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August 10, 2011

Records of the Old Dutch Church Totowa New Jersey 1756-1822

Today's featured database includes the records of the Old Dutch Church in Totowa New Jersey, baptisms 1756-1822 online in the New Jersey section of Olive Tree Genealogy.

These early church records include Father, mother; child, birthdate, baptism date; Wits: male witness, female witness, additional witnesses. Sometimes more information is provided.

The 1958 bulletin of the Passaic County Historical Society provides information on the history of this church:

From 1755 until about the year 1762, the Reverend David Marinus served as minister and pastor.  After Dominie Marinus left about 1762, the church was supplied by the pastor of the Fairfield Reformed Church for about five years; then until 1772, it appears that there was no one to minister to the congregation.  But in November 1772, the Rev. Dr. Hermanus Meyer came and remained the pastor until his death in 1791.  The Totowa Church now severed its connections with the Pompton Church but remained in close relations with the Church at Acquackanonk and shared in the pastorate of the Rev. Henricus Schoonmaker who gave one-third of his time to Totowa.  He preached at Totowa from 1791 until his retirement in 1816 and for a time lived in Paterson.  After March 1816, services were held every other Sunday and they were conducted by the Rev. William Eltinge, the Pastor at Paramus from 1816 until 1827 when on March 26 a fire on the roof completely consumed the building.

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