Staten Island Church Records

Description

This work was originally published in 1909 as Volume IV of the “Collections of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society.” The records are among the oldest surviving church records for Staten Island (Richmond), New York. They pertain to three separate churches: the Dutch Reformed Church of Port Richmond; the United Brethren, or Moravian, Congregation of Staten Island; and St. Andrews Protestant Episcopal Church. Preceding the records themselves is an excellent historical introduction describing the founding of each parish, its various edifices, and its ministers. The Dutch Reformed records consist solely of baptisms from 1696 to 1772, giving the date of the baptism, the names of the child and his parents, and the names of witnesses. The Moravian records comprise the largest collection in the volume. They consist of baptism records from 1749 to 1853 that are similar in content to the Dutch Reformed records; marriages from 1764 to 1863, citing the names of the bride and groom, the date of the wedding, and usually the newlyweds’ parents names and the place of the ceremony; and death and burial records from 1758 to 1828, indicating the deceased’s name and age at death, the date of death, and often something about the next of kin. The third group of church records, that of the Episcopal congregation of St. Andrews, features birth and baptismal entries from 1752 to 1795, stating the child’s date of birth and/or baptism and the names of the parents. The records also include several hundred marriages from 1754 to 1808, naming the bride and groom and the date of the marriage. In all, this important volume preserves the identities of 15,000 early inhabitants of Staten Island, New York, any one of whom is readily found in the complete name index to the work.