By 1588, the Dutch Reformed Church had become the established church of the Netherlands, and it was held in high esteem. As the established, or legally empowered, church, the records to be kept by it were probably mandated by law. Whatever the reason, the baptismal records in this church were very uniform and consistent. In comparison to other denominations, it is very striking.
The biggest problem in working with the early Dutch records is with their naming practices, which differ from what we know. A child took his father's first name as his second, or surname . The adoption of fixed surnames in Pennsylvania and New York, by the early Dutch families, took place gradually. Within the original system, women retained their birth surnames instead of adopting their husband's. Thus, a baptismal record might read, "Arie, child of Lambart Brinck and Rachel van Garden, was baptized 25 April 1744; witnesses were Daniel Broadhead and Hester Luykese, his wife." This system of naming is called "patronymics", and anyone searching the Dutch Reform records must be on the alert for this possibility.
The Dutch were early in America, first at New York, but, later in Pennsylvania, there were several Dutch Reformed congregations. These latter churches were the result of movements in the colony, not of new immigration from Holland. Whenever it was deemed desirable for a Dutch Reformed Church to combine, or to seek temporary support in the form of interim ministers, they turned to the Presbyterian church, the closest to them in theology and practice. Rev. Jonathon DuBois, minister of a Dutch Reformed Church in Pennsylvania, also served as the minister of a Presbyterian Church.
The Dutch Reformed Church was the first denomination from the Reformed tradition established in the American Colonies. Their first pastor came in 1628 to organize the church and to administer the sacraments. But, as noted, they were closer to the Presbyterians than to the German Reformed Church. All three found their origins in the work of Zwingli, Calvin, and Knox.
The churches that have been discussed so far have not been radically different from each other. In the order that we have been discussing them, there was a shift in the attitude toward baptism. The older churches tended to regard baptism as absolutely necessary for an infant to be admitted to heaven. The later churches allowed that unbaptized infants could be admitted to heaven. There was a shift from sponsors, who were responsible for the spiritual health of the child, to witnesses, who merely testified that the child was baptized.
Next, I will take up groups that made radical breaks with tradition.
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.