After the Eighty Year War (1568-1648), only marriages performed in the Dutch Reformed Church or before the Eldermen's court were considered legal. This means that even marriages between two Catholic people can often be found in Dutch Reformed church records. This does not mean they converted or pretended to be Dutch Reformed, they just went there to get married. Catholics considered the Dutch Reformed marriage as their civil union. For more information and examples, see always check all … [Read more...]
Quick tip: US Dutch Reformed Church Records Online
15 January 2014 by 34 Comments
Ancestry.com has just published a new record set: "U.S., Dutch Reformed Church Records from Selected States, 1660-1926". This record set was created by the Holland Society and currently contains records of Dutch Reformed churches in New York and New Jersey. Records from Dutch Reformed churches in other states will be added in the future. The record set consists of an index and images. Beware that the images are not of the original church records, but of later transcriptions, some done by hand … [Read more...]
