First Dutch Reformed Church (West Glenville, N.Y.) Records An inventory of the collection at Syracuse University

Records from a church in West Glenville, New York. The collection includes administrative material, correspondence, financial records and legal papers. The collection is photocopies only, no original documents.

Language:

English

Repository:

Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries
222 Waverly Avenue
Syracuse, NY 13244-2010
https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Finding Aid Information

Created by: Sarah Giardina
Date: 19 Apr 2019
Revision history: 19 Apr 2019 - Processed (SG)

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Inventory

Administrative material

Box 1

Church constitution 1885

Box 1

Fire insurance policies 1839-1884

Oversize 1

Fire insurance policies 1839-1853

Box 1

Meeting notes 1814-1856

Box 1

Membership 1814-1859

Correspondence

Box 1

Financial matters 1837-1910

Box 1

Pastors, incoming and outgoing 1825-1910

Oversize 1

Pastors, incoming 1818

Financial material

Box 1

Checks 1814

Box 1

Church debts/to be paid 1819-1899

Box 1

Pew purchases 1814-1822

Oversize 1

Pew purchases 1826

Box 1

Pew rentals 1880-1899

Oversize 1

Records of pastors' salary 1833-1868

Box 1

Records of pastors' salary 1850-1874

Box 1

Store receipts 1814-1899

Oversize 1

Subscriber pledges and payments 1821-1894

Box 1

Subscriber pledges and payments 1822-1872

Box 1

Treasurer and committee reports 1830-1871

Oversize 1

Treasurer and committee reports 1832-1852

Box 1

Miscellaneous pay slips and records 1819-1880

Legal material

Box 1

Indentures and agreements 1814-1891

Oversize 1

Indentures and agreements 1819-1844

Box 1

Miscellaneous legal 1821-1852

Miscellaneous records (microfilm)

Reel 47

Church corporate records 1814-1953 - historical sketch, vital records (baptisms, marriages, deaths), membership lists, consistory minutes

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Collection inventory

Table of Contents