Reformed Dutch Church of New Amsterdam (New York) - an Explanation

The first Christian religious services in New Netherland (present day New York) were conducted by the Comforters of the Sick. The first known was Bastien Jansen Krol, who arrived in 1624.

After a short stay at Fort Orange (Albany), Krol returned to the Netherlands, asking for a minister. However the Dutch West India Co. felt the settlement was not large enough to warrant a minister, and Krol was empowered to baptise and marry provided he used the liturgy of the church in his services.

From the first beginnings of the settlement of New Amsterdam (now New York City), services were conducted in a loft above the Grist Mill. Dominie Jonas Michaelius arrived in 1628 as an ordained minister but services continued in the Grist Mill until a church was built in 1633. This was the Reformed Dutch Church in New Amsterdam, now called The (Collegiate) Reformed Protestant Dutch Church Of the City of New York

The Reformed Dutch Church of New Amsterdam (New York) Baptism Records 1639-1801 are available online. Marriage records 1639-1801 and Church membership lists 1649-1701 are also available. There are no earlier records for this church in existence.