Manuscript Registers — Baptisms and Marriages
FIRST CHURCH IN ALBANY OF THE REFORMED CHURCH IN AMERICA
RECORDS OF BAPTISMS, MARRIAGES, AND FUNERALS
Manuscript Registers—Baptisms and Marriages
What is now the First Church in Albany was organized as a Dutch Reformed congregation at Fort Orange (now Albany) in 1642. Fort Orange and the nearby community of Beverwyck were renamed Albany in 1664, when an English fleet seized control of New Netherland.
Registers of baptisms and marriages of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Albany and its corporate successor the First Church in Albany start in 1683 and continue to the present. Previous books are lost. The older registers are in very fragile condition and are closed to research. Church members and staff do not search the records for genealogical inquiries.
All of the registers prior to ca. 1900 have been microfilmed. The microfilm may be used at the NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY, 222 Madison Avenue, Albany, NY 12230. For information about the State Library’s hours and services, phone 518-474-5355, send e-mail to refserv@nysed.gov, or search their website at http://www.nysl.nysed.gov , additionally : the New York State Library Catalog website: https://nyst.sirsi.net/
The microfilm reproduces records of baptisms and marriages for the original congregation founded in 1642 and for the Second Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Albany, organized in 1815 (whose churches were located successively on Beaver Street and Madison Avenue). The State Library has cataloged the microfilm copies of records of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Albany as “Records of Albany Reformed Churches.” There are twenty-one reels of microfilm, and the registers of baptisms and marriages are found on reels 20 and 21. The Library’s call number for the microfilm is MA 974.743 A326 207-4130 reels 1-21.
The older vital records of First Church in Albany have been abstracted and published, and those publications are listed below. Copies of all of them are available in the New York State Library and in other large libraries holding collections of New York State community and family history publications.
Published Abstracts—General
Year Book of the Holland Society of New York, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1922-1923, 1924-1925, 1926-1927. Reprinted as Records of the Reformed Dutch Church of Albany, New York, 1683-1809: Marriages, Baptisms, Members, etc. (Baltimore: 1978). (Contains abstracts of baptism records [1683-1809] and marriage records [1683-1804] of the Albany Dutch Reformed Church, and some late 17th century membership lists, with name indexes in each volume. Online version of these records is available at https://mathcs.clarku.edu/~djoyce/gen/albany/refchurch.html and other websites.
Sivertsen, Barbara J., Turtles, Wolves, and Bears: A Mohawk Family History (Bowie, Md.: 1996), Appendix A: “First Church in Albany, Indian Baptisms and Marriages, 1689-1756.”
Published Abstracts—Births/Baptisms
Howard A. McConville, comp., “Baptismal Records of the First Dutch Reformed Church Albany, N.Y., January 1809–August 1823,” Dutch Settlers Society of Albany Yearbook, 36-37 (1961-1962), 21-28.
__________, “Baptismal Records of the First Reformed Church, Albany, N.Y., July 1823 to January 1850,” Dutch Settlers Society of Albany Yearbook, 39 (1963-1964), 22-33.
__________, “Baptismal Records of the First Reformed Church, Albany, N.Y., January 1850 to January 1865,” Dutch Settlers Society of Albany Yearbook, 43 (1970-1972), 14-23.
Published Abstracts—Marriages
Howard A. McConville, comp., “Albany First Dutch Reformed Church Marriages 1805-1825,” Dutch Settlers Society of Albany Yearbook, 32-33 (1956-1958), 19-22.
__________, “Albany First Reformed Church Marriages; July, 1823–November, 1864,” Dutch Settlers Society of Albany Yearbook, 40 (1964-1966), 29-36.
Published Abstracts—Deaths/Funerals
William V. Hannay, comp., “Burial Records, First Dutch Reformed Church of Albany, 1654-1862,” Dutch Settlers Society of Albany Yearbook, 8-9 (1932-1934), 1-145. (Compiled from deacons’ and church master’s account books and other sources. Includes additional burial records through Apr. 1883. Name index.) Repr. as Early Albany County, N.Y. Death Records 1654-1883 (Rhinebeck, N.Y.: 2000).
“Additional Burial Records of First Reformed Dutch Church of Albany,” Dutch Settlers Society of Albany Yearbook, 41 (1966-1968), 58-66. (Records of “Dood Cleat Gelt,” “Winding Cloth Money,” 1722-1737, maintained by Barent Bradt. This is a supplement to Yearbook, 8-9 [1932-1934], 1-145.)
“Inscriptions in the Reformed Protestant Dutch Burial Ground,” in Joel Munsell, comp., The Annals of Albany, vol. 6 (Albany: 1855), pp. 131-99. (Covers period ca. 1793-1854.)
“State Street Burial Grounds in Albany; Inscriptions, Reformed Protestant Dutch Church [1790-1867],” Dutch Settlers Society of Albany Yearbook, 39 (1963-1964), 34-49. (These gravestones are now in a special plot at the Albany Rural Cemetery.)
Sebastian V. Talcott, Genealogical Notes of New York and New England Families (Albany: 1883), pp. 454-77, “Record of Burials.” (Abstracts of information on burials from fiscal accounts of Barent Bradt, 1722-1757; at time of publication the book was in possession of Harmanus Bleecker. Also pub. in Munsell, Annals of Albany.)
RECORDS OF BAPTISMS, MARRIAGES, AND FUNERALS
Manuscript Registers—Baptisms and Marriages
What is now the First Church in Albany was organized as a Dutch Reformed congregation at Fort Orange (now Albany) in 1642. Fort Orange and the nearby community of Beverwyck were renamed Albany in 1664, when an English fleet seized control of New Netherland.
Registers of baptisms and marriages of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Albany and its corporate successor the First Church in Albany start in 1683 and continue to the present. Previous books are lost. The older registers are in very fragile condition and are closed to research. Church members and staff do not search the records for genealogical inquiries.
All of the registers prior to ca. 1900 have been microfilmed. The microfilm may be used at the NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY, 222 Madison Avenue, Albany, NY 12230. For information about the State Library’s hours and services, phone 518-474-5355, send e-mail to refserv@nysed.gov, or search their website at http://www.nysl.nysed.gov , additionally : the New York State Library Catalog website: https://nyst.sirsi.net/
The microfilm reproduces records of baptisms and marriages for the original congregation founded in 1642 and for the Second Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Albany, organized in 1815 (whose churches were located successively on Beaver Street and Madison Avenue). The State Library has cataloged the microfilm copies of records of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Albany as “Records of Albany Reformed Churches.” There are twenty-one reels of microfilm, and the registers of baptisms and marriages are found on reels 20 and 21. The Library’s call number for the microfilm is MA 974.743 A326 207-4130 reels 1-21.
The older vital records of First Church in Albany have been abstracted and published, and those publications are listed below. Copies of all of them are available in the New York State Library and in other large libraries holding collections of New York State community and family history publications.
Published Abstracts—General
Year Book of the Holland Society of New York, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1922-1923, 1924-1925, 1926-1927. Reprinted as Records of the Reformed Dutch Church of Albany, New York, 1683-1809: Marriages, Baptisms, Members, etc. (Baltimore: 1978). (Contains abstracts of baptism records [1683-1809] and marriage records [1683-1804] of the Albany Dutch Reformed Church, and some late 17th century membership lists, with name indexes in each volume. Online version of these records is available at https://mathcs.clarku.edu/~djoyce/gen/albany/refchurch.html and other websites.
Sivertsen, Barbara J., Turtles, Wolves, and Bears: A Mohawk Family History (Bowie, Md.: 1996), Appendix A: “First Church in Albany, Indian Baptisms and Marriages, 1689-1756.”
Published Abstracts—Births/Baptisms
Howard A. McConville, comp., “Baptismal Records of the First Dutch Reformed Church Albany, N.Y., January 1809–August 1823,” Dutch Settlers Society of Albany Yearbook, 36-37 (1961-1962), 21-28.
__________, “Baptismal Records of the First Reformed Church, Albany, N.Y., July 1823 to January 1850,” Dutch Settlers Society of Albany Yearbook, 39 (1963-1964), 22-33.
__________, “Baptismal Records of the First Reformed Church, Albany, N.Y., January 1850 to January 1865,” Dutch Settlers Society of Albany Yearbook, 43 (1970-1972), 14-23.
Published Abstracts—Marriages
Howard A. McConville, comp., “Albany First Dutch Reformed Church Marriages 1805-1825,” Dutch Settlers Society of Albany Yearbook, 32-33 (1956-1958), 19-22.
__________, “Albany First Reformed Church Marriages; July, 1823–November, 1864,” Dutch Settlers Society of Albany Yearbook, 40 (1964-1966), 29-36.
Published Abstracts—Deaths/Funerals
William V. Hannay, comp., “Burial Records, First Dutch Reformed Church of Albany, 1654-1862,” Dutch Settlers Society of Albany Yearbook, 8-9 (1932-1934), 1-145. (Compiled from deacons’ and church master’s account books and other sources. Includes additional burial records through Apr. 1883. Name index.) Repr. as Early Albany County, N.Y. Death Records 1654-1883 (Rhinebeck, N.Y.: 2000).
“Additional Burial Records of First Reformed Dutch Church of Albany,” Dutch Settlers Society of Albany Yearbook, 41 (1966-1968), 58-66. (Records of “Dood Cleat Gelt,” “Winding Cloth Money,” 1722-1737, maintained by Barent Bradt. This is a supplement to Yearbook, 8-9 [1932-1934], 1-145.)
“Inscriptions in the Reformed Protestant Dutch Burial Ground,” in Joel Munsell, comp., The Annals of Albany, vol. 6 (Albany: 1855), pp. 131-99. (Covers period ca. 1793-1854.)
“State Street Burial Grounds in Albany; Inscriptions, Reformed Protestant Dutch Church [1790-1867],” Dutch Settlers Society of Albany Yearbook, 39 (1963-1964), 34-49. (These gravestones are now in a special plot at the Albany Rural Cemetery.)
Sebastian V. Talcott, Genealogical Notes of New York and New England Families (Albany: 1883), pp. 454-77, “Record of Burials.” (Abstracts of information on burials from fiscal accounts of Barent Bradt, 1722-1757; at time of publication the book was in possession of Harmanus Bleecker. Also pub. in Munsell, Annals of Albany.)