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THE  HUGUENOTS 


On  the  Hackensack. 


By   D.    D.    D 


EMAREST. 


THE  HUGUENOTS 

On  the  Hackensack. 


A   Paper   read    before   the   Huguenot    Society  of  America  in  the 
French  Church  du  Saint-Esprit,  New   York,  April  13,  1885; 
before  the  New  Jersey   Historical   Society,  at   Trenton, 
January  26,  1886 ;    before    the    New   Brunswick   His- 
torical  Club,   February  18,   1886,  and  in    the 
North   Eeforjied    Church,    of  Schraalen- 
BERG,    N.    J.,   February   19,    1886. 


-BY- 


Rev.  David  D.  Demarest,  D.  D., 


Professor  in  the  Theological  Seminary, 


New  Brunswick,   N.   J, 


NEW  BRUNSWICK,  N.  J. : 
The  Daily  Fredonian  Steam  Peintixg  House. 

1886. 


The  Huguenots 

On   the    Hackensack. 


The  paper  which  I  propose  to  read  to  you  this  evening  will 

•  chiefly  comprise  matters  so  purely  local,  that  I  can  scarcely  hope  to 

-secure  the  interest  of  this  national  society.  The  actors  were  men 
who  were  not  great  in  -either  Church  or  State.     Much  will  neces- 

■sarily  be  said  about  my  own  ancestor  whose  name  I  bear,  and  per- 
haps some  may  consider  my  narrative  more  appropriate  to  a  family 

'^reunion,  than  to  an  annual  meeting  of  the  "Huguenot  Society  of 
An:ierica." 

But  havingbecn  assured  that  the  members  of  this  Society  will  be 

rglad'to  hear  about  the  fortunes  of  any  one,  even  of  the  smallest  and 
least  of  the  Huguenot  colonies  in  America,  I  am  here  to  tell  you 
what  I  know  about  the  Huguenots  on  the  Hackensack,  in  the 
Province  of  New  Jersey. 

The  fact  that  there  ever  was  a  colony  of  Huguenots  on  the  Hack- 

^v-ensack  is  probabl}^  known  by  very  few  people,  and  these  few  are 

-doubtless  indebted  for  most  of  their  knowledge  about  it  to  the  ad- 
mirable history  of  Harlem,  by  Mr.  James  Riker.  I  gratefully  ac- 
knowledge my  obligations  to  Mr.  Riker  for  a  knowledge  of  many 

lifacts  which  lie  has,  by  his  faithful  and  patient  investigations,  brought 

■to  light.  On  page  392,  of  his  book,  is  a  very  valuable  foot  note  on 
this  colon}',  containing  statements  which  I  have  verified  by  original 

■'documents,  and  to  which  I  have  been  enabled  to  add  somewhat.* 
This  little  settlement  was,  so  far  as  I  know,  the  only  one  looking 

Tto  organization  and  permanency  that  was  made  by  Huguenots  iu 
the  province  of  New  Jersey,  though  individual  families  did  locate 
■here  and  there,  and  a  little  cluster  of  them  settled  in  the  neighbor- 

Jhood  of  Princeton.  The  colony  was  composed  of  very  few  fami- 
lies at  the  beginning,  and  the  number  was  never  increased  to  any 

;.great  extent  bj  accessions  from  without.  Very  little  is  to-day 
^known  about  its  origin  and  history,  even  in  the  immediate  vicinity 

-of  the  original  settlement,  so  thoroughly  have  all  traditions  about 
it  died  out.     The  French  element  was  so  speedily  absorbed  by  the 

"Surrounding  Dutch,  that  not  a  few  of  the  numerous  descendants  of 
the  Huguenot  pioneers,  from  whom  the  farms  they  occupy  have 

*Harlem,  its  origin  and  early  annals  by  James  Eiker,  New  York,  18S1.  In  the  note  referred 
••"■t®,  aie  two  mistakes;  first,  for  Essa  we  should  read  Essex,  (County  of  Essex);  and  for 
("Peiret,  we  should  read  Daille . 


\ 


4  THE    HUGUENOTS    ON   THE   HACKENSACK. 

come  down  in  unbroken  descent  through  seven  or  eight  geners'-- 
tions,  verily  believe  that  they  are  of  pure  Holland  stock,  an  (J 
the  story  of  their  French  origin  is  to  them  a  new  revelation. 

To  gather  up  what  may  be  found  of  the  true  and  almost  romantic- 
history  of  this  little  company  of  200  years  ago,  has  been  with  me  a 
labor  of  love,  and  a  work  of  absorbing  interest.  But  little  would 
I  have  found  if  the  men  of  that  day  had  not  kept  public  records  i)% 
Church  and  State,  with  some  measure  of  care,  and  if  my  only  re- 
source had  been  the  materials  preserved  by  a  pious  reverence  for- 
ancestry. 

It  IS  even  necessary  that  I  should  define  the  geographical  posi- 
tion of  this  colony.  Where  was  it  situated  ?  You  may  have  oc- 
casion at  some  time  to  travel  on  the  New  Jersey  and  New  York, 
railway  which  connects  Jersey  City  and  Stony  Point  on  the  Hud- 
son, running  through  the  valley  of  the  Hackeiisack,  in  Northerns 
New  Jersey,  and  in  Eockland  county.  New  York.  Twelve  miles- 
from  Jersey  City,  on  the  line  of  this  road,  is  the  ancient  and 
beautiful  village  of  Hackensack.  About  two  miles  North  of  this 
village  is  the  Cherry  Hill  station,  near  to  which  is  a  bridge  cross- 
ing the  Hackensack  known  as  the  New  Bridge,  [f]  to  distinguish 
it  from  the  Old  Bridge  which  crosses  the  stream  a  little  more  than< 
a  mile  to  the  north,  at  River  Edge  station.  If  after  leaving  Cherry 
Hill  station  you  look  out  of  your  car  window,  eastward  across  the 
river,  you  will  soon  see  on  an  eminence,  a  few  rods  from  the  shore^ 
the  white  marble  head-stones  that  indicate  a  burial  place  of  the- 
dead.  This  is  what  is  known  in  the  neighborhood  as  the  old 
French  burial  ground,  confessedly,  one  of  the  oldest  ceraeterieSj,, 
if  not  the  oldest  in  that  region  of  country. 

How  often  have  I  passed  this  spot  in  my  boyhood,  my  home  be- 
ing about  three  miles  to  the  north  of  it,  and  it  being  quite  near  to- 
the  highway  leading  to  Hackensack,  the  county  seat.  And  yet,  to- 
my  shame  be  it  said,  I  did  not  know  until  long  after  I  had  reached: 
manhood,  why  this  was  called  the  French  burial  ground.  No  one 
told  me  the  reason,  and  I  had  not  curiosity  enough  to  enquire.  I 
had  a  vague  notion  that  either  some  Frenchman  of  note  had  a 
long  time  ago  been  buried  there,  or  that  such  an  one  had  lived  iii 
the  neighborhood  and  given  or  sold  the  land  for  this  place  of 
burial.  I  am,  furthermore,  ashamed  to  say  that  I  never  entered  it 
until  about  two  years  ago.  And  yet  there  lies  the  dust  of  the- 
principal  pioneer  Huguenot  settlers  of  that  vicinity,  and  among- 
them  of  my  own  ancestors.  Not  a  few  of  the  descendants  of  the- 
men  and  women  who  have  been  there  buried,  doubtless  pass  every 
day  in  sight  of  this  cemetery,  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  their 
French  ancestors  lie  there,  ignorant  even  of  the  fact  that  they  had 
French  ancestors. 

Our  surprise  at  this  will,  however,  be  diminished  when  we 
consider  that  these  people  brought  a  knowledge  of  the  Dutch  lan- 
guage as  well  as  of  their  native  French  with  them  from  Europe ;;, 


*There  was  no  bridge  at  this  spot  until  about  the  time  of  the  Revolutionary  War.. 


I  THE    HUGUENOTS    ON    THE    HACl^ENSACK.  5 

\  \ 

•ti|at  being  thrown  among  the  Dutch  they  were  compelled  to  use 
t|ieir  language  everywhere,  except  in  their  own  families ;  that  in 
tfe^  eiirly  generations  already  the  Dutch  superseded  the  French  in 
•the^^Huguonot  families  also,  and  kept  its  place  from  generation  to 
,genera:i:4<ni  until  it  was  in  turn  pushed  out  by  the  English,  though 
to  this  da}\retaining  a  slight  foothold  in  some  households  in  Ber- 
gen and  adjacent  counties.  It  is,  therefore,  not  so  strange  after 
.all,  that  the  descendants  of  the  Huguenots  should  be  reckoned  by 
others,  and  belbved  by  themselves  to  be  Dutch,  and  should  even 
:take  pride  in  tl^ir  Dutch  descent. 

I^ow  it  was  m  the  neighborhood  of  this  cemetery  that  David 
'des  Marest  with  his  wife,  his  two  sons,  Jean  and  David,  with  their 
wives  and  children,  a  third  unmarried  son   Samuel,  and  Jaques 
La  Rou  settled  in  the,  Spring  of  1678,  and  where  they  were  soon 
;after  joined  by  Nichokis  de  V^eaux,  Jean  du  Rij,  (Durie,)  Daniel  du 
Voor,  Andries  Tiebout,.  Daniel  Eibou  and  others.     Who  then  was 
this   David   des   Marest,    [*]   the   leader   and  chief  spirit  of  this 
'Colony,  and  how  did  he  happen  to  locate  in  this  spot?     He  was  a 
native  of  Beauchamp,  a  bttle  village  of  Picardy,  in  France,  about 
22  miles  West  of  the  City  of  Amiens.     He  was  born  about  the 
year  1620.     The  family  of  d^s  Marest  was  very  numerous  in  that 
part  of  France,  and  highly  respectable.     David  des  Marest,  Sieur 
le  Feret,  whose  seat  Avas  at  Oisemont,  held  many  high  offices  in  the 
-State,  and  he  was  moreover  aninfluentialElderin  the  French  Prot- 
estant Church.     His  son,  Samuel,  known  in  the  theological  world 
gP  Maresius,  his  name  being  Latinized  after  the  custom  of  the  times, 
Jvas  Professor  of  Theology,  at  Groningen,  and  a  voluminous,  con- 
troversial writer.     His  sons,  Daniel  and  Henri,  were  preachers,  and 
with  the  aid  of  their  father,  prepared  what  has  been  pronounced 
■the  finest  edition  of  the  French  Bible  that  has  ever  been  published. 
How  closely  the  David  des  Marest,  w^ho  came  to  this  country,  was 
-allied  to  them  is  not  known.     His  father's  name  was  Jean,  a  Prot- 
estant Christian,  who,  with  his  family ,. -'had  left  his  dear  native 
France,  like  many  others,  on  account  of  the  troubles  of  the  present 
and   the   uncertainties  of  the  future,  to-|ind  peace,  and  freedom  of 
worship  among  their  Dutch  neighbors   who  gave   to   all    such  a 
hearty  welcome  and  secure  home.     Pie  settled  at  Middleburg,  on 
the  Island  of  Walcheren  Zeeland,  at  what  time  we  are  unable  to 
.say.     Tiie  marriage  of  his  son  David  and  Marie  Sohier,  daughter 
■of  Francois  Sohier,  from  Nieppe,  a  town  of  Hainault,  13   miles 
1  East  from  Hazebrook,  took  place,  as  the  records  of  the  Walloon 
]|  Church  at  Middleburg  inform  us,  July  24th,  1613.     The  des  Marest 
and  Sohier  families  had  probably  resided  in  that  City  for  some 
time  wdien  the  young  people  formed  this  matrimonial  connection. 
Two  sons  were  born  to  them  in  Middleburg — Jean,  v/ho  was  bap- 
jdzed  April  14th,  1645,  and  David,  who  was-  baptized  June  22nd, 
'  1649.     The  latter  must  have  died  in  childhood,  for  the  name  David 
jl'was  given  to  a  third  son  who  was  born  after  the  removal  of  the 
p)family  from  this  City. 
A 

■'^'i        *His  descendants  write  the  name  variously  as  Demarest,  Demorest,  Demaree,  Demaray,  &c. 


\ 


6  THE  HrGUENOTS  ON  THE  HACKENSACK. 

In  the  year  1651,  David  des  Marest  had  removed  with  his  fat^ 
ily  to  Mannheim,  on  the  Rhine,  the  chief  City  of  the  Lower  Paia-- 
tinate.  The  French  Protestants  were  at  this  time  goin.s:  from-v 
various  parts  in  great  numbers  to  this  City,  invited  and  er:.c6uraged' 
by  the  Elector,  Charles  Lewis,  who  ofiered  great  indnoements  for  ■ 
them  to  settle  in  his  dominions.  A  French  ProtestaTit  Church  was- 
there  formed,  the  Elector  himself  providing  the  building.  It  was- 
called  the  "  Temple  of  Concord,"  because  Lutherans  as  well  as- 
Calvinists  were  allowed  to  use  it  for  public  w^orship.  Some  of  the- 
Huguenots,  who  afterw^ard  came  to  New  Paltz,  were  connected^; 
with  this  Church.  At  Mannheim  two  sons  wei'e  born  to  David  des- 
Marest,  David  in  1652  and  Samuel  in  1656. ,  It  is  probable  that 
another  child  was  born  in  the  same  city,  who'died  in  infancy  short- 
ly after  the  arrival  of  the  family  in  America,  for  there  w^ere  four 
children  when  the  family  landed  in  this  country,  the  youngest  of 
whom  w^as  one  year  old,  and  we  know^  that  of  these,  only  the  three- 
eldest,  Jean,  David  and  Samuel  reached 'maturity.  Another  son^, 
Daniel  w^as  born  in  Harlem,  IsT.  Y.,  ai]/d  baptized  in  the  Dutch 
Church  of  New  York,  July  7th,  1666,  .w.'.ao  died  as  the  result  of  an. 
accident  when  5|  years  of  age. 

But  Mannheim  was  not  to  be. the  permanent  home  of  this  fam- 
ily.    The  Catholic  Princes  were  threatening  the  Palatinate  with 
hostilities,  and  many  of  the  Protestant  refugees,  well  knowing  the 
woes  that  would  come  upon  tl^:em  if  the  country  should  fall  intc 
the  hands  of  the  deadly  enem/ts  of  their  faith,  resolved  to  leave  it/ 
Des  Marest  and  some  others  ^letermined  to  emigrate  to  America.    H 
was  in  the  prime  of  life,  b^^i'ng  little  more  than  forty  years  of  age 
Pie  felt  that  at  least  rest  ffom  persecution  would  be  found  in  th( 
new  w^orld,  which  also  gaj^e  a  better  promise  than  the  old  for  th 
temporal  future  of  his  children  and  children's  children  in  all  thei 
generations.  ,' 

Several  of  these  families  passed  down  the  Rhine  to  Amsterdan: 
and  sailed  thence  in  the  "iBontekoe,"  spotted  or  brindled  cow,  fc 
New  Amsterdam,  wdiich  piej  reached  April  16th,  1663. 

Immediately  on  his  arrival,  David  des  Marest  with  his  famil 
joined  the  Huguenot  Colo'ny  on  Staten  Island,  a  little  South  of  tl 
Narrows.  The  high  esteem  in  w^hich  he  was  held  by  the  people  ' 
the  island  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  in  the  following  year,  166- 
he  was  chosen  as  one  of  the  two  delegates  from  Staten  Island 
the  Provincial  Assembly  of  New  Netherland,  w^iieh  met  to  co 
sider  the  state  of  the  Province  just  before  its  surrender  to  t" 
British. 

After  a  residence  of  two  years  on  Staten  Island, he   boug 
property  at  New  Harlem,  and  removed  thither  in  the  Autumn  ' 
1665.     He  afterwards  added  several  lots  of  land  to  his  original  pi 
chase,  and  Plarlem  was  his  home  during  12|  years. 

Mr.  Riker  has  related  many  of  the  incfdents  of  his  life  duri 
those  years.  He  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  citizens  of  tl 
place,  and  was  deemed  worthy  of  the  highest  positions  which  t]' 
little  community  could  give  him,  and  seems  to  have  been  faith* 


/I  / 

'  /     ■ 

THE    HUGUENOTS    ON   THE   HACKENSACK.  7 

^  to  every  trust.  He  sometimes  bad  difficulties  witli  liis  neighbors, 
and  we  strongly  suspect  that  be  was  a  man  of  basty  temper,  not 
disposed  to  submit  meekly  to  injustice,  one  who  knew  bis  rigbts  and 
was  prepared  to  maintain  tbem.  But  tbe  grievance  wbicb  he  seems 
to  have  taken  most  deeply  to  heart,  which  was  "  the  last  straw  on 
the  camel's  back,"  and  which  confirmed  him  in  tbe  purpose  already 
entertained  to  leave  Harlem,  was  tbe  outrageous  act  of  assessing 
him  for  the  pa3'ment  of  bis  share  toward  the  salary  of  Henry  Jan- 

'.  sen  Vander  Vin,  the  Dutch  Voorleser,  and  for  attempting  to  collect 
the  money  by  process  of  law.     On  tbe  6tb  of  March,  1677,  tbe 

'  Mayor's  Court  of  New  York  ordered  that  the  Clerk  should  have 
his  pay  for  his  past  services,  and  that  he  should  be  continued  in 
office  and  be  paid  for  his  future  services,  and  that  if  any  of  the 
inhabitants  "  should  refuse  to  pay  what  is  due  from  them  for  the 
time  past  and  for  tbe  time  to  come,  then  the  Constable  is  hereby 
ordered  to  levy  the  same  by  distress  and  sale  of  tbe  goods  for  satis- 
faction of  what  is  or  shall  hereafter  become  due  to  said  Clerk." 

Claude  Delamater  and  David  des  Marest,  Sr.,  were  tbe  delin- 
quents in  this  matter,. and  they  were  summoned  before  the  Tovv^n 
Court.     Delamater  stubbornly  refused  to  pay,  defyingthe  athorities, 

,    and  bis  goods  were  levied  on,  but  for  some  reason  tbe  matter  was 

^  not  prosecuted  any  further.  Des  Marest  gave  tbem  to  understand 
that  be  too  would  bold  out,  if  he  were  to  remain  in  tbe  place,  but 

I  since  he  intended  to  remove  he  would  pay  what  was  demanded, 
which  he  accordingly  did. 

But  why  should  not  Delamater  and  des  Marest  have  been  as- 
sessed for  the  salary  of  Hendrick  JansenVander  Vin,  the  Voorleser, 
and  why  should  they  not  have  paid  their  shares  as  well  as  their 
neighbors  ?  Tbe  plea  was  (and  you  will  mark  the  words,) "  that  they 
of  the  French  coiigregationmihQ  time  of  Gov.  Francis  Lovelace,  hav- 
ing received  a  praacher,  tbe  aforesaid  Governor  had  said  that  tbe 
French  of  the  town  of  New  Harlem  should  be  free  as  to  contribut- 
ing to  tbe  Dutch  Voorleser."  In  tbe  Autumn  of  1676,  des  Marest 
was  two  years  in  arrears  on  this  salary  account.  And  thus  we 
learn  that  there  was  a  French  congregation  and  a  French  preacher 
as  early  as  1674,  or  nine  years  before  the  Rev.  Pierre  Daille  came  to 
minister  to  the  French  in  New  Amsterdam.  It  also  shows  the 
attachment  of  these  people  to  their  mother  Church  and  native 
tongue.  The  Dutch  language  was  as  familiar  to  tbem  as  the 
French,  but  not  so  dear,  and  they  were  ever  ready  to  slip  away 
from  it.* 

This  brings  us  to  tbe  purchase  of  a  tract  of  land  on  the  Hack- 
ensack  river  in  Bergen  County,  New^  Jersey,  and  wbicb  was  known 
as  the  French  patent.  Des  Marest  proposed  to  establish  on  it  a 
number  of  families  of  bis  countr^mien  and  co-religionists  from 
France,  so  that  they  might  live  in  tbe  secure  enjoyment  of  their 
religious  liberty,  and  at  tbe  same  time  promote  their  temporal  w^el- 
fare.  Having  disposed  of  bis  property  in  Harlem,  he  bought  from 
the  Tappan  Indians  a  large  tract  of  land  lying  between  tbe  Hack- 

*Eiker's  Harlem. 


THE  HUGUENOTS  ON  THE  HACKENSACK. 


i; 

I 


ensack  and  Hudson  rivers.  The  deed  of  conveyance  bears  date 
June  8,  1677.  It  was  given  by  Mendawasey,  Sachem  of  Tappan, 
Jan  Claus,  Seriockharn,  llaharios  and  Kassamen  who  signed  it 
for  themselves,  and  for  other  Indians  to  the  number  of  twehty-six, 
who  are  named  in  the  instrument,  to  Sir  George  Carteret,  Lord 
Proprietor  of  the  Province  of  New  Jersey  on  behalf  of  David  des 
Marest,  Sr  ,  and  his  children  on  payment  of  the  following  articles  : 

100  fathem  of  black  wampen,  100  bars  of  lead,  100  fathem  of 
white  wampen,  100  knives,  15  fire  lock  guns,  1  barrel  of  powder, 
15  kettles,  4  barrels  of  beere,  20  blankets,  one  saw,  20  match  coates, 
one  acker  of  rum,  20  hatchets,  one  pistoll,  20  hows,  one  plaiae,  30 
pairs  of  stockings,  one  great  knife,  20  shirts,  one  carpenter's  ax. 

This  land  was  conveyed  "  together  with  all  the  woods,  under- 
woods, trees,  marshes,  meadows,  pastures,  vynes,  minerals,  creeks, 
rivers  or  rivulets,  hawkings,  huntings,  fishing,  and  all  other  the 
commodities,  benefits  or  improvements  that  are  or  shall  [be]  there- 
unto belonging  and  appertaining."* 

It  is  difficult  to  follow  in  every  particular  the  description  of 
this  tract  as  given  in  the  deed.  The  Western  and  Eastern  boun- 
daries cannot  be  mistaken.  The  Western  was  the  Hackensack 
river,  the  Eastern  "  a  great  mountain  standing  between  a  great 
swamp  and  Hudson's  river,"  which  must  mean  the  Palisade  range, 
there  being  no  other  mountain  or  hill  of  any  size  between  these 
two  rivers.  The  tract  was  bounded  on  the  South  by  lands  of 
Laurence  Andricssen  or  Van  Buskirk,  and  the  dividing  line  was  a 
brook  called  by  the  Indians  Kessawakey,  a  little  stream  running 
into  the  Hackensa,ck  at  New  Bridge,  and  which  in  documents  of  a 
later  date  is  called  French.  Creek.  This  line  running  Eastward 
must  have  passed  not  far  from  Tenafly,  and  struck  another  stream 
running  Northward  called  the  Gessawacken  [Tenakill]  and  which 
turning  to  the  West  emptied  into  the  Hackensack,  ''  which  two 
creeks,"  says  the  deed,  "  doe  encompass  the  aforesaid  tract  of 
land."  A  few  years  later  in  1683,  when  David  des  Marest 
petitioned  the  Governor's  Council  for  the  privilege  of  cutting  tim- 
ber on  the  part  of  his  Indian  purchase  which  had  not  been 
patented  to  him  by  the  proprietors,  he  represented  the  tract  as  two 
miles  in  breadth,  coming  to  a  point,  and  six  miles  in  length,  whicl: 
must  mean  six  miles  following  the  river  Northward  from  the  mouti 
of  the  creek  at  New  Bridge.f  On  Ratzer's  map  of  New  Jersey- 
made  at  the  time  of  the  final  settlement  of  the  boundary  lin( 
between  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  this  part  of  the  Hackensacl 
is  called  Des  Marest's  Kill.^  The  number  of  acres  in  the  tract  i 
not  stated,  but  there  must  have  been  several  thousand. 

About  one-half  of  this  tract  must  have  fallen  within  the  pre. 
vince  of  New  York,  when,  shortly  after,  the  boundary  line  was  ru; 
between  New  York  and  New  Jersey.     The  boundary  between  thes 

*For  copies  of  this  deed  and  some  other  papers  I  am  indebted  to  the  courtesy  of  C.  B.  Ha: 
Tey,  Esq.,  of  Jersey  City. 

Journal  of  proceedings  of  Governor  and  Council  of  E.  New  Jersey,  Jersey  City,  1872. 
^Smith's  History  of  New  Jersey. 


THE    HUGUENOTS    OK    THE    HACKENSAo'k.  9 

•*ytwo  provinces  was  not  pcnnanentlv  fixed  nntil  the  year  17G9,  but 
^l^'arious  lines  were  run  at  dilfercnt  times,  causing  considerable  con- 
tusion in  the  way  of  collecting  taxes  and  administering  justice.* 
I.Jean  des  Marest  and  liis  brother  Samuel  and  nephew  JDavid,  in 
1704,  petitioned  Lord  Cornbur}-  for  an  order  for  a  survey  of  that 
Northern  portion  of  the  Indian  purchase  which  had  fallen  to  New 
York  by  the  boundary,  which,  they  said,  had  been  recently  made, 
so  that  it  might  be  secured  to  them  by  patent,  and  the}'  claimed 
that  it  embraced  about  three  thousand  acres.  Against  the  grant- 
ing of  this  petition  Capt.  John  Berry  presented  a  remonstrance, 
claiming  that  he  had  a  right  to  two  thousand  acres  of  that  Indian 
purchase,  that  he  had  waived  his  claim  on  condition  that  des 
Marest  should  bring  thirty  or  fort}"  families  from  Europe  to  occupy 
the  lands,  that  the  condition  had  not  been  fultilled,  and  that  he  was 
therefore  entitled  to  two  thousand  acres  of  the  tract  which  was 
claimed  by  the  petitioners. 

The  petition  and  remonstrance  were  both  laid  on  the  table, 
and  whether  subsequent  action  was  taken  by  the  Council,  I  liave 
have  not  been  able  to  learn. f 

The  Indian  deed  only  extinguished  the  Indian  title.  For  a 
good  and  permanent  title,  a  quit  claim  deed  from  the  Lords  pro- 
prietors, successors  of  Sir  George  Carteret,  became  neeessar}-.  This 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  clearly  understood  at  the  time,  for  the 
des  Alarests  took  possession  of  their  lands  at  once,  cleared  a  tract 
at  Old  Bridge,  built  their  log  houses  and  barns,  and  mill-dam  and 
mills,!  and  removed  their  families  in  the  Spring  of  1678,  before 
they  had  any  title  except  that  which  was  conveyed  by  the  Indian 
deed  to  Sir  George  Carteret  in  their  behalf.  It  is  certain  that  a 
mill-dam  and  at  least  one  mill  on  the  "Western  side  of  the  river 
existed  in  1681,  for  in  that  year  the  Surveyor  General,  Robert 
Vauquellen,  made  a  survey  for  David  des  Marest,  Sr.,  of  sixteen 
acres  lying  on  the  'Western  side  of  the  river,  the  Eastern  boundary 
of  which  is  described  as  the  "mill  and  mill-dam  and  river."  This 
little  tract  Had  been  bought,  probably  near  the  time  of  the  purchase 
of  the  large  tract  East  of  the  Ilackensack,  of  an  Indian  Sachem 
named  Mumshaw,  whose  right  to  dispose  of  it  was  afterward  (1684) 
disputed  by  another  Indian  named  Korough.  How  the  matter 
was  settled  we  are  not  told,  but  certainly  des  Marest  remained  in 
.possession. 

At  the  same  time  (1681)  Vauquellen  surveye<l  various  tracts  of 
land  for  David  des  Marest,  Sr.,  and  his  three  sons,  and  Nicholas 
de  Vaux,  on  the  Eastern  side  of  the  Ilackensack,  extending  from 
New  Bridge  northward  considerably  beyond  Oradell,  and  East- 
v/ard  one  hundred  chains  or  one  mile  and  .a  quarter.  Probably 
this  survey  was  not  made  earlier  because  of  the  unsettled  condition 
of  the  Droviuce.     Sir  George  Carteret  died  in  1679  and  by  will 


*Rcport  of  Prof.  Geo.  H.  Cook,  State  Geologist,  N.  J.,  on  sui-vcy  of  boundary  line,  1874. 
fPapers  in  office  of  Sec.  of  State,  at  Albany. 

JPiles  belonging  to  these  mills  or  to  the  dam  have  quite  recently  been  sawed  off  because 
thev  obstructed  navigation. 


10  THE  HUGUENOTS  ON  THE  HACKEXSACK. 

directed  liis  property  to  be  sold  for  the  benefit  of  bis  creditorig,. 
Governor  Andros  of  New  York  then  claimed  jurisdiction  anJ. 
seized  and  imprisoned  Governor  Philip  Carteret.  In  1681  Gov- 
ernor Andros  relinquished  his  claims  and  Governor  Philip  Carteret, 
was  restored  to  his  position.  In  1682  the  Duke  of  York  confirmed^ 
the  sale  of  the  province  to  the  twenty-four  proprietors.  On  the 
23d  of  March,  1682,  David  des  Alarest,  Sr.,  petitioned  the  Councilj 
for  permission  to  cut  timber  for  the  supply  of  his  saw  mill,  in  the:, 
parts  of  the  land  he  had  purchased  from  the  Indians  which  hadj. 
not  yet  been  patented.  The  Council  denied  his  request,  but  at  the 
same  time  ordered  that  patents  should  be  given  for  the  lands  that 
had  been  surveyed  for  him  and  his  sons,  manifestly  referring  to  the 
surveys  made  the  year  before.  The  Southernmost  portion  of  this 
tract  beginning  at  New  Bridge  and  extending  Northward  was 
patented  to  Jean,  the  eldest  son,  the  Northernmost  portion  wa& 
patented  to  David,  Jr.,  the  second  son. 

A  patent  was  furthermore  granted  in  1686  to  David  dc 
Marest,  Sr.,  for  a  tract  of  land  embracing  two  thousand  and  ten 
acres,  lying  between  the  lands  just  named  and  Ches'che  [Tenakill] 
Brook,  and  bounded  on  the  North  by  lands  of  the  proprietors,  and 
South  partly  by  lands  of  the  propiietors  and  partlj^  b}^  lands  o 
Laurence  Van  Buskirk.  The  Western  boundary  of  this  tract  was' 
not,  as  i&  commonly  supposed,  the  Hackensack  River,  but  a  line 
running  North  and  South  a  little  to  the  AVest  of  the  two  Schraal- 
enberg  Churches,  and  which  was  the  Eastern  boundary  of  the 
lands  previously  patented.  Various  claims  were  afterwards  made 
to  various  portions  of  these  lands,  which  the  heirs  of  David  des 
Marest,  Sr.,  were  obliged  to  satisfy.  Besides  the  Berry  claim 
already  referred  to,  were  those  of  William  Nicolls  and  James  Bol- 
len.  All  these  lands  on  the  Eastern  side  of  the  Hackensack  River 
were  embraced  in  the  Indian  purchase,  but  they  bj^  no  means 
included  all  of  that  purchase. 

In  1686,  the  same  year  in  which  the  patent  for  2010  acres,. 
East  of  the  Hackensack  was  granted,  David  des  Marest,  Sr.,  his 
son  Jean,  Jaques  La  Rou,  Anthony  Hendricks,  Andries  Tiebout, 
John  Du  Rij  (Durie),  Daniel  Ribou  (Rivers),  Albert  Saborisco,, 
David  Ackerman,  Albert  Stevense  (Voorhees),  patented  lands  on  the 
Western  side  of  the  river,  extending  from  the  vicinity  of  New 
Bridge  Northward  to  Kinclerkamack  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
school  house,  and  Westward  two  miles  to  Winocksack  (Sprout), 
Brook  and  below  its  mouth  to  the  Saddle  River. 

The  first  house  in  which  David  des  Marest  resided  after  his- 
removal  to  New  Jersey  was  on  the  East  side  of  the  Hackensack 
and  doubtless  very  near  to  his  mills  at  the  Old  Bridge.  He  lived 
on  that  side  of  the  river  until  1686  at  least.  In  that  year,  the  land 
on  the  West  side  adjacent  to  the  mill  was  patented  to  him,  and  the- 
probability  is  that  he  at  once  began  to  build  a  house  lor  himself  on, 
the  rising  ground  a  few  rods  from  the  river.  He  must  have 
removed  into  it  before  1689,  for  in  that  year  he  made  his  will  iiT> 
which  he  is  described  as  belonging  to  Essex  County.     At  that  time- 


) 


THE    HUGUENOTS    ON    THE    IIACKENSACK.  11 


!the  Ilackensack  Eiver  was  the  dividino;  line  between  Bergen  and 
lEssex  Counties,  His  death  took  place 'in  Essex  County  in  1693. 
[  The  subject  of  the  Ecclesiastical  relations  and  history  of  these 
people  is  an  exeeedinglj^  interesting  one.  They  were  a  religious  peo- 
ple, adherents  of  the  Oalvinistic  faith  and  ritual  and  of  the  Genevan 
-Presbyterial  form  of  Government.  They  believed  in  tlie  visible 
•church,  and  a  deprivation  of  the  ordinances  of  public  worship  was 
xHvith  them  a  very  serious  matter.     We  have   seen  tliat  David  des 

SMarest  was  at  the  time  of  his  marriage   in  fellowship  witli   the 
Walloon  Church  of  Middleburg,  that  he  was  afterwards  active  in 
he  formation  of  a  Church  of  French  Eefugecs  at  Mannheim,  where 
le  was  associated  with  Nicholas  De  Veaux  and  others  who  subse- 
jquently  came  to    America,  that  he  connectef'    himself  with   the 
Huguenot  Church  on  Staten  Island  in  1663,  a    I  afterwards  when 
he  had  become  a  resident  of  Harlem,  with  the  Dutch  Church  of 
pSTew  York,  though  attending   French  services   when   they   were 
introduced,  in  preference  to  the  Dutch.     The  names  of  the  various 
members  of  his  family  are  found  on  the  Baptismal  and  Marriage 
jRecords,  and  on  the  Register  of  Communicants  of  the  ancient  Col- 
^legiate  Dutch  Church  of  New   York  City.     And   so  we  are  not 
'Surprised  to  learn  tliat  when  the  family  had  removed  to  New  Jer- 
'Jeey,  one  of  their  first  concerns  was  to  find  if  possible  an  ecclesias- 
tical home.     But  there  was  no  church  in  the  whole  province  nearer 
to  them   than   the  Dutch   Church   ot  New  York,  to  which  they 
'i  Iready  belonged^     This  was  nearly  twenty  miles  distant,  and  the 
/ludson  River  was  between  them  and  the  house  of  God,  and  that 
'/•iver  was  a  serious  barrier,  for  there  was  no  steam  ferry-boat  to 
/carry  them  over,  nor  had  the   horse-boat  as   yet   appeared.     No 
church  had  as  yet  been  formed  at  Hackensack  nor  to  the  North, 
fit  Tappan.     At  Newark,  which  was  about  as  far  from  them  as 
New  York,  the  settlers  from  New  England  had  the  Kev.  Abram 
Pierson  for  their  preacher  and  conductor  of  worship  according  to 
the  Presbyterian  order,  but  as  he  used  the  English  language  he  was 
'not   competent   to    edify   these  Hollandized  Frenchmen.     Either 
French  or  Dutch  would  have  answered,  but  not  English  by  any 
means. 

About  the  same  distance  from  them  as  the  church  of  New 
York,  but  without  the  Hudson  river  intervening,  was  that  of  Ber- 
,  gen,  the  first  Dutch  Church  established  in  the  province  of  New 
Uersey,  and  at  that  time  the  only  one.  This  church  had  been 
organized  at  least  as  early  as  1664,  for  its  registers  of  baptisms, 
marriages,  admissions  of  members,  and  burials  have  been  kept 
from  that  date  to  the  present  with  little  interruption.  The  first 
house  of  Avorship  was  built  in  1680,  and  was  an  octagonal  stone 
building  situated  in  the  old  grave  yard  W6st  of  Bergen  avepue, 
and  South  of  Vroom  street.  "But  eighteen  years  before  that  time, 
,)in  December,  1662,  the  Schout  and  Schepens  of  the  vUlage  had 
petitioned  the  Governor-General  and  Council  of  New  Netherland 
for  a  minister,  and  in  connection  Avith  their  petition  they  gave  the 
names  of  tv,-enty-five  persons  who  had  subscribed  for  his  support 


\    i 

12  THE  HUGUENOTS  ON  THE  HACKENSACK.  ■  ,} 

the  sum  of  four  hundred  and  seventeen  guilders  in  seawant,     Fo 
some  reason  a  minister  was  not  settled  among  them  for  the  lonl 
period  of  ninetj-one  3'ears,  when,  in  1753,  Rev.  William  Jackso'sv.. 
was  ordained  tJie  lirst  pastor.  U- 

During  the  eighteen  years  that  preceded   the   erection  of  t^ij. 
first  church  buihiing  the  peo"]:)le  w(_)rs]iipped  in  a  log  school-hou£(|;r 
which   was   on   the  site  of  the  present  school  house  fronting  tl^;? 
,sqaare.     This  was  the  gathering  place  for  worship  for  all  the  peopj^- 
in  that  region  at  the  time  that  our  Huguenots  settled  on  the  nacl:,_ 
ensack.     The  church  during  its  entire  pastorless  period  was   &\i]^ 
plied  at  first  occasionally  by  ministers  from  iSTew  York  and  oth^ 
parts,  but  quite  early  a  regular  arrangement  was  made  with   ih^ 
ministers  of  ISle^x  York  to  go  over  at  stated  times  to  conduct  th^ 
worship,  preach  and  administer  the  Sacraments,  and  for  these  seij. 
vices   they   vv'ere   paid  by  the  Bergen    Church.      Kev.   Gualterii 
DuBois  wc'it  over  tliree  times  a  year  for  fifty-one  years  to  perforr^ 
these  services.     Sometimes  a  week  day  was  taken  for  them  instea 
of  the  Sabbath.*  5, 

Very  promptly  after  their  removal  into  New  Jersey  the  sevej 
^dult  members  of  the  des  Marest  family  and  also  Jacques  La  Rol 
on  the  7th  day  of  October,  1678,  united  by  certificate  with  thj 
pastorless  Bergen  Church  worshipping  in  the  log  building.  I)on| 
Wm.  Nieuenhuj^sen,  of  New  York,  presided  in  the  meeting 
Consistory  at  the  time,  and  received  their  certificates  of  churc, 
membership,  two  of  which,  those  of  Jacques  La  Ron,  and  Samu^ 
des  Marest,  no  doubt  came  from  the  French  Church  in  N^ 
York.f  I 

I  would  that  I  were  able  to  crive  an  authejitic  account  of  thi 
church  life  and  church-going  habits  of  these  people  during  tneii 
connection  with  the  church  of  Bergen.  Doubtless  they  were  all  i: 
attendance  on  every  Communion  Bay,  whether  it  v^^-ere  the  Lord' 
day  or  Monday.  They  would  make  all  their  preparations  on  Sal 
urday,  so  that  they  might  start  early  in  the  morning,  tor  the  die 
tance  was  nearly  twenty  miles,  and  the  roads  were  not  macadf 
mized,  and  the  wagons  were  springless,  and  the  farm  horses  no 
very  fleet.  Besides,  it  w^as  desirable  to  have,  after  so  long  a  joui 
ney,  a  half-hour's  rest  before  service  for  the  good  of  body,  mim 
and  soul.  The  proximity  of  the  inn  to  the  church  customary  ii 
those  days,  was  not  an  unmingled  evil.  Perhaps,  after  the  servi 
ces  some  Van  Horn  or  Van  Winkle,  or  Van  Riper,  or  Van  Wage 
nen  or  Vreeland,  would  insist  on  taking  the  company  home  wit^ 
him  to  dinner,  for  nothing  pleased  the  Dutchman  of  that  day  s 
well  as  to  have  his  table  crowded  on  a  Sunday  by  people  wdiom  h 
respected.  Sometimes  very  little  of  the  daj^,  especially  in  th 
Winter,  would  be  left  after  the  close  of  public  worship,  for  th 
Communion  service  occupied  hours,  and  then  they  woulcl  tarry  tif 
morning,  and  on  the  Monday  wend  their  w^ay  homeward.     Thej 

♦Winfield's  History  of  Hudson  County,  page  378. 

tTheir  names  are  on  the  record  of  the  Dutch  Church  of  New  York,  with  the  note  "  overge^ 
3chreeven  aen  de  Franschekke,"  meaninsr  transferred  to  the  French  Church. 


THE  HUGUENOTS  ON  THE  HACKENSACK.  13 

were  not  so  clriven  and  hurried  in  their  worldly  business  as  men 
now  are.  Perhaps,  they  often  brought  their  lunch  with  them,  and 
having  been  refreshed  by  it,  started  on  their  tedious  journey  for 
home,  which  they  would  not  reach  until  after  nightfall.  We  may 
well  believe,  too,  that  the  forests  through  which  they  passed  in 
going  to  and  returning  from  the  house  of  God  were  made  to  ring 
with  the  Psalms  of  Marot  and  Beza. 

Are  we  to  suppose  that  they  made  this  long  journey  every 
Lord's  day  for  the  purjtose  of  hearing  the  Voorleser  read  the 
Decalogue,  and  Creed,  and  a  chapter  from  the  Bible  and  the  ]:)rayers 
in  the  Liturgy,  and  a  sermon  from  the  pen  of  gome  famous  IIol- 
land  divine,  and  to  join  in  the  singing  of  the  Psalms  in  Dutch?' 
Sj  It  pleases  me  to  think  that  they  did  not  do  this  habituallj^  but  that 
the  Senior  David  was  like  a  patriarch  of  old,  priest  in  his  own 
household,  and  that  on  the  Lord's  day  morning  he  was  wont  to  call 
together  his  children  and  grand-children  and  neighbors  into  his 
own  house,  and  opening  his  precious  French  Bible  to  read  from  it 
in  the  tongue  his  mother  had  taught  him  at  Beauchamp.  Then 
announcing  a  Psalm  from  Marot  and  Beza's  version,  the  men, 
women  and  children  would  unite  in  its  singing  with  uplifted  voices 
and  with  all  their  powers.  And  then  the  Creed  and  prayers  would 
be  read  from  the  Liturgy  of  the  French  Protestant  Church,  and 
perhaps  also  an  instructive  and  edifying  selection  trom  the  writings 
of  some  Huguenot  pastor,  who  had,  with  his  life  in  his  hand,  min- 
istered to  some  distressed  fLock  of  Christ.  JMor  was  the  Catechism 
forgotten  or  slighted,  but  its  questions  w^oukl  be  duly  propounded 
and  answered.  What  emotions  must  such  simple  services  have 
awakened  in  the  breasts  of  the  Elders,  and  what  a  powerful  and 
healthful  influence  must  they  have  exerted  on  the  young  people  and 
children  !  I  say  again,  I  would  that  I  knew  how  it  was  with  them, 
in  those  times,  for  my  picture  is  a  purely  fancy  sketch. 

Their  connection  with  the  church  of  Bergen  continued  about 
four  3^ears,  during  which  they  must  have  helped  the  Bergen  people 
in  building  their  first  church.  The  last  entry  of  a  baptism  is  dated 
April  18th,  1682.  But  during  those  four  years  several  other  entries 
were  made,  one  of  the  marriage  of  Samuel,  the  youngest  son,  and 
Maria  Dreuyn,  sister  of  the  wife  of  Jean,  the  eldest  son,  and  also  of 
the  baptisms  of  two  children  of  Jean,  and  two  of  David,  Jr.  Also, 
over  against  the  names  of  Marie  Sohier,  wife  of  David,  Sr.,  and 
Jacomyntie  Dreuyn,  wife  of  Jean,  is  the  word  Overleden,  or  died, 
showing  that  their  deaths  occurred  during  that  period.  And  then 
over  against  the  name  of  David,  Sr.,  is  written  the  word  Vertroeken, 
or  removed. 

What  did  that  entry  mean  ?  'Not  that  he  had  changed  his 
place  of  residence,  for  he  never  did  that  after  he  had  fixed  it  in 
New  Jersey.  It  meant  that  he  had  left,  or  withdrawn  from  that 
particular  church.  And  what  did  that  mean  in  his  case  ?  Could 
it  mean  that  he  had  turned  back  into  the  world,  and  away  from  the 
visible  church  altogether?  ISTo  one  knowing  his  character  and  his- 
tory could  suppose  that  for  a  moment.     It  could  only  mean  that  he 


/ 


\ 


\ 


14  THE  HUGUENOTS  ON  THE  HACKENSACK. 

bad  left  the  Church  of  Bergen  in  order  to  become  connected  with 
some  other.  The  word  Vertrocken  was  doubtless  placed  by  bis 
name  only,  because  he  was  the  patriarch  and  representative  of  the 
company,  and  it  was  not  worth  while  to  repeat  that  word  on  the 
record. 

But  the  question  arises,  what  now  Ecclesiastical  connection 
could  these  Huguenots  form  in  New  Jersey  ?  That  the}^  did  not 
go  back  to  the  Dutch  Church  in  ISTew  York  is  conclusively  shown 
by  the  records  of  that  church,  on  which  their  names  do  not  reap- 
pear, nor  did  they  unite  with  the  French  Church  of  that  City.  It 
was  true  in  1682,  as  it  was  in  1678,  that  there  was  no  church  in  the 
entire  province  to  which  they  could  go  and  hear  a  language  famil- 
iar to  them,  except  the  Dutch  Church  of  Bergen.  We  can  come 
to  only  one  conclusion,  and  that  is,  that  they  withdrew  from  the 
Church  of  Bergen,  to  establish  an  Ecclesiastical  home  for  them- 
selves on  their  own  property  on  the  banks  of  the  Hackensack,  in 
which  the  French  language  should  be  used  in  the  services  which 
were  to  be  conducted  in  accordance  with  the  ritual  of  the  French 
Reformed  churches.  This  is  confirmed  by  the  concurrent  testi- 
raony  of  many  facts  and  circumstances. 

It  is  true,  and  we  must  start  with  the  candid  admission,  that 
w^e  have  no  document  whatever  giving  an  account  of  the  formation 
of  this  church,  no  book  of  minutes,  no  register  complete  or  par- 
tial of  baptisms,  marriages,  or  admissions  to  the  Lord's  Supper. 
There  is  a  period  of  fourteen  years  from  1682  to  1696,  during 
which  the  Ecclesiastical  history  of  these  intensely  church-loving 
people  is  a  perfect  blank  so  far  as  church  records  known  to  us  are 
concerned.  8ome  names  of  persons  on  the  Bergen  record,  Avho 
were  living  in  1682,  and  wdio  then  removed,  it  is  not  said  whither, 
re-appear  in  1696  on  the  record  of  the  Dutch  Church  of  Hacken- 
sack, which  had  been  formed  in  1686. 

JNow  what  shall  we,  in  the  absence  of  church  records  say  about 
their  Ecclesiastical  history  during  these  fourteen  years?  There 
were,  during  these  j'ears.  some  marriages  among  the  young  people; 
four  at  least  we  are  certain  of  among  the  cles  Marests  alone,  and 
births  of  at  least  fourteen  children  of  the  same  name,  and  we  may 
be  sure  that  every  one  of  these  marriages  was  solemnized  by  a 
Christian  minister,  and  that  every  child  born  was  baptized.  Now% 
w^ho  performed  these  marriage  ceremonies,  and  who  administered 
these  baptisms,  and  where  were  they  recorded?  Not  a  church 
record  in  New  York  or  New  Jersey,  containing  them,  can  be 
found.  Can  we  doubt  that  a  French  Huguenot  minister  performed 
these  ceremonies  right  there  on  the  banks  of  the  Hackensack  ? 

It  is  not  supposed  by  any  one  that  this  little  church  ever  had  a 
pastor  of  its  own,  but  that  it  was  occasionally  visited  by  the  French 
ministers  from  New  York,  and  especially  by  the  Rev.  Pierre  Daille, 
whose  special  mission  seems  to  have  been  to  look  after  the  various 
French  settlements  in  the  province,  for  the  promotion  of  their 
spiritual  welfare.  It  is  a  very  significant  fact  that  the  withdrawal 
of  the  Huguenots  from  the  Church  of  Bergen  took  place  prob.;'bly 


THE    HUGUENOTS    ON    THE    IIACKENSACK.  15 

nn  the  same  year  in  which  Daille  came  to  minister  to  tlie  French  in 
New  York  City,  and  in  which  he  began  to  search  out,  and  to  care 
for  the  scattered  flocks  of  his  countrymen  and  co-religionists. 
What  is  more  likely  than  that  these  Huguenots  on  the  Hackensack 
■should  have  aslced  for,  and  received  a  share  of  these  ministrations? 
An  interesting  fact  connects  Mr.  Daille  with  these  people.  Some 
days  after  the  death  of  David  des  Marest,  Sr.,  wliich  occurred  in 
the  Summer  of  1693,  the  two  surviving  sons,  Jean  and  Samuel, 
and  John  Durie,  who  had  married  the  widow  of  David,  Jr.,  came 
together  to  examine  his  papers,  and  to  make  distribution  of  the 
properl}'  in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  the  will.  They  came 
"  lovingl}'  and  kindly  "  to  an  agreement  which  was  put  in  Avriting, 
and  the  name  of  the  only  subscribing  witness  was  that  of  P. 
Daille.  As  the  beloved  friend  and  pastor  of  their  father,  and 
theirs  also,  he  had  been  invited  to  be  with  them  on  this  occasion. 
He  was  doubtless  on  familiar  ground,  and  in  a  house  whose  hospi- 
tality he  had  often  enjoyed  in  his  visits  to  the  little  flock  on  the 
Hackensack,  who  revered  him  as  their  spiritual  father  and  guide. 

It  is  moreover  quite  certain  that  they  had  a  house  of  worship 
close  by  the  cemetery  to  which  we  have  rei'errcd.  Those  who  in 
former  years  had  charge  of  this  cemetery  haveaflirmed  that  in  dig- 
ging graves  they  have  come  to  stones  which  had  evidently  belonged 
to  the  foundations  of  a  building.  JSTow  what  building  could  have 
been  standing  there  in  the  midst  of  the  graves  but  a  house  of  wor- 
ship ?  Tradition  also  says  that  they  had  a  French  school,  a 
parochial  school  for  the  children,  in  accordance  with  the  usage  of 
.the  times. 

That  a  building  for  public  worship  should  have  been  provided 
as  soon  as  the  occasional  visits  of  a  preacher  could  be  had,  is  cer- 
tainly not  a  strange  thing.  It  was  almost  necessar^',  certainly 
desirable,  so  that  his  visits  might  be  made  more  frequently  than 
they  would  be  if  the  services  w^ere  held  in  a  private  house.  And 
■since  it  was  contemplated  to  obtain  a  number  of  families  from 
France  to  occupy  the  lands  bought  from  the  Indians,  it  was  impor- 
tant to  be  able  to  offer  them  the  powerful  inducement  of  a  house  of 
;God  prepared  to  receive  them,  and  in  which  worship  was  per- 
formed in  their  own  tongue. 

The  absence  of  church  records  is  to  be  deeply  regretted,  but  it 
is  not  surprising.  What  is  more  easilj^  lost  than  are  documents  of 
this  sort,  and  especially  such  as  pertained  to  a  church  which  never 
had  a  settled  pastor,  and  which  existed  only  fourteen  years  ?  Per- 
haps no  record  book  w^as  ever  opened,  and  the  visiting  ministers 
made  on  loose  paper,  memoranda  of  the  ofiicial  acts  performed  by 
.them.  Who  can  tell  what  may  yet  come  to  light  some  day  in  the 
w^ay  of  memoranda  made  by  Daille  or  Peiret  ?  When  the  church 
was  Anally  disbanded  and  they  wdio  were  members  at  the  time 
joined  the  Dutch  Church  at  Hackensack,  all  official  papers  should 
properly  have  been  deposited  with  the  Consistory  of  the  latter 
church.  But,  it  may  not  have  been  done,  at  any  rate,  no  such  pa- 
pers are  in  possession  of  that  body  at  the  present  time. 


16  THE  HUGUENOTS  ON  THE  HACKENSACK. 

Strong!}'  as  all  these  considerations  point  to  tlie  conclus^ 
that  these'llnguenots  had  an  organized   church  and  a    house' oi 
worship  on  the  Hackensack,  there  are  facts  still  to  be  stated  which 
put  the  matter  beyond  all  question. 

This  French  Church  was  established,  if  at  all,  about  the  year 
1682  and  when  as  yet,  as  we  have  seen,  there  was  no  church  in  the 
whole  region  nearer  than  the  one  at  Bergen.  But  just  four  years 
after  this,  in  1686,  a  Dutch  Church  was  formed  at  Hackensack  only 
three  miles  distant.*  ISTow  if  these  Huguenots  had  not  had  a 
church  of  their  own  and  services  in  their  own  language,  would  they 
not  at  once  have  joined  this  new  church  which  was  placed  by  their 
door  ?  For  four  vcars  they  had  been  accustomed  to  ride  nearly 
twenty  miles  to  attend  a  Dutch  service.  Why  then  did  they  not 
connect  themselves  with  this  Hackensack  Dutch  Church,  planted 
close  by  them,  and  to  which  their  neighbors  belonged  ?  Because, 
we  doubt  not,  they  had  provided  themselves  with  a  church  edifice, 
and  services  in  their  own  tongue  winch  they  preferred,  and  prob- 
ably they  had  a  preacher  quite  as  frequently  as  the  Dutch  who  had 
no  church  edifice,  and  who  were  visited  at  long  intervals  by  the 
ministers  of  the  word.  The  records  of  the  Hilckensack  Church 
show  that  for  ten  years,  from  1686  to  1696,  only  one  person  bear- 
ing a  Huguenot  name,  Abram  DeVouw,  had  united  with  it.  Doubt- 
less the  French  were  accustomed  during  all  those  years  to  meet  on 
every  Lord's  Day  in  their  own  house  of  worship,  and  when  a  min- 
ister was  present,  it  was  a  day  of  gladness  indeed. 

But  the  breaking  up  and  end  of  this  little  congregation  were 
at  hand.  It  was  obliged  to  yield  to  the  stern  logic  of  circumstances. 
The  end  came  in  1696.  The  patriarch  of  the  colony  had  died  in 
1693.  His  second  son,  David,  Jr.,  had  died  before  that  time.  The 
colony  was  not  increased  by  accessions  of  French  families,  for  such 
accessions  were  balanced  by  removals.  Rev.  Mr.  Daille  removed 
in  1696  to  Boston.  The  Dutch  people  were  coming  in  rapidly  and 
occupying  land  on  every  side.  Their  young  men  married  the 
Huguenot  maidens,  and  their  young  women  the  Huguenot  young 
men.  All  the  young  people  married,  and  married  early.  The 
Dutch  element  greatly  predominated  and  the  French  preachers 
could  not  fiiil  to  see  what  must  soon  take  place,  and  must  have  felt 
little  encouragement  to  continue  their  visits  which  had  been  so 
welcome  and  precious.  Cheerfully,  no  doubt,  did  they  advise  them 
to  cast  in  their  lot  with  a  church  so  like  their  own  in  doctrine,  order 
and  ritual,  and  whose  language  was  not  strange  to  them,  but  in 
which  tljey  had  often  worshipped  in  Kew  York  and  Bergen. 

The  brave  little  church  was  obliged  to  succumb,  and  it  was 
swept  hy  the  irresistible  tide  of  circumstances  into  the  Dutch 
Church  of  Hackensack.  The  organization  perished,  but  the  mem- 
bers joined  themselves  and  became  elements  of  strength  to  the 
church  then  newly-formed,  but  which  has  been  a  noble  witness  for 
God   through   the   succeeding  generations   for   200   years.     They 

*For  an  account  of  the  orf!:anization  and  history  of  this  church  and  a  record  of  its  members 
from  the  first,  see   Historical  Discourse  bj'  Eev.  Theodore  B.  Romeyu,  D.D.,  New  York,  1870. 


^ 


THE  HUGUENOTS  ON  THE  HACKENSACK.  17 

joined  themselves  to  tlicse  Dutch  people,  not  after  they  had  erected 
and  paid  for  their  church  building,  thit  thus  without  iost  to  tW 
selves  they  might  enjoy  the  fruit  of  the  work  and  self-denial  of 
their  neighbors,  ^o,  they  cast  in  their  lot  with  them  just  when 
they  were  arising  to  build,  so  that  they  might  have  the  privilec^e  of 
sharing  in  the  work  and  the  sacrifice.  In  the  walls  of  tl  it^'firJ 
church  building  of  Hackensack  were  placed  l^wn  ston  s  in 
which  were  cut  the  initials  of  a  number  of  those  wlio  were  mo'mi 
nent  inthe  work  These  stones  have  been  carefully  preseiwelZd 
placed  in  the  walls  of  every  church  building  subse^qLntly  erected 

^7aM  of  Z^^hTT  ^l\''r'  ',?  seen^to-day  In  the'EasSn 
yA  ot  the  "Cliurch  on  the  Green."  On  one  of  these  stones  is 
engraven  the  out  ine  oi  a  heart,  enclosing  the  letters  D.  M  K  fDes 
Ma  Eest)  and  the  date  1696,  on  another  J.  D.  li.  (Jati  J3u' Rii) 
Another  has  an  inscription  which,  by  a  little  aid  of  the  iraao-ina: 
tion,_may  be  pronounced  the  initials  of  Jacques  La  Rou  *  These 
inscriptions  show  how  fully  these  French  families  had  "identified 
themselves  at  that  time  with  the  Dutch  Church,  and  their  reco-- 
nition  at  once  as  important  members  of  it.  "^ 

^I'f^l^  establish  our  position  in  regard  to  the  existence  of  a 
French  Church  beyond  al  doubt,  we  turn  to  the  record  of  commu^ 
mcants  of  he  Church  of  Ilackensack,  which  has  been  careuJlly 
kept  from  the  time  of  its  organization  in  1686.  We  find  on  it  the 
101 J  owing  entries  : 

gekoSn.  dLenavotle^Vr''"'"''^'^'"™'"  '''  ^'•''-''<='-  «« "=  '»'  -»  over- 
Jacques  Larou. 

David  des  Marest,  soou  van  Jan,  met  ziin  vrouw 
Antie  Slot. 

Mny.?Fiv?^''°^''T^  ^'''  Winckel],  huysvronw  van  Jan  De  Marest. 
Sr!7  ?®  ^^^^ee,  luiysvrouw  van  Jacobus  Slot.  / 

ovcrlekomden  :^  ^""''^  "''''  "'"'  ^"'^^tatie  van  de  Franscheke  tot  dese  ghcmeente 
Jan  de  Marest. 

Jan  DuRij  met  zijn  huysvrouw  Rachel  Cresson. 
David  des  Marest  lllius  David,  ook  van  vreduwe  Junior. 
Jacob  De  Groot  met  zijn  liuysvrouw 
Margrietie  Jans.f 

In  these  two  detacliments  eleven  members  came  by  certificate 
from  the  French  Church  to  the  Dutch  in  1696.     These,  doubtless 
comprised  the  entire  membership  at  the  time.     Indeed  the  peculS 
phi^ology^of  the  record  indicates  that  there  was  a  coming  over  of 

*For  cuts  of  these  inscriptions  see  Romevn's  discourse 

has  c'o^r  ove.'irs;7£'^i?;illS'ng:  ^         '''''  ''  '^"'^^^^^^^  ^-^  ^^'^  ^^--'^  Clnuxh  which 

Jacques  La  Eou. 

David  des  Alarest,  son  of  John,  with  his  wife 

Antie  Slot. 

Man-itiie  (Jacobse)  Van  Winckcll,  wife  of  John  De  ^Ju-pst 

Mary  de  Maree,  wife  of  Jacobus  Slot.  ' "'  • 

to  us^""  ''''  ^^'^  °^  '^''^^''  ^^^^'  ''^  ^'^^•tiS^^te  from  the  French  Church  which  has  come  over 

John  De  Marest. 

John  DuEij  (Durie)  with  his  wife  Eachel  Cresson. 

David  des^Marest,  son  of  David,  also  of  the  widow  of  Junior. 

Jacob  DeGroot  with  his  wife 

Marg-rietie  Jans. 


18  THE  HUGUENOTS  ON  THE  HACKENSACK. 

the  whole  church.  Henceforth  for  a  little  while  the  French  Bible 
was  read  and  the  French  Psalms  were  sung  in  a  few  families  chiefly 
by  the  old  people.  French  speedily  became  a  strange  tongue  to 
the  rising  generations. 

Did'this  French  Church  have  a  distinctive  name  or  title?  We 
doubt  not  that  it  was  known  in  the  neighborhood  as  the  French 
Church  simply,  for  there  was  no  other.  It  was  so  designated,  we 
have  seen  on  the  record  of  the  Dutch  Church  of  Hackensack.  Mr. 
Riker  speaks  of  it  several  times  as  the  Church  of  Kinkachemeck. 
The  authority  for  this  is  found  in  an  entry  on  the  marriage  record 
of  the  church  of  Bergen.  The  marriage  of  Daniel  Du  Voor  and 
Engeltie  Cornelis  was  recorded  at  Bergen,  February  28,1692-3,  and 
it  is  noted  that  they  had  come  with  testimonials  from  the  French 
Church  at  Kinkachemeck,  in  the  County  of  Bergen.  But  Kinkach- 
emeck, or  Kinderkamack,  as  the  documents  of  the  time  usually 
have  it,  was  then  as  now  the  name  of  the  tract  lying  on  the  West 
side  of  the  Hackensack  Kiver,  and  extending  two  or  three  miles 
Northward  from  Old  Bridge.  Du  Voor  went  to  Bergen  from  his 
home  at  Kinderkamack,  and  he  belonged  to  the  French  Church. 
It  was  natural  that  the  name  of  the  neighborhood  should  on  the 
record  be  joined  to  the  churcli.  It  is  certain  that  the  church  build- 
ing was  on  the  Eastern  side  of  the  river  and  that  Kinderkamack 
was  then  as  now  on  the  Western  side. 

Perhaps,  in  my  opening  remarks,  I  spoke  too  disparagingly  of 
my  theme,  as  being  of  family  rather  than  general  interest.  Per- 
haps the  influence  of  this  little  colony  was  far  more  extensive  and 
permanent  than  would  be  thought  from  a  hasty  glance  at  its  short 
history. 

Our  historians  tell  us  that  Northern  I^Tew  Jersey  was  settled 
chiefly  by  the  Dutch,  and  they  know  nothing  of  a  Huguenot  ele- 
ment as  a  factor  of  any  importance  in  the  population  of  that  part  of 
the  State.  But  suppose  that  you  were  to-day  to  remove  from  the 
Northern  part  of  Bergen  County,  from  Passaic  County,  from  parts 
of  Essex,  from  Rockland  and  Orange  Counties,  New  York,  all  Avho 
bear  the  names  of  the  original  Huguenot  settlers  on  the  Hacken- 
sack, and  of  those  who  soon  after  located  in  their  neighborhood  as 
Terheuns,  Loziers,  DeMotts,  Debauns,  Ferdons,  etc.,  you  would 
vacate  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  houses  and  farms  in  that 
extensive  district.  And  if,  in  addition  you  were  to  remove  all, 
who  though  bearing  Dutch  names,  have  quite  as  much  of  French 
as  of  Dutch  blood  in  their  veins,  you  would  create  a  wilderness 
almost  Avithout  inhabitants,  for  you  would  carry  away  the  Voor- 
heeses,  Bantas,  Brinkerhofis,  Blauvelts,  Van  Wagenens,  Bogerts, 
Van  Buskirks,  Ackermans,  Hoppers,  about  all  of  them. 

This  little  colony  was  a  permanent  one.  The  French  language 
passed  away  and  the  French  Church  was  absorbed  by  the  Dutch. 
The  plans  of  David  des  Marest  in  regard  to  the  enlargement  of  the 
colony  failed,  but  he  and  his  three  sons  came  to  stay,  and  they 
planned  for  homes  for  their  children  and  children's  children.  Their 
work  was  never  destroyed,  nor  were  their  plans  interfered  with  by 


THE    HUGUENOTS    ON   THE    IIACKENSACK.  19 

hostile  savages.  Thej  held  what  they  had  obtained  at  the  begin- 
ning and  constantly  added  to  their  possessions.  The  three  brothers, 
Jean,  David  and  Samuel,  had  an  aggregate  of  thirty-four  children, 
thirty  ot  whom,  twelve  sons  and  eighteen  daughters,  married  and 
became  fathers  and  mothers  of  fiimilies  which  were  for  the  most 
part  entitled  to  the  Old  Testament  benediction.  The  two  thousand 
acres  of  the  patent  of  1686,  as  well  as  the  lands  previously  secured, 
were  speedily  occupied,  and  to  these  were  added  tract  after  tract  to 
the  North  and  West,  extending  into  Rockland  and  Orange  Coun- 
ties, New  York,  and  what  is  now  Passaic  in  New  Jersey.  Before 
the  Revolutionary  War  some  of  the  family  emigrated  to  Adams 
County,  Pennsylvania,  joining  the  Oonewago  settlement  near 
Gettysburg.  One  of  these  emigrants,  Samuel,  moved  thence  to 
Harrod's  Station,  Kentiicky,  and  a  considerable  number  of  his 
descendants  are  to  be  found  in  that  State.  Some  went  from  Oone- 
wago to  Western  New  York,  where  many  of  their  descendants 
still  have  their  homes.  One,  Guillaume,  who  was  a  Loyalist,  went 
to  Canada  after  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  on  lands  granted  him 
by  the  Crown,  founded  the  town  of  Demorestville,  on  the  Bay  of 
Quinte,  Prince  Edwards  District. 

The  first  movement  from  the  original  home  at  Old  Bridge  was 
of  course  Eastward  toward  the  Hudson,  and  so  lands  were  cleared 
and  farms  occupied  at  Schraalenberg,  Tenaily  and  Closter,  and 
Northward  toward  Tappan,  and  as  early  as  1724  it  w^as  found 
necessary  to  establish  a  church  at  Schraalenberg  for  the  convenience 
of  the  people  of  that  neighborhood  who  had  been  accustomed  to 
vvorship  at  Ilackensack.  The  names  of  the  original  members  of 
this  church  were  to  a  large  extent  Huguenot  names,  and  the  same 
thing  is  true  of  the  second  church  which  was  established  there  in 
1756.  And  if  you  were  to  examine  the  records  of  those  tw^o 
churches  from  tlie  dates  of  their  organization  down  to  the  present 
day,  ,you  would  iind  in  every  generation,  including  the  present,  a 
very  large  proportion  of  Huguenot  names  among  the  baptized,  the 
married  and  the  communicants.  And  the  same  is  to  a  great  extent 
true  of  all  the  churches  in  that  region. 

The  religious,  moral  and  social  influence  of  this  Huguenot  ele- 
ment cannot  well  be  estimated.  The  descendants  of  these  pioneers, 
numbering  not  a  lew  thousands,  have  as  a  body  been  zealous  sup- 
porters of  the  church,  pure  and  temperate  in  their  lives,  of  integrity 
unimpeached  and  honor  untarnished,  true  in  all  their  worldly  rela- 
tions, and  patterns  of  the  virtues  that  adorn  the  ordinar}^  walks  of 
life,  and  in  a  word,  good  members  of  the  Commonwealth.  ]t  has 
often  been  remarked  by  strangers  visiting  the  part  of  the  country 
occupied  by  them,  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  district  of  the 
same  extent  exhibiting  more  decided  proofs,  of  thrift,  of  general 
comfort  and  of  contentment,  and  in  which  poverty  seemed  to  be 
unknown. 

Surely  the  province  of  New  Jersey  was  not  damaged  by  the 
entrance  aiid  settlement  within  her  borders  of  the  Huguenots  of 

THE  HaCKENSACK. 


APPENDIX. 


I 

Clironological  Table. 

1G20.     David  dcs  Marest  (son  of  Jean),  born  at  Beaucliamp,  in  Picardy,  about  tliis 

year. 
1G43.     David  des  Marest  and  Marie  Soliier,  were  married  at  Middlcburg,  Zeeland, 

(French  Clmrcli). 
1G45.     Jean,  son  of  David,  born  at  Middleburg. 
1G5  J.     David,  son  of  David,  born  at  Mannlieim. 
1656.     Bamuel,  son  of  David,  born  at  Mannlieim. 
16G3.     David  des  Mai-est,  wife  and  four  children,  arrived  at  New  Amsterdam,  in  tlie 

Bontelioe,  and  settled  on  Staten  Island. 
16G5.     The  family  removed  to  !N"ew  Harlem. 

1677.  June  8th.     Tappan  Indians   convey  lands  on  the  Ilackensack  to  David  des 

Marest. 

1678.  The  des  Marest  families  remove  to  their  lands  in  New  Jersey,  and  unite  with 

7.  the  Dutch  Church  of  Bergen.     In  the  same  year  probably,  sixteen  acres 
lying  west  of  the  Hackensack,  were  purchased  from  the  Indians. 

1679.  Sir  George  Carteret  died.     His  property  was  to  be  sold  for  the  benefit  of  his 

creditors. 

1680.  Gov.  Andros,  of  New  Yoi-lv,  claimed  jurisdiction  over  New  Jersey,    and 

seized  and  imprisoned  Gov.  Philip  Carteret. 

16S1.  Gov.  P.  Carteret  restored  ;  surveys  of  lands  made  for  David  des  Marest,  of  16 
acres  W.  of  Ilackensack  river,  and  of  various  tracts  on  the  Eastern  side 
for  himself,  his  sons  and  Nicholas  De  Veaux. 

1082.  March  14th.  The  Duke  of  York  confirms  the  sale  of  the  Province  to  the  24 
Proprietors.  Probably  in  this  year  the  Ilackensack  Huguenots  with- 
drew from  the  Dutch  Church  of  Bergen,  and  built  a  church  for  them- 
selves, and  held  services  in  French,  enjoying  occasionally  the  visits  of 
Huguenot  preachers  from  New  York  City. 

1G8G.  The  lauds  on  the  "West  of  the  Hackensack  from  New  Bridge  to  Kinderka- 
mack,  surveyed  for  various  parties.  Also  on  the  East  of  the  River,  2010 
acres  patented  to  David  des  Marest,  Sr.,  extending  eastward  to  the 
Tenakill. 

1689.  David  des  Marest,  Sr.,  makes  his  Will,  in  which  he  declares  himself  of  the 
County  of  Essex,  showing  that  he  must  have  removed  across  the  river 
after  the  year  1686,  for  the  deed  given  him  that  year  represents  him  as  a 
citizen  of  Bergen  County. 

1693.  David  des  Marest,  Sr.,  died.  Oct.  16th  the  heirs  made  a  division  of  the 
property. 

1696.  The  members  of  the  French  Church  joined  the  Dutch  Church  of  Hacken- 
sack.    In  this  year  the  Dutch  congregation  built  its  house  of  worship. 


THE  HUGUENOTS  ON  THE  HACKENSACK.  21 

1704.     The  petition  of  the  sons  of  David,  Sr.,  to  Lord  Cornbmy,  for  a  survey  of 

lands.     Capt.  Jolm  Berry's  remonstrance  and  claim. 
1719.     Jean  des  Marest  died. 

1724.     A  Dutch  Church  organized  at  Schraalcubcrg. 
1728.     Samuel  des  Marest  died. 
175G.     Second  Cliurch  of  Schraalenberg  (North)  formed. 


11 

The  First  Throe  Generations  of  tlie  des  Marest 
Family  in  tliis  Country. 

FIRST   GENERATION. 

David,  son  of  Jean  des  Marest,  was  horn  at  Beauchamp,  in  Picardy,  about 

the  year  1620. 
Marie,  daughter  of  Francois  Sohier,  was  born  in  Nieppc,  a  town  of  Ilainault. 

They  were  married  at  Middleburg,  on  tlie  island  of  Zeeland,  July  21th, 

1643.     Their  children  were  : 

SECOND   GENERATION. 

1.  Jean,  l)aptized  at  Middleburg,  in  the  French  Church,  April  14th,  1645.  lie 
married,  1st,  Jacomina,  a  daugliter  of  Simon  Drcuns,  Sept.  9,  1668.  2d. 
Marritje  Van  Winckell,  widow  of  Peter  Slot,  March  23d,  1603.  3d.  Mao;- 
dalen  Laurens,  widow  of  Jean  Tullier,  December  20th,  1703.  He  died 
in  1719. 

3.  David,  baptized  at  Middleburg,  in  the  French  Church,  June  23,  1G49.  lie 
died  in  infancy. 

3.  David,   born  at  Miumheim,  in  the  Palatinate,  in  1653.     lie  married   Rachel 

Cresson,  daughter  of  Pierre  Cresson,  April  4th,    lG7o.     lie  died  about 
1691. 

4.  Samuel,   born   at  Mannheim,  in   165),   married    Maria,    daughter   of   Simon 

Dreuns,  August  11th,  1678.     He  died  in  1723.  ^ 

5. ,  a  child  is  supposed  to  have  been  born  at  Mannheim,  in  1602,  and 

.  to  have  died  in  infancy,  after  the  family  had  arrived  in  America. 
G.     Daniel,  born  at  Harlem,  baptized  in  New  York,  July  7th,  16GG,  died  January 
8,  1673. 

THIRD    GENERATION. 
CMldrsn  of  Jean  des  Marest  and  Jacomina  Dreuns  (de  Rtiine). 
1.     David,  baptized  m  New  York,  Aug.  18,  1669,  married  Antie,  daughter  of  ,Jan 
Slot,  died  before  1703.     llis  widow  married  Jonathan  Hart,  of  Southold, 
L.  L.  Sept.  7,  1706. 

3.     John,  baptized  in  New  York,  June  18,  1671,  married  Debora .     He 

removed  to  Apoughquiminy,  Chester  Co. ,  Pa. 

3.  Mary,  married,  1. Ely.     2.  Jacobus  Slot,  eldest  son  of  Peter  Slot. 

4.  Sarah,  baptized  in  New  York,  Oct.  12,  1675,  married  Abram  Canon. 

5.  Simon,  baptized  in  New  York,  Nov.  22,  1677.     He  probably  died  in  infancy. 

6.  Rachel,  mar.  Thomas  Hyer  of  Apoughquiminy,  May  9,  1703. 

7.  Jacomina,  bap.  N.  York,  April  21,  1680,  mar.  John  Stewart  of  Stirling,  Scot 

land,  March  39,  1700.    Removed  to  Chester  Co.,  Pa. 


'2'2  THE    HUGUENOTS    OjST   'fHE    HAClCENSACK. 

8.  Lea,  bap.  at  Bergen,  N.  J.,  April  18,  1683,  mar.  Abram  Brower,  eldest  son 

of  Peter  Brower,  March  29tli,  1700. 

9.  Magdalena,   mar.  James  Christie  of  Iverden,  [Aberdeen?]   Scotland,   Sept. 

°  8tli,  1703. 

10.  Samuel,  bap.  at  N.  York,  Nov.  13,  1687.     Probably  died  in  infancy. 

11.  Peter,  mar.,  1,  Marritye  Meet,  May  14th,  1709. 

2,  Maria  Batton,  Oct.  15,  1731. 
lie  had  seventeen  children.  iV)''  . 

Children  of  David  des  Slare^Jr.,  and  Rachel  Cresson. 

1.  David,  bap.  N.  York,  Feb.  19,  1666;  mar.  Sara,  daughter  of  Rev.  Guillaume 

Bertholf,  April  24,  1697.     He  died  in  1768. 

2.  Peter,  bap.  N.  York,  April  21,  1677.     Probably  died  in  infancy. 

L3.     Susanna,  bap.  at  Bergen,  April  7,  1679  ;  mar.,  1,  Peter  Lubbertse  Westervelt, 
April  23,  1704 ;  2,  William  Teller. 

4.  Rachel,  bap.  at  Bergen,  June  4th,  1680,  mai'.  xindries  Janse  Van  Norden,  Aug. 

31,  1700.     She  died  before  1710. 

5.  Jacobus,  bap.  atFlatbush,  L.  I.,  Oct.  30,  1681;  mar.,  1,  Lea,  daughter  of  Peter 

De  Groot,  March  S,  1707 ;    2,  Margrietie  Cozine  Herring,  Sept.  26,  1719- 

6.  Samuel,  mar.  Sitsche  Siberse  Banta,  April  21,  1705. 

7.  Mary,  mar.  Wiert  Banta,  April  27,  1706. 

8.  Daniel,  born  in  1685 ;    mar.  Rebecca,   daugliter  of  Peter'  De  Groot,  Aug.  3, 

1707. 

9.  Benjamin,  mar.  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Peter  De  Groot,  Nov.  7th,  1713. 

10.  Jacomina,  mar.  Andries  Louwrens  Van  Boskerk,  Nov.  7,  1713. 

11.  Lea,  mar.  Rynier  Van  Houten,  Jan.  26th,  1718. 

12.  Lydia,  mar.  Stephen  Albertse  Terheun,  Oct.  18th,  1707. 

Children  of  Samuel  des  T,Iarest  and  Maria  Dreuns  (De  Suine). 
1.     Magdalena,  bap.  N.  York,  April  21,  1680,  mar.  Cornelius  Epkc  Banta,  Nov.  1, 
1699.     She  died  before  1719. 

3.  David,  bap.  at  Bergen  Oct.  3d,  1681,  mar.  jMatie  de  Baunc,  daughter  of  Joost 

de  Baune,  Nov.  10,  1705. 

3.  Samuel,  mar.  Annatie  Van  Hoorn,  Aug.  1,  1713." 

4.  Peter,  mar.  Margrietie  Conielise  Herring,  Sept.  14,  1717. 

5.  Jacomina,  mar.,  1,  Samuel  Helling  (Helm),  Nov.  10,  1705;   3,  Cornelius  Van 

Hoorn,  Jr.,  July  19,  1710. 

6.  Judith,  mar.,  1,  Christian  de  Baune,  Jan.  29,  1709;    2,  Peter  Da  Rij  (Durie), 

July  21,  1711. 

7.  Sarah,  bap.  at  Hackensack,  March  7th,  1697,  mar.  John  Westervelt  in  1718. 

8.  Simon,  bap.   Hackensack,  May  31,  1699,   mar.  Vrouwtie  Cornelise   Herring, 

Dec.  1,  1721. 

9.  Rachel,  bap.  Hackensack,  Jan.  13, 1701,  mar.  Jacobus  Peck,  Oct.  14th,  1726. 

10.  Susanna,  bap.  Hackensack,  April  18,  1703,  mar.  Benjamin  A^an  Boskerk,  March 

21,  1725. 

11.  Daniel,  bap.  Hackensack,  March  35,  1706. 


iiMiS,?,!'^  °^  CONGRESS 

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