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First Dutch Reformed Church (West Glenville, N.Y.) Records

An inventory of the collection at Syracuse University

Finding aid created by: Sarah Giardina
Date: 19 Apr 2019

Revision history:
19 Apr 2019	Processed (SG)

Biographical History

The First Dutch Reformed Church of West Glenville, N.Y. was built in 1813 after pleas from the congregation. Originally, the parish attended the First Reformed Church of Schenectady but travel was too difficult for the members of the church who lived farther away. Thus, an addition to the original church was erected in West Glenville. According to church records, there were 27 original members and the first official pastor was Rev. Peter Van Zandt Jr. Its seal was a ten-cent piece made of silver.

Its current (2010) building is at 8 North Church Street.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The First Dutch Reformed Church (West Glenville, N.Y.) Records consist of approximately five hundred pieces of Xeroxed versions of administrative material, correspondence, financial records and legal records dating from 1814 to 1953. The earliest entry, dated February 23, 1814, Minutes of Consistory Meetings, mentions the election of church officers held at the new church edifice September 25, 1813. There is also additional material on microfilm.

Administrative material dates from 1839 to 1884 and includes fire insurance policies, meeting notes and lists of membership.

Correspondence contains letters between the church and pastors spanning 1825 to 1910.

Financial records contains treasury and committee reports (1830-1871) and lists of subscriber pledges to the church, mainly for repairs or salary (to raise money to furnish the church, repair the barn at the parsonage, raise the minister's salary, and so on).

Legal material consists of indentures and agreements.

Microfilmed records include a historical sketch, vital records (baptisms 1814-1875, marriages 1818-1876, deaths and memberships 1818-1953), and consistory minutes 1814-1953. The vital records are important genealogically since New York State's Department of Health did not begin recording vital records until 1880. The consistory minutes relate the goals, both spiritual and material, of a small church for more than a century.

Arrangement of the Collection

The collection is organized into four series: administrative, correspondence, financial, and legal. Within each series the material is organized at the folder level by document type, and then put in roughly chronological order in the folders. Because more than one document was copied on a single page, exact chronological order was not possible.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

Special Collections Research Center has numerous collections relating to church and clergy in and around Central New York. Please refer to the SCRC Subject Index for a complete listing. The Glenville (N.Y.) Town Records contains records for the town of Glenville, including minutes and account books for various town boards, 1820-1892, on microfilm.

Subject Headings

Corporate Bodies

First Dutch Reformed Church (West Glenville, N.Y.)

Subjects

Church records and registers -- New York (State)
Reformed Church in America -- History.

Places

New York (State) -- Church history.
West Glenville, N.Y. -- Religious life and customs.

Genres and Forms

Baptismal registers.
Church records.
Correspondence.
Financial records.
Indentures.
Membership lists.
Microfilms.
Minutes (administrative records)
Photocopies.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

First Dutch Reformed Church (West Glenville, N.Y.) Records,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Donald Keefer, 1965.

Table of Contents

Administrative material

Correspondence

Financial material

Legal material

Miscellaneous records (microfilm)

Inventory