content with the result of his vigorous proceed- 
ings in this matter. All the principal remonstrants had 
been brought to retract the principles which they had 
advanced in contradiction to Stuyyesant's policy of 
government. Although they had espoused the cause 
of religious liberty in defense of the persecuted Quak- 
ers, they had not the heroic fortitude that made the 
Quakers seal their testimony with their blood. 

The opposition was so completely crushed in Flush- 
ing that the magistrates, Farrington and Noble; did not 

1 Sentence, January 28, 1658, in Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 409. 



224 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

even dare to attend to the cases pending in the court 
without further orders.' When William Lawrence, 
the oldest magistrate of the town, submitted a petition 
to this effect, it was resolved to suspend the meetings 
of the magistrates until the Director General and Coun- 
cil could personally visit the town or send a committee 
to give the orders, that were required by the conditions 
not only of Flushing, but also of the other neighbor- 
ing English villages. Meanwhile, any extraordinary 
matter, requiring immediate attention, was to be referr- 
ed to the Director General and Council.* At the time of 
this visit, the inhabitants of Flushing peaceably sub- 
mitted to a modification of their municipal government, 
which Stuyvesant thought would prevent the disorders, 
"arising from town meetings." In the future, the sher- 
iff, who was to be "acquainted not only with the Eng- 
lish and Dutch language, but also with Dutch practical 
law," and the other magistrates were to consult in 
all cases a board "of seven of the most reasonable and 
respectable of the inhabitants, to be called tribunes and 
townsmen." The growth of Quaker influence was 
ascribed to the lack of an organized ministry in the 
English towns, and a tax of twelve stivers per morgen 
was imposed upon the inhabitants of Flushing "for 
the support of an orthodox minister." Six weeks 
were granted for the signature of a written submission 
to the provisions of this new charter. Upon the expira- 
tion of this term, recusants had the only alternative "to 

* January ao, 1658, Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 408. 

* January 22, 1658, Ibid. 



PERSECUTION OF THE QUAKERS 22$ 

dispose of their property at their pleasure and leave the 
soil of this government."* 

While the Flushing remonstrants were pn trial, 
Stujrvesant fouiid support for his policy of repression 
amongst some of the inhabitants of Long Island. Twelve 
of the principal inhabitants of Jamaica had informed 
the Director General and Council that the Quakers had 
an unusual correspondence at the house of Henry Town- 
send, where they and their followers had also been 
' ' lodged and provided with meat and drink. " The ante- 
cedents of the offender were not such as to merit favor 
with Stuyvesant. In August, 1657, he had arranged 
a conventicle in his own house for Robert Hodgson,* 
for which he had been condemned a month later to a 
fine of eight pounds Flemish, that had not yet been 
paid. When Henry Townsend appeared before the 
court, the Fiscal demanded that he be condemned to a 
fine of one hundred pounds Flemish, as he had again 
lately violated the ordinance of the government by 
"lodging and keeping with Quakers." On the confession 
of his guilt, Henry Townsend was sentenced "as an 
example for other transgressors and contumacious 
offenders" to a fine of three hundred florins, to be paid 
with the costs of the trial before his liberation from 
prison.* His brother, John Townsend, was also cited 
before the court on the suspicion of favoring Quakers 

1 Provisions of March 26, 1658. Thompson, Hist, of Long 
Island, ii. 291-2. 

2 Minute, January 8, 1658, Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 405-6. 

3 Onderdonck, H., Jr., Amer. Hist,, Rec. i. 210. "Friends' 
Meeting Houses on Long Island." 

* Council minute, January 15, 1658. Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 
407-8. 



226 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

and of being implicated in the Flushing remonstrance. 
The accusation was made that he had gone, in the com- 
pany of the clerk of Flushing, to the house of Edward 
Farrington, whom he had persuaded to sign the remon- 
strance. John Townsend admitted, that he had been 
at Flushing, and visited Farrington as an old acquaint- 
ance, but he denied that he had persuaded the magis- 
trate to sign an3rthing. He was also accused of having 
been in the company of a banished Quakeress at 
Grravesend. Although he also denied this charge, the 
suspicions of the court were not allayed. He was, 
therefore, given the choice either to go to prison, until 
the Fiscal coiild obtain more evidence on the friendly 
relations of the accused with the Quakers, or to give bail 
to the amount of twelve pounds sterling to ensure his 
appearance at the court on the summons of the Fiscal.' 
On the same day, judgment was also pronounced in the 
case of John Tilton, formerly town clerk, who had been 
imprisoned on the charge of the Schout of Gravesend,* 
that he had lodged a Quakeress, who had been banished 
from New Netherland, with some other persons of her 
adherents, belonging to that abominable sect. Tilton 
declared that the Quakeress had come to his house with 
other neighbors diiring his absence, but, in spite of his 
humble petition and former good conduct, he was fined 
"twelve pounds Flemish with the costs and mises of 
justice, to be applied, one-third in behalf of the Attorney 
General, one-third in behalf of the sheriff of Gravesend, 
and the rest as directed by law."' The oppositionjo 

1 Coimcil minute, January lo, 1658. Col. Docs N. Y. xiv. 407. 

2 Council minute, January 8, 1658. Ibid. 406, 
8 Council minute, January 10, 1658. Ibid. 



PERSECUTION OP THE QUAKERS 227 

the Quakers was not limited in Gravesend to this ma- 
gistrate alone. Two years later ten of the inhabitants 
of this village, only two of whom were English: the 
Sheriff Charles Morgan and Lieutenant Nicholas Still- 
weU, informed the Director General and Council that 
"the licentious mode of living, the desecration of the 
Sabbath, the confusion of religious opinion prevalent in 
the village" made many grow cold "in the exercise of 
Christian virtue, and almost surpass the heathens, who 
have no knowledge of God and his commandments." 
They requested, therefore, that ' ' a preacher be sent here 
that the glory of God may be spread, the ignorant 
taught, the simple and innocent strengthened, and the 
licentious restrained." Stuyvesant and his council were 
well pleased with the remonstrance, and promised to 
fulfill their request as soon as possible.' 

Nowhere did Stuyvesant's policy coincide so 
thoroughly with the views of the local authorities as in 
Hempstead, where the closest union between the town 
and its church establishment had found its expression 
in an order, issued by the General Court with the con- 
sent of a full town meeting, which confessed that "the 
Contempt of Gods Word And Sabbaths is the desolat- 
ing Sinn off Civill States and Plantations, And that 
the Publick preaching of the Word, by those that are 
Called theretmto is the Chiefe and ordinarie meanes 
ordayned of God for the Converting, Edifying and 
Saveing of y^ Soules of the EUect, through the presence 
and power of the Holy Ghost therevnto promised." 
The General Court, therefore, decreed "That All per- 

• Council minute, April 12, 1660. Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 460, 



228 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

sons Inhabiting In this Towne or y* Limitts thereof 
shall duely resort and repaire to the Publique meetings, 
and Assemblies one the Lords dayes And one the 
Publique dayes of fastings and thanksgivings appointed 
by Publique Authority, both one the forenoones 
And Aftemoones." Persons, who absented them- 
selves "w'thout Just and Necessary Cause approved by 
the particular Court," were to "forfeict, for the first 
offence, five guilders, for y^ second Offence, ten guilders 
And for y* third Offence, twenty Guilders." Those 
who proved refractory, perverse and obstinate, were to 
be "Lyable to the further Censure of the Court, Eyther 
for the Agravation of the fine, or for Corporall pimish- 
ment or Banishment." Finally, persons informing 
the magistrates or the particular Court about the 
neglect or contempt of this order, were to be re- 
warded by one-half of the fine, the other half of 
which was to be converted to public use.' This ordi- 
nance, which had been passed by the General Court of 
Hempstead, September i6, 1650, was approved, ratified 
and confirmed, October 26, 1657, by the Director General 
and Council of New Netherland, who authorized the 
magistrates of the village to execute promptly its 
provisions against trespassers. The authentication of 
the copy and its record in the Town books by John 
James, the clerk of Hempstead, bear the date of Janu- 
ary, 16, 1658. These facts show that the approved ordi- 
nance was returned to the town precisely at the time 
that the growth of the Quaker movement on Long Island 
claimed the strict attention "of the authorities at New 

> Recs. of Towns of N. and S. Hempstead, Long Island, i. 
56-57- 



PERSECUTION OF THE QUAKERS 229 

Amsterdam.* The magistrates of Hempstead were 
not in need of much exhortation to proceed against 
trespassers, for they had learned "by woeful experiance, 
that of late a sect hath taken such ill effect amongst us 
to the seducing of certain of the inhabitants, who by 
giving heed to the seducing spirits under the notion of 
being inspired by the Holy Spirit of God, have drawn 
away with their error and misguided light those Ivhich 
together with us did worship God in spirit and in 
truth, and more unto our grief do separate from us: 
and unto the great dishonor of God, and the violation 
of the established laws and the Christian order, that 
ought to be observed with love, peace and concord, 
have broke the Sabbath, and neglected to join with, us 
in the true worship and service of God, as formerly they 
have done." The inhabitants in the town and to the 
uttermost bounds thereof were, therefore, ordered to 
give no entertainment, nor to have any converse with 
the Quakers, who at the very most "are permitted for 
one night's lodging in the parish, and so to depart 
quietly without dispute or debate the next morning."* 
This proclamation was published shortly after Stuy- 
vesant's visit to Long Island on April 13, 1658. Five 
days later, the wives of Joseph Schott and Francis 
Weeks were fined twenty guilders each in addition to 
the costs of the trial. They had not only absented 
themselves from the public worship of God contrary 
to the law of God and the laws of the town, but they 
had also profaned the Lords day by going to a con- 

1 Recs. of Towns of N. and S. Hempstead, i. 57-58. 

2 Proclamation of the Magistrates of Hempstead, April 13, 
1658. Thompson, Hist, of Long Island, ii. 11-12. 



230 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

venticle or meeting in the woods, where there were 
two Quakers. The two women refused to admit them- 
selves guilty of any offence, as they had gone out to 
meet the people of God.' The opposition, which was 
early manifested in this way by the magistrates of the 
town towards the Quakers, was the policy pursued with- 
out alteration in Hempstead. When Thomas Terry 
and Samuel Bearing petitioned for leave to settle some 
families at Matinecock within the jurisdiction of Hemp- 
stead, the magistrates of the town drew up a contract, 
dated July 4, 1661, which bound the petitioners to 
observe the laws of Hempstead, to admit only inhabi- 
tants possessing letters of commendation and appro- 
bation from the magistrates, elders or selected towns- 
men of their former place of residence, and finally "to 
bring in no Quakers or any such like opinionists, but 
such as are approved by the inhabitants of Hemp- 
stead." This contract was confirmed and still more 
specified in some details as late as June 23, 1663.^ 

New measures were adopted by Stuyvgsant for the 
repression of the Quaker movement on Long Island in 
January, 1661. Letters from Jamaica, Flushing and 
Ididdeiburg (Newton) had informed him, that the 
Quakers had uncommonly free access to the house of 
Henry Townsend, who had, therefore, been placed under 
arrest. A good occasion to investigate the condition 
of religion in the towns known to be infected was 
offered, when some of the inhabitants of Jamaica 
earnestly requested one of the clergymen of New 

1 Cotirt minute, April 18, 1658. Thompson, Hist, of Long 
Island, ii, 12. 

2 Recs. of the Towns of N. and S. Hempstead, i. 143-145; 
Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 528-529. 



PERSECUTION OF THE QUAKERS 23 1 

Amsterdam to come to their village to preach and to 
baptize several of their children. Stuyvesant then 
instructed the minister Drisius, the deputy sheriff 
Resolved Waldron, and the clerk Nicholas Bayard to 
go to Jamaica and obtain minute information on the 
violation of the ordinances against private conventicles 
by the Quakers and other sects.* Drisius preached 
twice on Sunday, January 9th, and baptized eigljt chil- 
dren and two old women. Meanwhile, the deputy 
sheriff had learned that a meeting of Quakers was being 
held at Gravesend. When Waldron and Bayard 
arrived there the next day, the Quaker George Wilson 
had already escaped, but they returned in the evening 
to New Amsterdam with the Quaker's cloak and a 
prisoner, Samuel Spicer, who "with several others had 
not only followed and listened to the Quaker in several 
conventicles, but also entertained him in his mother's 
house." At Jamaica, the work of investigation had 
been facilitated by the assistance of two of the towns- 
people, Richard Everett and Nathaniel Denton, who 
gave the commissioners a list of ten persons, who had 
assembled in the house of Henry Townsend, on his 
invitation from door to door to listen to a learned man 
there.^ On the arrival of the commissioners at New 
Amsterdam, both Henry Townsend and Samuel Spicer 
were put on trial, but they refused to incriminate them- 
selves by acknowledging the charges of the Fiscal, and 
claimed that they had only called on their friends and 
that no law forbade friends to meet each other. They 
were remanded to prison and ordered to answer without 

* Council minute, January 8, 1661. Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 489. 
2 Council minute, January 9, 1661. Ibid. 490. 



232 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

any equivocation to the charges of the public prosecutor, 
who demanded that the prisoners be condemned to a fine 
of six hundred florins each, according to the ordinance 
violated.* Henry Townsend finally acknowledged that 
he had lodged in his house some friends who are called 
Quakers, and that he had assembled a meeting at his 
house, at which one of them spoke, but he concluded 
with the protest, that, although they might squander 
and devour his estate and manacle his person, his soul 
was his God's and his opinions his own. He refused 
to pay the fine of twenty-five pounds to which he was 
sentenced on January 20th, and languished in prison, 
where he was daily supplied with food, which his nine- 
year-old daughter Rose passed to him through the 
gratings of the jail.' Samuel Spicer was fined only 
twelve pounds. An order was also issued for the 
banishment of John Tilton of Gravesend and John 
Townsend of Jamaica. Mrs. Micah Spicer was also 
prosecuted for entertaining the Quaker, but she was 
acquitted, as she did not know that George Wilson was 
a member of that sect.' 

Stuyvesant -was now determined to enforce the ob- 
servance of the ordinance against private conventicles, 
especially in the village of Jamaica, where the move- 
ment of Quaker dissent was most prevalent at this 
time. Some of those who had been entrusted with 
authority had been so unfaithful to their office as to 

1 Council minute, January 9, 1661. Col. Docs. N. Y. xii. 491. 

2 Thompson, Hist, of Long Island, ii. 292-3; 295. 

'Cal. of Dutch MS8., ed. O'Callaghan, i. 220-1; Col. Docs. 
N. Y. 1. c, note. Thompson says, "The widow Spicer, mother 
of Samuel, was also arrested, accused and condemned m an amende 
fifteen potmds Flanders." 



PERSECUTION OF THE QUAKERS 233 

"connive with the Sect, giving entertainment unto 
their scattering preachers, leave and way unto their 
unlawful meetings and prohibited conventicles," which 
all tended to the subversion of the Protestant religion, 
to the contempt of authority and to the destruction of 
law and order. He, therefore, appointed three new 
magistrates, Richard Everett, Nathaniel Denton and 
Andrew Messenger, whose zeal for the good ©f the 
country and the Protestant cause would ensure the 
observance of the ordinance against conventicles. He 
also sent six soldiers to assist them in this, "if need and 
occasion should require," who were to be furnished 
with convenient lodging in the town.* In obedience 
to the orders of the Director General, the magistrates 
called the inhabitants of the town together and sub- 
mitted to them a written statement to sign, by which 
they bound themselves to inform the authorities about 
any meetings and conventicles of Quakers within the 
town and also to assist them against the Quiakers in 
case of need.^ Only six refused to subscribe. These 
were John Townsend, Richard Harker, Samuel Dean, 
Samuel Andrews, Benjamin Hubbard and Nathaniel 
Cole.' In their report, Everett and Denton had peti- 
tioned Stuyvesant to relieve the town from quartering 
the soldiers, as the innocent were thus unjustly pun- 
ished for the self-will of the guilty. The Director 
General then ordered the soldiers to be lodged and 

' Stuyvesant to Jamaica, Janiiary 24, 1661. Col- Docs. N.Y. xii. 
490-1. 

^ Ibid. 492; Jamaica Rec. i. 120. O'Callaghan, Hist, of New 
Netherland, ii. 451. note i. 

'Everett and Denton to Stuyvesant, February 11, 1661. 
Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 492. ,. 



234 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

furnished with decent meat and victuals by those who 
still refused to concur in the desires of the government.* 
When these men remonstrated, they were informed that 
the soldiers would be withdrawn, as soon as they would 
sign the pledge to inform against the Quakers. Most of 
the recusants then sold out and removed to Oyster 
Bay beyond the jurisdiction of the Dutch government.' 

In spite of all vigilance, the magistrates of Jamaica 
had to report, in August of the following year, to the 
Director General, that the majority of the inhabitants 
of the village were adherents of the abominable sect 
called Quakers. They themselves could do nothing to 
stop the increase of this sect, as the townspeople did 
not assemble in forbidden conventicles within their 
jurisdiction, but in a large meeting held every Sunday 
at the house of John Bowne in Flushing, where the 
dissenters gathered from the whole neighborhood.' 
Stuyvesant then ordered all the magistrates and inhabi- 
tants of the English towns in the jurisdiction of New 
Netherland to assist the sheriff. Resolved Waldron, to 
imprison aU persons, found in a prohibited or an unlaw- 
ful meeting.* 

John Bowne^ first visited Flushing on the fifteenth 
of June, 1651, in company with his brother-in-law, Ed- 
ward Farrington. There he was married to Hannah 

1 Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 493 

2 Onderdonck, H., Jr., Ainer. Hist. Rec. i, 210. 

'Council minute, August 24, 1662; Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. jiS- 

* Council minute, September g, 1662, Ibid. 516. 

' For biographical data cf. Mandeville, Flushing Past and 
Present, p. 96, etc.; Thompson, Hist, of Long Island, ii. 285-6; 
388 ; Watkins, Some Early New York Settlers from New England, 
in N. E. Hist, and Geneol. Reg., Iv. 300 (1901); Henry 
Onderdonck, Jr., Amer. Hist. Rec, i. 8, note i. 49-50 (1872). 



PERSECUTION OF THE QUAKERS 235 

Field, May 7, 1656, and five years later he built the 
house, which, within a few years, became the meeting 
place for all the Quakers of the neighborhood. His 
wife had first become a member of the Society of 
Friends, who then usually assembled for worship in 
the woods and fields. Her husband accompanied her 
to some of these meetings, mainly from motives of 
curiosity in the beginning. The beauty anA sim- 
plicity of their worship so pleased him, that he invited 
the Quakers to assemble for these meetings in his own 
house, where he also was soon admitted as a member. 
He declared that his conversion resulted "not merely 
from the kindness and affection of his wife, but his 
judgment also was convinced of the truth of the prin- 
ciples which they held forth." His faith was soon put 
to test in the persecution, which he had to bear at the 
hands of the civil authority for remaining faithful to 
its teaching.' 

As soon as the sheriff Resolved Waldron had 
received his commission from Stuyyesant, he set out 
for Flushing with a company of armed men to arrest 
John Bowne.^ When he arrived at the house, John 
Bowne, with his youngest child sick in his arms, was 
taking care of his wife, who was also seriously ill in bed. 
Nevertheless, the sheriff ordered him to proceed to 
New Amsterdam for trial, but John Bowne made the 
plea that his family were not in a condition to permit 
him to leave them. The sheriff declared that he must 
ftilfill his orders, but the day was now so advanced that 

> Thompson, Hist, of Long Island, ii. 385-6. 
2 These details in the Journal of John Bowne, partly printed 
in Amer. Hist. Rec. i. by Onderdonck, 4-8. 



236 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

he decided to leave the prisoner under guard till next 
day. Meanwhile, Resolved Waldron went to the town 
and in the evening returned with the Schout of Flushing. 
Bowne then demanded the order of his arrest from the 
sheriff, who at first refused, but then handed it to him. 
When John Bowne saw that it was not a special war- 
rant, but the general commission of Stuyvesant, which 
authorized Waldron to arrest any person found in an 
unlawful assembly, he refused to go on foot to New 
Amsterdam in virtue of that order, as the sheriff had 
found him in no assembly of any kind, but the sheriff 
threatened to carry him off bound hand and foot. 
The next day he was transported thither in a boat and 
imprisoned in the courthouse. He attempted to obtain 
a few words with the Director General, whom he saw 
mounting his horse, but Stuyvesant gave the sergeant 
to understand that he would speak with Bowne only on 
the condition, that he would put off his hat and stand 
bareheaded in his presence, which Bowne declared he 
could not do. Stuyvesant anticipated the same refusal 
on the following day, when Bowne was brought for 
trial to the court room. As soon as he heard the 
approach of the prisoner, even before he came into view, 
the Director General bade him to take off his hat, but, 
before John Bowne could refuse, he commanded the 
Schout to give him the necessary assistance to comply 
with the demand. Stuyvesant himself read the ordi- 
nance against conventicles to the prisoner, but Bowne 
denied that he had kept meetings of "heretics, deceivers 
and seducers", as he could not admit the servants of 
the Lord to be such. Stuyvesant refused to argue and 
bluntly asked if he would deny that he had kept con- 



PERSECUTION OF THE QUAKERS 237 

venticles in his house. Bowne refused at first to 
incriminate himself, but then declared that he would 
not ask the court to prove the charge, that he was in 
their hands ready to suffer whatever they were allowed 
by God to inflict upon him. Finally, the prisoner gave 
the court to understand the condition of his family and 
the cruelty of separating him from them in these cir- 
cumstances, but Stuyyesant placed the responsibility 
of this on John Bowne himself, who had occasioned his 
arrest by his refusal to obey the ordinances of the 
government. John Bowne was now removed again to 
his place of confinement, while the court deliberated on 
the nature of the offence and the extent of the penalty 
to be imposed. The Court found that the prisoner had 
not only provided with lodgings some of that heretical 
and abominable sect named Quakers, but even 
permitted them to keep their forbidden meetings in his 
house, at which he assisted with his whole family. 
Thus the abominable sect, that vilifies the magistrates 
and preachers of God's Holy Word, that endeavors to 
undermine both the State and Religion, found encour- 
agement in its errors and seduced others from the right 
path with the dangerous consequences of heresy and 
schism. He was, therefore, fined twenty-five pounds 
on September 14, with the costs of the trial, and warned 
to abstain in the future from all such conventicles and 
meetings under the penalty of paying double that 
amount for the second offence, and of being banished 
from the Province for the third offence.' The Schout 
then privately informed John Bowne of the fine imposed 

* Council minute, September 14, 1662, printed in full in 
Thompson, Hist, of Long Island, ii. 77-78. 



238 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

and told him that he must remain until the fine was 
paid. The next day official notice of the fine was 
served on the prisoner, but he refused to pay anything 
on that account.* 

At Gravesend, John Tilton and Mary, his wife, were 
also taken prisoners and transported to New Amsterdam 
to be tried for.having attended meetings and for having 
lodged persons of the abominable sect of the Quakers.* 
Goody Tilton was furthermore charged with "having, 
like a sorceress, gone from door to door to lure even 
young girls to join t;he Quakers."' Two days after 
these complaints were made before the court, the 
Director General and Council issued an ordinance which 
interdicted under severe penalties the public exercise 
of any but the Reformed Religion, "either in houses, 
bams, ships or yachts, in the woods or fields, the provi- 
sion of heretics, vagabonds or strollers with accommo- 
dations, and the introduction and distribution of all 
seditious or seducing books, papers or letters." The 
ordinance also required the registration of all persons 
arriving in the province,within six weeks of their advent, 
at the secretary's office, where they were also then to 
take the oath of allegiance. The execution of the 
ordinance was to be ensured by the provision, that all 
magistrates conniving at the violation of this statute 
were to be deposed from their office and declared 
incompetent to hold any public trust in the future.* 
Two weeks after the proclamation of this ordinance, 

* Journal of John Bowne, Amer. Hist. Rec. i. 4-8 

2 Council minute, September ig, 1662. O'Callaghan, Cal. Hist. 
MSS. (Dutch), i.240. 

' Thompson, Hist, for Long Island, ii. 295. 

* O'Callaghan, Hist of New Netherland, ii. 454-5- 



PERSECUTION OP THE QUAKERS 239 

Johij and Mary Tilton were sentenced to be banished 
from the province. On the same day, Micah Spicer 
and her son Samuel, were also ordered to leave the 
province, as they were found guilty of harboring 
Quakers and distributing seditious and seducing pamph- 
lets to propagate their heresy.* 

When John Bowne continued firm in his refusal to 
submit to the Court's sentence, he was removed, on* the 
twenty-fifth of September, to the dungeon, where the 
guard of soldiers received a strict charge to allow no 
one by day or night to visit the prisoner, who was to be 
permitted nothing but coarse bread and water. The 
following month, he was again removed to the Stadt- 
house, where this severity was relaxed, "the door being 
open sometimes for a week together, sometimes more, 
sometimes less, both day and night." During this 
time, he received the visits of his wife and of his friends, 
and sometimes even went abroad in New Amsterdam. 
His liberty was again more restricted, when, on the 
fourteenth of December, the Director General and Coun- 
cil "for the welfare of the community and to crush, as 
far as it is possible, that abominable sect, who treat 
with contempt both the political magistrates and 
the ministers of God's Holy Word and endeavor to 
undermine the police and religion, resolved to transport 
from this province the aforesaid John Bowne, if he 
continues obstinate and pervicatious, in the first ship 
ready to sail, for an example to others."^ John Bowne 
was now anxious to obtain an opportunity to plead his 

•Council minute, October 5, 1662; O'Callaghan, Cal. of 
Hist. MSS. (Dutch), i. 240. 

2 Council minute, December 14, 1662. Thompson, Hist, of 
Long Island, ii. 78 



240 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

cause before the court, but Stuyvesant refused to 
grant this request of the prisoner and insisted that he 
either pay the fine or go into exile, but he allowed him 
to go home for a chest and clothes. Later William 
Leveridge was authorized to tell Bowne, that* if he 
would promise to go out of the Dutch jurisdiction 
within three months, he would be set free the next day, 
but John Bowne refused to give any answer to this 
proposition, except to the Director General in person. 
William Leveridge neglected to deliver the message to 
Stuyvesant, who now had the prisoner kept more 
closely than before in his place of confinement. On 
the last day of December, John Bowne was offered the 
liberty to visit, for the first days of the new year, his 
wife and friends, on the condition that he would 
promise to return to New Amsterdam on the evening 
of the third day. The Schout also told him that the 
Director General was still willing to set him free, if he 
would promise to remove with his family out of his 
jurisdiction within a month, but John Bowne refused 
to entertain this proffer of Stujrvesant. Faithful to 
his promise, Bowne returned to New Amsterdam before 
the expiration of his leave of absence, and then was 
allowed the freedom of the town. He could learn 
nothing of the intentions of the authorities, although his 
chest, clothes, and bedding were still retained in prison. 
When a ship was about to sail, Bowne met Resolved 
Waldron. Upon the enquiries of the Quaker, the Schout 
saw the Director General, and then told Bowne to 
bring his things from prison and to transfer them to 
the boat. John Bowne now succeeded in obtaining an 
interview with Stuyvesant, who was very moderate in 



PERSECUTION OP THE QUAKERS 24I 

his conversation with the Quaker. He refused to argue, 
but, on the request of John Bowne, willingly gave him a 
written statement that he was banished from the coun- 
try for not submitting to the sentence of the Court. 
The Quaker was, however, not satisfied with the wording 
of the statement, which doubtless was not more com- 
plimentary to that sect than the other official docu- 
ments on this case. The Director again offered Bowne 
his liberty, if he would promise to leave his jurisdiction 
in three months. Bowne would not yield, but pro- 
tested his innocence of any crime and of any desire to 
obtain revenge for the evil that they had done him, 
which moved the Director General to thank him and 
to call him Goodman Bowne. Nevertheless, on Jan- 
uary eighth, the Director General and Council com- 
manded him to depart on the ship Fox, now ready to 
sail, while it was once more left to his choice either to 
obey and submit to the judgment of the court or at the 
sight of the order tb depart.* In the evening of the 
same day, he was carried on board the ship, which set 
sail the following day for Holland. Stuyvesant sent a 
report of the case to the Directors at Amsterdam, in 
which he complained of John Bowne, as a disturber of 
the peace, who "obstinately persisted in his refusal to 
pay the fine imposed by the Court of the province of 
New Netherland, and who now was banished" in the 
hope that other dissenters might be discouraged. The 
Director General also declared that he was determined 
to adopt "more severe prosecutions," if this example 

1 Council minute, January 8, 1663, in full in Thompson, Hist, 
of Long Island, ii. 78. 



342 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

should fail to deter these sectarians from further 
contempt of authority in Church and State.* 

When the Directors at Amsterdam received Stuy- 
vesant's letter, they felt that it was time again to 
restrain the religious zeal of the Director General 
within the limits which they thought would not injure 
the interests of their colony. While they were also 
heartily desirous of seeing theProvince free from 
Quakers and other sectarians, their zeal for the re- 
ligious unity of the Province was tempered by the fear 
that a too rigorous policy might diminish the popula- 
tion and stop immigration, which had to be favored at 
this early stage of the development of the colony. 
Stuy^esant was, therefore, told, in liie letter' of the 
Directors of April i6, 1663, that he might shut his eyes 
to the presence of dissent in New Netherland, or at 
least that he was not to force the conscience, but to allow 
everyone to have his own belief, as long as he 
behaved quietly and legally, gave no offence to his 
neighbors, and did not oppose the goverrmient. The 
Directors referred Stuyvesant to the moderation, prac- 
ticed towards all forms of dissent in the City of Amster- 
dam, which made it the asylum of the persecuted and 
oppressed from every country, with the result of a large 
increase of its population. The same blessing would 
follow an imitation of this policy of moderation in the 
colony of New Netherland. The letter of the Directors 
of the Amsterdam Chamber has generally been inter- 
preted in the light of an edict of toleration extended to 
the Province of New Netherland, with which all per- 

1 O'Callaghan, Hist of New Netherland, iL 456-T, Brodhead, 
Hist, of New York, i. 706. 

2 Col. Docs. N. Y xiv. 526. 



PERSECUTION OF THE QUAKfeRS 243 

secution of the Quakers ceased until the termination of 
the Dutch rule,* It is true that the acts of repression, 
executed by the Council of New Netherland during 
the month of May, in all likelihood preceeded the arrival 
of this letter in New Amsterdam. Thus on May 7th, 
the Fiscal was ordered to make an inventory of the 
property of John Tilton of Gravesend, who was then in 
prison.* Ten days later, a warrant was grant^ to 
remove the prisoner and his wife, Mary Tilton, from the 
province.' On the same day, a new ordinance* was 
issued by the provincial government, which in- 
flicted heavy penalties upon skippers and barques, 
smuggling into the country any of those "abomin- 
able imposters, runaways and strolling people called 
Quakers." There is, however, no doubt, that the Dutch 
minister Polhemus of Midwout, who in all his corre- 
spondence keeps himself free from the persecuting 
spirit of his fellow ministers in New Amsterdam, 
referred to a common measure of repression adopted 
against Quakers, when he wrote to the Classis of 
Amsterdam only four months before Stuyvesant's 
capitulation to the English: "The Quakers also are 
compelled to go before the court, and be put under oath ; 
but such compulsion is displeasing to God.'" In fact, 
the letter of the Directors only requests Stuyvesant iq 
connive at dissent within his jurisdiction, but, at the 
same time, entertains the thought that such connivance 
might not be possible, and, in this event, it merely reit- 

* Brodhead, Hist, of New York, i. 707; O'Callaghan, Hist, of 
New Netherland, iL 457. 

» Council minute. O'Callaghan, CaL Hist. MSS. (Dutch), i. 346. 
' Council minute. Ibid: 247. 

* Ibid. Thompson, Hist, of Long Island, ii. 295. 
» Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. S44. 



244 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

erates the command given repeatedly by the Directors 
in previous letters on similar occasions, at least to 
admit freedom of conscience, to allow every inhabitant 
of the Province to have his own belief. A more liberal 
interpretation of the letter also makes the conduct of 
the Directors towards John Bowne unintelligible.' 

When John Bowne arrived in Amsterdam, he went 
to the West India House and submitted a petition to 
the Directors, which they referred to a special com- 
mittee. The festivities of the season delayed a hearing 
of the case for two weeks, after which Bowne, with a 
companion, William Caton, was summoned to appear 
before the members of this committee, who, at the time, 
were very moderate towards the Quaker, not speaking 
one word in approval of Stuyvesant's persecution. 
Nevertheless, when John Bowne demanded the revoca- 
tion of the sentence of the Provincial Court, the com- 
mittee declared that they had not the power to fulfill 
his request, but that they would refer the matter to the 
Company. New difficulties arose, when John Bowne 
attempted to obtain his personal effects from the ware- 
house of the West India Company. His petition to 
this effect had been granted by the committee, but the 
keeper of the warehouse with his subordinate officials, 
refused to deliver his goods, unless he paid for his pas- 
sage from New Netherland, for which they received 
the approval of the Company. 

Bowne also made an attempt to engage a passage 
back to New Netherland, and the merchant consented 

1 Journal of John Bowne, Amer. Hist. Rec. i. 4-8. The 
Journal substitutes numbers for the names of the month and begins 
the year in March, which is, therefore, the first month of the year 
in Bowne's system of chronology. 



PERSECUTION OP THE QUAKERS 245 

to give him a berth, if he could obtain a pass from the 
West India Company. When Bowne submitted his 
petition to the Directors, he was asked whether he 
intended to return to the colony to bring his wife and 
children to Holland. When he stated that his inten- 
tion was to labor and maintain them there as he had 
done before, he was told that the Directors thought it 
would be best for him to stay in Holland and to»send 
for his wife and children, as the Company does not give 
liberty there. Bowne then appealed to the liberty 
guaranteed in the Flushing patent, which had been 
granted by the Director General Kieft, but the Director 
Perkens claimed that this patent was granted, when 
nothing or little was heard in the colony of the people 
of his persuasion. Bowne urged that the Quakers were 
a peaceable people, but he was told that their, opposition 
to the laws of the province proved the contrary to 
be the case. Although Bowne retorted that these laws 
were contrary to justice and righteousness and a viola- 
tion of the privileges of their patent, the Directors 
insisted that all those, who were unwilling to become 
subject to the ordinances of the colony, would not be 
permitted to live under their jurisdiction, but, at the same 
time, they were ready to draw up the conditions, on 
which they would allow him to return to New Nether- 
land. When Bowne received this paper to sign, he 
foimd the terms to be contrary to his conscience, faith 
and religion.* He immediately wrote a letter to the 
West India Company in reply. He had expected 

1 Letter of John Bowne to West India Co., in Thompson, 
Hist, of Long Island, ii. 387-88; Mandeville, Flushing Past and 
Present, 119-120. ^ 



246 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

justice from the Directors of the Company, but only 
beheld additional oppression. Although his perse- 
cutors had thus mocked at the oppression of the 
oppressed, and added afflictions to the afflicted, he still 
prayed that the Lord would not lay this to their charge, 
but give them eyes to see and hearts to do justice, that 
they may find mercy with the Lord in the day of judg- 
ment. As late as the ninth of Jtme, he complained 
in his letter ' to his wife, that the Company detained 
his goods and denied him a passage home except on 
conditions, so gross and unreasonable, that he chose to 
suffer want of the dear company of his wife and chil- 
dren, imprisonment of his person, the ruin of his estate in 
his absence there, and the loss of his goods here, rather 
than to yield or consent to such injustice. At length, 
Bowne did become quite free of the Directors, and he tells 
us inhis journal that he againarrived atNew Amsterdam 
early in the year 1664. He immediately proceeded to 
his home in Flushing, which was the first house he 
entered in the country. It is said that John Bowne 
again met the old Governor after the establishment of 
the English rule, as a private citizen, who then seemed 
ashamed of what he had done, and glad to see the 
Quaker safe home again. ^ 

* Letter printed in full in Thompson, Hist, of Long Island, ii. 
386-7. 

^ Besse, Sufferings of the Quakers, ii. 237. Besse's account, 
of the Bowne case is inaccurate. 



CHAPTER VIII 

« 

^ The Persecution of the Jews 

A few years previous to the outbreak of religious 
persecution in New T^etherland, the Jews had begun 
to immigrate into this Province. They also had to 
suffer under the measures which the civil authorities 
adopted for the repression of dissent. However, the 
motives that influenced the persecution of the Jews were 
not merely of a religious nature, as economical reasons 
alsq entered even in a larger measure. This is evidenced 
in the nature of the civil disabilities to which the Jews 
alone were subject. 

Stuyvesant seemed to have felt what Usselinx so 
eloquently urged, when the Portuguese Jews invited 
the Dutch West India Company to invade Brazil. "No 
trust should be placed in the promises made there by 
the Jews, a race faithless and pusillanimous, enemies 
to all Christians, caring not whose house bums so long 
as they may warm themselves at the coals, who wotdd 
rather see a hundred thousand Christians perish than 
suffer the loss of a hundred crown. ' '* The clergy of 
New Netherland manifested even less tolerance 
towards the newly arrived Jews than their brethren in 

'Jameson, William Usselinx. Papers, A. H. A., ii. 76 

(247) 



248 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

Brazil, who, with the zealous support of the Classis of 
Amsterdam, had forced the civil authorities, in 1638, to 
forbid the free exercise of the Jewish religion in public, 
that had been guaranteed them on the conquest of the 
country by the Dutch.' 

Stuyvesant's opposition to the Jews was not 
prompted merely by inborn prejudice. It was doubt- 
lessly influenced by his unfortunate experience with 
the Jewish colony, established in 1652 on the island of 
Curasoa, which, with the adjoining islands of Aruba and 
Bonaire, was subject to his authority under a vice- 
director. The Directors of the Amsterdam Chamber 
had entertained the thought of abandoning the island 
of Curagoa, which yielded no satisfactory revenue,' 
when a new opportunity to develop the resources of the 
island was presented in its colonization with Jews. 
Jan de Ulan, a Jew, was made a patroon of a colony on 
making known to the Directors of the Amsterdam 
Chamber his intention to transport a good number of 
colonists of his own nation there to settle and cultivate 
the land. Although the Directors suspected that he 
and his associates were planning to trade from Curagoa 
to the West Indies and the Main, they were willing to 
make the experiment and time would show whether 
they could succeed with this nation, characterized by 
them as "crafty and generally treacherous."' Stuy- 
vesant, far from being hostile to this enterprise, ex- 

1 Netscher, Les HoUandais au Brtsil, 94-oS • f°*' the action of 
the Classis of Amsterdam, cf. Eccl. Recs. N.Y. i. 196; 204; 206. In 
both reference is also made to the persecution suffered by Catholics. 

2 Directors to Stuyvesant, March 21, 1651. Col. Docs. N. Y. 
xiv. 135. 

'Directors to Stuvyesant, April 4, 1652, Ibid. 172; also letter 
cited above. 



PERSECUTION OF THE JEWS 249 

pressed his satisfaction at the establishment of the 
Jewish Colony.* The Directors now granted a similar 
privilege to a Portuguese Jew, Joseph Fonseca, alias 
David Nassy, who was preparing to take a large num- 
ber of colonists to the island.* The charter granted 
to Jan de Ulan contained the usual provisions found 
in the charters for patroons in New Netherland except 
in the matter of religion. The Directors granted 
freedom of worship to the Jews, but the patroon was 
forbidden to compel any Christian colonists under his 
authority to work on the Christian Sabbath, on which 
even the Jews were not permitted to labor. The 
exercise of the Christian faith was still more safeguarded 
by the clause which prohibited the Jews from disturbing 

1 Col. Docs. N.Y. xiv 172. : "You think we have done well in 
treating with Jean Dillan about establishing a colony at Curapoa. " 

^ The plan of David Nassy also to establish a colony in Curagoa 
was not realized. Later he turned his attention to another field 
of colonial enterprise. Guiana was claimed exclusively by the 
Zealand Chamber for colonization, but some individuals petitioned 
permission to erect a colony on the Wild Coast from the Chamber 
of Amsterdam, which now asserted its right to send colonists 
thither. The dispute, which ensued, was adjusted September 3, 
1659, by the compromise to permit all the Chambers of the Com- 
pany to send colonies to Guiana in places not preempted by others. 
^fine days later, David Nassy, with his associates, received a charter 
for a colony in Cayenne with the most liberal provisions, which 
mark a large departure from the religious policy followed by the 
Chamber of Amsterdam in its Province of New Netherland. Article 
vii grants religious liberty to all denominations in these terms: 
"It shall be permitted to the Jews to have freedom of conscience 
with public worship, and a synagogue and school, in the same man- 
ner as is allowed in the City of Arasterdam, in accordance with 
the doctrines of their elders, without hindrance as well in the 
district of this Colony, as in other places of our Dominions, and that 
they shall enjoy all Liberties and Exemptions of other colonists 
as long as they remain there; but the aforesaid Patroon and his 
partners shall be bound to preserve the said freedom of conscience 
to all the other colonists of any nation whatever, and that with the 
worship and public rites of the Reformed, or any other that may 
happen to be in the country." However, the religious liberty 
conceded in these terms was not absolute, as Article xiv 
restricts the Governing Council to members of the Reformed 



2 5P RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

Christian worship or giving any offense to the Christian 
conscience.* 

In spite of these liberal conditions of their charter, 
the Jewish colony proved rather detrimental than profit- 
able to the Company, which had been deceived both 
in regard to the resources of the projectors of this 
Jewish colonization and also in regard to the inten- 
tions of the patroon himself and his associates. Jan 
de Ulan was deep in debt for the horses furnished him 
by the Company for his colony, where there was nothing 
which might be seized as security for its payment. The 
Directors also then learned that his partners in Holland 
possessed nothing. The Company owed him about 
3,000 guilders for flour and clothing, which he had 
delivered to its servants, but even after the deduction 

Faith: "The Company shall appoint in the aforesaid Colony a 
Schout for the maintenance of Justice and. Police, provided the 
state of the colony be such as shall justify the appointment of a 
Governing Council, in which case the patroon or patroons shall 
nominate two of the most able persons living in the Colony being 
Dutch Christians of the Reformed Religion, through whom the 
Schout, as representative of the Company, may have supreme con- 
trol in the country. " This charter was modelled on the privileges 
granted the year previous by the Zealand Chamber to the people 
of the Hebrew Nation that had gone to the Wild Coast. The Eger- 
ton MSS. No. 2395, Pol. 46 in the British Museum, discovered by Mr. 
Lucien Wolfe of London, has been rightly identified by Oppenheim 
as a translation of the grant of the Zealand Chamber to the Jews, 
which was sent by some agent, probably to Thurloe. It is men- 
tioned by Charles Longland in his letter from Leghorn to Crom- 
well's secretary, John Thurloe. Cf. An Earhr Jewish Colony in 
Western Guiaiia. Supplemental data, by Samuel Oppenheim. 
Pubs. Amer. Jewish Hist. Soc, No. 17, p. S4- Pubs. Amer. 
Jewish Hist. Soc, No. 16; Oppenheim, Early Jewish Colony in 
Western Guiana. (The appendix contains important documents.) 
Cf. also Report of U. S. Commission on Venezuela-British Guiana 
Boundary. 

' Cone, G. Herbert, The Jews in Curajoa, Pubs. Amer. Jewish 
Hist. Soc, No, 10, pp. 148; Van der Kemp, Ms. Translation, Dutch 
Recs. N. Y. viii. 34; O'Callaghan, Cal. N. Y. Hist. MSS. (Dutch), 
i. 329. 



PERSECUTION OP THE JEWS 251 

of this sum, there was still a large balance due to the 
Company.* The conduct of the Jewish colonists also 
gave the authorities a just cause of complaint, which 
continually recurs in the letters of the vice-director 
and of the Company. The Jews neglected to cultivate 
the land, and employed all their time in cutting log- 
wood, which,|with horses, they exported to the Carribean 
Islands. The Directors realized that, if this trad§ were 
not restrained, soon nothing of either article would be 
left in Curagoa. The vice-director was, therefore, com- 
manded to adopt the measures necessary to prevent 
the destruction of logwood and its exportation, as 
these woods were reserved exclusively to the Company. 
The Company also prohibited the exportation of horses 
from Curajoa, Bonaire and Aruba, as they were to 
remain in the islands to be used in time in the Province 
of New Netherland.^ The Directors had reason to 
fear that the Jews would become a burden to the 
magazine of the Company,' because, through the neglect 
of agriculture, they did not provide themselves with the 
first necessaries of life.* They were, therefore, deter- 
mined to enforce the contract with the patroon, which 
bound the Jews to cultivate the land they occupied 
under the penalty of its forfeiture. The Jews were 
also brought into bad repute by the sale of their wares 

•Van der Kemp, Ms. Translation, Dutch Recs. N.Y. viii. 107, 
Letter of Vice-Director Rodenburch to Directors, April 2, 1654. 
In Cone, 1. c. 172. 

2 Chamber of Amsterdam to Director of W. I. Co., June 7, 
1653; Van der Kemp 1. c, iv. loi; Cone, 1. c,. 151. 

'Directors to Stuyvesant, December 13, 1652, Col. Docs. 
N. Y. xiv. 193. 

* Chamber of Amsterdam to Directors of W. I. Co., June 6, 
1653, Van der Kemp,l c, iv. loi ; in Cone, Thejews of Curagoa, 

1. C, p. 151- oiiitiar'Sv.....^. 



252 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

at an exorbitant price. They were selling old curtains 
and other shreds at three times the priqe for which 
they might have been obtained in Holland. Jan de 
Illan in fact had asked the vice-director to credit the 
Indian chief with one hundred and fifty R. Dall., 
which he claimed to have delivered him in goods. On 
enquiry , it was learned that the value of the goods 
delivered would not exceed the sum of fl.25.17 in the 
fatherland. This was merely an example of a practise 
common among the Jews. However, the vice-director 
hoped to put a stop to such extortion, as Jan de Illan 
would lose the privileges of his patroonship because of 
his failure to fulfil its stipulations, which amongst other 
things bound him to have fifty settlers in his colony 
■within four years. There were then not more than ten or 
twelve, and these wished to leave him and become 
planters under the direct jurisdiction of the Company.' 
When the Directors of the Amsterdam Chamber received 
a report of the conditions existing in the Jewish colony, 
they decided to furnish the vice-director goods, with 
which he might be able to supply the colonists at a 
reasonable price and thus put an end to the extortion 
of the Jews. However, they refused to permit the 
colonists to leave the settlement of Jan de Illan until 
the expiration of the time of their service, when they 
would be free to go.^ Two years later the vice-direc- 
tor Beck wrote Stuyvesant that three or four Jews 
solicited permission to leave the island, to which he 
readily consented, as their presence was more injurious 

* Vice-Director Rodenburch to Directors, April .t, 1654 
Van der Kemp, 1. c, viii. 107, in Cone, 1. c, 132. 

2 Directors to Vice-Director Rodenburch, July 7, 1654, Van 
der Kemp, 1. c, viii. cited in Cone, 1. c, 152-3. 



PERSECUTION OF THE JEWS 253 

than profitable.' A knowledge of these occurrences 
made Stuyvesant hostile to the Jews in New Nether- 
land, where the first Jew arrived in 1654.^ His opposi- 
tion to the Jews increased on the arrival of a number 
of this nation in extreme poverty, which occasioned 
the first measures of repression against the Jews. 

In September, 1654, twenty-three Jews were brought 
in his ship by Master Jacques de la Motthe, wha had 
made a contract with his Jewish passengers, by which 
each individual Jew was held jointly for the freight 
and board of the whole company from St. Anthony in 
the West Indies to New Netherland.' On their 
arrival at New Amsterdam, there was still a balance of 
5.1567 due to the captain of the vessel, which the Court 
ordered to be paid according to contract within forty- 
eight hours from the date of its decision. Meanwhile, 
the furniture and other property of the Jews on board 
the ship were to be retained as security.* On the 

' Letter, March 21, 1656, 1. c. 

2 This was the Jewish merchant, Jacob Barsitnson. His 
passage money is recorded as paid August 22. The list of immi- 

f rants on the ship Pear Tree also contains the Jewish name of 
acob Aboaf, but he stopped off in England, according to a mem- 
orandum in the list itself. Cf. the passage from N. Y. Col. MSS. 
xiv. 83, printed by Oppenheim in his Early Hist, of the Jews in 
New York, p. 3. The beginning of the Jewish immigration into 
the Province of New Netherland has been placed in the year 1652, 
when the Directors of the Company are said to have sent to New 
Amsterdam some Jews to serve as soldiers for the term of one year. 
This statement was based on a misreading of the word "few" in 
the MS. translation as "Jew." The original Dutch has 
"eenige weynich" "some few." Cf. Oppenheim, 1. c, p. 2. 

' The location of this Cape St. Anthony in the West Indies 
has been the subject of much speculation. Cf. Hiihner, Leon. 
Whence came the First Jewish Settlers of New York. Pubs. 
Amer. Jewish Hist Soc. No. 9 His whole argumeipitation is 
called into question by Oppenheim in the work cited above. 

* Court minutes, September 7, 1654, Recs. New Ainsterdam, 
i. 240. 



254 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

expiration of this time, de la Motthe was authorized, in 
case of non-pajnment within four days, to have the 
goods of the two greatest debtors, Abraham Israel and 
Judicq de Mereda, sold at public auction, and if the sum 
thus realized proved insufficient, he was further- 
more authorized to proceed in like manner with the 
other Jewish passengers until the full acquittance of 
the debt.* When the, sale of these goods still left a 
balance, the Court, at the request of the master of the 
vessel, placed under civil arrest two Jews as principals, 
David Israel and Moses Ambrosius, who were held 
for the payment of the balance.' The sailors now 
brought a suit against Asser Levy, from whom they 
demanded the payment of fl.io6 still remaining due, 
but the Court upheld its previous decision, that the 
two Jews, who had been taken as principals, were to be 
held for the payment of the balance. Asser Levy had 
made the plea that he was no longer bound to pay, as he 
had offered to do so on the condition that his goods 
should not be sold.* This plea did not save him from 
condemnation, when Rycke Notmes tried to recover 
fl.ios.i8 from Asser Levy, as her goods had been sold 
by auction to pay his freight over and above her own 
debt.* The Court ordered him to satisfy her claims 
within fourteen days. When the sailors promised to 
wait for the payment of the balance of the freight of 
the Jews until the arrival of ships from the fatherland, 

' Court minutes, September lo, 1634, Recs. New Amsterdam, 
i. 341. 

» Court minutes, September 16, 1654, Ibid. 244. 
» Court minutes, October 5, 1654. Ibid. 249. 
* Court minutes, October 19, 1654. Ibid. 354. 



PERSECUTION OF THE JEWS 255 

her attorney was able to obtain the money still in the 
hands of the secretary.' 

Although the Jews wished to remain, Stuyvesant 
required them in a friendly way to leave New Nether- 
land, as the Jews were repugnant to the Dutch 
inferior magistrates and people "on account of their 
customary usury and deceitful trading with Chris- 
tians," and also as the deaconry anticipated tha^ the 
Jews, in the poverty to which they had been reduced 
by the lawsuit of Jacques de la Motthe, would later 
become a public charge.' In fact, during the winter 
the Jews did come several times to the house of Domine 
Megapolensis, weeping and bemoaning their lot. When 
the Jewish merchant refused to lend them even a few 
stivers, they became a heavy charge to the Dutch com- 
munity, which had to spend several hundred guilders 
for their support.^ Meanwhile, Stuyvesant tried to 
forestall all future Jewish immigration into the colony 
and petitioned the Directors of the Amsterdam Cham- 
ber that "the deceitful race — such hateful enemies and 
blasphemers of the name of Christ — be not allowed 
further to infect and trouble this new colony." The 
Directors did "raise obstacles to the giving of permits 

' Court minutes, October '26, 1654. Recs. of New Amsterdam, 
259, 

2 Extract from a letter of the Director Peter Stuy- 
vesant to the Amsterdam Chamber, September 22, 1654. MS. in 
Library of Hist. Soc. of Pennsylvania, printed by Oppenheim. 
Early Hist, of Jews in New York, pp. 4-5. 

3 This was Jacob Barsimson, who does not appear to have been 
rich at this time. Megapolensis wrote "cooplieden," then crossed 
out "lieden," and wrote over the correction "man." The pro- 
noun following is singular, "hij " "Waneer ick haar totte jo- 
densche coppman wees, soo seijden sij dat hij haar niet een eenigen 
stuijver wilde verschieten. " Cf. Oppenheim, Early Hist, of 
Jews in New York, pp. 49-52. Text, pp. 73-74. 



256 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

and passports to the Portuguese Jews to travel and to 
go to reside in New Netherland." The Jewish mer- 
chants of Amsterdam protested against this injury to 
their nation, which would also turn out to the disad- 
vantage of the Company itself. The Jews, who in 
Brazil had risked their possessions and their blood in 
the defense of the country, were now dispersed here 
and there in great poverty and could only retrieve their 
shattered fortunes in some Dutch colony under the 
; protection of the Company, as opportunities were not 
sufficient for all in Holland, and they could not go to 
Spain or Portugal on account of the Inquisition. There 
were powerful reasons urged in favor of a Jewish immi- 
gration to New Netherland by these Portuguese mer- 
chants. A Jewish immigration to New Netherland 
would increase the iiumber of loyal subjects in the 
colony and result in an increase of its revenues. Then 
there were many Jews amongst the principal share- 
holders of the West India Company, who had always 
worked for its best interests and had even lost immense 
sums of money in its shares and obligations. The plea 
was successful, although the Directors confessed to 
Stuyvesant their desire to fulfill his request.* Formal 
permission was now given to the Jews to travel, reside 
and traffic in New Netherland, "provided they shall 
not become a charge upon the deaconry or the Com- 
pany."' The following spring began the new immi- 

' Directors to Stuyvesant, April .26, 1655. Col. Docs. N. Y. 
xiv. 31s; Petition of the Jewish Nation, January 1655, MS. in 
the Library of the Hist. Soc. of Pa., printed by Oppenheim, Early 
Hist of the Jews in New York, pp. 9-13. 

2 This was done on February 22, 1655. Cf. Council minutes, 
March 14,1656, vi, 321. O'Callaghan.Cal. Hist. MSS. (Dutch), i. 162, 
Directors to Stuyvesant, June 14, 1656. Col. Docs. N. Y. xiv. 



PERSECUTION OF THE JEWS 257 

gration of the Jews, among whom were the merchants 
Abraham de Lucena, Salvator d'Andrada, and Jacob 
Cohen, who announced that others of the same nation 
would follow later. A rumor arose in the town that, as 
soon as the Jews were sufficiently numerous, they would 
erect a synagogue for the exercise of their worship. 
The Dutch minister, Megapolensis, was immediately 
alive to the dangers of such a toleration of the Jews, 
"who have no other God than the unrighteous Mammon 
and no other aim than to get possession of Christian 
property, and to ruin all other merchants by drawing 
all trade to themselves." He earnestly requested the 
Qassis of Amsterdam to use its influence with the 
Directors of the Company to have "these godless 
rascals, who are of no benefit to the country, but look 
at everything for their own profit," removed from the 
Province. He felt that there would be still greater con- 
fusion created, if the obstinate and immovable Jews 
came to settle in New Netherland, where there were 
"Papists, Mennonites and Lutherans amongst the Dutch, 
also many Puritans or Independents, and various other 
servants of Baal among the English under this govern- 
ment, who conceal themselves under the name of Chris- 
tians."' The minister's wish had already beeii antici- 
pated by the Director General and Council, who 
resolved that the Jews, who had arrived last year and 

3 S 1. 1 Petition of the Jews to trade on the South River, Council 
minute, November 29, 1655. Col. Docs. N. Y. xii. 117-118. 

'Megapolensis to Classis of Amsterdam, March 18, 1655. 
Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 335-6. The same ground was taken by the 
Classis of Amsterdam in its efforts to have the toleration of Lutheran 
worship refused, "for the Mennonites and English Independents, 
of whom there is said to be not a few, might have been led to under- 
take the same thing in their turn, and would probably have at- 
tempted to introduce public gatherings " 



2S8 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

in the spring of this year, were to prepare to leave at 
once. When the Burgomasters and Schepens took 
cognizance of this resolution, they had no objection to 
urge, but decided that the resolution "should take its 
course." They had just begun the trial of a Jew, 
Abraham de Lucena, charged with the double offense 
of keeping open his store during the sermon and selling 
by retail, for which the Schout of the City demanded 
the Jew to be deprived of his trade and condemned to a 
fine of six hundred guilders.' The Directors foresaw 
the same difficulties from Jewish residents in New 
Netherland as Stuyvesant did, and "would have liked to 
effectuate and fulfill" his wishes, but they felt unable to 
approve his policy in this respect, which they con- 
sidered somewhat unreasonable and unfair, as the Jews 
had suffered considerable loss from the reconquest of 
Brazil by the Portuguese, and as they also still had 
large sums of money invested in the shares of the West 
India Company, of which it stood sorely in need in its 
present bankrupt condition.* They were, therefore, 
determined to regulate their conduct towards the Jews 
in New Netherland according to the concessions made 
by the Company on February 22, 1655, "provided the 
poor among them shall not become a burden to the 
Company or the community, but be supported by their 
own Nation." 

The Jews now endeavored to obtain several conces- 
sions from the provincial government. On July 27, 1655, 

1 Recs. of New Amsterdam, i. 290-291. 

2 Directors to Stuyvesant, April 26, ifiSS- Col Docs. N. Y. 
xiv. 315. Revised version in Oppenheim, Early Hist, of Jews 
in New York, p. 8. Manasseh Ben Israel in his Humble Address 
to Cromwell: "The Jews were enjoying a good part of the (Dutch) 
East and West India Companies. " 



PERSECUTION OF THE JEWS 259 

Abraham de Lucena, Salvador D'Andrada, and Jacob 
Cohen petitioned the Director General for the conces- 
sion of a burial place for the Jews. They were given 
the permission to bury their dead anywhere in ground 
belonging to the Company, that had not yet been appro- 
priated for any other purpose.* In February of the 
following year, on the presentation of a new petition, 
Nicasius de Sille and Cornelius van Tienhoven were 
authorized to show the same petitioners a suftable 
spot for a burial-ground outside of the city.' They 
were less successful in urging the recognition of their 
civil privileges. The increase of the Jewish population 
in New Amsterdam gave rise to a discussion of their 
military service, especially at the time of the expedition 
against the Swedes. The question, whether the Jewish 
residents should also train and mount guard, was 
presented by the captains and officers of the trainbands 
to the Director General and Council, who recognized the 
disinclination and unwillingness of these trainbands 
to be fellow soldiers with the aforesaid nation and to be 
on guard with them in the same guard-house. It was, 
furthermore, urged that no city in the Netherlands 
admitted Jews to the trainbands or common citizens' 
guard. However, to prevent discontent among the Chris- 
tian population, the Director General and Council pro- 
fessed to follow the usages of the City of Amsterdam 
and placed a tax of sixty-five stivers a month on each 
male person over sixteen and under sixty years of age 
to compensate for their exemption. The military 

1 Coimcil minute, July 27, 1655, Van der Kemp, Translation 
Dutch Recs. ii. 3 1 in Kohler, Phases of Jewish Life in New York 
before 1800, ii. Pubs. Amer. Jewish Hist. Soc, No. 3, pp. 76-77. 

2 Ibid. ii. 240; Kohler, Ibid. 77. 



26o RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

council of the citizens was authorized to carry into 
effect this legislation and to cdllect the tax once every 
month and, in case of refusal, to institute legal process 
for its payment.' Jacob Barsimson and Asser Levy 
then petitioned for leave to stand guard like other 
Burghers of New Amsterdam or to be relieved from the 
tax paid by the Jews, as "they must earn their living by 
manual labor." "The Director General and Council 
persist in the resolution passed, yet as the petitioners 
are of opinion that the result of this will be injurious to 
them, consent is hereby given to them to depart when- 
ever and whither it pleases them."' A little later the 
Jewish merchants submitted a petition for permission 
to travel and trade on the South River, at Fort Orange 
and other places, situated within the jurisdiction of the 
Dutch government of New Netherland, in accordance 
with the concessions, that they had received from the 
West India Company in Amsterdam. The council 
adopted the suggestion of Cornelius van Tienhoven, 
who was of the opinion, that the concession of trading 
privileges on the South River and at Fort Orange to 
the Jews would be very injurious to the population 
residing in these districts. He, therefore, advised that 
the petition be denied for the coming winter and that a 
full report of the matter be submitted to the Directors 
in the fatherland. Meanwhile, these Jewish merchants 
were allowed to dispatch one or two persons to the 
South River to dispose of the goods that they had sent 
there, without thereby establishing a precedent, to 

1 Council minute, August 28, 1655. Col. Docs. N. Y. xii. 96. 

2 Council minute, Novemlaer 5, 1655, O'Callaghan, Cal. 
Hist. MSS. N. Y. (Dutch) i. iss- N. Y. Col. MSS. vi. 147, in 
Oppenheim, Early Hist, of Jews in New York. 



PERSECUTION OP THE JEWS 261 

which the Jews might appeal later.* Stuyvesant had 
already tried to win the Directors of the Amsterdam 
Chamber to his anti-Semitic policy by pointing out the 
dangers connected with further commercial concessions 
to the Jews. "To give liberty to the Jews will be very 
detrimental there, because the Christians there will 
not be able at the same time to do business. Giving 
them_iibertyj_ we cannot refuse the Lutherans and 
Papists."' Stuyvesant mixed together here the inter- 
ests of religion and the interests of trade, but the Direc- 
tors insisted that the privileges granted by the Company 
to the Jews in New Netherland were restricted to civil 
and political rights without giving them a right to 
claim the privilege of exercising their religion in a 
synagogue or at a gathering.' The Directors were, 
therefore, greatly displeased that Stuyvesant had 
refused the Jews permission to trade at Fort Orange 
and the South River and also to purchase real estate, 
which had been granted this Nation in the Netherlands. 
To show that his anxiety had not been premature, 
Stuyvesant informed the Directors that the Jews had 
many times requested "the free and public exercise 
of their abominable religion. . . . What they may 
obtain from your Honors, time will tell."* 

1 Council minute, November 29, 1655. Col. Docs. N. Y. 
xii. 1 1 7-1 18. 

2 Bontemantel's abstract of Stuyvesant's letter to Directors, 
October 30, 1655. MS. in Lenox Library, printed by Oppenheim, 
o. c, p. 30 The Classis of Amsterdam wrote, May 26, 165 6. to 
the Consistory of New Netherland: "We are informed that even 
the Jews have made request of the Honorable Governor and have 
also attempted in that country the exercise of their blasphemous 
religion." Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 348. 

* Directors toStuyvesant.March 13,1656. Col. Docs. N.Y.xiv. 341. 

* Bontemantel's abstract of Stuvyesant's letter, June 10, 1656. 
MS. in Lenox Library, printed by Oppenheim, o. c, p. 21. 



262 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

A few months previous to this, Abraham de Lucena, 
Jacob Cohen Henricus, Salvador D'Andrada, Joseph 
D'Acosta and David Frera had requested the same 
rights in matters of trade and in the acquisition of real 
estate as the other citizens of the province on the plea 
that these privileges were included in the grant received 
from the Company and that they and their co-reHgion- 
ists were assessed the same as other citizens.' One of 
these Jews, Salvador D'Andrada, had purchased a house 
in New Amsterdam at a public auction, but the sale 
was cancelled on the contention that the Jews were 
not allowed to hold real estate.' The authorities of 
New Netherland refused to grant the requested right 
of property to the Jews and awaited further instruc- 
tions from Holland.' Although the Directors did 
order Stuyvesant to give the Jews the rights of trade 
and property, they did not give them full civil liberty, 
inasmuch as the Jews were not allowed to exercise 
any handicraft which they were prohibited to do in 
Amsterdam, and were not allowed to have open retail 
shops. Meanwhile, the reUgious privileges granted the 
Jews were not greater nor less than those granted to 
other forms of dissent in the Colony. They were 
allowed to exercise in aU tranquillity their religion in 
their houses, which were, therefore, to be built "close 

1 Council minute, March 14, 1656. O'Callaghan, Cal. Hist. MSS. 
(Dutch) i. 162. 

2 Council minutes, December 17, 1655; December 23, 1655; 
January 15, 1656; March 14, 1656, O'Callaghan, Ibid. pp. 156, 
157. 162. 

' "Ambachten op te stellen" wrongly translated by Berthold 
Pernow as shall not "be employed in any public service." 
O'Callaghan, Laws and Ordinances of New Netherland, N. Y. 
p. 104, rightly translates "to exercise any handicraft, " and 
also Oppenheim, Early Hist, of Jews in New York, p. 33, "to estab- 
ish themselves as mechanics." 



PERSECUTION OP THE JEWS 263 

together in a convenient place on one or the other side 
of New Amsterdam — at their own choice, as they have 
done here."* 

After this, the Jews must have acquired considerable 
freedom in trade, as one of the points to be considered 
in the meeting of the Director General and Burgo- 
masters and Schepens in January, 1657, was the practice 
of keeping open store and of selling by retail on the^art 
of Jews and foreigners to the great detriment of the 
interests of the citizens of the Province.^ Complaints 
had been made that these men took the bread out of the 
mouths of the good Burghery and resident inhabitants, 
as they carried away the profits in time of peace and 
abandoned the country in time of war. The Director 
General and Council, therefore, decreed that henceforth 
all traders, in virtue of the stapleright of New Amster- 
dam, were to set up and keep open store in the city, 
after having obtained the common or small burgher 
right, without which no public store-business or handi- 
craft could be exercised there.' The ordinance makes 
no express mention of the Jews, although their trade 
was seriously menaced, if its provisions were to be 
strictly enforced. When Jacob Cohen Henricus 
appeared, April 11, 1657, before the Court of Burgo- 
masters and Schepens of New Amsterdam to obtain 

1 Directors to Stuyvesant, June 14, 1656. Col. Docs. N. Y. 
xiv. 3SI Oppenheim, Early Hist, of Jews in New York, p. 33-34. 
^ Court minutes, January 8, 1657, Recs. of New Amsterdam 
ii. 462. Before this, March IS, 1550: " On the proposition made 
to the Court by some of the Bench that some order be concluded 
for preparing the progress of this city in keeping open retail shops, 
inasmuch as Jews and foreigners are as much encouraged as a 
burgher or citizen, it is resolved that the same be taken into con- 
sideration in full court." Recs. New Amsterdam, ii. p. 63. 
' Court minute, January 30, 1657. Ibid, ii, 287. 



264 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

permission "to bake and sell bread within the city as 
other bakers, but with closed door," he was informed 
that the request was directly contrary to the privileges 
of the Burghery of this City and to the orders of the 
Directors of the Company.' The Jews now realized 
the necessity of obtaining the Burgher right to enable 
them to continue in business, Asser Levy appeared 
before the Court of the Burgomasters and Schepens and 
requested to be admitted a Burgher. The request was 
refused and the petitioner referred to the Director 
General and Council,* to whom the Jews Salvador 
D'Andrada, Jacob Cohen Henricus, Abraham de Lucena 
and Joseph D'Acosta now appealed. They established 
their right to be admitted to citizenship on the groimds, 
that this privilege had been guaranteed them in the 
concessions of the Company, that the Jews possessed 
the right of citizenship in the City of Amsterdam, where 
certificates of citizenship were issued to them, and 
finally that the Jews, from the beginning of their resi- 
dence in the Province of New Netherland, had borne 
their share with others in every burden of the citizens 
and continued to do so even then.° The appeal was 
successful. The Burgomasters of the city were author- 
ized and commanded to admit the remonstrants with 
their Nation among the citizens of New Netherland. 
Stu3rvesant evidently no longer dared to antagonize the 
Directors of the Amsterdam Chamber who were favor- 
able to the Jews. Although he still called the Jews 

* Court minute, April 11, 1657. Recs. of New Amsterdam, 
vii. 154. 

2 Ibid. 

' Council minute, April 20, 1657. Van der Kemp, Translations 
of Dutch MSS. viii. $31. Revised Translation, m Oppenheim, 
Early Hist, of Jews, p. 36, 



PERSECUTION OF THE JEWS 265 

"usurious and covetous, " when he wrote, on December 
26, 1659, to the Directors for a regulation of the slave 
trade on the favorable terms conceded to the Jews on 
the establishment of the colony of the Jew, David Nassy, 
at Cayenne,' he was careful not to offend the Jewish 
conscience, when the instructions for the sworn butchers 
were framed. A special oath was presented to the Jews , 
Asser Levy and Moses Lucena, that exempted them 
from killing hogs, which their religion did not allow.* 

* Stuyyesant to the Directors, December 26, 1659, Col. Docs. 
N. y. xiv. 454-5. This is the regulation for the slave trade 
in the Cayenne colony: "That on the aforesaid coast there shall 
be delivered as many negroes as every one shall need, which shall 
be paid for on the production of the receipts, throiagh some one 
theretmto commissioned, the sum of 150 guilders in ready money 
for a man or woman; two children from eight to twelve years to 
be counted as a man or woman; below eight years three for one; 
unweaned children to follow the mother, etc." 

2 Court minutes, October 15 and 29, 1660, Recs. of New Am.- 
sterdam, vii. 259, 261. Some other religious customs of the Jews 
were respected before this. In June, 1658, two cases against Jacob 
Barsimson were called before the municipal court of New Am- 
sterdam. "Though the defendant is absent, yet no default is entered 
against him, as he was summoned on his Sabbath. " Ibid. ii. pp. 
396-397- 



CHAPTER IX 

Indian Missions in New Netherland 

i. missionary labors of the dutch 

The conversion of the American Indian usually 
received at least some mention in the colonial projects 
formed by Europeans in the seventeenth century. 
Usselinx, in his plan for the organization of the West 
India Company, used the missionary opportunities 
offered in America as an argument to further the project. 
"In the course of time the saving faith and gospel of 
Jesus Christ might be planted there, whereby the 
heathen would be rescued from the darkness of idola- 
try."' The plans of William Usselinx were rejected 
and the charter finally drawn up for the West India 
Company made no mention of any design to convert 
the Indians. However, the first Minister of the Pro- 
vince of New Netherland, Jonas Michaelius, on his 
arrival in 1628, gave some thought to this matter, but 
the difficulties of the task so impressed him, that no 
results were attained during his ministry. He 
fotind the natives "entirely savage and wild, proficient 
in all wickedness and godlesness, thievish, treacherous. 

1 O'Callaghan, Hist, of New Netherland. i. 31 ; Brodhead. Hist, 
of State of New York. i. 23. 

(266) 



MISSIONARY LABORS OP THE DUTCH 267 

inhuman in their cruelty, serving no one but the devil," 
who, in the spirit Manitou, represented to them 
everything that was "subtle, crafty and beyond human 
skill and power." The ministers in the fatherland had 
been led to believe that the Indian was docile and 
naturally inclined to Christianity, as he manifested 
right principles of religion and vestiges of the natural 
law, but Michaelius failed to discover these favorable 
traits in his character. After some preaching to the 
Indians, Michaelius abandoned all thought of convert- 
ing the adult savages and recommended the separation 
of the children from their parents and from their whole 
nation to prevent "heathenish tricks and deviltries" 
from being implanted in their hearts. The obstacle 
to this plan arose from the unwillingness of the Indians 
to part with their children, for whom they entertained 
a very strong affection, but the minister hoped to gain 
their consent by means of presents and promises and to 
have them placed "under the instruction of some experi- 
enced and godly schoolmaster, by whom they may be 
instructed not only to speak, read and write in our 
language, but also especially in the fundamentals of our 
Christian religion, with the good example of virtuous 
living." It was his hope that these children would 
become instruments of evangelization to their whole 
nation. Although Michaelius expressed his intention 
to seek better opportunities for the instruction of the 
savages, there is no evidence of further missionary 
labor on his part.' 

Indian missions were, in fact, little favored by the 
West India Company's policy in New Netherland, as 

ti [,* Letter of Michaelius to Smoutius, Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 55-61. 



268 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

the Company did not direct its efforts to the coloniza- 
tion of the province. On the establishment of the 
patroonships, the Company was even accused of trying 
to paralyse the efforts of the patroons to populate their 
colonies by its attempts to minimize the Freedoms and 
Exemptions granted in the charter of 1629. Kiliaen 
van Rensselaer in 1633 submitted a protest to the 
Assembly of the XIX and petitioned the deputies of 
the States General on this board for an extension of 
privileges, by which would be promoted "above all 
things the diffusion of the Christian Reformed Religion 
in those regions."* He felt that this ought to bring 
God's blessing on his undertaking.' In 1640, he in- 
structed Arent van Curler to seize the opportunity, 
offered by the presentation of some gifts to several 
Indian chiefs from the patroon, to acquaint them with 
God, "who each day lets his bountiful gifts come to man 
through the fruitfulness, which he gives to the products 
of the earth and to man's sinful body."' Two years 
later, at the instance of the patroon, John Megapolensis 
was called by the Classis of Amsterdam to "perform 
the duty of the Gospel to the advancement of God's 
Holy Name and the conversion of many poor blind 
men" in the colony.* For the patroon did not merely 
look "to the profits of his investment, but had in 
especial view, by means of the settling of the country 
and the practice of godliness, to have the Christian 

1 Memorial. November 25, 1633. Van Rensselaer Bowier 

MSS. p. 249. -r, , . • 

2 Letter of Kiliaen Van Rensselaer to Planck, April 24, 1635, 
Ibid. p. 314. 

s Letter. July 2, 1641. Ibid. 508-9. 

< Commission of Megapolensis from Classis, March 22, 1642. 
Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 149. 



MISSIONARY LABORS OF THE DUTCH 269 

Reformed Religion proclaimed there, in order that the 
blind heathen also might be brought to the knowledge 
of our Saviour Jesus Christ. ' ' ' The Reverend Bogardus, 
the successor of Michaelius in New Amsterdam, and his 
entire consistory were exhorted to unite hands with 
the new minister in this apostolic work,' which hitherto 
had been aknost totally neglected in all but the Catholic 
colonies. "Although some of the Reformed Religion — 
English, Scotch, French and Dutch: — ^have already 
taken up their habitations in those parts, yet hath their 
going thither (as yet) been to small purpose for the con- 
verting of those natives, either for that they have 
placed themselves but in the skirts of America, where 
there are but few natives (as those of New England) or 
else for want of able and conscionable ministers (as 
in Virginia) they themselves are become exceedingly 
rude more likely to turn heathen than to turn others 
to the Christian faith."' This last was the sad truth 
in the Dutch colony almost from its very beginning. 
DeRasiSres, in his visit to New Plymouth in 1627,* 
noted the stringent laws and ordinances obtaining there 
upon the subject of fornication and adultery, which 
were maintained and enforced very strictly, even among 
the Indian tribes living within its jurisdiction. 
Knowledge of the dissolute conditions obtaining in 

* Van Rensselaer Bowier, MSS. pp. 686-7. 

2 Letter of the Classis of Amsterdam to the Consistory of New 
Amsterdam, April 22, 1642. Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 151. 

s Castell, William. Minister of the Gospel at Courtenhall in 
Northamptonshire. A Short Discoverie of the Coasts and Con- 
tinents of America from the Ecquinotiall Northward, and of 
adjacent Isles. London, 1644. N. Y. Hist. Soc. Coll. 2nd Series, 
Vol. iii. (1857), pp. 233-34. 

* In regard to this visit cf. Bradford's History of Plymouth 
Plantation, pp. 223-227 (ed. in Orig. Narratives of Early Am. 
History). 



270 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

New Netherland had come to these English from the 
Indians, and the Dutch, who "lived so barbarously in 
these respects and without punishment," were severely 
and angrily censured by their Puritan neighbors.* This 
evil had also become so bad in Rensselaerswyck 
that the patroon found it necessary to promulgate a 
placard against the sinful intercourse between the 
Dutch and the heathen women and girls. The first 
offense was punished by a fine of twenty-five guilders, 
which was increased to fifty guilders, if the woman 
became pregnant, and to one hundred guilders, if the 
woman gave birth to a child.* Habitual illicit inter- 
course entailed a yearly fine of fifty guilders and,"accord- 
ing to the circumstances," banishment from the colony. 
One third of the fines was to go to the officer, one- 
third to the commander at Rensselaers-Steyn, and the 
remainder to the patroon himself for the building of 
the church.' The execution of this placard must have 
been somewhat neglected, as the new minister, some- 
time after his arrival in the colony, stated that the 
"Dutchmen run . . . very much" after the Indian 

1 Letter of De RasiSres, 1627. N. Y. Hist. Soc. Coll. and Ser. 
ii. (1849) P- 352. Narratives of New Netherlands, ed. Jameson, 
p. 112. 

^ It is hard to see how the increase of the fine in these last two 
instances would not have led to race-suicide, if the ordinance could 
have been enforced. Mrs. Schuyler van Rensselaer intimates that 
this was the case. "The Dutch Records assert that, especially in 
the early days of traffic and incipient colonization, many traders 
lived with Indian women, yet they mention few half-breeds, and 
no visible tinge of dark blood survived in the veins of the New 
Netherlanders." Hist, of the City of New York. i. 56. 

' Redress of the abuses and faults in the colony of Rensselaers- 
wyck. Septembers, 1643. Van Rensselaer Bowier MSS. p. 694. 
Cf. Letters of Kiliaen van Rensselaer to Johannes Megapolensis. 
March 13, 1643 and to Arent van Curler. May 13, 1639. Ibid. 44a; 
645-46. 



MISSIONARY LABORS OF THE DUTCH 27 1 

women, who, being "exceedingly addicted to whoring, 
. . . will lie with a man for the value of one, two or 
three shillings."* The continuation of this "great 
abomination to the Lord God" led the patroon, John 
van, Rensselaer, in 1652 to instruct in forcible terms 
the Schout Fiscal of Rensselaerswyck to execute the 
provisions of the ordinances against the unlawful ming- 
ling of Christians "with the wives and daughters of 
heathens. " » ' 

Another great abuse in the relations of the Dutch 
with the Indians was the profitable liquor traffic, with 
the example of the vice of intemperance among the 
Dutch themselves. The evil was not lessened later to 
any appreciable extent in spite of the regulations of 
Stuyvesant. A curious testimony for the prevalence 
of this abuse is given in the Jesuit Relation for the 
year 1645-1646. An Iroquois, visiting some Christian 
Algonquins in Canada, came with them to assist at the 
holy sacrifice of the mass. He refused to leave the 
church at the request of the Jesuit Father, as he believed 
in God and possessed a rosary as well as the other Indians. 
The Algonquins said that the Iroquois was a Christian, 
but the priest requested them to ask him, if he had 
been baptized. "What is that," he replied, "to be 
baptized?" A savage in answer told him that it was 

1 Megapolensis. "A Short Account of the Mohawk Indians, 
their country, language, figfure, costume, religion, and government. 
Written and dispatched from New Netherland, August 26, 1644, by 
John Megapolensis, minister there. With a brief account of the 
fife and manners of the Stapongers of Brazil." The tract was pub- 
lished in Alkmaer, by Ysbr. Jansz. v. Houten, pp. 32, 1651, 
without the consent of the author. Translations : Hazard's State 
Papers, i. 517-526; N. Y. Hist. Soc. Coll. 2nd Ser. iii. p. 155. Narra- 
tives of New Netherland. p. 174. 

' Instructions to Gerrit Swart. May 8, 1652, O'Callaghan. Hist, 
of New Netherland. ii. 565. 



272 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

"to receive a water of great importance which effaces 
all stains and impurities from our soul." The Iroquois 
immediately exclaimed, "Ah! the Dutch have often 
given me of that water of importance ; I drank so much 
of it as to be so drunk, that they had to bind my feet 
and hands, lest I should do harm to some one."' The 
outbreak of hostilities on the part of the Indians was 
precisely often the baneful result of the sale of liquor 
to the savages by the Dutch, who, through this and 
through the trade in firearms, often sought to acquire 
wealth without labor. 

On the organization of .the church after the •arrival 
of the new minister in Rensselaerswyck, divine service 
awakened some curiosity among the Indians, and ten 
or twelve of their number attended it with Ipng tobacco 
pipes in their mouths. They could not understand 
why the minister talked so much, while no one else 
in the congregation had a word to say. When they 
were informed later by the minister, that he told the 
Christians not to steal, or drink or commit adultery, or 
murder, and that they also ought not to be guilty of 
these crimes, the Indians only replied: "Why do so 
many Christians do these things ?"^ Although Megapo- 
lensis, on this occasion, promised the Indians to come 
to their country to teach them, when he understood 
their language better, the Dutch Reformed Church of 
New Netherland could only produce one Indian con- 
vert, who was "firm in his religious profession. "° Indian 

1 Jesuit Rel. xxix. 152. 

^ Megapolensis. Tract on the Mohawks. Narratives of New 
Netherland, p. 178. 

* Van der Donck. A Description of New Netherland. N. Y. 
Hist. Soc. Coll. 2nd Ser. vol. i. 214. 



MISSIONARY LABORS OP THE DUTCH 273 

children were frequently taken into Dutch families as 
servants, "but as soon as they are grown up and turn 
lovers and associate again with the Indians, they for- 
get their religious impressions and adopt Indian cus- 
toms." Even the one Indian convert was no credit 
to the Dutch. The publication of Megapolensis's tract 
on the Mohawk Indians in the fatherland in 1651 
probably gave the Classis of Amsterdam, as it still gives 
the uncritical historian, the impression that "the 
knowledge of the Gospel is making great progress among 
the Indians."' Megapolensis, who was then officiating 
in New Amsterdam, assisted by Domine Drisius, 
hastened to correct this erroneous impression. An 
Indian chief had indeed been under instruction for 
two years at the Manhattans, so that he was able to 
read and write Dutch tolerably well, and publicly to 
join in the recitation of the Catechism by the children. 
The ministers had hoped that the Indian would become 
an effective instrument in the evangelization of the 
savages, but he possessed even then only " a bare 
knowledge of the truth without the practice of godli- 
ness, as he was much inclined to drink. ' '^ Nevertheless, 
the convert was furnished with a bible and sent to 
christianize the other savages, but no results were 
attained. "He took to drinking brandy, he pawned 
the bible, and turned into a regular beast, doing more 
harm than good among the Indians". In the end, the 
clergy of New Amsterdam confessed that they saw no 
way to accomplish the conversion of the Indians, "until 

' Megapolensis and Drisius to Classis of Amsterdam. July 15 
1654. Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 326-7. 
2 Ibid. 



274 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

they are subdued by the numbers and power of our 
people, and reduced to some sort of civilization, and 
also unless our people set them a better example than 
they have done heretofore."* Van der Donck, the 
only lawyer in the province of New Netherland, also 
saw no hope of the conversion of the savages under the 
conditions obtaining in the country. He 'advocated 
the establishment of good schools in convenient places 
for the instruction of the children, as the Indians 
themselves declared that they were "very desirous to 
have their children instructed in our language and 
religion."' However, this could not be done without 
some trouble and expense to the government. In 
fact, the commonalty of New Netherland in the remon- 
strance, which it addressed to the States General on 
July 28, 1649, had urged the conversion of the heathen, 
and the remonstrance received this favorable comment 
in that assembly: "The English and French have, 
each in their way, already done their duty in this regard. 
Nevertheless, we are older than they in that country, 
and, therefore, ought also begin. Praestat sero quam 
nunquam."' The patroon of Rensselaerswyck bound 
his new minister the Reverend Gideon Schaets "to use 
all Christian zeal there to bring up both the heathen and 
their children in the Christian religion" and promised 
to indemnify him "in case his Reverence should take 
any of the heathen children there to board and edu- 

' Megapolensis and Drisius to Classis of Amsterdam. August 5, 
1657. Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 398-09. 

* Van der Donck. o. c. N?Y. Hist. Soc. Coll. 2d Ser.i.pp. 214-215. 

' Additional Observations on the Petition of the Commonalty of 
New Netherland to the States General, preceding the Remon- 
strance of July 28, 1649. Col. Docs. N. Y. i. 270. 



MISSIONARY LABORS OP THE DUTCH 27 S 

cate,"' but the West India Company dismissed the 
matter with the cold remark, that "everyone conver- 
sant with the Indians in and around New Netherland 
will be able to say that it is morally impossible to con- 
vert the adults to the Christian faith," and that it was 
"a minister's business to apply himself to that and 
the Director's duty to assist him therein.'" Stuy- 
vesant wrote, in the following year, to the Classis of 
Amsterdam that he had conciliated the goodwill of 
the Indians from the beginning, and that he would be 
pleased to aid in carrying out any measures that they 
might suggest to introduce among these heathens the 
light of Christianity.' Nevertheless, fourteen years 
later, a few months before the English conquest of the 
province of New Netherland, the minister Polhemus 
could write to the same Classis, that "there is no com- 
munication among us . . . nor plans for propagating 
the Gospel among the savages and the English."* 
The Dutch could still repeat in all truth the words con- 
tained in the "Representation of New Netherland" of 
1650. "Great is our disgrace now, and happy should 
we have been . . . had we striven to impart the 
Eternal Good to the Indians, as much as was in our 
power, in return for what they divided with us. It is 
to be feared that at the Last Day they will stand up 
against us for this injury."' 

'Contract. May 8, 165a. O'Callaghan. Hist, of New Nether- 
land, ii. 567. 

* Digest of the Remonstrance of New Netherland to the States 
General. January 27, 1650. Col. Docs. N. Y. i. 340. 

3 Letter. September 7, 1650. De Witt Thomas, New Nether- 
land. N. Y. Hist. Soc. Proceedings, 1844. 

* Letter, April 21, 1664. Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i. 544. 

' Representation of New Netherland. Narratives of New 
Netherland. p. 319. 



276 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

ri. THE DUTCH AND THE JESUIT MISSIONS AMONG 

THE IROQUOIS 

While the Dutch failed to take an active interest in 
the conversion of the savages within the province, they 
used their influence with their Indian allies to obtain 
the liberation of the Jesuit missionaries, who fell into 
the hands of these inveterate enemies of the French. 
In 1642, the Mohawks during a raid into French ter- 
ritory intercepted an expedition of Hurons, mostly 
Christians, accompanied by Father Jogues and two lay 
assistants Ren^ Goupil and William Couture, with sup- 
plies for the distant mission of Ste. Marie. During the 
long journey to the Mohawk country, the Christian 
prisoners suffered the painful tortures and mutilations 
which savage cruelty suggested. On their arrival, 
Father Jogues sent word of their capture to the Dutch.* 
Soon after this, Crol, the commandant of Fort Orange, 
received an order from the Director General of the 
province, William Kieft, to effect the ransom of these 
prisoners,^ but the Indians were not willing to accept 
any ransom. On the eighth of September, Arent van 
Curler, the commissary of Rensselaerswyck, who had 
gone into the Mohawk country with Labbadie and 
Jacob Jansen, assembled all the chiefs of the three 
castles and proposed the release of the Frenchmen. 
The Indians professed all friendship for their Dutch 
allies, but refused to discuss this question on the plea 
that the French burned the Mohawks, who fell into 

' Letter. January 14, 1644, of Bartholomew Vimont, with 
details obtained from Father Jogues. Jes. Rel. xxv. 71. 

2 Letter. September 11, 1642 of Kieft to Kiliaen van Rensse- 
laer. Van Rensselaer Bowier MSS. p. 625. 



JESUIT MISSIONS AND THE DUTCH 277 

their hands.' Van Curler now offered a ransom of 
six hundred guilders in goods, to which all the colony- 
was to contribute, but the chiefs could only be induced 
to promise not to kill their prisoners and to convey them 
back to Canada. The Dutch were convinced of the 
futility of further negotiations for the present, although, 
in response to the earnest requests of the French, they 
were willing to do all in their power to obtain the libera- 
tion of the captives from their Indian allies.^ 

The murder of Ren6 Goupil, not long after the 
departure of the Dutch, showed what little trust could 
be placed in the promises of the savages. This zealous 
lay missionary had excited the anger of a superstitious 
old Indian by making the sign of the cross upon his 
grandson.' According to the writings of the Jesuit 
missionaries, the Iroquois and also other Indians bore 
a deep hatred towards the Christian faith, which they 
considered the harbinger of all the misfortune, famine, 
disease, and death, so prevalent since the advent of the 
Europeans among them.* The hatred of the Mohawks 
towards the sign of the cross, the symbol of the Faith 
preached by the Jesuit missionary, was nourished by 
their enmity with the Indians under French protection 

1 This was done by the Indians converted by the French Jesuits 
in spite of all the efforts of the missionaries to make these Indians 
treat their prisoners more humanely. Later the Jesuits were able 
to make the Indians give up this practice. 

2 Letter, June 16, 1643, of Arent van Curler to KiUaen van 
Rensselaer. O'Callaghan. Hist, of New Netherland. i. 463-4. 
Letter. August $, 1643, Jogues from Rensselaerswyck. Jes. Rel. 
xxxix. 201. 

^Cf. Jogues' letter from Rensselaerswyck, 1. c. 201, 203; also 
Togue's Notice sur Goupil. Jes. Rel. xxviii. 133-135; also the 
Rel. by Hierosme Lalemant. Quebec. October 20, 1647 in Jes. 
ReL xxxi. 53-55- 

* Rel. of 1647 by Hierosme Lalemant. Jes. Rel. xxxi. 121, 123. 
Rel. of 1543-44. in Jes. Rel. xxvi. 279, 281. 



278 RELIGION IN NEW NBTHERLAND 

and confirmed by the teaching of the Dutch, from whom 
the Indians had learned that the sign of the cross was a 
"veritable superstition," equally hateful to their 
European neighbors.* When the old Indian witnessed 
the action of Ren6 Goupil, he ordered a young man of 
his cabin, about to leave for the war, to kill the Chris- 
tian sorcerer, as the sign of the cross would cause some 
harm to the child. The execution of the command was 
not long delayed. One day Rene Goupil and Father 
Jogues had withdrawn outside the village to perform 
their devotions with greater liberty. Their prayers 
were soon interrupted by two young men, who com- 
manded them to return, but, at the entrance to the 
village, one of them drew a hatchet and struck down 
Ren6 Goupil, who fell half dead, invoking the Holy 
Name of Jesus. Jogues expected the same fate, but 
the Indian, after making sure of the death of his victim, 
told the Jesuit that his life was in the hands of another 
family. Somewhat later Jogues was called to eat in 
the cabin of the old Indian. When the Jesuit made the 
sign of the cross before the meal, the old man said to 

1 Letter of Father Bressani from Isle de Rh6, Nov. 16, 1644. Jes. 
Rels. xxxix. 85-87. 

"Our Faith is accused of killing all who profess it . . they also 
accused the Faith of the French of being responsible for all the ills 
with which the whole people or individual persons seem to be 
afflicted. That is what an Apostate tried to make those Barbarians 
beUeve, naming the Dutch as his authority for what he said. He 
asserted that the children of the Iroquois died two years after their 
Baptism, and that the Christians either fractured their legs or 
wounded their feet with thorns or became consumptive, or vomited 
their souls with their blood, or were assailed by some great mis- 
forttme." Preaching of the Faith to the Cayugas by Chau- 
monot and Menard. Relation. 1656-57. Jes. Rels. xliii. 313-315. 

"The Dutch, they (some Huron apostates) say, have preserved 
the Iroquois by allowing them to live in their own fashion, just as 
the black Gowns have ruined the Hurons by preaching the faith to 
them." Jes. Rels. xliv. 291. 



JESUIT MISSIONS AND THE DUTCH 279 

him: "That is what we hate; that is why they have 
killed thy companion, and why they will kill thee. Our 
neighbors the Europeans do not do so." The Indians 
also made him feel their hatred of this symbol, and said 
"that it was hated by the Dutch, "when in their hunting 
expeditions they found Jogues kneeling before a great 
cross, which he had carved on a large tree at some dis- 
tance from the Indian cabin "where the Demon and 
the dreams were almost always adored."* 

In the following spring, Jogues and another French 
captive were able to visit the house of Arent van 
Curler, where they were courteously received.^ There 
seemed to be some hope, at that time, of procuring their 
release. As soon as the Indians returned from their 
hunting, Arent van Curler endeavored to obtain this 
but without any success. Nevertheless, the Dutch 
continued their efforts, but they could do nothing 
more than give various little gifts to the savages to 
obtain better treatment for Father Jogues,' who was 
now alone held captive in that regioh, as his fellow 
prisoner had been given to an Indian living in a distant 
village. The Indians now consented that he should go 
among the Dutch when accompanied by one of their 
number.* During one of these visits, Jogues received 
the intelligence that he would be burned on his return 
to the Indian village because of the failure of an expe- 

1 Letter. August 5, 1643, Father Jogues from Rensselaatswyck. 
Jes. Rels. xxxix. 209. 

' Cf. Letter. June 16, 1643 of Arent Van Curler to Kiliaeri 
Van Rensselaer. 

' Letter of Jogues from Rensselaerswyck. August 5, 1643. Jes. 
Rels. xxxix. 223. 

* Letter of Megapolensis and Drisius to Classis of Amsterdam. 
September 28, 1658. Eccl. Rees. N. Y. i. 436-7. 



28o RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

dition against Fort Richelieu. A Huron "Indian, 
adopted by the Iroquois, previous to his departure, had 
demanded a letter from Jogues, who hastened to take 
the opportunity to inform the French governor of the 
plot in spite of the risk of his life. Thus the Iroquois 
were incensed against the Jesuit, upon whom they 
placed all the responsibility for their misfortunes in the 
expedition.* The Captain of the Dutch settlement, 
knowing the evil designs of the savages, suggested some 
means of escape, especially as the French Governor M. 
le Chevalier de Montmagny had prevented the savages 
of New France from coming to kill some Dutch.^ To 
the astonishment of the Captain, Father Jogues deferred 
his decision until the next day. The Jesuit missionary 
had, in fact, resolved to spend the remainder of his days 
in captivity for the salvation of the Iroquois and their 
captives, of whom he had been able to baptize seventy 
in the past year. Now, however, the certainty of death 
if he remained and the hope of a return to the Mohawks 
under more favorable circumstances led him to consent 
to escape with the help, of the Dutch. On the next day, 
Father Jogues told the Dutch Captain his intention to 
take advantage of his proffered assistance. A ship 
happened to be in the river at that time and the sailors, 
on the representations of the Captain, pledged their 
word that, if the Jesuit could once set foot on their 
vessel, they would make his place of refuge secure and 
would not have him leave the ship until he reached 

* Letter of Jogues from Rensselaerswyck. August 30, 1643. 
Jes. Rels. xxv. 47. 

2 Ibid. 49. Charlevoix states that an order to obtain the 
deliverance of Father Jogfues had been sent to all the commandants 
in New Belgium by the States General of Holland, from whom the 
Queen Regent of France had urgently requested this. 



JESUIT MISSIONS AND THE DUTCH 281 

Bordeaux or La Rochelle. A small boat was then left 
on the bank of the river, with which Jogues was to 
make his escape to the ship. This could only be done 
towards morning, when a farm-servant at the request 
of Jogues quieted the dogs, who had savagely torn his 
leg early in the night. The sailors concealed him in the 
hold of the vessel, where he spent two nights with such 
discomfort that he thought he would suffocate aijd die 
from the stench. Meanwhile, the Indians made some 
disturbance, so that the Dutch inhabitants of the coun- 
try were afraid that they would set fire to their houses 
or kill their cattle. When Jogues learned this from the 
Dutch minister, he protested that he had no wish "to 
escape to the prejudice of the least man of their settle- 
ment," although his return to captivity meant certain 
death. Finally, the Captain decided to retain the per- 
son of Jogues in the settlement until the minds of the 
savages should be pacified. All the Dutch were con- 
vinced of the necessity of this step except the mariners, 
who felt that his removal from the ship to the house of 
the Captain at this critical moment was a violation of 
their word pledged to Jogues, on the strength of which 
he had imperilled his life by escaping from his savage 
captors.' For six weeks he was then placed in the 
custody of an old miser, who lodged him in a garret^ 
exposed to the intense heat of the summer, with no 
other water than that, which this old man poured from 
week to week into a tub also used for making lye. The 
water after a few day became fetid and made Father 
Jogues feel intense pain in the stomach. Although 

1 Letter of Jogues from Rensselaerswyck. August 30, 1643. 
Jes. Rels. xxv.57-59-61. 



282 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

plentiful provisions were sent for his consumption, the 
old miser barely gave him "as much as was necessary not 
to live, but not to die." Then the frequent visits of 
the Indians for purposes of trade to the room next to 
the garret, separated from it by planks with large 
intervening cracks, compelled Jogues to crouch behind 
casks, to avoid discovery, but at the price of great pain 
in the members of his body. Finally, gangrene began 
to manifest itself in the wound inflicted by the dog on 
his leg, but the kind ministration of the surgeon of the 
settlement saved his life also from this danger. "^ . -^ 

Meanwhile, the Director General of the province had 
learned that Father Jogues was not very much at ease 
in the vicinity of the Mohawks, who were induced by 
the Dutch towards the middle of September finally to 
accept some presents to the amount of three himdred 
livres. Then in accordance with the instructions of 
William Kieft, Father Jogues was taken by boat to New 
Amsterdam. The Dutch minister, who had shown him 
much kindness accompanied him down the Hudson 
River. "He was supplied with a number of bottles, 
which he dealt out lavishly, — especially on coming to 
an Island, to which he wished that my name should be 
given with the noise of cannon and of bottles." Jogues 
quaintly and naively remarks that "each one manifests 
his love in his own fashion." On his arrival at 
New Amsterdam, the Director General received him 
very humanely and furnished him with good raiment, 
of which he stood sorely in need. The inhabitants of 
the town gave the Jesuit missionary every token of 
regard and esteem. A Lutheran Pole, meeting him in a 
retired spot, fell' at his feet, kissed his mutilated hands 



JESUIT MISSIONS AND THE DUTCH 283 

and exclaimed "Martyr, martyr of Jesus Christ!" 
Father Jogues was gratified to find, in a house near the 
fort, two images on the mantelpiece, one of the Blessed 
Virgin and the other of St. Aloysius, placed there by the 
Portuguese wife of the master of the house. The 
Jesuit felt aggrieved that he could be of no assistance to 
either of these two persons on account of his ignorance 
of these languages, so that the "arrogance of fabel 
deprived them of great benefits." However, he was 
able to hear the confession of an Irish Catholic, arriving 
at Manhattan from Virginia. In November, a bark of one 
hundred tons was sent to Holland from New Amster- 
dam. Father Jogues had much to suffer in the voyage 
from the extreme cold of the winter, as he had no other 
bed than the deck of the vessel or a pile of cordage, very 
often washed by the waves of the sea. The Dutch put 
into an English port and left the vessel to refresh them- 
selves on land. Meanwhile, robbers entered the bark 
and at the point of a pistol robbed Father Jogues of the 
cloak and hat which the Dutch had given him. He 
finally succeeded in making his way to France on a 
French collier, which happened to be in port at the 
time.' 

In the spring of the same year in which Jogues 
reached his native country, another Jesuit missionary. 
Father Bressani, was captured by a band of Iroquois, 
who again succeeded in intercepting an expedition with 
supplies for the missions in the Huron country. He was 
so cruelly treated that there was not a sound spot in his 

1 Letter of Father Jogues to Father Lalemant. January 6, 1644. 
Tes. Rels. xxv. 63-65. Rel. of Hierosme Lalemant. 1647 in Jes. 
Rels. xxxi. 93-101. Rel. of Bressani. 1653 in Jes. Rels. xzxix. 
331-233- 



284 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

body.* Finally, all the savages clamored for his death 
by fire, but an old woman, to whom he had been given 
in the place of her grandfather, killed some time before 
in an encounter with the Hurons, ransomed the mis- 
sionary with a belt of wampum, worth about thirty-five 
livres. He was received into her cabin, but her daughters 
could not bear the sight of him on account of the 
horrible appearance of his mangled body.^ Meanwhile, 
the Dutch gave him good reason to hope for his ransom, 
which was finally effected without much difficulty, as 
the Indians held him in little esteem, because of his 
want of skill for everything, and because they believed 
thathe would never get well of his ailments.' The old 
woman ordered her son to take him to the Dutch and to 
deliver him into their hands after receiving some 
presents in return. The Dutch received the Jesuit, 
naked and with his fingers maimed and bleeding,in great 
kindness and satisfied the Indian with presents to the 
amount of about two hundred livres.* He was clothed, 
placed under the care of the surgeon, and almost daily 
fed at the table of the Dutch minister. ° After he had 
been restored to health, he was brought to New Amster- 
dam, where he was finally placed on a ship, manned by 
Hugufenots, sailing for Europe. He carried with him 
this letter of safe-conduct: "We, William Kieft, 
Director General, and the Council of New Netherland, 

' Details given by Bressani himself in his Relation of 1653. Jes. 
Rels. xxxix. 

2Rel. 1643-44 by Vimont. Jes. Rels. xxvi. 49. 

* Letter of Bressani from New Amsterdam. August 31, 1644, 
Jes. Rels. xxxix. 77. 

* Ibid. p. 78-79 with note 8. 

' Letter of Megapolensis and Drisius to Classis of Amsterdam. 
Sept. 28, 1658. Eccl. Recs. N. Y. i, 437. 



JESUIT MISSIONS AND THE DUTCH 285 

to all those who shall see these presents, greeting: 
Francis Joseph Bressani, of the Society of Jesus, for 
some time a prisoner among the Iroquois savages, 
commonly called Maquaas, and daily persecuted by 
these, was, when about to be burnt, snatched out of 
their hands, and ransomed by us for a large sum after 
considerable difficulty. As he proceeds with our per- 
mission to Holland, thence to return to France, Qaris- 
tian charity requires that he be humanely treated by 
those into whose hands he may happen to fall. Where- 
fore we request all governors, viceroys, or their lieuten- 
ants and captains that they would afford him their favor 
in going and returning, promising to do the same on 
like occasian. Dated in Fort Amsterdam, in New 
Netherland, this 20th of September, anno Salutis, 
1644, Stylo Novo."^ 

Although Father Bressani, during the tiresome voy- 
age of fifty-five days, had no other bed than a bare box, 
in which he could not stretch out at full length, he 
airived in a sailor's dress at the Isle of Rhe in better 
health than he ever possessed in the eighteen years 
during which he had been in the Society.^ 

Both Father Bressani and Father Jogues again 
returned to Canada to continue their endeavors to con- 
vert the savages to Christianity. When some deputies 
of the Iroquois arranged a peace with the French, there 
was no one so well fitted to obtain the assent of the 
tribes as Father Jogues, who was thoroughly conver- 
sant with' the language. When the Algonquins saw him 

> O'Callaghan. Hist, of New Netherland. i. 337. 
2 Letter. November 16, 1644, from Isle of Rh.6 by Bressani, 
In his Relation of 1653. Jes. Rels. xxxix. 83, 85. 



286 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

step into the canoe on this dangerous mission, they 
warned him not to speak in the beginning of the faith 
which was so repulsive to the Iroquois, as it seemed to 
exterminate everything that men held most dear. They 
also advised him to wear shorter apparel, as the long 
rpbe preached as well as the lips, and the warning was 
heeded.* On his arrival in the Mohawk country, his 
efforts to have the peace ratified by the Indians were 
successful. However, some savages with distrustful 
minds did not look with favor on a little box, which the 
Father left as a pledge of his return to the country, as 
they imagined that it enclosed some disastrous mis- 
fortune. Father Jogues opened the chest and showed 
these Indians that it contained no other mystery than 
some small necessaries, for which he might have use 
on. his return.' This conclusion of a peace with the 
fierce Mohawks raised in the hearts of the Jesuits great 
hopes of their final conversion. In the following sum- 
mer, Father Jogues was,in fact,appointed to begin among 
these Indians a new mission under the patronage of the 
Holy Martyrs. He planned to spend the winter in the 
Mohawk country to begin with solidity the instruction 
of those infidels.' Meanwhile, superstition had again 
poisoned the minds of the savages against the mission- 
ary in spite of all their former professions of undying 
friendship. Upon his arrival on the 1 7th of October, 
1646, Father Jogues was stripped naked, loaded with 
blows and threatened with death on the following day. 
The savages kept their promise in spite of the opposition 

' Rel. 1645-6 by Lalemant in Jes. Rels. xxix. 47, 49. 
2 Rel. 164S-6 by Lalemant in Jes. Rels. xxix 55, 57. 
^ Bressani's Relation of 1653. Jes. Rels. xxxix. 235-36. 



JESUIT MISSIONS AND THE DUTCH 287 

of the Wolf and Turtle clans. In the evening, he was 
called to the lodge of the Bear to supper. As soon as 
he entered, a sava,ge, concealed behind the door, stepped 
forward and split his head, which was immediately cut 
ofif and set upon the palisades of the village. The same 
fate awaited a companion of Father Jogues the next 
day, when both bodies were thrown into the river.* 
The Indians brought the Jesuit's missal and breviary, 
together with his underclothing and coat, to the Dutch 
minister, John Megapolensis, who diligently enquired 
of the principal men of the band the reason of this deed. 
They had no answer to make except that the Father had 
left the devil among some clothes, who had caused their 
Indian com to be devoured.' 

The war between the Iroquois and the French broke 
out anew with unabated fury. The savages again held 
French prisoners in bondage. Stuyvesant received 
intelligence that eight or nine Christian captives in the 
hands of the Mohawks would be cruelly tortured, unless 
they were ransomed with a large sum. Moved by com- 
passion for these unfortunate Frenchmen, the Director 
General sent word of this fact to the Directors of the 
Company in Amsterdam. They confessed that the 
ransom of Christian captives from the savages was "the 
duty of all Christians, but every one is bound tp care 
for himself and his own people." Frenchmen had been 
ransomed before "at the expense of the Company and 
by the contributions of the community, for which we 

1 Letter of Labbadie to M. La Montag^ue. October 30, 1646. 
Jes. Rels. xxxi. 117. 

2 Wm. Kieft to M. le Chevalier de Montmagny. November 14, 
1646. Ibid. 115. Megapolensis and Drisius to Classis of Amster- 
dam. September 28, 1658. Eel. Recs. N. Y. i. 736-7. 



288 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

have never been repaid, so that we think that, when 
complaints reach France, they will take care of their 
countrjrmen.'" 

Two years later on August 20, 1653, a band of 
marauding Iroquois, during an incursion into Canada, 
captured Father Joseph Poncet and another French- 
man, Maturin Franchetot, while the Jesuit was speaking 
to the latter in his field to induce him to gamer the 
little harvest of a poor French widow. On the arrival 
of these Indians in the Mohawk country, their prisoners 
were stripped of their clothing and compelled to run 
the gauntlet under a shower of blows. Later in the day, 
Father Poncet lost the first finger of his left hand, which 
was cut off by a child at the bidding of a savage in 
response to the request of an Indian woman. Mean- 
while, the Mohawks, who were besieging Three Rivers, 
met with greater resistance than they had anticipated, 
and began to sue for peace, but the French refused to 
begin any negotiations, unless the Jesuit Father and his 
fellow-prisoner were restored. The Indian chief 
pleaded ignorance of the capture of these Frenchmen 
and immediately ordered two canoes to return to the 
Mohawk country to prevent any harm from being done 
to the prisoners, and to procure their release if still 
alive.^ Franchetot had already been burned to death 
on the eighth of September, while the life of Father 
Poncet had been saved through his adoption by a good 
old woman in the place of a brother, killed or captured 
some time before. The Indian, who brought the mes- 

1 Letter of Directors to Stuyvesant. March 21, 1651. Col. Docs. 
N. Y. xiii. 28. 

'Relation. 1652-53. Jes. Rels. xl. 171. 

\ 



JESUIT MISSIONS AND THE DUTCH 289 

sage of his deliverance to Father Poncet, happened to be 
a brother to the woman who had adopted him, and 
showe4 the Jesuit great kindness. He brought him to 
the Dutch settlement, where the Jesuit Father was 
very kindly entertained by some of the inhabitants, but 
very coldly received by Commissary Dyckman, the 
commander of Fort Orange, although the French 
Governor, M. de Lauzon, had given the Mohawk a letter 
to present to the Dutch authorities to recommend the 
Father to their care. The Jesuit was about to lie down 
on the bare floor without bed or supper, when his In- 
dian conductor obtained permission to take him to 
some of his friends in the settlement. Here he was 
received with much kindness by an old man, under 
whose hospitable roof he spent three days. His host, a 
good Walloon, and a good Scotch Lady, who had shown 
herself on all occasions very charitable toward the 
French, vied with one another in their efforts to find 
clothes for the priest. Father Poncet thanked them 
all, but would not accept anything but a hooded cloak, 
and some stockings of the savage fashion with some 
French shoes and a blanket that was to serve as a bed 
on his return journey. He was also urged to accept 
some provisions, but he contented himself with some 
peaches from a Brussels merchant, a good Catholic, 
whom he confessed before his departure. He had admin- 
istered the same sacrament to a young man also, residing 
with his host. This Frenchman had been captured by the 
Iroquois at Three Rivers, and ransomed by the Dutch, 
whom he now served as interpreter. When Father 
Poncet took leave of his generous friends, he had to 



290 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

promise them to return the next summer.' Meanwhile, 
the Indian Councils gathered the presents and selected 
the embassy for the solemn conclusion of peace with 
the French. Father Poncet with his conductor and the 
other Iroquois finally arrived at Montreal on October 
24th, and on the sixth of November the great affair of 
peace, so ardently desired, was brought to a close in 
Quebec' The Mohawks left four of their number as 
hostages with the French, while two young soldiers 
volunteered to go to the Mohawk country in the same 
capacity at the request of the savages. In the calcu- 
lation of the Mohawks, the peace was only a preliminary 
step to obtain the removal of the Hurons to their own 
country, which had been secretly proposed to the latter 
at the very time that they were discussing the con- 
clusion of the peace with the French.' 

During the winter of 1654, the Onondagas 
came to Quebec to strengthen the peace that 
they had already negotiated in the preceding 
fall. They also made the same secret proposals 
to the Hurons, who did not dare to refuse in their 
anxiety for peace, but demanded first a dwelling 
for the black robes, their teachers, whom they would 

'The Relation of 1656-7 gives a curious fact, which may be 
mentioned here in its own words. "A woman, who was very ill at 
Onontaghfi, had dreamed that she required a black gown to 
effect her cure. But, as the recent cruel massacre of our Fathers 
by those Barbarians deprived thenpi of all hope of being able to pb- 
tain one from us, they applied to the Dutch, who sold them at a 
very high price the wretched cassock of Father Poncet, who had 
shortly before been despoiled of it by the Annienhronnons. The 
woman attributed her cure to it, and wished to keep it all her life as 
a precious relic." Jes. Rels xliii. 273. 

2 Relation of 1652-53. Jes. Rels. xl. 119-157. 

' Relation of 1653-54. Jes. Rels. xli, 47-49. 



JESUIT MISSIONS AND THE DUTCH 29 1 

follow wherever they should decide to go.' The French 
Governor, informed of the secret negotiations, had the 
Hurons represent to the Onondagas that the French 
themselves had proposed to build a new settlement on 
the great lake of the Iroquois, so that there was no 
reason to conceal anything from them. Thus at the 
council, the Governor supported the proposals of the 
Huron Indians with presents. In the following May, 
the Onondagas returned to continue their negotiations, 
which they opened favorably by obtaining the release 
of a young surgeon, captured during the winter by a 
wandering band of Iroquois of another tribe. Then the 
Onondaga spokesman told the French that he wished 
above aU things to see in his country one of the black 
robes, who had taught the Hurons to honor the one 
God. The Indians promised to receive his teaching with 
love, as it was their wish to worship Him, who is the 
master of their lives.^ Simon Le Moyne was, therefore, 
allowed to accompany these Indians, who began their 
homeward journey from Quebec on the second of July, 
A few days later a Mohawk Captain, the son of an 
Iroquois mother and a Dutch father, known as the 
Flemish Bastard, appeared in Quebec with some other 
Mohawks and the two French hostages, whom he had 
promised to restore at this time. This chief had been 
in Canada before, towards the end of the winter, when 
he had brought letters from the Dutch commandant of 
Fort Orange and from some Dutch tradesmen, who all 
assured the French that now they really saw a disposi- 
tion for peace on the part of their Indian allies. The 

» Rel. 1653-1654. Jes. Rel. xli. 55-63. 
' Ibid. 73-74. 



292 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

Mohawks were disappointed by the fact that they had 
been forestalled by the Onondagas. The chief in a 
clever speech made their complaint known to the 
French. "Ought not one to enter a house by the door, 
and not by the chimney or roof of the cabin, unless he 
be a thief, and wish to take the inmates by surprise? 
We, the five Iroquois Nations, compose but one cabin ; 
we maintain but one fire ; and we have, from time im- 
memorial, dwelt under one and the same roof. Well, 
then, will you not enter the cabin by the door, which 
is at the ground floor of the house? It is with us 
Mohawks, that you should begin; whereas you, by 
beginning with the Onondagas, try to enter by the roof 
and through the chimney. Have you no fear that the 
smoke may blind you, our fire not being extinguished 
and that you may fall from the top to the bottom, 
having nothing solid on which to plant your feet?" 
The French Governor assured the Mohawks that 
Father Le Moyne would also go to their country and 
gave him letters to deliver to the Jesuit missionary to 
inform him to that effect, but the Father had gained 
such a start that the Mohawk chief could not overtake 
him.' Father Le Moyne, on his arrival in the Onondaga 
country, received every evidence of good will on the 
part of the savages, who at this time had great fear of 
the issue of an impending war with the powerful Erie 
tribes or the Cat Nation. The chief of the Onondagas, 
speaking in the name of the Five Iroquois Nations, 
again told Father Le Moyne that it was their wish to 
acknowledge Him of whom he had told them, who is 
the master of their lives, and who was unknown to them, 

'Relation. 1653-54. Jes. Rels. xli. 87-89. 



JESUIT MISSIONS AND THE DUTCH 293 

but the richest presents accompanied the words, in 
which he spoke of the courage inspired in their hearts 
by the French Governor for their new wars. The 
French were told to select a site for their new settlement 
on the shores of the great lake, to which the Onondagas 
promised to go to receive instruction.' On his journey 
back to Canada, the Jesuit missionary with his Indian 
guides arrived at the entrance to a little lake and tasted 
the water from a spring, which the Indians dared not to 
drink, as they believed that an evil spirit rendered it 
foul. He found it to be a spring of salt water, from 
which he procured some salt, "as natural as that which 
comes from the sea."* 

Although the Onondaga chief pretended to speak 
in the name of the five Iroquois Nations, the Mohawks 
were not really comprised in these negotiations, of 
which they were, in fact, jealous. Some Mohawks on 
the St. Lawrence, meeting the canoe which, under the 
guidance of two Onondagas, was carrjring Father Le 
Moyne to Montreal, killed one of the Onondagas, and 
bound the Jesuit missionary after slaying some Hurons 
and Algonquins. The surviving Onondaga protested so 
energetically against this outrage, which would be 
deeply resented by his tribe, that the Mohawks finally 
released their prisoner. He was then safely conducted 
to Montreal.' There were also other acts of hostility 
committed by the Mohawks, who showed themselves as 
"perfidious and treacherous as usual." In spite of the 
previous negotiations for peace, ajesuit lay brother, Jean 
Ligeois, was shot by some Mohawks in ambush, while 

iRel. i6S3-S4- J^®- ^^^- ^U- ny-iip- 

2 Ibid. 123-125. 

" Ibid. 199-201. ' 



294 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

he was trying to discover the presence of the enemy for 
the sake of the Christian savages at work in the fields, 
whom he wished to warn. Persons were killed and 
taken captive on either side. Finally, the Mohawks, 
weary of the war, brought back the French captives and 
requested the restoration of their own Indians. They 
agreed not to attack the French any longer, nor to bear 
arms below Three Rivers, but they refused to discon- 
tinue the war against the Algonquins and Hurons, 
whom they might find above that village on the river 
of St. Lawrence. Father Le Moyne was now sent to the 
Mohawks to take back the prisoners, captured by the 
French, and "also to cement that peace, as well as it 
can be cemented with the Infidels who are allied to 
Heretics."* The Jesuit left Montreal on this mission, 
August 17, 1655, with twelve Iroquois and two 
Frenchmen. A month later the party reached their des- 
tination, where the Father was received with "extraor- 
dinary cordiality." A council was held, which passed 
in many exchanges of courtesy. Le Moyne then 
pushed on to the Dutch settlement where he was also 
received ''with great demonstration of affection by the 
Dutch," from whom he learned of the attack of the 
River Indians upon New Amsterdam. On his return 
to the Mohawks, he almost met death at the hands of a 
a madman, who finally was calmed by a quickwitted 
Indian squaw's suggestion to kill her dog in the place 
of the missionary. However, a Huron Christian had his 
head split without ceremony upon a mere suspicion 
that he had revealed to the Father some of the designs, 

1 Introduction to Copies of two Letters sent from New France; 
1656. Jes. Rel. xli. 201-223. 



JESUIT MISSIONS AND THE DUTCH 29 5 

which the Mohawks wished to conceal from him. 
Nevertheless, Father Le Moyne and the two Frenchmen 
were allowed to set out for Canada under the guidance 
of three Iroquois. The Father had hardly left the coun- 
try, when a body of one hundred of these Indians 
appeared at Fort Orange. They were on the point of 
setting forth on a war excursion against the Canada 
Indians, and, fearing "that the French had poisoned the 
ears of their Dutch brothers against them," thef' now 
asked the latter to remain neutral.* 

Meanwhile, theOnondagas appeared again in Quebec, 
urging the foundation of the French settlement in their 
country and requesting some Jesuit Fathers to teach 
their children and to make of them a thoroughly Chris- 
tian people. They also promised to use their influence 
with the Mohawks, who now alone prevented the reign 
of universal peace in the country. Two Fathers, 
Joseph Chaumont and Claude Dablon, accompanied the 
Indians to Onondaga to promote this important enter- 
prise. They spent the whole winter at the Onondaga 
village, where a chapel had been erected for them by 
the savages, who gave them great hopes of success in 
their missionary work. The savages were charmed 
with the many discourses of the Fathers, which to some 
were the occasion of a comparison unfavorable to their 
other European neighbors. "The Dutch had neither 
sense nor tongues ; they had never heard them mention 
Paradise or Hell ; on the contrary, they were the first to 
incite them to wrong-doing."^ However, the Onondagas 

' Fort Orange Recs. O'Callaghaji. Hist, of New Netherland 
ii. 306. 

^Rels. 1655-56. Jes. Rels. xlii. iii. Similar testimony is 
given in the Relation 1657-1658. "Very few of our savages come 



296 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

were not content. In a solemn council, on the apth of 
February, the Savages told the Fathers, that they were 
tired of any further postponement of the French settle- 
ment, for which they had been waiting from year to 
year. In the event of further delay, they threatened to 
break the peace, which they had concluded with the 
French under this condition. A few days later. Father 
Dablon, realizing the urgency of the matter, set out 
for Canada with some Indian guides, and, after a weary 
journey through snow, ice and rain, arrived at Montreal 
on the 30th of March. All preparations for the new set- 
tlement were completed on the 1 7th of May. A band 
of about fifty Frenchmen, with Father Francis le 
Mercier, Father Rend Menard and Father Jacques 
Fremin, and Brothers Ambroise Broar and Joseph 
Boursier, accompanied Father Dablon back to Onon- 
daga, where they arrived on the eleventh of July. 

News of this French, settlement at Onondaga soon 
reached the Dutch Province. Although the Jesuits 
believed that the Dutch were glad that they dwelt in 
these places, and reported that the Dutch were even 
willing to bring them horses and other commodities,' 
the Directors of the Amsterdam Chamber, informed by 
Stuyvesant of a French settlement among the Senecas, 
expressed their dissatisfaction, as the matter could only 
be to the disadvantage of the Province of New Nether- 
land and its inhabitants. There is no doubt that 
their suspicions were well founded, for the Jesuits 

back from Kebec without greater esteem and affection for our 
mysteries, and without a desire to be instructed and to embrace the 
Faith; they say that they experience quite different feelings when 
they return from the Dutch settlements." Jes. Rels. xliv. 45. 
1 Relation of\6s6-S7. Jes. Rels. xliii. 185. 



JESUIT MISSIONS AND THE DUTCH 297 

themselves realized that an aUiance between the French 
and the Senecas would bring the fur trade of these 
Indians to Canada, which was much easier of access by 
the river routes and devoid of the great danger from 
the Andastes, hostile to the Senecas, than the overland 
journey to the Dutch settlements through the country 
of the insolent and overbearing Mohawks.* The 
Dutch Directors, therefore, commanded Stuyvesa^t to 
investigate the matter more closely and not to neglect 
any measures necessary for the security of Fort Orange, 
"that no mishap befall us there. "^ 

In the following year, there was promise of many 
conversions in all the villages of the Upper Iroquois and 
two Jesuit Fathers, Paul Raguenau and Francis Du 
Perron, some Frenchmen with some fifty Christian 
Hurons, men, women and children, left Montreal on 
the 26th of July to help their brethren in the new mis- 
sion. Treachery was evidenced, not more than a week 
later, by the massacre of the Huron men and the enslave- 
ment of their women and children before the very eyes 
of the French,' who would have shared their fate, if 
the savages had not feared retaliation on the Onon- 
dagas, who remained behind in Quebec in the hope of 
inducing the rest of the Hurons to remove to their 
country. The Jesuit Fathers were able to send to 
Quebec intelligence of the secret designs entertained for 
their destruction by the Indians, who no longer had 
any need of French help after their triumph over the 

1 Relation. 1653-54. Jes. Rels.xli. 201-3. Relation. 1660-1661. 
Jes. Rels. xlvii. iii. 

2 Directors to Stuyvesant. December 19, 1656. Col. Docs. 
N. Y. xiv. 371-374. 

'Letter of Paul. Raguenau. August 9, 1657. Rel. 1656-57. Jes. 
Rels. xliv. 69-77. 



298 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

Cat Nation. A number of murders committed by the 
Iroquois at Montreal confirmed the fears of the French, 
and resulted in the arrest of all the Iroquois found in 
Montreal, Three Ri-vers and Quebec/ War was inevit- 
able. The destruction of the French settlers had 
already been determined, when they escaped in a body, 
while the savages were overcome by sleep after a 
generous feast given by the French. After a perilous 
journey, they reached Montreal on the 3d of April, but 
three Frenchmen had lost their lives in the rapids of the 
St, Lawrence.^ 

The Onondaga settlement had been the source of 
much jealousy to the Mohawks. However, a Huron clan 
had also been forced to settle in the Mohawk country, in 
the spring of 1655, to obtain the peace, for which the 
Hurons sued, after their enemies, had surprised their 
village on the Isle of Orleans. On his visit to the 
Mohawks in the summer. Father LeMoyne found these 
Hurons reduced to a state of slavery. "The husband 
was separated from the wife, and the children from 
their parents; in short they were serving those Bar- 
barians as beasts of burden." As in the preceding 
year the missionary's labors were mainly claimed by 
this suffering flock among the heathen Mohawks. Like 
a good shepherd, "he consoled the afflicted; he taught 
the ignorant; he heard the confessions of those who 
came to him; he baptized the children; he made all 
pray to God; he exhorted all to persevere in the Faith 
and in avoiding sin. " Little success followed his efforts 
with the Mohawks themselves. Nevertheless, he never 

'Rel. 1657-58. Jes. Rel. xliv. 155-6. 

2 Letter of Paul Raguenau. Ibid. 175-183. 



JESUIT MISSIONS AND THE DUTCH 299 

allowed an Iroquois to go from his presence without 
"a word of instruction on Hell and Paradise, or the 
power of God who sees and knows all, who punishes the 
wicked and rewards the good."* The possibility of 
missionary work with Mohawks themselves became 
still less, when news arrived of the imprisonment of the 
Iroquois found in the French settlements after the 
murder of some Frenchmen at Montreal. Some o:^these 
Indians were Mohawks. Le Moyne tells that the 
detention of these prisoners nearly caused his death, 
though, in point of fact, it was the salvatian of his life.^ 
In the preceding autumn, the missionary had made 
a visit to New Amsterdam. The Dutch minister be- 
lieved that his visit was occasioned by the invitation of 
the Papists, living in Manhattan, and especially of some 
French privateers, who had arrived in the port with a 
good prize. To these Catholics, he administered the 
sacrament of penance and granted whatever indulgences 
he was empowered as a Jesuit missionary to impart to 
the faithful. One of the Dutch, who understood 
French, overheard him telling them that they did not 
need to go to Rome, inasmuch as "he had as full power 
from the Pope to forgive their sins, as if they were to 
go to Rome." The report made of this visit to the 
Classis of Amsterdam by Megapolensis is somewhat 
caustic and does not reveal that kindly feeling, which 
his past relations with the Jesuit missionaries might 
lead one to expect, although Father Le Moyne was care- 
ful not to debate religion, even when provoked to do so 
by the Dutch minister's question "whether he had 

*Rel. 1656-7. Jes. Rels. xliii. 215. 

2 Letter of Le Moyne, New Holland. March 25, 1658. Rel- 
ation 1656-58. Jes. Rels, xliv. 219. 



300 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

taught the Indians anything more than to make the 
sign of the Cross and such like superstitions."' The 
missionary told the minister that he wanted only to 
chat. He informed him of the existence of wonderful 
mineral springs in the western part of the country inha- 
bited by the Iroquois. There was a spring of saltwater 
from which he had obtained excellent salt by boiling 
the water; there was an oil spring, which the Indians 
used to anoint their hair; and there was another spring 
of hot sulphurous water, in which paper and dry- 
materials became ignited. The minister could not 
decide, whether all this was true, or whether it was a 
mere Jesuit lie, and so he mentioned the whole matter 
on the authority of the Jesuit to his ecclesiastical su- 
periors in Holland.^ 

* The Dutch seem to have been under the impression that the 
conversion of the Indians to Christianity wrought by the Jesuits 
was superficial. Thus while Van der Donck admits that "the 
Jesuits have taken great pains and trouble in Canada to convert the 
Indians to the Roman Church," he believes that the Indians profess 
that religion only "outwardly," and so "inasmuch as they are not 
well instructed in its fimdamental principles, they fall off lightly and 
make sport of the subject and its doctrme." Van der Donck's au- 
thority for this statement is the alleged experience of a Dutch mer- 
chant on a trading trip to Canada in 1639, who plied an Indian 
chief with liquor, loosening his tongue and imagiantion. "After he 
had drank two or three glasses of wine, . . . the chief said that he had 
been instructed so far that he often said mass among the Indians, 
and that on a certain occasion the place where the altar stood 
caught fire by accident, and our people made preparations to put 
out the fire, which he forbade them to do, saying that God who 
stands there is almighty, and he will put out the fire himself; and 
we waited with great attention, but the fire continued till all was 
btirned up, with your Almighty God himself and with all the fine 
things about him. Smce that time I have never held to that re- 
ligion, but regard the sun and the moon much more, as being better 
than all your Gods are ; for they warm the earth and cause the fruits 
to grow, when your lovely Gods cannot preserve themselves from 
the fixe." Van der Donck. A Description of New Netherland. 
N. Y. Hist. Society Coll. 2nd. Ser. i. (1841), p. 214. 

2 "The Springs, which are as numerous as they are wonderful, 
are nearly all minerals. Our little lake (Onondaga) which is only 



JESUIT MISSIONS AND THE DUTCH 30I 

Father Le Moyne spent eight days in New Amster- 
dam. Before his departure, the Dutch told him of their 
desire to open trade between Canada and New Nether- 
land. Le Moyne sent word of this proposal to the 

six or seven leagues in circumference, is almost entirely surrounded 
by salt springs. The water is used for salting and seasoning meat, 
and for making very good salt. It often forms of itself in fine 
crystals with which nature takes pleasure in surrounding these 
springs. The salt that forms at a spring about two days' jdlumey 
from our residence, toward Oiogoen, is much stronger than that 
from the springs of Gaimentaa; for when the water — which looks as 
white as milk, and the smell of which is perceptible from a great 
distance — is boiled, it leaves a kind of salt almost as corrosive as 
caustic. The rocks about that spring are covered with a foam as 
thick as cream. The spring in the direction of Sonnontouan is no 
less wonderful for its water-being of the same nature as the surround- 
ing soil, which has only to be washed in order to obtain perfectly 
pure sulphur — it ignites when it is shaken violently, and yields 
sulphur when boiled. As one approaches nearer to the country of 
the Cats, one finds heavy and thick water, which ignites like brandy, 
and boils up in bubles of flame when fire is applied to it. It is, 
moreover, so oily, that all our savages use it to anoint and grease 
their heads and their bodies." Rel. 1656-7. Cap. xi. Jes. Rel. xliii. 
259-261. 

" The first one has never been exactly identified. By 
land, it would probably be about thirty miles from the fort to 
Auburn ; but such a spring would be at least at the base of the lime- 
stone rocks, farther north, and probably in the Salina group. The 
river route, two days' journey, would bring the travellers to the salt 
springs at Montezuma ; and the text seems to imply salt springs 
highly charged with lime. The sulphurous odor and the milky tinge 
would be caused by the decomposition of sulphate of lime. There are 
many small springs of this sort, continually forming calcareous tufa — 
sometimes encrusting large masses of leaves or moss, and sometimes 
forming masses of a light and spongy nature, yellow in hue. When 
wet, these are quite caustic to the touch. The "burning spring 
near the Senecas" is in the town of Bristol, Ontario County, 
halfway between Canandaigua and Honeoye, where Charlevoix's 
map locates it as the "Fontaine brulante." There are several 
other carburated hydrogen gas springs in Ontario County. 
The spring "toward the country of the Cats" (Eries) was prob- 
ably the noted Oil spring in the town of Cuba, Alleghany County, 
about fifty miles southwest of the "bttming spring." It is on the 
Oil Spring Reservation, and is described as a dirty, stagnant pool, 
twenty feet in diameter, and without an outlet. A yellowish-brown 
oil collects on the surface, which is skimmed off. (Seneca oil, 
formerly a popular remedy). This spring was so highly esteemed by 
the Senecas that in their treaties they reserved it, with a square 
mile of land. The spring toward Cayuga cannot be satisfactorily 



302 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

French Governor, who immediately took counsel with 
the principal inhabitants of Canada in regard to this 
matter. There was no objection raised to the com- 
merce of the Dutch with Canada, as the Dutch had 
long been received in French ports as friends and allies 
of the Crown. The French Governor .only stipulated 
that their ships were to observe the same customs, as 
the French vessels, which excluded all participation in 
the Indian trade and the public exercise on land of 
any religion that was opposed to the Roman faith.' 
Father Le Mojme communicated this reply to the 
Dutch from Fort Orange on April 7,1658, and expressed 
regret that he was unable to accompany the first ship 
to Quebec, as he had planned to do, inasmuch as he 
would have with him, on his journey to Canada, "his 
sailors of the woods. "^ The Mohawks, in their negotia- 
tions for the release of the prisoners held by the French, 
had promised to bring back Father Le Moyne to 
Canada in the spring. They stopped at Fort Orange 
previous to their departure and the Jesuit took the 
opportunity to send a long letter to the Dutch minister, 
who had been a Catholic until his twenty-third year, 
when he had left the Church of Rome to become a 
follower of John Calvin. To win back the minister to 

identified. There are several magnesian springs, but not located as 
in the text. I think it was one of the common springs, highly- 
charged with sulphate of lime. John Bartram saw one of these in 
1743, at Onondaga; but it was not oderous, {jeing above the gypsum 
rocks. Cf . allusions to the mineral springs of that region, in Robert 
Munro's Description of the Genesee Country (N. Y. 1804; reprinted 
in N. Y. Doc. Hist. ii. 679-689.") — W. M. Beauchamp. Note 
21. Jes. Rels. xliii. 326. 

1 Letter of Governor D'Aillebout to Father Le Moyne, Quebec. 
February 18, 1658. O'Callaghan. Hist, of New Netherland. ii. p. 

364- 

2 Letter. Ibid. 



JESUIT MISSIONS AND THE DUTCH 303 

the old Faith, Father Le Moyne sent him three trea- 
tises, one on the succession of the popes, the second on 
the councils, and the third on heresies. He exhorted 
the minister to carefully meditate upon them, as Christ 
hanging on the Cross was always ready to receive the 
penitent. The Jesuit appealed to the apostolic succes- 
sion in the Church of Rome from St. Peter, the vicar 
of Christ on earth, the rock upon which the Ch«rch 
was built, against which the gates of hell were not to 
prevail, as the pledge of the truth of her teaching. The 
Faith, received by the Church from Christ, had been 
preserved in its purity by the indwelling of the Holy 
Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, who had never forsaken the 
Church assembled in the great Councils in union with 
the Holy See of Rome, while on the contrary the truth 
had been corrupted outside of the Catholic Church 
through the work of the heretics, beginning with Judas 
and ending with Calvin. The letter had as little effect 
upon the religious belief of the Dutch minister, as the 
letters which Jogues and Pokicet had sent to work his 
conversion. Megapolensis denied the succession to be 
a proof of the teaching of the Church of Rome and 
accused Le Moyne of bad faith in not including in his 
list of the popes the mythical Joanna, who, he believed, 
was well attested in history. He claimed that the 
names of Christ and Peter could not be admitted into 
the list of popes, as they could not endorse some of the 
doctrines of the Church of Rome. He did not deny 
the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church, the bride 
of Christ, but he did not see the bride of Christ in the 
church of Rome, "the Babylonian harlot . . . drunk 
with the blood of holy martyrs." He asserted that the 



304 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

validity of a council did not depend on the approval of 
the Pope, but on its conformity with the Word of God — 
of course according to the Reformed interpretation — 
which alone assured the presence of the Holy Spirit, 
while Popes and Councils often contradicted one 
another. Megapolensis could not deny Calvin's depar- 
ture from the Christian belief obtaining in the world 
before his day, but he represented Calvin's teaching as a 
restoration of the Gospel of Christ in its "purity," 
inasmuch as Calvin had discerned anew "the pure doc- 
trines" of election, founded solely on the good pleasure 
of God, of Christ as the only sacrifice for sin and only 
mediator with God, of good works, done out of gratitude 
and for the glory of God, and not from the selfish 
motive of reward. The Dutch, minister, therefore, did 
not allow the charge of heresy against Calvin, "who 
brought back the doctrine of Christ's merits," while 
the Jesuits, putting off even the name of Christian, 
took refuge "in the fictitious merits, indulgences, and 
satisfactions" of Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier. 
He, therefore, tells Le Moyne to omit some names in his 
list of heretics and insert in their place various Orders 
of Monks and several Orders of Nuns. Finally Mega- 
polensis implored the Jesuit in his advancing age to 
ponder on his responsibility to Christ for his steward- 
ship, as he was profaning the holy ordinance of Christ 
in baptizing Indians, when they were willing to make 
the sign of the cross, and sometimes even when half 
dead. The Dutch minister promised to pray for 
Le Moyne "that he may be delivered from his errors 
and led to the true knowledge of Christ." The first 
ship dispatched from New Amsterdam to Canada 



JESUIT MISSIONS AND THE DUTCH 305 

carried this reply of John Megapolensis to Le Moyne, 
with which the Dutch minister was so satisfied, that he 
sent a draft to the Classis of Amsterdam. However, the 
Jesuit never received the letter, as the Dutch bark, St. 
Jean, under Captain John Petrel was wrecked at the 
entrance of the gulf and left her bones on the Island 
of Anticosti.* 

For some time peace negotiations between the 
French and the Iroquois continued, although occa- 
sionally prisoners were made on both sides. On the 
arrival of Father Le Moyne with three Mohawk ambas- 
sadors towards the end of May, they made known the 
deliberations of the great council of the Mohawks 
assembled on April 19, in the presence of the most 
notable of the Dutch of Manhattan, whom the Indians 
had made witnesses of their peaceful intentions. They, 
therefore, asked the French Governor to put away the 
irons, with which he bound the Mohawk captive, and 
demanded finally that the French should not intervene 
in Indian conflicts. "Do like the Dutchman who inter- 
feres not in the wars of the Wolves."^ When the Gov- 
ernor charged them with the murders committed 
recently by the Indians, the Mohawks threw the blame 
upon the thoughtless Oneidas, who also sometimes 
inflicted such injuries upon their Mohawk Father.' 
On the conclusion of the council, the savages were dismiss- 

• Reply of Rev. Johannes Megapolensis, Pastor of the Church 
of New Amsterdam to a letter of Father Simon Le Moyne, a 
French Jesuit Missionary of Canada. 1658. New York. 1907. The 
original copy is in the Sage Library of the Theological Seminary at 
New Brunswick, N. J. 

2 The Mohegans were called the Wolf Nation by the French. Cf . 
Rel. 1659-60. Jes. Rels. xlvi. 87. 

' Journal Des PP. J6suites. 1658. Jes. Rels. xliv. 95-99. 



3o6 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

ed with presents and also some prisoners and directed to 
invite the Elders to visit the Governor for the conclu- 
sion of a general peace with all the Nations. Good 
treatment was promised to the Mohawk prisoners, who 
were retained in captivity.' Shortly after the return 
of the Mohawks to their own country, fifteen of the 
oldest chiefs presented themselves at Fort Orange and 
requested the Dutch authorities to give them an 
interpreter, who was to assist them in the exchange of 
four French prisoners for Six Mohawk captives and in 
the conclusion of a peace with aU the Indians of that 
region. The Dutch replied that they had no person 
who was able to act in such a capacity, but the Mohawks 
refused to allow such an excuse. "When ye were at 
war with the Indians, we went to the Manhattans and 
used our best endeavors to procure you peace. Ye are 
bound, therefore, now to befriend us on this occasion." 
The public crier was then sent around to offer one 
hundred guilders to any person, who would consent 
to act as interpreter to these Mohawks. One of the 
Company's soldiers, Henry Martin, volunteered and 
set out with the Mohawks, who promised to bring 
him back in safety at the end of forty days.^ 

On their arrival, the Mohawks, calling the attention 
of the French to the fact that the Captain of New Hol- 
land was their companion in this embassy, told the 
French Governor to seek the means of establishing a 
firm peace, but appointed the Mohawk village as the 
place of the council, in which all their nations would 
assemble. The Governor, speaking in the name of the 

' Rel. i6s7-s8. Jes. Rels. xliv. 223. 

2 Cf. Letter. August 15, 1658. La Montague to M. De la Petrie. 
O'Callaghan. Hist, of New Netherland. ii. 366. 



JESUIT MISSIONS AND THE DUTCH 307 

French, Hurons, and Algonquins, declared that he had 
come from France precisely to procure peace through- 
out all these countries, so that the preachers of the 
Gospel might have free access to them. Father Le 
Moyne was, therefore, to go to the Mohawk country to 
negotiate peace with all their nations, whom the Algon- 
quins would also visit next spring, as they had no gifts 
at present to give their ambassadors. However, aathe 
young Mohawks showed but little faithfulness, the Gov- 
ernor was compelled to keep four of their people in 
Quebec as hostages for the life of the Jesuit Father, 
who would go with them. At the end of November, 
some of the Mohawks, with the prisoners then released, 
began their horheward journey.^ In the spring of the 
following year, 1659, an embassy of three Oneidas 
appeared in Quebec to demand again, in the name of 
their own tribe,the Mohawks, and Onondagas, the libera- 
tion of the Oneida and Mohawk prisoners and to remind 
the Governor of his promise, that Father Le Moyne and 
the Algonquins were now to visit the Mohawk country 
to arrange the peace. On May 7th, Father Le Moyne 
and Jean de Noyon started from Three Rivers on an 
embassy to Agni6, with two Algonquins, Tigarihogen, 
four prisoners freed at Quebec and the three Oneida 
ambassadors. One of the Algonquins, after remaining 
two days in the Mohawk village, was overcome by fear 
and fled back to Montreal, where he arrived towards the 
end of June. A few days later. Father Le Moyne also ar- 
rived in Quebec with the remaining Algonquin and four 
Mohawks, who came to get the remaining Mohawk 
hostages. However, only two of these were sent back 

1 Journal des PP. J^suites. Jes. Rels. xliv. 121-129. 



3o8 RELIGION IN NEW NETHBRLAND 

to their country, while the two Oneidas were retained 
until two Frenchmen taken by the Onondagas should 
be restored/ In spite of the promises made by these 
Mohawks at the time of their departure, eight French- 
men were taken captive a month later by a band of one 
hundred Mohawks nearThree Rivers, but, shortly before 
this, some savages had killed nine Iroquois a day's 
journey above Montreal.^ The Dutch requested the 
Mohawks to release their eight French prisoners and to 
restore them to their country, but the Mohawks 
deferred the answer to this request until the as- 
sembly of a council of their castles. They com- 
plained bitterly that the French did not keep the 
peace, as French savages attacked them, whenever 
they were out hunting, and thrashed them with 
the help of the disguised Frenchmen always among 
them.' On January i6, 1660, Abraham Staes of 
Beverwyck wrote to Stuyvesant that the Mohawks had 
declared that they would bring back to Canada the 
French prisoners in the spring and then make a solid 
peace with the French. However, with the arrival of 
spring, the Iroquois threatened all the French settle- 
ments on the St. Lawrence.^ Seventeen young French- 
men of Montreal under DoUard, with forty Huron War- 
riors, decided to cut off the Iroquois returning from the 
chase, but, in the month of June, they were hemmed in, 
in an old dilapidated fort at Long Sault, by seven 
hundred Iroquois, composed of two hundred Ononda- 

1 Journal des PP. J^suites. 1659-1660. Jes. Rels. xlv. 81-95. 
'Ibid. 107, log. 

* Minutes of the Court of Fort Orange. September 24, 1659. Col. 
Docs. N. Y. xiii. 113. 

* Journal des PP. J^suites. i66o. Jes. Rels. xlv. 153. 



JESUIT MISSIONS AND THE DUTCH , 309 

gas and five hundred Mohawks. After a gallant defense, 
the few survivors, five Frenchmen and four Hurons, 
were captured and carried away to be tortured to 
death. Two Frenchmen were apportioned to the 
Mohawks, two to the Onondagas, and the fifth to the 
Oneidas, to give them all a taste of French flesh, and to 
whet their appetites to desire more in revenge of the 
death of a score of savages on this occasion. This heroic 
defense diverted the Iroquois from Montreal, which 
was thus saved from destruction.' Two months later, 
fifty Iroquois from Cayuga, who had come to Montreal 
and claimed to be neutral in the war rekindled between 
the French and the Iroquois, were suspected to be spies, 
as their spokesmen had none of the marks customary 
to ambassadors. They were, therefore, seized in the 
hope thus to gain freedom from attack during the 
harvest and to obtain the liberation of the Frenchmen 
in captivity amongst the Mohawks, The French knew 
that the Mohawks had invited the Onondagas to join 
forces with them in the following autumn for the des- 
truction of the colony of Three Rivers.* 

The French realized that the devastation caused by 
the Iroquois was the great obstacle to the security of 
Canada and to the propagation of the Gospel among 
the infidel savages. The struggling native churchesr- 
that they had established with such heroic zeal and 
with such sacrifices, were continually made desolate, so 
that the neophytes were forced "to seek caves and the 
thickest and most remote forests to drag out a miserable 

* Journal des PP. J&uits. 1660. Jes. Rels. xlv. 157. Relation of 
1650-60. Jes. Rels. xlv. 245-261. 

'Relation. 1659-60. Jes. Rels. xlvi. 117-121. 



3IO RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

existence there in want of all things." This misery- 
was the work of a handful of Iroquois, who all together 
did not equal the thousandth part of those whose salva- 
tion they prevented. The Jesuits estimated the force of 
the Five Nations at this period at twenty-two hundred 
warriors, of which the Mohawks constituted five hun- 
dred "in two or three wretched villages," the Oneidas 
one hundred, the Onondagas and the Ca3mgas three 
hundred each, and the Senecas one thousand. Even 
this number was not composed solely of pure Iroquois, 
of whom scarcely more than twelve hundred could be 
fotmd in the whole of the Five Nations.' The soul of 
the hostility of the Iroquois to the French was the 
Mohawk, who, before the advent of the Dutch, had been 
overcome in a ten years war by the Andastes and some- 
time before by the Algonquins so that the nation had 
been almost rendered extinct. They were then so humi- 
liated that the mere name of Algonquin made the Mo- 
hawks tremble. However, when the Dutch took posses- 
sion of New Netherland, they furnished those people 
with firearms, with which it was easy for them to con- 
quer their conquerors, who were filled with terror at 
the mere sound of their guns. They became victorious 
everywhere and aspired to sovereign sway over all the 
Nations. There was, therefore, no hope of peace and 
the Jesuits felt that the destruction of these Indian was 
necessary to open the approaches to at least ten 

1 Mrs. Schuyler van Rensselaer says: "Yet even in the days of 
their greatest strength and power, during the first half of the 
seventeenth century, when they had procured firearms from the 
white men, they numbered not more than four thousand warriors, 
twenty thousand souls in all. Twice as many of their descendants, 
it has been computed, now survive in and near the State of New 
York." History of the City of New York. i. 58. 



JESUIT MISSIONS AND THE DUTCH 3 II 

Nations of savages, who were asking for Fathers of the 
Society to instruct them. The Jesuits, therefore, 
appealed to the chivalrous spirit of the Frencii. "Are 
not these sights touching enough to rekindle in the 
French that zeal and ardor which, of old, made such 
noble conquests among the infidels, and rendered 
France so glorious through the crusades."' The same 
thought arose in the minds of Father Gabriel Drueijletes 
and Father Claude Dablon, when, in their mission to the 
North Sea, they found the tribes dispersed by the 
Iroquois who had preceded them. Would not the 
destruction of a people who are overthrowing Chris- 
tianity everywhere "be a holy war and blessed crusade, 
well fitted to signalize the piety and consecrate the 
courage of the French against this little Turk of New 
France?"' The frequent hostile incursions of the 
Iroquois throughout the spring of 1661, bringing death 
and captivity to numerous Frenchmen at Three Rivers 
and Montreal, strengthened the Jesuits in their con- 
viction of the necessity of decisive action to save the 
country, before the Iroquois drained the last drop of 
its blood. 

However, in the month of July, when the fate of the 
French colony appeared most hopeless, an embassy 
with four French prisoners as pledges of their sincerity 
was sent by the Onondagas and the Cayugas to nego- 
tiate a peace, in which the Senecas also wished to 
participate. They demanded as preliminary conditions 
the liberation of the eight Cayuga prisoners, and the 
sending of the Black Gown with them, as "the lives of 

1 Relation of 1659-60. xlv. 189-191; 205-207 ;xlvi. 67 seq. 
'Relation of 1660-61. Jes. Rels. xlvi. 291. 



312 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

twenty Prenchmen in captivity at Onondaga depended 
on this journey." The demand was reinforced by the 
production of a leaf torn out of a book with the sig- 
natures of the twenty Frenchmen to guarantee the good 
faith of the ambassadors. When the four Frenchmen, 
former captives at Onondaga, gave testimony of the 
kind treatment received by the French at the hands of 
those savages, the Governor and his councillors, after 
mature deliberation, accepted the proposals of the 
Indians. Father Le Moyne accompanied the ambassa- 
dors with the liberated Cayrigas, after they had pledged 
their word to return at the end of forty days with the 
French captives and with some of their elders to deliber- 
ate on matters of public interest.^ 

Father Le Moyne was received with great honor in 
Onondaga, where he found the twenty French captives 
under the protection of Garaconti^. He reminded the 
savages of the promise to restore the French, but they 
consented to liberate only nine of thern, seven at Onon- 
daga and two at Cayuga, while the other Frenchmen 
were to remain at Onondaga with Father Le Moyne until 
next spring, when they also would obtain their liberty.' 
Garaconti6 headed the embassy, which left Onondaga 
towards the middle of September with the nine French- 
men. Some of the Indians wished to abandon the 
enterprise, when they met an Onondaga chieftain, 
clothed in the cassock of Father Le Maistre, whom he 
had murdered shortly before, but Garaconti6 was able 
to overcome their fear of retaliation on their own per- 

1 Relation 1660-1661. Jes. Rels. xlvi. 223-241. 
^Letter of Le Moyne. August 25, and September ir, 1661, to 
Lalemant. Jes. Rels. xlvii. 69-83. 



JESUIT MISSIONS AND THE DUTCH 3 13 

son, as the French left with Father Le Moyne were 
sufficient surety for their own safety. The embassy 
reached Montreal on October 5. In the Council, 
Garaconti^ broke the bonds of the nine French captives 
and promised the return of Father Le Moyne with the 
other prisoners in the following spring, who would 
then ennoble the conclusion of a firm peace between the. 
French and the Onondagas, Cayugas and Senecgs.' 

Meanwhile, the towns of the three tribes were open to 
the missionaries and also to the other Frenchmen, who 
were invited to settle in large numbers among them. 
The new Governor, M. d'Avougour, was now fully 
determined to destroy the two small tribes of Mo- 
hawks and Oneidas, still hostile to the French, if 
the King >^sent the soldiers needed for such an 
expedition.* About the same time, Father Paul 
Raguenau suggested to the Prince de Cond6 to 
send a French Regiment, which might effectively 
attack these Iroquois through New Holland, the 
shortest and most convenient road to their country.' 
There is little probability that this design would have 
obtained the consent of the Dutch, as it would have cost 
them the friendship of the Mohawks, which they always 
had been most careful to maintain. If we are to 
believe a Frenchman held captive by the Mohawks at 
this time, "the Dutch are no longer willing to secure our 
freedom, as it costs them too dearly; on the contrary, 
they teU the Iroquois to cut off our arms and legs, and 

'Relation. 1660-1661. Jes. Rels. xlvii. 93-103. 
^ Letter. October 20, 1661. Father Chaumonot to Father 
Rippault of Dijon. Jes. Rels. xlvi. 157. 

'Letter from Quebec. October 12, 1661. Jes. Rels. xlvi. 147- 

149- 



314 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

kill US where they find us, .without burdening them- 
selves with us."* 

During the winter, Father Le Moyne consoled the 
French in their captivity, strengthened the Huron 
Christians in their faith and laid the foundations to the 
conversion of the Iroquois. His life was not without 
danger from the hands of savages under the domination 
of the demon of dreams and of the demon of drink. 
One, who in a dream had seen himself dressed in a cas- 
sock, broke into the chapel, determined to strip the 
missionary of this garment. Another in a drunken fit 
attempted to pounce on the crucifix over the altar.^ 
His hatchet was raised to strike the Jesuit, who was 
resolved to give his life sooner than surrender the image 
of the Crucified Saviour, but he was rescued by the 
Elders of the village. Some of the Indians "threw the 
blame on the Dutch, who (they say) furnish them a 
certain drink that makes madmen of the wisest, and 
deprives him of his reason before he knows it." For 
the Indians brought brandy "from New Holland in such 
quantities as to make a veritable Pot-House of Onon- 
daga." To rid him of these afHictions for a time, the 
less cruel Cayugas invited Le Mo3me to visit their 
villages. Here there was established a Huron village 
entirely Christian. A month later Father Le Moyne re- 
turned to Onondaga, where Garaconti6 had arrived from 

1 Letter to a friend at Three Rivers. The captive was soon 
delivered through the intervention of Garacontifi. Jes. Rels. xlvii. 
93. 

2 This crucifix, about two feet in height, had been carried off the 
year previous by the Mohawks from Argentenay on the Island of 
Orleans. Garaconti6 saw it at Agni6, and obtained it by giving 
them a rich present and holding an eloquent eulogy on the Crucifix. 
Cf. Relation. 1661-1662. Jes. Rels. xlvii. 215. 



JESUIT MISSIONS AND THE DUTCH 315 

his embassy to Montreal.' Under his protection, the 
missionary continued his apostolic work, while the small 
pox was raging in the village. He was able to say mass 
daily in the rude chapel. When the wine began to fail, 
he wrote to the Dutch that he might need some for his 
health, as he knew that they would not give him any for 
the sacrifice of the mass. The Dutch sent him a small 
bottle, well sealed, by a savage, who was told thg,t he 
must not drink of this medicine needed by the Father, 
unless he wished to contract a serious illness. On his 
arrival at Onondaga, the Indian asked to taste a little 
of that medicine to see whether it was as bad as the 
Dutch had said. Le Mo5me cut up some Barbadoes 
nuts in a Httle of this wine, and gave it to the savage. 
The medicine was "of such purgative effect as to 
deprive him of all desire to ask for a second dose."^ 

In the spring, the liberation of the French at Onon- 
daga was somewhat delayed. One of their number, 
named Libert^, had been treacherously murdered by 
his Indian masters, because he refused to live in con- 
cubinage with an Indian woman, whom they wished to 
give to him.' Ho^^ever, in the summer the savages 
fulfilled their pledged word. "On the last day of 
August , 1662, Father Le Moyne made his appearance in 
a canoe below the falls of St. Louis, having around him 
aU those happy rescued ones and a score of Onnontagher- 
onnons who from being his enemies had become their 
boatmen. . . They landed amid the cheers and embraces 
of all the French of Montreal and followed their Pastor 

1 Relation. 1661-1662. Jes. Rels. xlvii. 183-189. 
' Ibid. 197-199. 
*Ibid. 201-203. 



3l6 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

to render thanks to God in the church."' The war 
between the Iroquois and the Andastes prevented the 
renewal of the French missions in that country during 
the two following years, while the domination of the 
Dutch in New Netherland still continued. 

'Relation. 1661-1662. Jes. Rels. xlvii. 191-193. 



APPENDIX A 



CHRONICLE OF NEW NETHERLAND 

1609. Henry Hudson sails along the coast of North America from 

New Foiindland to Chesapeake Bay and explores the 
Hudson River. 
Truce of twelve years signed between Spain and the United 
Netherlands. 

1610. Beginning of occasional fur trading by the Dutch. 

1 6 1 4 . New Netherland Co . chartered with a monopoly of the trade 
for three years. 

1620. Petition of the Puritans in Holland for permission to emi- 

grate to New Netherland is refused. Captain Thomas 
Dermer, an English navigator, while visiting Manhattan 
Island, asserts English claim to this territory. 

1621. The truce with Spain terminates. 

Dutch West India Company chartered with the monopoly 
of the trade to America, etc., for twenty-four years. 
Colonization is optional to the Company, founded mainly 
to assist in the war against Spain. 

1624. First colony — thirty families — is sent with Comelis Jacob- 

son May, as Director. Fort Orange on the Hudson, and 
Fort Nassau on the Delaware erected. A small colony 
sent to the Connecticut River, where Port Good Hope is 
planned. Settlement of Long Island begun. 

1625. William Verhulst Director. New settlers arrive with live 

stock, etc. 

1626. Peter Minuit, Director General, buys Manhattan Island, 

where the erection of Fort Amsterdam and a place of 
worship is begun. 

1627. On the opening of trade between New Netherland and New 

Plymouth, Bradford warns Minuit to clear the Dutch 
title to New Netherland, which is within English territory. 

1628. Population at Manhattan two hundred and seventy souls. 

Arrival of first clergyman, Jonas Michaelius. 

(319) 



320 NEW NETHERLAND 

1629. Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions: grants in the form 

patroonships and colonies outside of Manhattan Island. 
First explicit legal recognition of the Dutch Reformed 
Church, for which the patroons and colonists are bound 
to provide. 

1630. Foundation of patroonships: on the Delaware, Swanendael; 

on the Hudson at its mouth, Pavonia, and at Port Orange 
Rensselaerswyck. The last patroonship was the only 
permanent foundation of this kind in New Netherland. 

1632. Minuit recalled. 

Lords Say and Seal, etc., receive from the Earl of Warwick 
the grant of Connecticut, but neglect colonization till 
several years later. 

1633. Wouter Van Twiller, Director General. Everardus Bogar- 

dus, the second Dutch minister. Adam Rolandsen, the 
first schoolmaster. The "William of London" goes up 
the Hudson to trade, on the plea that this is English ter- 
ritory. Fort Good Hope on the Connecticut completed. 
A wooden church erected at Manhattan. Winthrop 
protests against Dutch occupation of Connecticut, which 
is claimed to be within the possessions of the Ekiglish 
King. A little above Fort Good Hope, Plymouth erects 
a stockade (Windsor.) 

1634. Trouble between the Dutch and the Raritans about New 

Amsterdam. 
Pequods surrender to Massachusetts their rights to the 
Connecticut River country. 

1635. A "Part of New England" and Long Island granted by the 

Plymouth Council to Lord Stirling. English encroach- 
ments on the Connecticut. Eight hundred English in 
Connecticut Valley. English settlements at Wethersfield 
and Windsor, and the following year at Springfield. 

1638. William Kieft, Director General. 

Swedes settle on the Delaware and build Fort Christina. 
New Sweden founded in spite of the protests of Kieft by 
the former Director Minuit. 

1639. English settlements along Long Island Sound : New H aven , 

Stratford, Norwalk, Greenwich, encroachments on Dutch 
territory. Organization of Connecticut, and New Haven 
common wealths . 

1640. Farret visits Manhattan and in the name of Lord Stirling 

lays claim to all Long Island. He is arrested, but then 
dismissed. English attempt to settle there, but are 
expelled. 
New Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions extended to all in 
friendly relations with the United Provinces, but pro- 



CHRONICLE 321 

1640. hibits the public exercise of any other religion than the 
Reformed. 

Trouble with the Raritan Indians. 

1641 . The Twelve Select Men representing the commonalty oppose 

hostilities, with the Indians. 
Conditions, under which a party of Englishmen with their 
preacher may come and settle in New Netherland, 
presented. These modelled on the charter of 1640. 

1642. The Twelve Select Men, asembled by Kieft agree to hostili- 

ties with the Indians, but demand civic reforms, and are 
dismissed in consequence with the prohibition to hold any 
fvirther assembly. « 

English settle under Dutch jurisdiction: at Mespath Long 
Island, at Throg's Neck, Westchester, and at Pelham 
Neck. Friction between English and Dutch continues 
in Connecticut Valley. English intruded on Delaware 
are expelled. 

Stone church in New Amsterdam begun. John Megapo- 
lensis, first minister of Rensselaerswyck. Father Jogues, 
Jesuit missionary, captured by the Mohawks, his com- 
panion Renfe Goupil lalled. 

1 643 . General rising of Algonquins provoked by the cruel massacre 

of the Indians by the Dutch. A disastrous Indian war 
ensues. The "Eight Men" elected by commonalty 
authorize hostilities. English settlements at Throg's 
Neck and Mespath destroyed. Lady Moody with others 
settles at Gravesend. 
The "Eight Men" send a "Remonstrance" to Amsterdam 
and to the Hague anent the ruinous state of affairs in New 
Netherland with a petition for immediate relief. 

Sir Edmund Plowden, "Earl Palatine of New Albion"' 
claims territory, comprising the present State of New 
Jersey, under a grant from the King of England. 

Father Jogues escapes from the Mohawks. 

1644. Hempstead, L. I. settled by Englishmen. 

Indian war: one hundred and twenty Indians killed near 
Hempstead, seven hundred killed near Stamford. West- 
chester and Long Island Indians sue for peace. River 
Indians still hostile. 

The West India Company bankrupt. First Excise laws 
enacted. The commonalty discontented. Memorial of 
the "Eight Men" to the West India Company. 

Two exploring expeditions sent to the Delaware River from 
Boston meet with opposition of the Dutch and the Swedes. 

Fort erected on Beeren Island, Rensselaerswyck, attempts 
to levy toll on all vessels passing it with conflicting juris- 
dictions as a result. 

Father Bressani, S. J. ransomed by the Dutch from the 
Mohawks and sent to Europe. 



322 NEW NETHERLAND 

1645. General peace with the Indians. 

English settlers return to Mespath and reestablish colony 
in its vicinity under the name of Newtown. Flushing 
founded by Massachusetts exiles. Gravesend patent 
issued. 

Curngoa,, Aruba and neighboring West India Islands placed 
under the jurisdiction of the Director of New Netherland. 

Quarrel between Director Kieft and Rev. Bogardus. 

1646. New Haven encroaches on Dutch territory in the North and 

the Swedes do the same in the South. Kieft protests 
against the meeting of the New England commissioners at 
New Haven, which he claims to be within the limits of 
New Netherland. Amsterdam Chamber instructs Kieft 
to oppose all further English encroachments with all 
means at his disposal short of war. The Swedes pull 
down the arms of Holland erected on the site of Philadel- 
phia, purchased by the Dutch from the Indians. 

Colendonck founded near Spyt den Duyvel. Patent 
issued for Katskill. Breuckelen incorporated. 

Father Jogues, S. J. put to death by the Mohawks. 

1647 Peter Stuyvesant, Director. Population of New Nether- 
land estimated at 2000. 

Comelis Melyn and Jochem Pietersen Kuyter, two of the 
"Eight Men," prosecuted for their criticism of the previous 
administration, fined and banished. 

The board of "Nine Men" appointed to represent the com- 
monalty, and to furnish revenue in support of the colonial 
government. 

Conflicts with the English. Lady Stirling's agent repre- 
sents himself at Flushing and Hempstead as her governor 
of Long Island. He is arrested and sent to Holland, but 
escapes in England. Stuyvesant declares Dutch claim 
to all territory between the Delaware and the Connecticut 
and then he extends claim to territory between Cape 
Henlopen and Cap Cod. A Dutch ship seized at New 
Haven and brought to Manhattan. 

1648. Conflicts with the Swedes on the Delaware. Swedes crowd 

the Dutch. Dutch trade ruined. New England com- 
plains of Dutch trading regulations. Stujrvesant anxious 
for a settlement of differences and for the establishment 
of an alliance. Unsettled condition of England prevents 
a settlement in Europe. Directors of West India Com- 
pany recommend Stuyvesant "to endeavor to live in 
the best possible terms," as the English are too strong for 
the Dutch. 
General discontent results in the Dutch Province from the 
loss of trade. The "Nine Men" propose a mission to 
Holland to make known the state of the province. 

1649. The journal of the "Nine Men", kept by Van der Donck for 



CHRONICLE 3 23 

1649. the preparation of the Remonstrance to be sent to Holland, 
seized by Stuyvesant. Van der Donck tried for libel is 
expelled from the board of "Nine Men." Proceedings 
against Melyn and Kuyter disapproved. Melyn returns 
to New Netherland with a safe-conduct and a writ citing 
the Director to appear at the Hague. Delegates sent to 
present the Remonstrance of New Netherland to the 
States General for a redress of abuses. Stuyvesant sends 
Van Tienhoven, his secretary, to appear for him at The 
Hague. The magistrates at Gravesend give him a decla- 
ration of their confidence in Stuyvesant' s "wisdom and 
justice in the administration of the common weal." 

1650. Reforms for NewNetherland, reported by a committee'of the 

States General, are opposed by the West India Company. 
The "Nine Men," continue to complain. 
Treaty concluded between English and Dutch at Hartford 
determines boundary between New Netherland and New 
England. Dutch complain that Stujrvesant ceded too 
much land. Massachusetts claims that this settlement 
does not prejudice its right to territory on the Hudson 
River. 

1651. Stujrvesant stops English from New Haven at Manhattan, 

as they expressed the intention to settle on the Delaware. 
They are sent back to New Haven. New England mani- 
fests hostile spirit towards New Netherland. 

Stuyvesant strengthens Dutch position on the Delaware by 
the erection of Fort Casimir in spite of the protests of the 
Swedish governor. 

Arbitrary government continues in New Netherland. 

1652. Trouble between Stuyvesant and Rensselaerswyck ends in 

the annexation of Beverwyck by the former. 
Settlements begun at Esopus, Newtown, Flatbush and New 
Utrecht. Population of New Amsterdam estimated at about 
eight hundred souls. Municipal government given to this 
city. Navalwar between Dutch and English. Stuyvesant 
advised to engage Indians in the event of hostilities on the 
part of New England. These advices captured by the 
English. Stuyvesant directed to be on his guard, but not 
to give any provocation. 

1653. Organization of a Municipal Government for New Amster- 

dam. Appointment of Burgomasters and Schepens. 

Stuyvesant proposes the continuance of peaceful relations 
between the Dutch and the English in New England 
and Virginia in spite of the Dutch-English war. New 
Amsterdam put into the state of defense by a repair of the 
fort and the erection of a palisade about the town. 

The Second Amboyna Tragedy; or a Faithful Account of a 
Bloody, Treacherous and Cruel Plot of the Dutch in 
America to murder the English colonists, published in 



324 NEW NETHERLAND 

1653. London. Stuyvesant suggests that New England agents 
visit New Netherland to examine the evidence of such a 
plot, which is done. 

Connecticut and New Haven urge war with New Nether- 
land, but Massachusetts persistently refuses to engage 
in such war. Captain Underbill raises the parliament flag 
on Long Island, and is banished. He seizes Fort Good 
Hope "with permission from the General Coiui; of 
Hartford." 

Convention of delegates from various towns of the Province 
assemble at New Amsterdam, and vote a Remonstrance 
on the State of New Netherland, demanding a represen- 
tative government, etc. This petition is sent to Holland. 
Stuyvesant dissolves the convention. 

J654. Lutherans at New Amsterdam are denied permission to call 
a minister of their own persuasion and to worship publicly 
by themselves. 

An English expedition against New Netherland sails from 
England. Troops raised in New England, but the con- 
clusion of peace prevents the invasion of New Netherland. 

The Swedes, under their new governor Rising, capture the 
Dutch fort Casimir, and call it Fort Trinity. A Swedish 
ship seized at Manhattan. English settle m Westchester 
in spite of Stuyvesant's prohibition to do so. Oyster Bay 
applies to New Haven to be under its jurisdiction. No 
attention is paid to Stuyvesant's complaints. 

Dutch ambassadors try to settle boundary question in 
England. Cromwell has received no information from 
New England and refuses to decide the question on the 
allegations of only one party. 

i6ss. Some English raise the flag of England at Gravesend, L. I., 
and arrests follow. English settlers in West Chester re- 
fuse to recognize Dutch jurisdiction before the settlement 
of the boundary by Engla.nd. 

Swedes on the Delaware reduced on the order of the West 
India Company. Lutheran Swedes are allowed the min- 
istry of one Lutheran clergyman. The vice-director 
instructed by Stuyvesant to 'maintain and protect the 
Reformed Religioii." Indians invade New Amsterdam; 
Hoboken, Pavonia and Staten Island laid waste. General 
consternation. 

French settle at Onondaga. Mission begun by Fathers 
Chaumonot and Dablon. Jesuit chapel erected. 

1656. Stuyvesant orders the formation of compact villages in 

imitation of "our New England neighbors" for better 

defense against the Indians. 
"Conventicles," or places of worship not in harmony with 

the established Dutch church are prohibited under heavy 

fines. Religious persecution ensues. 
The English of Westchester forced to acknowledge Dutch 



CHRONICLE 325 

1656. jurisdiction. Hartford treaty ratified by the States 
General. Jamaica founded on Long Island. 

New Amsterdam surveyed ; one hundred and twenty houses, 

one thousand souls. 
West India Company cedes some territory on the Delaware 

to the City of Amsterdam. 

1657. The Great and Small Burgher-right established in New 

Amsterdam. The City of Amsterdam establishes its 
colony of New Amstel on the Delaware. 

Cromwell orders the English on Long Island not to betray 
the rights of their nation "by subjecting themselves and 
lands to a foreign state." « 

Increased religious intolerance: Lutheran minister ban- 
ished, Quakers persecuted. 

1658 The Flushing protest in favor of religious liberty meets with 
measures of repression. Continuation of Quaker perse- 
cution. Fines imposed for the refusal to contribute to 
the support of the Dutch clergy. Flushing charter 
altered. New Harlem and Communipa founded. Bergen 
purchased. 

French abandon settlement at Onondaga. Trade opened 
by sea with Canada at the request of the Dutch. 

Trouble with Esopus Indians. Dutch village laid out there. 

1659. Massachusetts attempts to encroach on the Hudson River. 
New Netherland permitted to trade with France, Spain, 

Italy and the Caribbean Islands. 
War with the Esopus Indians. 
Maryland claims the Delaware. Dutch send embassy to 

that Province and demand a commission to define the 

boundary between New Netherland and Maryland or a 

settlement of the question in Europe. 

1660. Controversy on New England and New Netherland claims 
- continues. 

Peace concluded with the Esopus Indians. 

Negotiations between Stuyyesant and Virginia. Governor 

Berkely does not recognize Dutch title to the Delaware. 

Lord Baltimore renews his claim to this territory. 

1 66 1. On the Restoration in England, the West India Company, 

with the approbation of the States General, gives "to all 
Christian people of tender conscience, in England or 
elsewhere oppressed, full liberty to erect a colony" in New 
Netherland. 

Persecution of the Quakers continued. 

Some rigid Puritans of New Haven negotiate for settlement 
under Dutch jurisdiction at Achter Kol. 

Wiltwyck, at Esopus, incorporated. Schenectady pur- 
chased. Bushwyck, New Utrecht and Bergen incor- 
porated. ^„, 



326 NEW NETHERLAND 

1663 Connecticut receives a royal charter to all territory south 
of Massachusetts to the ocean and West to the Pacific 
ocean with "the islands thereunto adjoining." West- 
chester and English towns on Long Island annexed. 

City of Amsterdam grants land on the Delaware to a colony 
of Mennonites. 

New Proclamation against the public exercise of any religion 
but that of the Dutch Reformed Continued persecution 
of the Quakers. John Bowne and others banished. 

1663. The whole of the Delaware River surrendered to the City of 

Amsterdam. 

The authorities in Holland reprove Stuyvesant's severity 
in his treatment of dissenters. They would like some 
connivance, "at least the consciences of men ought to 
remain free and unshackled." The Directors insist on 
liberty of conscience, but not on liberty of worship, public 
or private. 

New Haven Puritans continue to negotiate for a settlement 
under Dutch jurisdiction. 

Massacre of the Dutch at the Esopus. Vigorous war against 
these Indians. 

Connecticut foments a revolt of the English on Long Island. 
Stuyvesant tries to refer "the matters unsettled to both 
superiors." Connecticut knows no New Netherland 
without "a patent for it from his majesty, but agrees not 
to exercise any jurisdiction "over the English plantations 
on the westerly end of Long Island," provided the Dutch 
agree to the same. 

Convention of Delegates from the Dutch towns in New 
Amsterdam. Remonstrance, with an exposition of the 
dangers from the English, adopted and dispatched to 
Amsterdam. 

Revolution on Long Island. Names of the English villages 
changed. 

1664. New Netherland granted to the Duke of York. The English 

towns of Long Island elect Captain John Scott "to act as 
their president until his Royal Highness the Duke of 
York or his majesty should establish a government 
among then^." Stuyvesant agrees to have the English 
towns under' the King of England for twelve months until 
the settlement of the question by his majesty and the 
States General, and Scott agrees to have the Dutch towns 
remain for the same period under the States General. 

General Provincial Assembly of the Dutch at New Amster- 
dam refuses to vote supplies in defense of the Province 
against the Indians and the English. 

Peace with the Esopus Indians. 

English towns received under the government of Connecti- 
cut, which claims Long Island for one of those Islands 
expressed in the charter. Scott imprisoned by Connecti- 
cut. Winthrop removes Scott's officers and installs 



CHRONICLE 327 

1664. others. Stuyvesant urges Dutch title and Hartford 

treaty to no effect. New Netherland reduced by the 

Enghsh and named New York in honor of its proprietor. 

Population of New Netherland: Province, 1 0,000; New 

Amsterdam, 1600. 

Population of New England; 50,000. 
Population of Virginia; 35,000. 
Population of Maryland; 15,000. 



APPENDIX B 



A SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 



(A) WORKS OF BIBLIOGRAPHY 
(i) Guides to Printed Materials 



General 



Adams, C. K., Manual of Historical Literature, 2d ed. New 

York, 1889. 
Channing, E. and Hart, A. B., Guide to the Study of American 

History, Boston, 1896. 
Lamed, J. N., ed.. The Literature of American History, Boston, 

1902. Supplements for 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904. 
Sabin, Joseph, ed. Dictionary of books relating to America, 

186S. 1 9 vols to date. 
Richardson, Morse, Anson. Writings on American History 

1902. 1904. 

McLaughlin, Slade, Lewis. Writings on American History 

1903. 1905. 

Griffin, Grace Gardner. Writings on American History 1906, 
1908. 

Periodical 

Griffin, A. P. C, Bibliography of American Historical Socie- 
ties. (The United States and Dominion of Canada). 
2d ed., 1907. Annual Report of American Historical As- 
sociation, vol. ii. 1907. 

Provincial 

Asher, G. M., Bibliographical and Historical Essay on the 
Dutch Books and Pamphlets relating to New Netherland, 
Amsterdam, 1854-1867. 

Pemow, B., Critical Essay on the Sources of Information (for 
the History of New Netherland or the Dutch in America), 
in Narrative and Critical History of America, ed. Justin 
Winsor. vol. iv. 409-438 

Plagg, C. A,, and Jennings, J. T., Bibliography of New York 

(331) 



332 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

Colonial History. New York State Library Biilletin, 56. 
Bibliography 24, 1901. 

Keen, G. B., Critical Essay on the Sources of Information 
(for the History of New Sweden or the Swedes on the Dela- 
ware), in Narrative and Critical History of America, ed. 
Justin Winsor, vol. iv. 468-502, 1884. 

Onderdonck, H., Jr., Bibliography of Long Island, in Furman, 
Antiquities of Long Island, ed. by F. Moore, New York, 1875. 

New York Public Library Bulletin : 

Check List of American County and State Histories in the 

New York Public' Library, vol. v, 11. 
Works Relating to the State of New York in the New York 

Public Library, vol. iv. s-6. 
Check List of the Works Relating to the History of Brook- 

Ijrn and other places on Long Island now included in the 

City of New York, in the New York Public Library, vol. 

vi 3- . 

List of Works Relating to New York City History in the 
New York Public Library, vol. v. 3. 

Religious 

Bowenhan. A Selected Bibliography of the Religious Denomi- 
nations of the United States, New York, 1896. 

Hurst, J F., Literature of Theology (with a bibliography of 
American Church History), New York, 1896. 

Jackson, S. M. Bibliography of American Church pistory, 
1820-1893, in vol xii. of American Church History Series, 
New York, 1908. 

New York Public Library Bulletin. List on the Churches and 
the Ecclesiastical History of New York in the New York Pub- 
lic Library, vol. v. 5. 

(ii) Guides to Manuscript Materials 

Andrews, C. M. Davenport, Prances. Guide to Manuscript 
Materials for the History of the United States to 1783 in the 
British Museum, in Minor London Archives and in the librar- 
ies of Oxford and Cambridge, Washington, 1908. 

Annotated List of the Principal Manuscripts in the New York 
State Library. State Library Bulletin. History 3, Albany, 
1899. 

Brodhead, J. Romeyn. Calendar to the Holland Documents 
in the Office of the Secretary of State at Albany, Transcribed 
from the originals in the Royal Archives at The Hague and 
the Archives of the City of Amsterdam in New York Papers. 
Final Report to the Governor, February 12, 1845. Senate 
Document 47, Albany, 1845. 

Catalogue of Historical Papers and Parchments received from 
the Office of the Secretary of State and deposited in the New 
York State Library, Albany, 1849. 

Check List of the Municipal and other Documents Relating to 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 333 

New York City in the New York Public Library, in New York 

Public Library Bulletin, yol. v. i . 
Manuscripts Relating to the History of New Netherland and 

New York in the New York Public Library. New York 

Public Library Bulletin, vol. v. 7. 
O'Callaghan, E B. Calendar of New York Historical Manu- 
scripts, vol. i. (Dutch), 1630-1664, Albany, 1865. 
O'Callaghan, E. B. Indexto vols, i, ii, iii, of Translations of 

Dutch Manuscripts in the Office of the Secretary of State of 

New York, Albany, 1870. 
Osgood, H. L. Report on the Public Archives of New York. 

American Historical Association Report, 1900, vol ii, pp. 

67-250, Washington, 1901. ^ 

Van Tyne - Leland. Guide to- the Archives at Washington, 

2ded. Washington, 1907. 

(B) MANUSCRIPT DOCUMENTS 

New York State Library 

Transcripts of Documents in the Royal Archives at The 
Hague and the Archives of the City of Amsterdam, 1603- 
1678, Sixteen Volumes. 

(Procured 1841 by John Romeyn Brohhead; translated and 
edited by E. B. O'Callaghan, as Documents Relating to the 
Colonial History of the State of New York, vols, i, ii. 
Holland Documents, Albany, 1856-58.) 

New York Colonial Manuscripts (Dutch), 1638-1664. 
(Transactions of the Colonial Government). 

Vols, i-iii. Register of Provincial Secretary, 1638-1660. 

iv-x. Council minutes, 1638-1665. 

xi-xv. Correspondence of Director General. 1646-1664. 

xvi. Placards, writs and Fort Orange Records, 1647-1663. 

xvii. Curagoa Papers, 1640-1665. 

xviii-xxi. Delaware Papers, 1646- 168 2. 

(A defective translation of most of these records by Francis 
Adriaen Van der Kemp in Twenty-four Manuscript Vol- 
umes, known as "Albany Records." A new translation of 
Vols, i-iii, by E. B. O'Callaghan in one Manuscript Volume, 
to which the author published an " Index to Vols, i-ii-iii of 
Translations of Dutch Manuscripts in the Office of the Se- 
cretary of State, Albany, 1870. 

Translations from vol. iv. in a Second Manuscript Volume by 
E B. O'Callaghan with a Manuscript Index. 
Translation of pp. 1-14 of vol. v. and of p. 33 of vol. xvi. by 
E B. O'Callaghan in loose sheets. 

Many documents from this series printed in vols, xii-xiv. of 
Documents Relating to the Colonial History of New York, 
edited by B. Femow, Albany, 1877-1883.) 



334 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

Dutch Patents. 
BookGG. 1636-1649. 
BookHH. 1654-1664. 

(Manuscript Index: "Index; Account of Dutch Records; 

Alphabetical Index of the Two Dutch Books of Provincial 

Patents GG and HH." 

List of Patents in GG and HH, m O'Callaghan's Cal. Hist. 

MSS. vol. i, pp. 36 4-387. 

Translations of Book GG, vol. xxvi. 1642-1649, 514 PP- F- 

by D. Westbrook, July 23, 1841 — "on whole satisfactory 

and reliable." 

Contents: Patents of July 12, 1630 — September 20, 1651, in 

GG. Deed of Maryn Aiidriesen to Jan Jansen Damen, 

September 20, 1642 (N. Y. Col. MSS. ii, 53). Commissions 

to Martin Crieger and Cornells van Ruyven, September 

22, 23, 1659 (N. Y. Col. MSS.xvii. 68). 

Translations of Dutch patents and transports, 1652-1674, 86 

pp. F. by James Van Ingen. — "carefully prepared." 

Contents: Parti, of Book HH. Patents of September 5, 

1652 — October 15, 1653. Translations of Dutch Patents, 

1654-1655, 171, pp. P. by James Van Ingen — "Correct and 

satisfactory." 

Contents: Part 2 of HH. Patents of February 26, 1655 — 

April 5, 1664. Translation of "Index" of Dutch Patents, 

1630-1661. 49 pp. F. Index of Names to the Translations — 

"not implicity to be relied upon." 

Albany County Clerk's Office 

Court minutes of Fort Orange : 
Vol. i. 1652-1656, 321 pp. F. 

Contents: Minutes of April 15, 1652 — December 12, 1656, 
MS. Cal. by B. Femow (Fort Orange Recs. of October 4, 
1656 — December II, 1657 are in N. Y. Col. MSS. vol. xvi. 
Part 2, pp. I. 124. 

Vol.ii. 1658-1660; MortgageNo. i, 1652-1660, 447PP F. 
Contents: Title on front page : "Fort Orange Proceedings, 
deeds, Indian treaties, bills of sale, etc., bonds, etc., powers 
of attorney, January, 1652 — November, 1660." 211 pp. Min- 
utes of the Court of Port Orange, January 8, 1658 — Decem- 
r ber 2, 1659, calendared by O'Callaghan, Cal. Hist. MSS. vol. 

i. (Dutch), pp. 317-322. 

Mortgages, etc., calendared in MS. Cal. in County Clerk's 
Office. 

(Fort Orange Recs. of January 13, December 30, 1660 in 
N. Y. Col. MSS. vol. xvi. part 3, pp. 133-232.) 

Notarial Papers of Beverwyck. 
Vol. i. 616 pp. P. 1660-1676. 

Contents: Contracts, leases, inventories, bonds, indentures of 
apprenticeship, powers of attorney, etc., acknowledged 
before Dirck Van Schelluyne and Adriaen Van Ylpendam, 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 33 5 

notaries public, August 17, 1660 — January 6, 1676-1677. 
Calendared by B. Pemow. 

Deed-book, No. i, A, 1656-1678, 210 pp. P. 

Contents : Deeds of October 16,165 6 — June 20,1678. Cal . 
by B. Pemow 

Deed-book, No. 2, B, 1654-1680, 869 pp. P. 

Contents: Deeds of August 19, 1654 — July ,1679. Cal. 
by B. Pemow 

(Both Deed-books translated and edited by Jonathan 
Pearson as "Early Records of the City and County of Albany 
and Colony of Rensselaerswyck, 1656-1657."' Albany, 1869 ; 
reprinted with a "Key to the Names of Persons," "Contribu- 
tions for the genealogies of the first settlers of Albany," and 
"Diagram of the home lots of the village of Beverwyck," in 
Munsell's Collections on the History of Albany, vol. iii. pp. 
1-224, iv, pp. 84-510.) 

Ulster County Clerk's Office (Kingston) 

Court Records of Wiltwyck, 1661-1664, pp. P. vol, i. 

Contents : Copy of bond by inhabitants of Wiltwyck to 

demolish separate dwellings and surround the village with a 

stockade, May 31, 1658. 

Court minutes of July 12, 1661 — May, 1664. 

(Translation ia MS. vol. i. 645 pp. by Mr. D.Versteeg. — "not 

faultless, but creditable and ia general reliable." 

Contents: Bond of May 31, 1658 and records of July 12, 

1661 — Pebruary 16, 1672-3. 

New York City Clerk's Office, City Hall 

Minutes of the Burgomasters and Schepens of New Amsterdam 
1653-1674, 6 MS. Volumes P. 

(Dutch till 1665 and during Dutch reoccupation, 1673-4. 
Vol. i. has the ordinances of the Director General sftid Council 
of New Netherland in the first 73 pages. These were edi- 
ted by O'Callaghan in 1868 as "Laws and Ordinances of 
New Netherland, and by B. Fernow in his "Records of 
New Amsterdam." vol. i. 

Translation of vol. i., ordinances and minutes to September, 
1654, by Mr. Westbrook. — "poor." 

Translation of remaining 5 volumes by O'Callaghan in 1848. 
Translation printed in 1897 as "Records of New Amster- 
dam." 7 Vols. ed. B. Fernow: New translation of MS. vol. 
i., and revision of 5 MS. vols, translated by O'Callaghan.) 
Notarial Records : 

Vol. i. Burgomasters and Schepens, 1653-1675. 

(This volume with the Court Records.) 

ii. Burgomasters and Schepens, 1654-1660. 

iii. Burgomasters and Schepens, 1658-1660. 

iv. Burgomasters and Schepens, 1661-1663. 

v. Burgomasters and Schepens, 1 663-1 665. 



336 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

vi. Burgomasters and Sch'epens, 1662-1664. 
viii. Biirgoniasters and Schepens, 1657-1661. 
Two Additional Volumes: 

Vol. i. Original records of Burgomasters and Orphatunasters, 
Surrogates. 
ii. Record of deeds, bonds etc., of New Orange, 1671-74. 

(Translations by O'Callaghan in MS.) 
Vol. I. Mortgages of lots and pieces of land in the City of 
New Amsterdam, 1654-1660. vol. ii. of original. 

2. Deeds and conveyances of real estate in City of New 

Amsterdam, 1659-1665, 380 pp. Contents of iii. 
and parts of v. and vi. of original. 

3. Deeds and conveyances of real estate in City of New 

Amsterdam, 1654-1638, 311 pp. Contents of iii. 
and parts of v. and vi. of original. 

4. Register of Salomon Lachair, notary public of New 

Amsterdam, 1662-1664, 432 pp. vols. iv. and 
yiii. and part of Orphan's Court Records of orig- 
inal. 

5. Rerister of Waleyn van der Veen, notary public of 

New Amsterdam, 1662-1664, 115 pp. vol. vi., in 
part, of original. 

6. Deeds and Mortgages of lots and tracts of land in the 

City of New York and New Orange, 1664-1675, 233 
pp. vol. ii. of Additional Volumes and a part of 
vol. V. of original. 

7. Powers of attorney, acknowledgments, indenttires of 

apprenticeship, inventories, deeds, etc., 1651-1656. 
185 pp. : vol. i. of original, in part. 

8. Minutes of the Orphans' Court of New Amsterdam, 

1656-1668, 399 pp. vol. i. of Additional Volumes. 
Printed by B. Femow, "Minutes of Orphan Mas- 
ters' Court of New Amsterdam, 1656-1663; Minutes 
of the Executive Boards of the Burgomasters of 
New Amsterdam ; and Records of Waleyn Van der 
Veen, Notary Public, 1662-1664, New York, 1907. 

Hall op Records, Kings County, Brooklyn 

Gravesend Records (wholly in Enghsh). 
Vol. i. Town Records, 1646-1653. 
i. Town Records, 1653-1669. 
i. Town Records, 1656-1844. 
i. Town Records, 1662-1699. 
i. Town Records, 1645-1701. 

(There is hardly a remairk of a religious nature in 
these books except in the town charter) . 

New Utrecht Record (wholly Dutch) . 
Vol. i. Town Records 1657. 

The Dutch title: Het Bouk Van Het Durp Utrecht. Ao 1657. 
The book is prefaced by two religious poems of Nicasius de 
Sille: "Het Aerdt-Rijck spreeckt tot sijne opquekers," and 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 337 

"Ghesang op de wijse van den 116 Psalm." The book also 
contains a digest of the placards promulgated in the Province. 
Regulation of the liquor traffic, conventicles, marriage reg^u- 
lations, etc., under title: "Corte aenwijsinghe van enighe 
placaten over beganene uisusen, etc." 

Vol. ii. 1661-1686 (Dutch). Deeds and Miscellaneous instru- 
ments. 

Court Records of Flatbush (Dutch) . 

Court minutes, etc.. Liber B. 1659-1664. 

Hall op Records, New York City 

Newtown Records (English). 

Court Records, 1659-1690. • 

(Octavo volume bound with a folio volume, beginningin 1695, 
and giving earlier documents, but all after 1663. The pages 
of this folio volume are entitled by subjects of a theological 
treatise in Latin, alphabetically arranged. It was appar- 
ently planned as a Dictionary of Moral Theology. The book 
was then inverted and used for a summary of some parts of 
the Old Testament: Books of Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, all 
in English. The Court Records then begin.) 

Jamaica Town Records. 
1 Vol. 1660-1772. 552 pp. 

Contents: deeds, bills of sale, miscellaneous contracts, mostly 
indentures, etc., with occasional records of town meetings. 

Hempstead, L. I. 

Book A. Town Records, 1657-1662. 

Book B. Town Records, 1662-1680. 

(Book A is prefaced by "An Alphabet to the most Notarial 
things in this Book, relating to the Publick." The books are 
printed in the "Records of the Towns of North and South 
Hempstead." 8 vols. Jamaica, 1896. 

Library op Congress, Washington 

Dutch West India Company: Extracts of resolutions, rainutes 
of proceedings, etc., 1659-1675, 80 pp. in Dutch. 

Miscellaneous papers relating to the Company, Portugal and 
Brazil, etc. 1649-1655 (.?). 

Library op Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Phila- 
delphia 

Dutch West India Company Manuscripts. 

Records, 1000 pp. F. 1635-1663. 

Mkiutes: 1655-1663 in a fair state of preservation. 

Transcripts of Manuscripts from Swedish Archives: Stock- 
holm, Skokloster, Palmskiold Collections of Library of 
University of Upsala, and Lund. 

Contents: papers of Usselinx, correspondence of Oxenstiema 
with Spring, Blommaert, Minuit, papers on Swedish, West 



338 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

India Company, on expeditions to Delaware; commissions 
and instructions for officers of the colony ; letters and re- 
ports of governors; other colonial records, diplomatic inter- 
course with foreign nations. 

(The Correspondence between Oxenstiema and Blommaert has 
been edited in the original by G. W. Kemkamp, Brieven van 
Samuel Blommaert aan den Zweedsche Rijkskanselier Axel 
Oxenstiema, 1635-1641. ia Bijdragen en Medeelingen van 
het Historisch Genootschap (Utecht). 29 dell, Amsterdam, 
1908. 

Library op the new York Historical Society 

New Netherland Papers. Dutch Manuscripts. 

Lenox Library, New York. 

New Netherland Papers: 1636-1660. 

Contents : Letters of governors, petitions, extracts from letters 
and other papers in the colony, accounts kept with the home 
government, list of houses and various other colonial docu- 
ments, about thirty items, mostly contemporary or early 
copies, with some modem transcripts. Unbound. Prom 
the Brevoort collection. Cf . Catalogue of the Moore Library, 
pt. 2. no. 1791. .^ 

Holland Society Library, New York 

Minutes of the Consistory of Brooklyn, Sept. 5, 1660 — ^Jvily 30, 
1664. (MS. Translation by D. Versteeg.) ^ 

Sage Library, New Brunswick, N. J. 

Ecclesiastical Records of the Dutch Reformed Church in New 
Netherland, obtained from Holland Archives: Classis of 
Amsterdam, Synod of North Holland in Amsterdam, Gen- 
eral Synod at The Hague. 

1 . Original. 

2. Transcripts. 

(Nearly all of these printed in the Ecclesiastical Records of 
New York. Vol. i. Cf. Introduction to this work for a classi- 
fication of this material) . 

(C) PRINTED DOCUMENTS AND SOURCES 

Provincial 

Aitzema, L. van, Sakeh, van Staet en Oorlogh in ende omtrent 
de Vereenigde Nederlanden. 15 vols. The Hague, 1657- 
1671; 7 vols. 1669-72. 

(Extracts relating to New Netherland Transl. in New York 
Historical Society Collections. 2d. Series, vol. ii. 1849,) 

Breeden Raedt aende Vereenichte Nederlandsche Provintien 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 339 

. . . gemaeckt ende gestelt uijt diverse . . . memorien 

door I. A. G. W. C. Antwerp. 1649. 
(Broad Advice etc. Translation by Henry C. Murphy in New 

York Historical Society Collections, 2d. Series, vol. iii. 237 

1857; and E. B. O'Callaghan in Documentary History of 

New York. vol. iv. 65. 1849.) 
Castell, William. A short Disco verie of the Coasts and Conti- 
nent of America. London, Printed in the year 1644. 
(A chapter of New Netherland on pp. 21-23. An extract 

printed in New York Historical Society Collections. 2d. 

Series vol. iii. 1857. 
De Laet, Johan. Nieuwe Weredlt, ofte Beschrijvinghe van 

West Indien. 1625. 1630, 1633, 1640. 
(Extracts relating to New Netherland transl. in N^Sv York 

Historical Society Collections. 2d. Series, i. 282-316. 1841; 

ii. 373. 1849. 

Revised version in Narratives of New Netherland, ed. J. 
Franklin Jameson, pp. 36-60. 1909.) 
De RasiSres, Isaak, to SamueLBlommaert. 1628? 
(Translation by Brodhead: "New Netherland in 1627." in 

New York Historical Society Collections. 2d. Series, ii. 

339-3S4- 1849)- „ 

Revised version by W. I. Hull in Narratives of New Nether- 
land. ed. J. Franklin Jameson, pp. 102-115. 1909. 

Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of 
New York; ist. Series. 11 vols. ed. E. B. O'Callaghan. 2d. 
Series. 3 vols. ed. B. Femow. Albany. 1856-61. 

Donck, Acfiiaen van der. Nieuw Nederlandt, Beschrijvinghe 
van, gelijck het tegenwoordigh in staet is. Amsterdam. 
165s, 1656. 

(Transl. by J. Johnson, "Description of the New Netherlands," 
in New York Historical Society Collections. 2d. Series, i. 
1841). 

Hazard, E. Historical Collections consisting of State Papers 
and other Authentic Documents Intended as Materials for an 
History of the United States of America. 2 vols., Philadel- 
phia. 1 792-94. 

(Extracts relating to New Netherland in N. Y. Hist. Soc. 
Collections. 1809.) 

Jameson, J. Franklin, ed. Naratives of New Netherland, 
1609-1664. New York. 1909. 

Meteren, E. van. Historie der Nederlandsche ende haerder 
Naburen Oorlogen ende Geschiedenissen tot ded Jare 161 2. 
Ed. ist. Delft. 1599; 2d. Delft. 1605; 3d. Utrecht. 1609; 4th. 
The Hague. 1614. 

(Extracts relating to New Netherland in ed. 161 1 and 161 4 
transl. from ed. 1611 by Henry C. Murphy: "Henry Hud- 
son in Holland." The Hague, 1859. pp. 62-65. transl. from 
ed. 1614 by G. M. Asher : Henry Hudson the Navigator. (Hak- 
luyt Society, i860, pp. 147-153. Revised version of 
Asher's translation in Narratives of New Netherland. ed. J. 
Franklin Jameson, pp. 6-9. 1909.) 



34° RELIGION IN NEW NETHBRLAND 

Murphy, Henry C. NieuwNederlandt's Anthologie. Anthology 
of New Netherland; or Translations from the early Dutch 
poets of New York, with memoirs of their Uves, New York. 
1865. Bradford Club. 

O'Callaghan, E. B. Laws and Ordinances of New Nether- 
land, 1638-1674. Albany, 1868. 

O'Callaghan, E. B. Documentary History of New York; 
arranged under the Secretary of State. 4 vols, Albany, 1849- 
Si- 

Vertoogh van Nieu-Neder-Land, Weghens de Ghelegentheydt, 
Vruchtbaerheydt, en Soberen Staet desselfs. The Hague, 
1630. 

(The manuscript, which is a little different from the printed 
tract, transl. as "Remonstrance of New Netherland," 1856, 
in New York Colonial Documents, i. 271-316, reprinted in 
Pennsjrlvania Archives, 2d. Series, v. 124-170. 
The printed tract transl. by Henry C. Murphy in New York 
Historical Society Collections, 2d. Series, ii. 251-329. 1849; 
by Mr. James Lenox in a separate pamphlet, also containing 
the Breeden Raedt; finally a revised version of this by A. 
Clinton Crowell in Narratives of New Netherland. ed. J. 
Franklin Jameson, pp. 293-354.) 

Vries, David Pieterz de, Korte historiael ende joumaels 
aenteyckeninge van verscheyden voyagiens in de vier deelen 
des wereldts-ronde als Europa, Africa, Asia ende Amerika 
gedaen, etc. Alckmaer, 1655. 

(Extracts relating to Newfoundland, New Netherland and 
Virginia, transl. by Henry C. Murphy in New York Historical 
Society Collections. 2d. Series, iii. 1-129. Separate print 
by James Lenox, 1853. 

Extracts relating to New Netherland, 1633-1643 in a revised 
version of Mr. Murphy's translation, in Narratives of New 
Netherland, ed. J. Franklin Jameson, New York, 1909). 

United States Commission on Boundary between Venezuela 
and British Guiana. Report of, vol. ii. Extracts from 
Dutch Archives. Also Senate Document No. 91, ssth Con- 
gress, 2d Session (1898). 

Wassenaer. N. van. Historisch Verhael alder ghedenck- 
weerdichste Geschiedenissen die hier en daer in Europa etc., 
voorgevallen syn. 21 vols. Amsterdam, 1622-1635. 
(Partsrelating to New Netherland transl. as "Description and 
First Settlement of New Netherland," in Documentary 
History of New York iii. 27-48, in New York Historical 
Society Proceedings, 1858, and finally a revised translation 
ed. by J. Franklin Jameson in his Narratives of New Nether- 
land, pp. 61-69, 1909.) 

Regional 

Patroonship of Renssblaerswyck 

Van Rensselaer Bowier Manuscripts, Being the Letters of 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 34I 

Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, 163 0-1643, ^^'^ other Documents 
Relating to the Colony of Rensselaerswyck. Albany, 1908. 

Swedish Settlements 

Ampliation oder Erweitrung des Privilegii so der AUerdurch- 
lauchtigste Groszmachtigste Fiirst and Herr, Herr Gustavus 
Adolphus.der Schweden, Gothen tind Wenden Konig; Grosz- 
Ftirst in Finnland, Hertzog zu Ehesten and Carelen, Herr zu 
Ingermanland, etc. Der neuen Australischen oder Stider- 
Compagnie durch Schweden and nunmehr auch Teutsch- 
land, allergnadigst ertheilet und verliehen. Gedruckt zu 
Heylbrunn, boy Christoph Krausen. Im Jahr 1633. Mense 
Aprili. Reprint in Marquad's Tractatus. ii. SS^-Sf- 

Ampliation oder Erweitenmg von dam Octroij und Privilegio 
der newen Siiyder-Handels Compagnia, durch Last and 
Befehl von die Deputirten der loblichen Confoederirten 
Herren, Standen, der vier Ober-Craysen zu Franckfurth, 
anzustellen verordnet, den 12 December, Anno 1634. Ge- 
druckt zu Hamburg, durch Heinrich Werner, im Jalu" Christi 

1635- 

Argonautica Gustaviana, das ist: Nothwendige Nach-Richt 
van der Neuen Seefahrt und Kauffhandlung, so von dem 
Weilandt AUerdurchleuchtigsten Grosztnachtigsten imd 
Siegreichesten Fursten und Herm, Herm Gustavo Adolpho 
Magno, . . . durch anrichtung einer General Handel-Com- 
pagnie . . . vor wenig Jahren zu stifften angefangen: 
anjetzo aber der Teutschen Evangelischen Nation . . . zu 
tmermesslichen Nutz und Frommen . . . mitgetheilet wor- 
den . . . Gedruckt zu Franckfurt am Mayn, bey Caspar 
Rodteln, im Jahr Christi, 1633. Mense Junio. 

FuUmagt for Wellam Usselinx at inratta et Gen. Handels- 
Comp. til Asien, Afr., Amer. och Terra Magell. Dat. Stockh. 
d. 21 Dec, 1624. 
(Translation in Col. Doc. N. Y. vol. xii. 1-2.) 

Handlingar rorande Skandinaviens historia, tjugondenionde 
delen. Stockholm, 1848. 

(Some letters of the Swedish Government regarding New 
Sweden.) 

Hazard, Samuel, Annals of Pennsylvania from the Discovery 
of the Delaware, 1609-1682. Philadelphia,, 1850. 

Hazard, Samuel, Register of Pennsylvania. Vols. iv. v. Phil- 
adelphia, 1828-36. (Publication of Manuscripts in the 
Library of American Philosophical Society, especially of 
translations from a French version of copies of Swedish 
documents, procured at Stockholm by Jonathan Russel, 
Minister of the United States to the Court of Sweden.) 

Instruction oder Anleitung: Welcher Gestalt die Einzeich- 
nung zu der neuen Siider-Compagnie, durch Schweden und 
nunmehr auch Teutschland zu befordem, und an die Hand 
zu nehmen; derselben auch mit ehestem ein Anfang zu 
machen. Gedruckt zu Heylbrunn bey Christoph Krausen. 
1633, Mens. Aprili. 



342 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

(Reprint in Marquad's Tractatus. ii. 542-52.) 

Kemkamp, G. W. Brieven van Samuel Blommaert aan den 
Zweedischen Rijkskanseleir Axel Oxenstiema, 1635-1641. 
Bijdragen en Mededeelingen van het Historisc Genootschap. 
(tJtrecht). 29 Deel., Amsterdam, igo8. 

Kurtzer Extract der vomemsten Haupt-Puncten, so biszher 
weitlauffig und grundlich erwiesen, und nochmals, jeder- 
manniglich, unwiedersprechlich fur Augen gestellet soUen 
werden. In Sachend er neuen Siider-Compagnie. Gedruckt 
zu Heylbrunn bey Christoph Krausen, Anno, 1633. Mens. 
Aprili. 
(Reprint in Marquad's Tractatus. ii. 541-2.) 

Manifest und Vertragbrieff, der Australischen Companey im 
Konigreich Scweden auffgerichtet. Im Jahr MDCXXIV. 
(Reprint in the Auszfuhrlicher Bericht iiber den Manifest.) 

Marquadus, Johannes. Tractatus Politico-Juridicus de Jure 
Mercatorum et Commerciorum Singular: . 2 vols. Frankfort, 
1662. 

Navorsch^r, De. Two letters from Johannes Bogaert, 
"Schrijver," to Bontemantel, Director of Dutch West India 
Company. August 28 and October 31, 1655, N. S. in regard 
to the arrival of the ship De Waag at New Amsterdam with 
some details on the conquest of New Sweden, not elsewhere 
noted. Amsterdam, 1858. 

(Translation by Henry C. Murphyin Hist. Mag. ii. 257et seq. 
New York, 1858.) 

Octroy eller Privilegier, som then Stormagtigste Hogbome 
Furste och Herre, Herr Gustaf Adolph, Sweriges, Gothes och 
Wendes Konung, etc. Det Swenska nysz uprattade Sodra 
Compagniet nadigst hafwer bebrefwat. Dat. Stockholm, d. 
14 Junii, 1626. (Cited in Acrelius). 

Octroy und Privilegitmi so der AUerdurchlauchtigste Grosz- 
machtigste Fiirst und Herr, Her Gustavus Adolphus, der 
Schweden, Gothen und Wenden Konig, Grosz-Furst in Finn- 
land, Hertzog zu Ehesten und Carelen, Herr zu Ingerman- 
land, etc. Der im Konigreich Schweden jiingsthin auffge- 
richteten Siider-Compagnie allergnadigst gegeben und ver- 
liehen. Stockholm, gedruckt bey Ignatio Meurem. Im 
Jahr, 1626. 

(Reprint in Marquad's Tractatus. ii. 545-52. Translation in 
Col. Doc. N. Y. xii. 7 et seq.) 

Octroy ofte Privilegie soo by den alderdoorluchtigsten Groot- 
machtigen Vorst ende Heer, Heer Gustaef Adolph, der 
Sweden Gothen ende Wenden Koningh, Grootvorst in Fin- 
land, Hertogh tot Ehesten ende Carelen, Heer tot Inger- 
manland, etc., aen de nieuw opgerichte Zuyder Compagnie 
in't Konin^ijck Sweden onlangs genadigst gegeben ende ver- 
leend is, Mitsgaders een naerder Bericht over 't selve Octroy 
ende Verdragh-brief door Willem Usselinx. In's Graven- 
hage, By Aert Meuris, Boeckverkooper in de Papestraat in 
den Bybel, anno 1627. It also contains Usselinx's TJtforligh 
Forklaring. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 343 

Pennsylvania Archives. 2d. Series, vol. v. (Reprint of 
documents on New Sweden from Col. Docs. N. Y. i. ii. iii.) 
vol. vii. (Reprints of documents on New Sweden from 
Col. Docs., N. Y. xii.) 

Stiemman, Anders Anton v. Samling utaf Kongl. Bref, Stad- 
gar och Forordningar, etc. angaende Sveriges Rikes Com- 
mercie, Politie, och CEcbnomie uti gemen. Onfran ar 1523 
in til narvarande tid. Uppa Hans Konigl. Maj. ts nadi- 
gesta bef alining gjord. Porsta del. Stockholm, 1747; andra 
del. Ibid. 175°; trejda del. Ibid. 1753; fjerde del. Ibid. 
1760; femte del. Ibid. 1766; sjette del. ibid. 1775. 
(Documents relating to Swedish West India Company and 
New Sweden.) ♦ 

Stiemman Anders Anton v. Monumenta Politico-Ecclesiastica. 
Ex-Archivio Palmskioldiano nunc primum in lucem edita. 
Praeside Olavo Calsio. Upsaliae. MDCCL. 
(Documents relating to Swedish West India Company and 
New Sweden.) 

Sw. Rikes Gen. Handels Compagnies Contract, dirigerat til 
Asiam Africam och Magelliam samt desz Conditiones. 
Stockh. ar 1625. 

Der Reiche Scweden Gera. Compagnies Handlungs Contract, 
Dirigiret naher Asiam, Africam, vnd Magelanicam Samt 
dessen Conditionen vnnd Wilkohren. Mit Kon. May. zu 
Schweden, vnsers AUergnadigsten Konings vnd Herrn 
gnediger BewiUigung, auch hierauflE ertheilten Privilegien, 
in often tlichen Druck publiciret. Stockholm, 1625. 
(Translation in Col. Doc. N. Y. xii. 2 et seq.) 

Uthforligh Forklaring ofwer Handels Contractet angaendes thet 
Sodre Compagniet uthi Konungarijket i Swenghe. Stalt 
igenom Wilhelm Usselinx, Och nu aff thet Nederlandske 
Spraket uthsatt pa Swenska, aff Erico Schrodero. Trackt i 
Stockholm, aS Ignatio Meurer, Ahr, 1626. 

AuszfuhrUcher Bericht uber den Manifest ; oder Vertrag-Brieff 
der Australischen oder Stider Compagney im Konigreich 
Schweden. Durch Wilhelm Usselinx. Ausz dem Nieder- 
landischen in die Hoch-deutsche Sprache libergesetzt. 
Stockholm, Gedruckt durch Christofler Reusner. Anno 
MDCXXVI. 

English Settlements 

Adams, C. F. ed. Antinomianism in the Colony of Massachusetts 
Bay, 1636-38. Prince Society Publication. Boston, 1894. 

Lechford, Thomas. Plain dealing; or News from New Eng- 
land. London, 1642. — with an introduction and notes by 
J.H.Trumbull. Boston, 1867. 
In Mass. Hist. Soc. Collections. Vol. 23. 1833. 

Lechford, Thomas. Note-Book, 1638-1641. ed. Everett Hale 

Jr. 
Underhill, John. Newes from America. London, 1638. 

Fac-simile publ.by the Underhill Soc. N. Y. 1902. Reprint 
in Mass. Hist. Soc. Collections. 3d Series. Vol. vi, — ed. by 



344 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

Orr. Charles: History of the Pequot war, etc., Cleveland, 

Wmthrop, John. History of New England. In Original Nar- 
ratives of Early America, ed. by J. Kendall Hosmer as 
Winthrop's Journal. 2 Vols., 1908. 

Municipal 

Femow, Berthold, ed. Records of New Amsterdam from 1653 
to 1674 Minutes of the Court of Burgomasters and Schepens 
1653-1674, Administrative Minutes, 1657-1661. 7 Vols. 
New York, 1897. 

(The administrative minutes from February 11,1661, May 20, 
1664, were not printed. These valuable records were dis- 
covered among the personal effects of the late Lieutenant B. 
E. Femow, and returned by Dr. Burrage, the State historian 
of Maine, to the librarian of the City of New York.) 

Munsell, Joel. Annals of Albany. 10 vols. Albany, 1850-9, 

Munsell, Joel. Collections on the history of Albany from its 
discovery to the present time. 4 vols. Albany, 1865-71. 

Pearson, Jonothan. Early Records of the City and County of 
Albany and Colony of Rensselaerswyck, 1656-1675. Albany , 
1869-1872. 

(Reprinted with a "Key tothenamesofpersons," "Contribu- 
tions for the geneologies of the first settlers of Albany," and 
"Diagram of the home lots of the village of Beverwyck," in 
Munsell's Collections, etc. vols. iii. 1-224; iv. 84-510.) 

Records of the Towns of North Hempstead. 8 vols. 1896. 

Valentine, David Thomas, comp. Manual of the corporation 
of the City of New York, N. Y., 1842-70. Historical index to 
Manuals, 1841-70. New York, 1900. 

(No volume issued for 1867. New series beginning in 1868 is 
less valuable from a historical point of view, than the pre- 
ceeding issues to 1850, which contain important historical 
materials : extracts from early records of the city, Dutch and 
English, etc.) 

Religious 

Bowne, John. Journal of, partly printed by Onderdonck, H. Jr. 
in the American Historical Record, i. 4-8, Jan. 1872. 
"Persecution of an early friend or quaker copied from his 
journal." Manuscript copy by the same author in Long 
Island Historical Society Library, Brooklyn, preceded by 
a copy of Bowne's Account book. 

Ecclesiastical Records of the State of New York. 6 Vols. 
Albany, 1901-1905. 

(Vol. i. covers Dutch period. Published by the State under 
the supervision of Hugh Hastings, State Historian. Docu- 
ments compiled and edited by E. T. Corwin.) 

Femow, B. ed. Minutes of Orphan Masters' Court of New 
Amsterdam, 1656-1663; Minutes of the Executive Boards of 
the Btu-gomasters of New Amsterdam; and Records of 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 345 

Walewyn van der Veen, Notary Public, 1663-1664. New 

York, 1907. 
Jesuit Relations, and Allied Documents, ed. R. G. Thwaites. 

1610-1791. 73 Vols. Cleveland, 1896-1901. 
1642-1643. Vimont, Relation de la Nouvelle Prance, 1642- 

1643. Cramoisy. 1644, Jes. Rels. xxiii. xxiv. xxv. 
1643. Jogues. Lettre du P. Isaac Jog^ues du village des Iro- 
quois, 30 juin, 1643. 
1643-1644. Vimont. Relation de la Nouvelle-Prance. 1643- 

1644.. Paris, Cramoisy, 1645. Jes. Rels.. xxv. xxvi. 

xxvii. 
1645-1646. Lalemant et Raguenau. Relation de la Nouvelle- 

France, 1645-1646. Paris, Cramoisy, 1647. Jes. Rels^xxviii. 

xxix. XXX. 
1645-1649. Breve Relatione d'alcune missioni nella Nuova 

Francia, 1645-1649. Macerata, 1653, Jes., Rels. xxxviii. 

xxxix. xl. 

1646. Jogues, Isaac. Novum Belgium. Jes. Rels. xxviii. 
(O'Callaghan, Doc. Hist. N. Y., iv. 15-17 ; 4to ed. 21-24, 80 ed. ; 
1851. J. G. Shea, N. Y. Hist. Soc. Collections. 2d Series, 
iii. 215-219. 

Revised version of Shea's translation in Narratives of New 
Netherland, pp. 259-263, 1909.) 

Jogues, Isaac. Notice sur Ren6 Goupil, undated. Jes. Rels. 
xxviii. 

1647. Lalemant. Relation de la Nouvell-France sour le 
Grand Fleuve de St. Laurens. 1647, Paris, Cramoisy, 1648. 
Jes. Rels. xxx. xxxi. xxxii. 

1652-1653. Le Mercier. Relation de la Nouvelle-Prance, 
1652-53. Paris, Cramoisy, 1654. Jes. Rels. xl. 

ifiS3- Journal des Jfisuites, Janvier k Ddcembre, 1653. Jes. 
Rels. xxxviii. 

1653-1654. Le Mercier. Relation de la Nouvelle-Prance, 
1653-54. Paris, Cramoisy, 1655. Jes. Rels. xli. 

1654. Journal des J^suites, Janvier £1 F^vrier, 1654. Jes. Rels. 
xU. 

1655. Copie de deux Lettres en voices de la Nouvelle-Prance, 

1655. Paris, Cramoisy, 1656. Jes. Rels. xU. 

1655-1656. de Quens, Jean. Relation de la Nouvelle- 
Prance, 1655-1656. Paris, Cramoisy, 1657. Jes. Rels. xlii. 
Mort du Prfire Li^eois., 1655-1656. Jes. Rels. xUi. 

1656. Le Mercier. Journal des J^suites, Octobre k D^cembre 

1656. Jes. Rels. xlii. 

1656-1657. Lejeune. Relation de la Nouvelle-Prance, 1656- 

57. Paris, Cramoisy, 1658. Jes. Rels. xliii. xliv. 
1657- Journal des J^suites, Janvier 3, D^cembre, 1657. Jes. 

Rels. xliii. 
1657-1658. Ragueneau. Relation de la Nouvelle-Prance, 

1657-58. Paris, Cramoisy, 1659. Jes. Rels. xliv. 
1658. Journal des J^stiites, Janvier ^ D^cembre, 1658. Jes. 

Rels. xliv. 



346 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

1659. Lalemant. Lettres envoi^es de la Nouvelle-France, 
1659. Paris, Cramoisy, 1660. Jes. Rels. xlv. 

Journal des J^suites, Janvier k D^cembre, 1659. Jes. Rels. 
xlv. 
1659-1660. Relaton de la Nouvelle-France, 1659-1660. Paris, 
Cramoisy, 1661. Jes. Rels. xlv. 

1660. Journal des J^suites, Janvier h D^cembre, 1660. Jes. 
Rels. xlv. 

1660-1661. Le Jeune, Relation de la Nouvelle-France, 1660- 

1661. Paris, Cramoisy, 1662. Jes. Rels. xlvi. xlvii. 

1661. Chaumonot. Lettre du P. J. M. Chaumonot. Quebec, 
20 Octobre, 1661. Jes. Rels. xlvi. 

1661-1662 Lalemant. Relation de la Nouvell-France, 1661- 

1662. Paris, Cramoisy, 1663. Jes. Rels. xlvii. 

1662. Journal des J^suites, Janvier k D^cembre, 1662. Jes. 
Rels. xlvii. 

1663. Journal des J^suites, Janvier k D^cembre, 1663. Jes. 
Rels. xlvii. 

Megapolensis, John. Een kort Ontwerp vande Makvase Indi- 
aenen, haer Landt, Tale, Statuere, Dracbt, Godes-Dienst 
ende Magistrature, aldus beschreven ende nu kortelijck den 
26 August!, 1644 opgesonden uyt Nieuwe Neder-Landt, 
door Johannem Megapolensem juniorem, Predikant aldaer. 
Alkmaer. No date. 

(Printed in 1651. Amsterdam by Joost Hartgers in Ids "Be- 
schrijvinghe van Virginia, Nieuw Nederlandt, etc." 
Translation by Ebenezer Hazard in "Historical Collections, 
i. 517-526. 1792. Revised version by J. R. Brodhead in 
N. Y. Historical Society Collections. 2d Series, iii. 137-160. 
A more revised version in Narratives of New Netherland. 
ed. J. Franklin Jameson, pp. 168-180.) 

Megapolensis, Reverend Johannis, Reply of to a Letter 

of Father Simon Le Moyne, a French Jesuit Missionary of 
Canada, 1658. Collegiate Church, New York, 1907. 

Versteeg, Dingman. Manhattan in 1628, as described in the 
recently discovered Autograph Letter of Jonas Michaelius, 
written from the settlement on the 8th of August of that 
year and now first published. New York, 1904. 
(Letter to Joannes Foreest of Horn and Director of the West 
India Company. Found in the sale of Manuscripts in 
Amsterdam, 1902.) 



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(E) SPECIAL WORKS 



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Carson, Hampton L. The Dutch and Swedish Settlements on 
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348 RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

Ferris, Benjamin. A History of the Original Settlements oa 
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Odhner, Professor Clases Theodor. Sveriges Inre Historia 
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Odhner, C. T. Kolonien. Nya Sveriges Grundlaggung, 1637- 
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Sprinchom, Carl. K. S. Kolonien Nya Sveriges Historia. in 
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English Sbttlkmbnts on Long Island 

Bergen, Teunis. Early History of Kings County. 

Flint, Martha Bock^e. Early Long Island. A Colonial Study. 
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Fiarman, Gabriel. Antiquities of Long Island with a Bib- 
liography by Henry Onderdonk, Jr., 1875. 

Onderdonk, H. Jr. Queens Comity in Olden Times, in Ameri- 
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Thompson, B.J. History of Long Island, including also a 
particular account of the Different Churches and Ministers. 
3 Vols. 1843- J 

Municipal 

Innes, J. H. New Amsterdam and Its People. New York, 

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Mandeville, Henry G, Flushing, Past and Present. Flushing, 

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Moore, Charles B. Early Hempstead. Hempstead. 1870. 
Onderdonk, Henry, Jr. Annals of Hempstead. Hempstead, 

1878. 
Onderdonck, Henry, Jr. Antiquities of Hempstead, 1878. 
Ostrander. A History of the City of Brooklyn and Kings 

County, 1894. 
Riker, James. Annals of Newtown, 1852. 
Stiles, Henry R. History of Brooklyn including the Old Town 

and Village of Brooklyn, the Town of Bushwyck, etc. 3 Vols. 

Brooklyn, 1867. 



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Strong, Thomas M. The History of the Town of Flatbush. 

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Valentine, David T. History of the City of New York. New 

York, 1853. 
Van Rensselaer, Mrs. Schuyler. History of the City of New 

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Waller, Henry D. History of the Town of Flushing, L. I. 

Flushing, 1899. 
Wilson, James Grant, ed. Memorial History of the City of 

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Religious 



Beekman, A. J. History of the Reformed Dutch Churci of the 

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called Quakers, 1650-89; from original records and other 

authentic accounts. 2 vols. London, 1753. 
Briggs, C. A. American Presbyterianism ; its origin and early 

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Briggs, C. A. Puritanism in New York. Mag. of Am. Hist. 

vol. xiii. 39-58, 1885. 
Bjorck, Tobias E. Dissertatio Gradualis de Plantatione 

Ecclesias Svecanae in America. Upsala, 1731. 
Campbell, T. J. Pioneer Priests of North America. New 

York, 1908. 
Cobb, Sanford H. The Rise of Religious Liberty in America. 

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Cone, G. Herbert. The Jews in Curagoa. Pubs. Am. Jew. 

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Corwin, E. T. Dutch Reformed. Am. Church Hist. Series. 

vol. viii. New York, 1894. 
Corwin, E. T. Manual of the Reformed Church in America. 

4th ed. New York, 1902. 
Dunshee, Henry Webb. History of the School of the Re- 
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Dyer, A. M. Points in the First Chapter in New York Jewish 

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Jacobs, Henry Eyster. Lutherans, Am. Church Hist. Ser. vol. 

iv. New York, 1907. 
Kohler, Max J. Beginnings of Jewish History in New York. 

Am. Jew. Hist. Soc. Pubis. Nos. i, 2. 1893-4. 
Kohler, Max J. Phases of Jewish Life in New York before 

1800. Am. Jew. Hist. Soc. Pubis. No. 3. 1895. 
MacDonald, James M. Two Centuries in the History of the 

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Onderdonck, HT. Jr. The Rise and Growth of the Society of 

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The Annals of Hempstead, 1643 to 1832. 1878. 



35° RELIGION IN NEW NETHERLAND 

Onderdonck. H., Jr. Antiqttities of the Church of Jamaica. 
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Onderdonk, Henry, Jr. Antiquites of the Parish Church of 
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Owpenheim, Samuel. The Early History of the Jews in New 
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Thomas, Allen C, and Richard H. The Society of Friends. 
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Thompson, Robert Ellis. Presbyterians, Am. Church. Hist. 
Ser. vol. vi. New York, 1902. 

Walker, WilUston. Congregationalists, Am. Church Hist. Ser. 
vol. ii. New York, 1903. 

Whittemore, Henry. History of the First Reformed Protest- 
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(F) BIOGRAPHY 

Kapp, Friedrich. Peter Minuit aus Wesel. In Von Sybel's 

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Jameson, J. F. Willem Usselinx. In Am. Hist. Assoc. Reports. 

vol. ii. Separate Ed. New York, 1887. 
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1905- 

(G) AUXILIARY INFORMATION 

Brakel, Dr. S. van. De HoUandsche Handelscompagnieen der 
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Blok, Petrus J. A History of the People of the Netherlands. 
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Hubert, Eugene. Les Pays-Bas Espagnols et La Rtoublique 
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INDEX 



Abram, 97 

Aboaf, Jacob, 253 

Achter Kol, 7, 180, 184 

Acrelius, 126, 133 

Adams, Charles Francis, 151 

Adolphus, Gustavus, King of Swe- 
den, io6, 107, 108 

Adriaesen, Maryn, 78 

Africa, 106 

Agnid, 307 

Albert, Archduke of Austria, 21, 22 
-Algonquins, 150, 271, 285, 293, 294, 
307. 310 

Alkmaar, 24 

Alleghany County, 301 

Alrichs, Jacob, vice-director of New 
Amstel, 128, 129, 130, 132, 134, 
202, 203 

Altona, 134 

Alva, Duke of (Fernando Alvarez 
de Toledo), 10 

Ambrosius, Moses, 254 

America, 73, 106, 109, 113, 115, 116, 
117, 121, 134, 146, 163, 179, 
180, 266 

America, North, 36, no, 118, 145 

Amersfoort, 95, 96, 176 

Amsterdam, 4, 5, 23, 26, 28, 40, 56, 
69, 83, 108, 122, 128, 129, 130, 
132, 134, 135, 199, 200, 201, 202, 
204, 242, 244, 256, 259, 262, 264 

Anabaptists: in New Netheriand, 
7, 141, 168, 169, 170, 220; in New 
York, 142 ; in Stadt en Landen, 2 1 

Andastes, 297, 310, 316 

d'Andrada, Salvator, 257 

Andrews, Samuel, 233 

Andros, Governor of New York, 
142 

Anticosti Is., 305 

Antisabatarians in New York, 142 

Antwerp, 14, 29, 32, 106 



Argonautica Gustaviana, 108 
Arminians cf. Remonstrants 
Arminius, 25 
Artois, 15 
Aruba, 248, 251 
Asia, 106 

Assembly, Great, of United Prov- 
inces, 33 
Auburn, N. Y., 301 
Augsburg Confession, 117, 133 
d'Avaux, Claude de Mesmes, Count, 

31 
d'Avougour, M. Governor of Can- 
ada, 313 

Backerus, John, Dutch Reformed 

minister in New Netheriand, 79, 

81, 82, 83, 84, 85 
Baptists, cf. Ana,baptists 
Barbadoes, 171 

Barsimson, Jacob, 253, 255, 260, 265 
Basset, Robert, 175 
Bayard, Anna, 218 

Nicholas, 218, 231 

Bayly, 175 ^ , , , 

De Beauvois, Carel, schoolmaster, 

sexton, chorister and precentor 

in Breukelen, 100 
Beck, vice-director of Curajoa, etc., 

252 
Beeck, Johan van, 57, 58 
Becker, Jan Juriaens, 127 
Beeckman, WiUiam, vice-director 

of West India Company on 

South River, 125, 127, 133 
Beets, 90 
Bergen, 103, 104 
Beverwyck, 92, 212, 308 
Beyer, Secretary of Christina, 

Queen of Sweden, no 
Biker, Gerrit, Commandant of 

Fort Casimir, 121 



(353) 



354 



INDEX 



Blom, Hermanus, Dutch Refonned 

minister in New Netherland, loo, 

lOI, 102, 103, 212 

Blommaert, Samuel, 109, no, in, 

112, 113 
Bogaerdt, Joost van, 115 
Bogardus, Everardus Wilhelmus, 

Dutch Reformed minister in New 

Netherland, 48, 67, 68, 69, 70, 

71,78,79,80,81,82,269 
Bohemia, 38 
Bois-le-Duc, 31 
Bombay Hook, 199 
Bommel, 10 
Bonaire, 248, 251 
Bordeaux, 281 
Boswyck, 46 

Boursier, Joseph, Jesuit Brother,296 
Bouwery, 46, 99, 105 
Bowne, John, 4, 234, 235, 236, 237, 

239, 240, 241, 244, 245, 246 
Brabant, 14, 107 
Brahe, Peter, Chancellor of Sweden, 

118, 120 
Branford, 186 

Brazil, 38, 39, 62, 93,247,248,256,258 
Bressani, Francis Joseph, S. J. 

missionary, 283, 284, 285 
Breukelen, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 

100, 105, 176 
Bridges, 158 
Briggs, 158 
Brill, 19 

Bristol, N. Y., 301 
Bristol Chaimel, 81 
Broar, Ambroise, Jesuit Brother ,296 
Bruges, 14, 16 
Brussels, 12, 13, 14, 21 
De Bruynvisch (ship), 206 

Calvin, John, 302, 303, 304 
Calvinism: in Europe, 196; in Neth- 
erlands, 10, II, 12, 13, 15, 16, 
106; in Dutch Republic, 18, 19, 
20, 21, 22, 25, 28, 29, 32, 34; in 
Geldern, 24; in Holland, 10, 13, 
26; in Zealand, 10, 13, 19; in 
Antwerp, 14; in Bruges, 14; in 
Brussels, i4;inGhent, i4;inGer- 
many, 38; in New Sweden, 118; 
cf . Dutch Reformed Church 
Cambridge, Academy of, 104, 177 



Canada, 271, 276, 291, 293, 295, 296' 
297. 300, 301, 302, 304, 308, 309 

Canarise, 176 

Cape Henlopen, 116 

Carleton, (Sir Dudley) Lord Dor- 
chester, 23 

Carribean Is., 251 

Cartwright, 156 

Cat Nation (Eries), 292, 298, 301 

Catechism; of Heidelberg, 28, 98; of 
Luther (in Lenni-Lenape), 119 

Catherine de Medici, Queen Regent 
of France, 31 

Catholicism, in Brazil, 248; in Neth- 
erlands, 10, II, 12, 13, 14, 15, 
i6,i7;in DutchRepublic, 19, 22, 
23, 32, 34; in Brabant, 22; in 
Drenthe, 21 ; in Friesland, 24; in 
Geldern, 24, 34; in Holland, 10, 
15, 17, 24, 34; in Overyssel, 34; 
in Stadt en Landen, 21; in 
Utrecht, 34; in Zealand, 10, 15, 
17, 24; in Alckmaar, 24; in 
Gouda, 24; in Haarlem, 24; in 
Hoom, 24; in Leyden, 24; in The 
Hague, 24; in Koevorden, 21; 
in New Netherland, 97, 141, 257, 
261, 283, 289, 299, 303; 
in New York, 142; on South 
River, 132 ; cf. Jesuit Missions 

Caton, William, 244 

Cayeime, 249, 265 

Cayugas of Iroquois 

Cessation, Act of, 28 

Charles I., King of England, 143, 

147. 153 

Charles II., King of England, 178 

Charles XI., King of Sweden, 192 

Charles River, 113 

Chaumont, Joseph S. J., mission- 
ary, 295 

Christina, Queen of Sweden, 112, 
115, 117, 128 

Christina Kill, 199 

Church — Reformed, 166, 196, 208, 
211, 269; in Dutch Republic, 18, 
19,20,23,25,29,31,33,41,61, 
67, 71, 146; in Drenthe, 21; in 
Gelderland,34; inHolland, 17; in 
Overyssel, 34;inStadtenLanden, 
21 ; in Utrecht, 34; in New Neth- 
erland, I, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 43, 45, 



INDEX 



355 



46, 48, 6I-IOS, 106, 126, 137, 
138, 140, 141, 149, 158, 161, 172, 
177. 187. 188, 189, 190, 192, 193, 

19s. 1961 I97i 198, 200, 204, 205, 
206, 207, 210, 212, 221, 238, 268 
272; in New Sweden, 4, 115, 
118, 122, 124, 127, 130, 133; in 
New Amstel, 203 

of England, 142, 148 

Lutheran; in New Netherland, 

187-212; in Sweden, 192; in New 
Sweden, 4, 115, 117, 119, 125, 

133. 192 
Church .Support, 5, 44, 47, 66, 74, 
75. 76, 85, 86, 87, 92, 94, 95, 96, 

97. 98. 99. 100, loi, 103, 104, 
137, 141, 160, 161, 164, 173, 174, 
177, 178, 195,205,212 

Clark, Ralph, 55 

Classis: of Alkmaar, 89; of Amster- 
dam. 2, 7. 39.40.42.43.44.45.67. 
69. 70, 75. 79. 83. 89. 90. 91. 93. 

98, 103, 104, 105, 129, 130, 141, 
165, 169, 188, 189, 190, 199, 201, 
202, 203, 209, 210, 211, 212, 243, 

■ 248, 257, 261, 268, 273, 275, 299, 

305; of Enkhuysen, 40 
Cleves, Duchy of, 22 
Cohannet, 148, 149 
Cohannock, 149 
Cohen, Jacob, 257, 259 
Cole, Nathaniel, 233 
College of the XIX, cf. West India 

Company 
Collins, 150, 151 
Concubinage, 54, 59 
Condfi, Louis II de Bourbon, Prince 

de, 313 
Confession, of Augsburg, 117, 133; 

Reformed (Dutch), 28, 98, 140, 

144 
Congregationalists, 3, 146, 147, 180, 

181, 196 
Connecticut, 145, 171, 175. 176. 178, 

179, 184 
Corlaer, Jacob van, 46 
CornhiU, 152 

Counter-Remonstrants, 25, 26, 27 
Court, De la, 34 
Couture, William, 276 
Couvenhoven, Jacob, 85 
Coventry, Lord Keeper, 156 



Cow Bay, 143 

Crab, Goodman, 58 

Crol, Sebastian Jansz,6i, 62, 63, 276 

Cromwell, Oliver, 250 

Cuba, N. Y., 301 

Curagoa, 81, 103, 248, 251 

Curler, Arent van, 76, 268, 276, 279, 

280, 281 
Curtius, Alexander Carolus, 88 

Dablon, Claude, S. J., missionary, 

295. 3" 
D Acosta, Joseph, 262, 26if 
D'Andrada, Salvador, 259, 262, 264 
Deaconry of Dutch Reformed 
Church, 86, 87, 88, 92, 99, 255, 
256 
Dean, Samuel, 233 
Dearing, Samuel, 230 
Delaware, cf . South River 
Delaware Bay, 128 
Dental (Turtle) Bay, 167 
Denton, Nathaniel, 176, 231, 233 
Denton, Richard, Presbsrterian min- 
ister in New Netherland, 7, 154, 

155. 156. 158, 159 

Dijon, 22 

Dinckiagen, Lubbertus van, 68, 69, 
70 

Dissent: in Spanish Netherlands, 
16; in Dutch Republic, 31, 33, 
34, in Holland, 34; in New Neth- 
erland, I, 2, 3, 5, 6, 48, 70, 85, 
138, 165, 169, 178; on South 
River, 127, 129, 130; cf. Ana- 
baptists, Catholics, Congrega- 
tionalists, Jews, Lutherans, Men- 
nonites, Presbyterians, Quak- 
ers, Waidenses. 

Diversity of religious belief in New 
Netherland, 141-142 

D61e University, 23 

Dollard, 308 

Donck, Adriaen van der, 76, 148, 

247. 300 

Dongan, Colonel Thomas, Gover- 
nor of New York, 142 

Douay University, 23 

Doughty, Francis, Presbyterian 
minister in New Netherland, 3, 
81, 148, 149, 151, 162, 163, 164, 
165, 171, 173, 174 



356 



INDEX 



Drenthe, 21 

Drisius, Samuel, Dutch Reformed 
minister in New Netherland, 55, 
86, 90, 155, 159, 160, 165, 169, 
171, 172, 176, 189, 191, 194, 203, 
205, 206, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 
231, 247, 273 

Drueilletes, Gabriel, S. J. mission- 
ary, 311 

Drunkeimess in New Netherland, 
48, 77, 82, 271, 272, 273 

Dukeof Anjou, 17, 18 

Duke of Arschot, Governor of Flan- 
ders, 14 

Duke of Parma, of. Famese 

Dunkirk, 76 

Du Perron, Francis, S. J. mission- 
ary, 297 

Dutch Republic, 10, 17, 20, 30, 32, 
33. 34. 38. 39. 41. 58, 66, 73, 91, 
136, 146, 184, 195 

Dutch in New Sweden, 120 

Dutch Swedish Company, 1 10, iii 

Dyckman, Commissary, command- 
ant of Fort Orange, 289 

East Chester, 150 

East India Company, Dutch, 36, 
37. 190 

East Indies, 37, 41 

East Phalia, 135 

Egyptians, 220 

England, 57, 90, 105, 145, 146, 159, 
175. 179. 253. 283 

English: in America, 71, no, 116, 
145, 269; in England, 179; in 
New England, 3, 153, 270; in 
New Netherland, 4, 35, 47, 48, 
62, 63, 71, 90, 104, 105, 135, 136, 
138, 142, 143, 144, 145, 147, 151, 
153. 155. 158, 162, 163, 167, 169, 
170, 173, 175, 178, 180, 181, 182, 
183, 184, 185, 203, 215, 217, 224, 
227, 234, 257, 275; in New Swe- 
den, s, 112, 118, 130; in Rhode 
Island, 149 

Elizabeth, Queen of England, 14, 
18, 19, 21 

Elsland, Claes van, 53 

Enckhuysen, 112, 113 

Eries cf . Cat Nation 

Esopus, lob, loi 



Esopus Indians, 98 
d'Estrades, Godefroi, Count, 32 
Everett, Richard, 7, 176, 231, 233 
Exemptions, tax, 88 
Europe, 84, 107, 124, 166, 180, 183, 
196, 214, 266, 277, 284 

Fairfield, 175 

Famese,Alexander, Duke of Parma, 

16 
Parrett, 143 
Farrington, Edward, 221, 223, 226, 

234 

Feake, Robert, 152 

Feake, Tobias, 4, 219, 221, 222 

Ferdinand, Emperor of Germany, 38 

Ferry, 99 

Ffen, Benjamin, 181 

Field, Hannah, 235 

Finland, 116 

Finns in New Sweden, 115, 124, 133 

Flanders, 14, 107 

Fleming, Claes, Swedish Admiral, 
no, III 

Flemish Bastard, 291 

Florida, in, 113 

Flushing (Holland), 19 

Flushing (New Netherland), 3, 4, 
55, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 
197, 219, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 
230, 234, 235, 236, 245 

Fluviander, Israel (Holgh?) Swed- 
ish Lutheran minister in New 
Sweden, 119, 120 

Fonseca, Joseph, 249 

Fordham, Jonah, English Presby- 
terian minister in New Nether- 
land, 160 

Fordham, Robert, English Presby- 
terian minister in New Nether- 
land, 45, 154, 155, 159, 160 

Port Amsterdam, 285 

Fort Casimir, 121,122, 123, 124,128 

Fort Christina, 112, 114, 115, 116, 
117, 121, 124, 193 

Fort Elfsburg, 121 

Fort Nassau, 112, 120 

Fort Orange, 59, 63, 77, 92, 205, 
212, 260, 261, 276, 289, 291, 295, 
297. 302. 306 

Fort Richelieu (Canada), 280 

Fort Trinity, 122 



INDEX 



357 



Pox (ship), 241 

Franc de Bruges, 16 

France, 18, 107, 108, 135, 283, 285, 

288,302,307,311 
Franchetot, Maturin, 288 
Frederick of Nassau, Count, 38 
Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, 

31. 32, 33 

Frederick, Elector Palatine and 
King of Bohemia, 38 

Fremin, Jacques, S. J., missionary, 
296 

French: in Dutch RepubUc, 18, 32; 
in Canada, 269, 274, 276, 277, 
285, 287, 289, 290, 291, 292, 295, 
296, 298, 299, 305, 306, 307, 308, 
309, 312, 313, 314, 315; in New 
Netherland, 64, 90, 103, 294, 
cf. Jesuit Missions 

Prera, David, 262 

Priesland, 19, 20, 24, 33 

Garaconti^, 312, 313, 314 

Ganentaa cf. Onondaga 

Geldem, Gelderland, 24, 29, 33, 34 

Germany, 108, 135 

Gerrit, 97 

Gerritsen, William, 162 

Ghent, 14, 16 

Gildersleeve, Richard, 215, 216 

Godyn'sBay, 1 16 

Goedwater, John Ernest, Dutch 
Lutheran minister in New Neth- 
erland, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 
207 

GofEe, 178 

Gomarists cf. Counter-Remon- 
strants 

Gomarus, 25 

Gottenburg (Sweden), iii, 112, 113, 
121, 126 

Gouda, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29 

Goupil, Ren^, 276, 277 

Gowanus, 99 

Grafdyck (HoUand), 89 

Grasmeer, WiUiam, Dutch Re- 
formed minister in New Neth- 
erland, 89, 90 

Gravesend, 3, 7, 56, 57, 58, 94, 96, 
99, 103, 162, 167, 168, 169, 170, 
197, 215, 219, 226, 231, 232, 238, 
243 



Greenwich, 58, 152, 153 
Gregory, John, 182, 183 
Gripen (ship,) no 
Groningen, 20, 33 
Grues, Phlip, 183 
Guiana, 249 
Guilford, 186 
Guinea, 109, no 
Gun, Jasper, 181 

Haarlem, 24, 27, 104 

Hadson, Wamerus, Dutch Re- 
formed minister in Ney Nether- 
land, 134 

Hainaut, 15 

Hallet, William, 165, 166 

Harck, William, 55, 164 

Harker, Richard, 233 

Hart, Edward, 219, 221, 222 

Hartford, 185 

Hempstead, 7, 45, 155, 156, 157, 
158, 159. 160, 161, 171, 176, 196, 
215, 219, 227, 228, 229, 230 

Henricus, Jacob Cohen, 262, 263, 
264 

Henry IV.,, King of Prance, 21, 22 

Hertford County (England), 156 

Hessels, Blood Councillor, 14 

Heymansen, Albert, 103 

Hinyossa, vice-director of New 
Amstel, 5, 132, 134 

Hjort, Petrus, Swedish Lutheran 
minister in New Sweden, 121, 
123, 124 

Hoboocken, Van, 46 

Hodgson, Robert, 215-219, 225 

Holland, 2, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17, 19, 
20, 22, 27, 28, 33, 35, 37, 56, 57, 
67, 68, 69, 74, 79, 81, 88, 89, 90, 
loi, 104, 109, no, n2, n3, ns, 
130, 145, 152, 162, 168, 171, 179, 
184, 185, 188, 189, 191, 197, 199, 
200, 206, 207, 219, 220, 241, 245, 
250, 256, 283, 285; in New Swe- 
den 116, 118 

Hollander, Peter, 114 

Holm, John Campanius, Swedish 
Lutheran minister in New Swe- 
den, 117, 119 

Honeoye, N. Y., 301 

Hoogkammer, Hendrik, 115 

Hoom, 24 



358 



INDEX 



gopton, 167 

Holy Martyrs, Mission of, 286 

Hubbard, Benjamin, 233 

Hudson, Henry, i, 36 

Hudson River Country, 3 

Huguenots: in France, 22, 107; in 
New Netherland, 284, cf. Wal- 
loons 

Htilst, 32 

Humphries, Master, 168 

Huntington, 174, 180 

Hurons, 276, 278, 280, 283, 284, 290, 
291, 293, 294, 297, 298, 307, 308, 

309. 314 

Hutchinson, Mrs. Anne, 150, 151 

Hutchinson River, 150 

Huyck, Jan, 61, 62 

Huyghens, Jan, 63 

/ 

de Ulan, Jan, 248, 249, 252 

Immigration, English, into New 
Netherland, 136-186 

Immorality in New Netherland, 
77,91,269,270,271 

Independents, 105, 142, 146, 147, 
159. 171. 17s. 189. 190. 194. 220. 
257 

Indians, 4, 48, 50, 52, 72, 78, loi, 
102, III, 112, 115, 123, 13s, ISO, 
151. 152, 153. 155. 161. 162, 167, 
170, 175. 193. 266-316, cf. 
Algonquins, Eries, Esopus In- 
dians, Hurons, Iroquois, Mis- 
ions, Mohegans, Nevesink In- 
dians, Raritan Indians, Rip- 
powan Indians, River Indians 

Ingermanland,. 116 

Inquisition: in Holland, 28, 33; in 
Portugal, 256; in Spain, 256 

Intolerance cf. persecution 

Ipswich, 143, 145, 146 

Irish Catholic in New Amsterdam, 
283 

Iroquois, 271, 272, 276, 278, 280, 
283, 285, 286, 287, 288, 289, 291, 
292, 293, 294, 295, 297, 298, 299, 
300, 305, 308, 369, 310, 311, 313, 
314, 316; Cayugas, 301, 309, 310, 
311, 312, 313, 314; Mo- 
hawks, 150, 273, 276, 277, 280, 
282, 2S5, 286, 287, 288, 290, 292, 
393, 294, 295, 297, 298, 299, 302, 



305, 306, 307, 308, 310, 313; On- 
eidas, 290, 305, 307, 308, 309, 
310, 313; Onondagas, 290, 291, 
292, 293, 295, 296, 297, 298, 300, 
301, 302, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 
312, 313, 314, 315; Senecas, 296, 
297.301,310,311,313 

Isle de Sable, 1 1 1 

Isle d'Orleans, 298 

Isle de Rhd, 285 

Isabella of Austria,Archduke,2i;22 

Israel, Abraham, 254 

Israel, David, 254 

Isreal, Manasseh Ben, 258 

Itamarca, (Brazil), 93 

Jaoquet, Jean Paul, vice-director of 

West India Company on the 

South River, 124, 135 
James, John, 228 
Jansen, Jacob, 276 
Jansen, Peter, 209 
Jamaica, 7, 176, 215, 219, 225, 230, 

231, 232, 234 
Jesuits: in Dutch Republic, 29, 30, 

33; in New Netherland, 1411, 

Z76, cf. Missions 
Jeannin, President, 22 
Jews: in Dutch Republic, 24, 33; in 

New Netherland, 5, 132, 141, 

142, 189, 220, 247-265; in New 

York, 142 
Joanna, Popess, 303 
Jogues, Isaac, S. J. missionary, 141, 

276, 278, 279, 280, 281, 282, 283, 

285, 286, 287, 303 
John of Austria, Don, Governor 

General of the Netherlands, 11, 

12, 13, 14 
John of Nassau, 34 
Jongh, Jacob, 125, 126 

Kalmer, Nyckel (ship), no 
Kieft, William, Director General of 
New Netherland, 48, 69, 70, 71, 
72, 74, 78, 79, 80 ,81, 82, 85, 141, 
143, 144, 148, 149, 150, 151, J53, 
161, 162, 163, 196, 197, 245, 276, 
282, 284 
Kling, Mans, 114, 115, 116 
Klopjes: in Dutch Republic, 30; in 
Geldern, 24 



INDEX 



359 



Knierus (Knyf), John, 89 
Knox, John, 156 
Koevorden, 21 
Krieger, Martin, 99 

Labbadie (Labatie, etc.), Jean, 276 

de Laet, John, 195, 196 

Lauzon, M. de, Governor of Cana- 
da, 289 

Lawe, Richard, 181 

Lawrence, John, 164 

Lawrence, William, 164, 224 

Lechford, 148, 149, 168 

Leicester, 19, 20 

Leghorn, 250 

Le Maister, S. J., missionary, 312 

Le Moyne, Simon, S. J., missionary, 
291, 292, 293, 294, 295, 298, 299, 
301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 307, 312, 

313. 314. 315 

Leveridge, WiUiaai, English Con- 
gregational minister in New 
Netherland, 160, 174, 240 

Levy, Asser, 254, 260, 264, 265 

Leyden, ir, 24, 27 

Libertines, 7, 25, 169 

Liberty, religious: in Cayenne, 249; 
in Netherlands, 15 ; in Dutch Re- 
public, 18, 33; in New Nether- 
land, 3, 138, 144, 149, 150, 156, 
161, 163, 168, 185, 195, 197, 198, 
201, 203, 219, 245; in New Swe- 
den, 4, 127 

Lierre, 16 

Ligeois, Jean, Jesuit, Brother, 293 

Liquor regulations in New Nether- 
land, 48, 49-52 

Lock (Lockenius) Lars Carlson, 
Swedish Lutheran minister in 
New Sweden, 119, 120, 123, 124, 
125, 126, 130, 133, 193, 203 

Long Island, 3, 93, 95, 103, 138, 143, 
147, 148, 154, 15s, 156, 161, 167, 
163, 168, 178, 215, 225, 228, 229, 
230 

Longland, Charles, 250 

I/ong Sauit, 308 

Louvain University, 23 

Loyola, Ignatius, 304 

de Lucena, Abraham, 257, 258, 259, 
262, 264 

Lucena, Moses. 265 



Luther, Martin, 191 

Lutherans: in Germany 18; in New 
Netherland, i, 3, 31, 43, 44, 93, 
100, 123, 141, 187, 187-212, 257 
261, 282; in New Sweden, 4, 6' 
114, 115, 123, 192, 193, 198, 202 
cf. Church 

Luxemburg, 12 

Lynn, 143, 145, 146, 167 

Maenhout, Boudewyn, 46 

Magellica. 106 

Mahometans, 24 

Malcontents, Catholic, iS 

Manhattan Is., 62, 74, 78, 83, 99, 
103, 114, 123, 141, 150, 151, 216, 
221, 273, 283, 299, 306 

Marriage regulations: in Dutch Re- 
public, 23, 54; in Stadt en Lan- 
den, 21; in New Netherland, 3, 
54-60, 125 

Martin, Lodewryck Jan, 97 

Martin, Henry, 306 

Maryland, 5, 127, 130, 134 

Massachusetts, 144, 145, 146, 147, 

. 148, 152 

Mather, Cotton, 155 

Matinecock, 230 

Matthias, Archduke of Austria, 14 

Matthias, Swedish Lutheran minis- 
ter in New Sweden, 126 

Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Or- 
ange, Captain General and Ad- 
miral of the Dutch Republic, 
20,21,22,26,27, 31,38 

May, Comelis J., Director of New 
Netherland, 61 

Mazarin, Cardinal, Jules prime 
minister of Prance, 32 

Medemblik, 112, 113 

Megapolensis, John, Dutch Re- 
formed minister in New Nether- 
land, 45, 55, 75, 76, 77, 81, 83, 
84, 85, 86, 88, 89, 90, 94, 122, 
141, 155, 159, 165, 169, 170, 171, 
172, 189, 191, 194, 203, 205, 206, 
208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 247, 255, 
257, 268, 272, 273, 281, 282, 284, 
287, 299, 302, 303, 304, 305 

Megapolensis, Samuel, Dutch Re- 
formed minister in New Neth- 
erland, 104, 105 



36o 



INDEX 



Menard, Ren^, S. J. missionary, 

296 
Mennonites, 5, 31, 34, 130, 132, 141, 

169, 189, 190, 257 
Meuse, 34 

Mercier, Francis le, S. J. missionary, 

296 
Mercurius Germaniae, 180 
Mercurius (ship), 126 
de Mereda, Judicq, 254 
Mespath, 148, 149, 151, 155, 162, 

170, 196 

Messenger, Andrew, 7, 176, 233 

Michaelius, Jonas Johannes, Dutch 
Reformed minister in New Neth- 
erland, 40, 63, 64, 65, 67, 138, 
266, 267, 269 

Middelburg cf. Newtown 

Midwout, 47, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 
99, 176, 243 

Milford, N. E., 181, 186, 196 

Milner, Michael, 220 

Mills, Richard, 173, 174 

Minuit, Peter, Director General of 
New Netherland, 61, 62, 63, 64, 
109, no. III, 112, 113, 114 

Minquaaskil, 116 

Missions among Indians: Dutch, 36, 
39. 75. 91. 266-275; English, 
269, 274; Scotch, 269; French 
Jesuit, 269, 274, 276-316; Swed- 
ish, 107, 115, 117, 118, 119 

Mohegans, 305 

Mohawks cf. Iroquois 

Molemacker, Frangois, 62 

De Molen (ship), 202 

Montezuma, N. Y., 301 

Montmagny, le Chevalier, de, 280 

Montreal, 290, 293, 294, 296, 297, 
298, 299, 307. 308, 309. 3". 313. 
315 

Moody, Lady Deborah, 167, 168 

Moore, John, English Independent 
minister in New Netherland, 171, 
172, 173, 174, 194 

Morals, Public, in New Netherland, 
48-60 

Morgan, Charles, 170, 277 

MoriUon, 13 

Motthe, Jacques de la, 253, 254, 255 

Miinster, 31 



Nassy, David, 249, 265 

Namur, 13 

Nertunius, Matthias, Swedish Luth- 
eran minister in New Sweden, 
121, 123 

Netherlands, 10, 12, 19, 83, 106, 107, 
138, 14s, 169, i84,259;cf. Dutch 
Republic 

New Amersfoort, 99 

New Amstel, 44, 47, 128, 129, 130, 
132. 133. 134. 199.202 

New Amsterdam, 6, 43, 44, 45, 46, 
48,49.50.53.55.56,57.58,63,64, 
69,71,72,81,84,85,86,87,88, 
90. 93. 99. 122, 123, 124, 151, 

155. 158. 160, 162, 163, 166, 169, 
171, 175, 176, 187, 188, 192, 193. 
194, 198, 199, 200, 202, 203, 211, 
211,214,215,216,221,229, 231, 
235. 236, 238, 239, 243, 246, 253, 
259, 260, 262,263, 265, 269, 273, 
282, 283, 284, 294, 299, 301, 304 

New Ark, 186 
New Castle, 121 

New England, 3, 58, 105, 136, 142, 
144, 146, 147, 150, 151, 153, 155, 

156, 160, 161, 167, 171, 173, 179, 

181, 186, 194, 269 
New Prance, 280, 311 

New Gottenburg, 118, 119, 121 

New Haarlem, 103 

New Haven, 7, 154, 178, 179, 180, 

182, 184, 186 
New Jersey, 186 

New Netherland Company, 37, 145 

New Plymouth, 269 

New Rochelle, 150 

New Sweden, 4, 6, 106-136, 192, 

193. 203, 259 

Newtown, 171, 172, 173, 174, 176, 

194, 230 
Newtown, Captain, 158 
New Utrecht, 103 
New York, 158 
Nevesink Indians, 184 
Nicolaes, the Frenchman, 97 
Nine Select Men, 6, 82 
Noble, William, 221, 223 
Noorman, Lawrence, 206 
Nordlingen, 108 

North River, 44, 103, 143 
North Sea, 311 



INDEX 



361 



Nounes, Rycke, 254 

Norway, 135 

Noyon, Jean de, 307 

Nuton, Thomas, 55 

Nya Korsholm, 121 

Nya Sverige cf . New Sweden 

Ogden, John, 71 

Ogden, Richard, 71 

Oldenbamevelt, John van, Advo- 
cate of Holland, 20, 23, 26, 27, 
36, 37 

Oneidas cf. Iroquois 

Onondagas cf. Iroquois 

Ontario County, 301 

Oostdorp, 175 

Orphanmasters, 87, 88 

Overyssel, 29, 33, 34 

Oxenstiema Axel, Chancellor of 
Sweden, 109, no, in, 112, 113 

Oxenstiema, Gabriel Bengtson, 
Treasurer of Sweden, no 

Oxenstiema, Gabriel Gustafsen, no 

Oyster Bay, 234 

Ostergotland, 115 

Pacification of Ghent, 10, 11, 12, 

14, 15, 16 
Paghahacking, 112 
Parliament, English, 145, 146 
Passaic River, 186 
Patrick, Capt., Daniel, 152, 153, 

154 

Patronage in New Netherland 
Church, 38, 47; in school, 46 

Pavonia, 150 

Peace of Religion, 15, 16, 17 

Pear Tree (ship), 253 

Pelagianism in Dutch Republic, 25 

Pelham Neck, 150 

Pell, Thomas, 175 

Penal Laws, cf. persecution 

Penry, 156 

Perpetual Edict, 12 

Perkens, Director of the West India 
Company Chamber at Amster- 
dam, 2, 245 

Periods in religious history of New 
Netherland, i 

Persecution, religious: in Spanish 
Netherlands, 10, 14, 15. 16; in 
Dutch Republic, 17, 18-19, 20, 



23. 29r 30, 31. 32. 33. 34; in 
Drenthe, 21, 24; in Geldem, 24; 
in Holland, 23, 24; in Stadt en 
Landen, 21, 24; in New Nether- 
land, I, 2, 3, 5, 14, 70, 85, 138, 
166, 172, 176, 177, 182, 187-265; 
in New Sweden, 129, 130, 169- 
170; in England, 146; in New 
England, 147, 161, 168 

Peters, Hugh, Congregationalist 
minister in New England, 145, 
149 

Petrel, Cajjtam John, 305, 

Philadelphia, 118 

Philip II., King of Spain, 18, 21, 22 

Pierson, Abraham, Congregational 
minister in New England, 186 

Pietersen, Evert, 46, 129, 130 

Planck, Jacob, 74 

Plymouth Company, 143 

Plymouth Colony, 148 

Plockhoy, Pieter Cornelius, 132 

Polhemus, John T., Dutch Re- 
formed minister in New Nether- 
land, 45. 47. 93. 94. 95. 96, 97. 
98,99,243,275 

Poncet, Joseph, S. J. missionary, 
288, 289, 290, 303 

Porto Rico, 62 

Portugal, 256 

Portuguese: in Brazil, 93, 258; in 
New Netherland, 255, 283 

Precisians, 19, 25 

Presbyterians: in England, 146; in 
New England, 147, 148; in New 
Netherland, 3, 147, 151. I54. 
171, 181, 194, 196, 220; in New 
York, 142 

Protestant League in Netherlands, 
16 

Printz (Prins), John, Govemor of 
New Sweden, n7, 118, 119, 120, 
121 

Puritans: in England, 146; in New 
England, 270: in New Nether- 
land, 141, 142, 175, 257; in New 
Sweden, 120, 132 

Quakers, i, 2, 4, 5, 7, 127, 132, 142, 
157. 159. 167, 169, 170, 173. 176, 
213-246 



362 



INDEX 



Qualifications, religious, for ofBce: 
in Cayenne, 249-250; in Dutch 
Republic, 29; in Gelderland, 29; 
in Holland, 29; in Overyssel, 29; 
in New Netherland, 5-7, 102, 
127, 168, 169, 179, 187, 189, 204 

Quebec, 290, 291, 295, 296, 297, 298, 
302. 307 

Raguenau, Paul, S. J. missionary, 

297, 313 
Rammekens, 19 
Raritan Indians, 184 
RasiSres, Isaac de, 269 
Remonstrants, 25, 28, 29, 31, 106 
Remund, Jan Van, 64, 68 
Rensselaer, John van, 91, 92, 271 
Rensselaer, Kiliaen van, 6, 64, 68, 

74. 75. 76, 77. 268 
Rensselaers-Steyn, 77, 270 
Rensselaerswyck, 3, 6, 43, 44, 47, 

72, 74, 83, 84, 90, 91, 270, 2^^, 

272, 274, 276 
Rhode Is., 148, 149, 152, 165, 214, 

215, 218 
Rijnsburgers, 34 
Rippowan Indians, 154 
Rising, John Claesen, Governor of 

New Sweden, 121, 124 
River Indians, 294 
Robinson, 144, 145 
RocheUe, 135, 280 
Rodenburch, vice-director of Cu- 

ragoa, etc., 251, 252 
Roelandsen, Adam, 67 
Rome, 299, 302, 303 
Rotterdam, 27 
Rovenius, Vicar Apostolic in Dutch 

Republic, 23 
Rustdorp cf. Jamaica 

Sabatarians, 142 

Sabbath regulations, 48, 49-53, 157, 

170, 227-228 
Sael, Thomas, 164 
Salem, 145, 167, i68 
Salem Creek, 118 
Sapders, 156 
Sankikah, 116 
Schaats, Gideon, Dutch Reformed 

minister in New Netherland, 90, 

91. 92. 93. 95. 212, 274 



School in Dutch Republic, 23; in 
New Netherland, 20, 43, 44, 
46-47, 66, 67, 70, 82, 83, 91, 100, 
loi, 104, 129, 133, 141, 192, 195, 

274 

Schoorel, 75 

Schott, Joseph, 229 

Schrick, Paulus, 191 

Schultetus, Dutch Reformed min- 
ister, 73 

Schuylkill, 121 

Scotch, 269, 289 

Sects cf. Dissent 

Seljms, Henricus, Dutch Reformed 
minister in New Netherland, 98, 
99, loo, 103, 105, 133, 212 

Senecas cf. Iroquois 

Ship Company of Sweden, 108 

Ship and South Company of Swe- 
den, 116 

SiUe, Nica^ius de, 99, 221, 259 

Siperius (Zyperius), Michael,Dutch 
Reformed minister in New 
Netherland, 103 

Sixt, Abraham, 37 

Slave trade regulations in Cayenne, 
265 

Sluys, Andries van der, loi 

Smith, Joan, 55 

Smith, Richard, 55, 148, 162 

Smith, William, 162 

Smits, Anna, 170 

Snediger, Jan, 94, 95 

Socinianism, 25 

Solidarity, religious, of New Neth- 
erland and New England, 144- 
146, 151, 158, 179, 180, 181, 182, 

183 
Solms, Count of, 139, 140 
Sokns, County of, 139 
Sonnontouan, cf. Seneca 
South Company of Sweden, 108, 

109 
South & Ship Company of Sweden, 

no 
Southampton, 143, 160, 161 
South River, 4, 5, 44, 50, in, 112, 

113, 115, 116, 118, 120, 121, 122, 

123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 130, 131, 

132, 133. 134. 135. 192, 199. 202, 

260, 261 
South Sea, 176 



INBEX 



363 



Spain, 10, 13, 20, 32, 33, 36, 38, 67, 

71, 109, 112,256 
Spicer, Micah, 232, 239 
Spicer, Samuel, 231, 232 
Spiring, Peter, 109, no, in 
Sprindiorn, C. K. S., in 
St. Anthony, Cape, 253 
St. Bartholomew Night, 22 
St. Jean (ship), 365 
St. Lawrence River, 293, 294, 298, 

308 
St. Louis Falls, 315 
Ste. Marie, 276 
Stadt en Landen, 20, 24 
Staes, Abraham, 308 
Stamford, 71, 153, 154, 155, 167 
Star Chamber, 156 
State Sovereignty in Church, 20, 

25. 26, 33, 43-44, 44-46, 140 
States: General, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 

19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 

29. 31. 32, 37. 41. 43. 69. 85. 109. 
n6, 128, 136, 137, 139, 140, 143, 
144, 145, 146, 153, 179, 195, 197, 
201, 205, 219, 274; of Brabant, 
14; of Flanders, 14; of Geldem, 
24; of Groningen, 21; of Hol- 
land, 12, 18, 24, 25, 26,27,32, 
33, 188, 190, 280; of Overyssel, 
25; of Utrecht, 18, 25, 27; of 
West Friesland, 25; of Zealand, 
12, 18 

Stickland, John, 180 

Stille, Oele, 125 

StUwell, Nicholas, 170 

Stirling, Lord William, 143, 147 

Stockholm, in 

Strycker, Jan, 94, 95, 97 

Stuyvesant, Peter, Director General 
of New Netherland, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 
7, 45, 46, 48, 49, 50, 52, S3, 54, 
55. 56, 58. 59. 60, 81, 82, 83, 84, 
85, 86, 87, 88, 90, 92, 94, 95, 96, 
97, 99, 100, loi, 103, 104, 120, 
121, 122, 123, 124, 126, 127, 133, 
134, 138, 157, 159, 160, 163, 164, 
165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 
172. 173. 174. 176. 179. 180, 182, 
183, 185, 187, 188, 189, 190, 192, 
193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 200, 
201, 202, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 
211, 213, 214, 216, 217, 218, 219, 



220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 227 
228, 229, 230, 235, 236, 237, 238, 
239, 240, 241, 242, 243, 246, 247, 
248, 252, 253, 255, 256, 257, 258, 
259, 260, 261, 262, 263, 264, 271, 
275, 287, 296, 297, 306, 308 

Supervision of colonial churches, 
40-42 

Swampscot, 168 

Swart, Gerrit, 91 

Sweden, 106, 108, 109, no, in, 113, 
114, 115, 116, 118, 119, 120, 121, 
125, 126, 192 

Synod: of Dortdrecht, 27, 28, 29, 33 
34, 75, 102, 124, 127, 166, 196, 
209; of Gelderland, 40, 41; of 
North Holland, 40, 41, 89, 90; of 
South Holland,4i, 42;ofMiddel- 
burg, 208, 209; of Overyssel, 40, 
41; of The Hague, 208, 209; of 
Utrecht, 40, 41, 42 

Taunton cf. Cohannet 

Taylor, English Presbyterian min- 
ister, 161 

Terra Nova, in 

Terry, Thomas, 230 

Thanksgiving Days, 48, 134 

The Hague, 24, 26, 115, 116 

Thirty Years' War, 117 

Three Rivers, 294, 298, 308, 309 

Throgmorton, John, 149, 150, 152 

Thurloe, John, 250 

Tienhoven, Cornelius van, 54, 259, 
260 

Tigarihogen, 30^ 

Tilton, John, 168, 226, 232, 238, 

239. 243 

Tilton, Mary, 238, 239, 243 

Tinnicum Is., 118, 119, 133 

Toleration cf. liberty 

Torre, de la, 34 

Torkillus, Reorus, Swedish Luth- 
eran minister in New Sweden, 
114, 1x8 

Tonneman, Peter, 97 

Townsend, Henry, 225, 230, 231, 
. 232 

Townsend, John, 225, 226, 232, 233 

Townsend, Rose, 232 

Treatt, Robert, 181, 183, 185, 186 

Trenton Falls, 116 



364 



INDEX 



Truce, Twelve Years' (1609), 22, 
23. 29, 36, 37. 38 

Turks, 220 

Turner, William, 164 

Twiller, Wouter van. Director Gen- 
eral of New Netherland, 64, 67, 
68, 69 

UnderWU, Capt. John, 3, 137, 153, 
163, 165 

Union of Arras, 16 

Union of Brussels (First), 11; (Sec- 
ond), 15 

Union of Utrecht, 16, 29 

United Provinces cf. Dutch Re- 
public 

Upsala, Council of, 117, 192 

Utrecht, 4, 19, 27, 33, 34 

UsseUnx, William, 36, 37, 38, 106 , 
107, 108, 109, no, 115, 247, 266 

Varleth, Judith, 185 

Veluwe, 34 

Venice, Republic of, 24 

Verleth, Maria, 56, 57, 58 

Verhiilst, William, Director of New 

Netherland, 61 
Vestensz, William, 83 
Virginia, 104, 136, 146, 159, 165, 

269, 283 
Visch, Procurator, 14 
Vliegende Hert, Het (ship), 114 
Vredeland, cf. Westchester 
Vries, David P. de, 58, 71, 72 
Vriesendael, 150 
Vrydach, Andrew, 51 

De Waag (ship), 122, 204, 205 

Waldenses, 135 

Waldron, Resolved, 231, 234, 235, 
236, 240 

Walker, Zacharia, English minister, 
177 

Wallabout, 99 

Walloons, 61, 63, 64, 65, 107, 289 

Watertown, 152, 153, 154 

Waugh, Dorothy, 214, 215 

Weathersfield, 155 

Weeks, Francis, 229 

Welde, Rev. Th., 152 

Welius, Everardus, Dutch Re- 
formed minister in New Nether- 



land, 130, 134, 202 
Wesel, 64 

Westchester County, 150, 151, 175 

West India Company, i, 2, 6, 36, 

37. 38, 39. 47. 50. 66, 67, 70, 71, 

82, 85, 92, 104, 106, III, 112, 

113, 114, 133, 136, 137, 138, 140, 

145. 150, 153. 163, 179. 195. 197. 

247, 256, 258, 259, 266, 267, 268; 
College of the XIX., 37, 39, 62, 
66, 67, 140, 146, 268; Amster- 
dam Chamber, i, 2, 4, 5, 7, 39, 
42. 43. 44j 45. 76. 81, 82, 83, 85, 
90,93,101,103,105,112,113, 122, 
123, 128, 134, 139, 140, 141, 144, 
160, 184, 185, 188, 189, 190, 198, 
199, 200, 201, 202, 204, 205, 207, 
208, 210, 21 r, 212, 242, 243, 244, 
245. 246, 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 
255. 257. 258, 260, 261, 262, 264, 
265, 27s, 287, 296, 297; Enck- 
huysen Chamber, 112, 113; 
Zealand Chamber, 249, 250 

West India, America or New Swe-- 

den Company, 117 
West Indies, 38, 41, 112, 114,200, 

248, 253 
West Phalia, 135 
Westminster Assembly, 146 
Weathersfield, 154 
Whally, 178 
Whorekill, 130, 132 
Wickendam, William, 165, 166 
Wild Coast, 250 
Willemeyntje, 55 
Williams, Jan, 130 

William Lewis of Nassau, Stadt- 
holder of Friesland, 20, 21 

William, Prince of Orange, 11, 13, 
14, 15, 17, 18 

Williams, Roger, 149 

Wilson, George, 231, 232 

Wiltwyck, 6, loi 

Winthrop, John, Governor of Mas- 
sachusetts, 143, 150, 151, 152 

Winthrop, John, Jr., Governor of 
Connecticut, 179, 184 

Witchcraft, 185 

Witherhead, May, 214, 215 

Woeler (Wheeler?), 127 

Woolsey, George, 158 



INDEX 



365 



Woolsey, Rebeckar, 158 
Woolsey, Sarah, 158 
Woolsey, Thomas, 158 

Ypres, 16 



Zealand, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17, 19, 

24. 33 

Zetscoorn, Abelius, Swedish Luth- 
eran minister in New Sweden, 
133