…over a covered bridge, along the twisting Hammond River and nestled into a mountain valley, sits a pretty little white sided church called the Smithtown United Baptist Church.  This is probably my quintessential family historical church because not only did my ancestors start the Church, but my own grandmother went there as a youth and eventually became a member. I recall Gramma’s memories of the Sunday School picnics across the road at the river’s edge.

My great great great great  Grandfather, James Beyea , gave up some of his newly inherited land so that this little Church could be built… and although his roots were as an Anglican, this land he gave to the Baptists.

Nine years earlier James’ father, James Beyea UEL, died.  He was a staunch Anglican and he had, earlier in his life, invited a Baptist man to preach to the community. Why would a staunch Anglican invite the Baptists to share their ideas?

Descendant Andrew Beyea was the first published Beyea historian. He wrote “The History of French Village” and “A Biographical Sketch of the Beyea Family”. In these he tells the tale of a “club-footed iterant Baptist preacher” named Giles Smith. He had just come from Sussex NB where they had tied him to his horse, backwards, and whipped the horse so that he bolted out of town.  When he arrived in the Smithtown area he most certainly did not expect a joyous reception. God’s guidance led Giles  to James Beyea’s homestead, and although the locals tried to get James to expell Rev. Smith in a similar way as Sussex had, James remembered his own father’s sufferings as a Huguenot and apparently said the following:

Since my forefathers, in their day,

had suffered so much for the sake of the Gospel,

my house will always be open to any person

who desires to preach its truth.

James followed this speech with an invitation to all his neighbours to listen to what the preacher, Giles Smith, had to say.

James’ wife, Martha Curry Sherwood Beyea was a tiny dark eyed beauty, with a touch of native blood, and she took the preacher’s words to heart. She really believed that this was the way that God was meant to be worshiped.  Martha’s sister Rachel also felt the conviction to become a Baptist, and they shared, with their husbands, their newly energized faith!

James loyalty to Britain in the Revolutionary War reinforced his committment  to the Anglican Church, but thankfully his loyalty was not blind and one sided. James listened to the musings of his wife and supported her decision to believe in a different method of worship, although he decided to remain an Anglican.  Rachel’s husband, Humphrey Bull, was not as tolerant, and he sought a legal way to prevent her from becoming Baptist (what the outcome of that was, I do not know).

In 1818, when there was enough local support to build a Baptist Church, the son of James Beyea, the Anglican, gave one acre of land for the building of the Smithtown United Baptist Church… in honour of his mother and in memory of his very tolerant father.

Buried at the Smithtown Baptist Church, NB,  are my great grandparents, Harry & Annie (Barr) Beyea; my great great grandparents, James Henry & Phoebe (Smith) Beyea; my great great great grandparents, James & Dorcas Smith; my great great great great grandparents, Richard & Phoebe (Beyea) Smith. This Phoebe was the daughter and sister to the two James Beyea’s mentioned above.

… my Mom & Dad were married in the Central Avenue United Church in Fort Erie ON. It was a Church nestled at the end of Dufferin St. where my Mom grew up:

134 years ago today my great Grandparents, James Henry Beyea & Phoebe Sophia Smith were married (see Nov.’08). Phoebe’s father was the deacon of the Smithtown Baptist Church in New Brunswick (which is the Church we will discuss in December). Phoebe’s grandfather, Barnet Manzer Dykeman, was baptised in the St.John Anglican Church, Gagetown NB, by Reverend Richard Clarke.

Thanks to Roger G. Melin’s online addition of the transcribed archives of the Gagetown Anglican Church there is a lot of information available to us!

For our family, I know that Barnet Manzer Dykeman was baptised as an infant on June 14, 1807. Barnet’s maternal grandmother, Mary Manzer, was baptised, as an adult, by Rev. Richard Clarke on 7 August 1787.  Barnet’s father, uncle, and grandmother Dykeman were also all baptised as adults on the same day: 26 August 1792, again by the Reverend Richard Clarke.

Barnet’s parents, Gilbert & Dorcas, were married by the Rev. Richard Clark on 10 July 1794. And this same Pastor also buried Barnet’s grandmother Eunice on 17th of November 1808 in the Gagetown NB, St. John Anglican Cemetery.

So who is this Rev. Richard Clarke? He was the first Rector  of the St.John Anglican Church in Gagetown. In 1787 Richard came to see his new post. He returned to the States to gather his family (wife Rebecca and 11 children) and came back to Gagetown to settle in for a 25 year service to the community. It seems that Richard was a prolific baptiser! He had a strong black population in his Church and was very inclusive in baptising them as well. In his first year he noted that the people were, “much scattered about and the Lord’s Day greatly neglected”. He indicated that parents seemed to be hesitant in letting him baptise their children. However, during his first year in 1788 he baptised 68 white infants, 2 black infants and 2 adults. He buried 5 people and married 3 couples.  He was busy tending all of his flock and that flock began to thrive! In 1790 an official Church and school was built. Here is what the Church looks like today:

St. John Anglican Church, Gagetown NB

Rev. Richard remained actively involved in his Church for the next 25 years until tragedy struck in the early morning of March 13th, 1811. A fire blazed the home of Richards daughter. Nine family members escaped the flames by jumping out their windows, but the fire took the lives of Richard’s daughter,(Sarah Coldwell Clarke), his grandson, (Marshall Clarke Andrews), and his neice, (Mary Hubbard).

The loss was so overwhelming for Rev. Richard and his wife Rebecca that they ended their ministry in Gagetown and moved to St.Stephen NB, some distance away. Their son Samuel Clarke continued in Gagetown as the new Pastor of the Church.  Richard & Rebecca’s cemetery inscription, in the Old Burial Ground, St. Stephen, reads:

Sacred to the memory of the Rev’d Richard Clarke, the first rector of this parish & the oldest Missionary in the Colonies having accomplished in the 58th year of his ministry being much respected & living in the utmost harmony with the people of the several parishes to which he was appointed. Departed this life 6th October 1824, aged 87 years. Also Rebecca his wife who died 7th May 1816 aged 60 years. Those worthy examples of piety, extensive charity and Christian fortitude after long and afflicting sickness resigned their spirits unto the hands who gave it looking forward to their crown of immortality which the Lord the righteous judge shall at the last day bestow on all his faithful servants. New Milford, Connecticut, 19 years. Gagetown, N.B. 25 years. St. Stephens, 13 years.

Funny how I know all this but I do not know the name of the officiant who married my parents. Mom & Dad, Happy Anniversary, I have a question for you….

In August 2007 I wrote a little bit about Baltus Berentsen Van Kleek. He had been born in Holland, crossed the “pond”, settled in Flatbush NY, moved briefly to Bergen New Jersy (about 5 years), and later moved to, and died in, Poughkeepsie NY.

During the five years he lived in Bergen, New Jersey, Barent may have witnessed the raising of a little octagonal Church (William Day headed the construction of the new building). It’s official opening day was on 23 May 1681 with Rev. Casper Van Zuiren, from Long Island, delivering the Church’s first sermon.  Barent must have been impressed because, in fact, he joined that Church on 2 July 1683.

According to the book, Brief History of Old Bergen Church, p.2-3: “It’s [Bergen's] windows were quite high from the ground probably as much for protection from the Indians as to prevent the children from looking out during the services. The archways over the door and windows were ornamented with small bricks imported from Holland… The church was surmounted by a brass rooster used as a weathercock.”

Watching the resurrection of this little church may have influenced Baltus when he moved to Poughkeepsie, a place that was lacking  its own religious building.

According to the 1718 Deed Conveying First Property, Poughkeepsie’s first  Church lot was “butted and Boundett Vz on the Nort Sid to the Rood that Runs to the Eastard to the forsaid Cap’t Barendt Van Kleecks”.

Part of Baltus’ land was given to “the Inhabitance and Naborhood of Pochkepsen… to bild and maentaen a proper mieting house to worship.” (Anniversary Discourse and History of the First Reformed Church of Poughkeepsie, by A.P Van Gieson).

I think it is safe to say that if Baltus gave up land to give to his new Church, he was most likely very dedicated to it. In May 1800, Henry Livingston drew a map of Baltus Van Kleek’s original Poughkeepsie homestead. On the map, the Church is clearly drawn, with an adjoining cemetery and stones. Baltus lived and died in the shadow and the light of this  Church.

For more information on Barent Baltus Van Kleek go to: http://webpages.charter.net/ghshepard/Baltus_Barents.html

For more information on the History of the Bergen Church please take a look at the following webite: http://www.njcu.edu/programs/jchistory/Pages/O_Pages/Old_Bergen_Church.htm

For an e-book version of Anniversary Discourse and History of the First Reformed Church of Poughkeepsie go to, http://www.archive.org/stream/anniversarydisco00vangi/anniversarydisco00vangi_djvu.txt

As a genealogist, and you know this if you are one, there is no greater thrill than discovering a tangible connection to your ancestors. On August 4th, during a lovely get-away to Nova Scotia, I was able to connect with my Great4 Grandparents, Jacob H. Gavel & Sarah (Hurlburt) Gavel. I had hoped to discover their grave site and had no more expectations than that. Those expectations were met and then exceeded as I most happily and accidentally discovered the Tusket Courthouse and Archives. There the head archivist gave me directions to the Gavelton Meeting House and then dangled this big carrot in front of my nose: We have a copy of Sarah & Jacobs family Bible, as well as a picture of them… so do come back to see us!

For a genealogist, discovering the grave site, family Bible, and original photograph of  relatives born in 1814 & 1817, all in one day,  is like winning the lottery twice on your birthday. I was as giddy as a school-girl! Actually throw in a free flatscreen because I also discovered Jacob’s parents buried at the Gavelton Meeting House as well.

The Gavelton Meeting House is stunning. Located on an obscure gravel road, this little gem seems to have withstood the test of time. It is history locked into place. The Meeting House is one of the oldest standing Churches in Yarmouth County, built circa 1840, and one of the best examples of the New England Colonial Style. It is two levels with the upper story supporting a three sided balcony. When you enter the Church, on either side there are stairs leading to the balcony and directly in front are two  old stoves to heat the building.

According to a deed discovered in the 1980’s, my Great5 Grandfather, John Gavel sold the land to the Church for 5 shillings. There were 8 men involved in the shareholding of the Church with a total of 30 shares. Three of those men were my ancestors: John Gavel (8 shares), his son Jacob Gavel (3 shares) and Jacob’s Father-in-Law, Titus Hurlburt (1 share).

In January 2008 I wrote all about Jacob Gavel & Sarah Hurlburt and their parents and grandparents. (Please feel free to read about them again!). With the help of the Argyle Archives (oh how I love Archives!) I was able retain copies of the front pages of the original family Bible. These pages listed family birth dates, marriage dates, and death dates in what I like to believe was Sarah’s own handwriting. It also include original newspaper cutting of obituaries of family members.

After marveling at this, the archival assistant then showed me a photograph of Sarah and Jacob taken in the mid-1800’s. To put a face to Jacob and his wife Sarah meant the world to me. I patiently wait for my own copy of the picture to be sent to me by mail! There’s nothing like looking into the eyes of your ancestors… especially when you never thought you’d ever have the chance. It’s literally looking into your own history (when we usually just get to do that figuratively).

Special thanks to Archivist Peter Crowell and Assistant Kelly Meuse from the Argyle Township Courthouse & Archives who loaded me up with wonderful amounts of archival goodness. I regret not having the time to go over every piece and do plan on returning at a later date to do so.  I must also acknowledge D.A. Gavel whose research and writings on the Gavels has filled in many of the gaps in my own research.

I leave you with a few pictures of the Gavelton Meeting House that I took on August 4th, 2009, but before I do, here is the poem that is on Jacob H. Gavel’s tombstone:

The hour of my departure come,

I hear the voice that calls me home.

At last Oh Lord let trouble cease,

And let thy servant die in peace.

The race appointed I have run,

The combat’s o’er, the prize is won.

And now my witness is on high,

And now my record’s in the sky.

Gavelton Meeting House, Nova Scotia. Built circa 1840.

Inside the Gavelton Meeting House. The stoves.

Gavelton Meeting House. The balcony.

John & Phoebe (Hatfield) Gavel. Original owners of the land on which the Gavelton Meeting House sits. My G5 Grandparents.

Sarah (Hurlburt) & Jacob Gavel. My Great4 Grandparents.

This summer I’m heading off to the Maritimes to continue to search for my long lost ancestors. I plan on visiting a few family Churches that I’ve visited before: Smithtown Baptist Church NB, St. Paul’s Church, Lakeside NB… as well as many new Churches (if I can find them), including:  New Tusket United Baptist Church NS, the Gavelton Meeting House NS, and what was once the United Baptist Church of Weaver Settlement, NS (no longer standing).

I’m particularily on the hunt for the cemetery stones of R. Henry Barr, Bethelda Hannah Gavel Barr, William Riley Barr, Jacob H. Gavel, Sarah Esther Hurlburt Gavel, John Gavel, Phoebe Hatfield Gavel, John A. Mullen & Mary Grant Mullen.

I will return to the blog in August hopefully full of wild and wonderful tales of our genealogical adventure… and, I’m hoping, a few new pictures of the resting places of my ancestors.

Happy summer, one and all!

Sarah

A little church sits pretty at a crossroads in NY state. It is a rare pre-revolutionary Church and the burial place of 54 revolutionary soldiers. The one-room frame church was dedicated in 1767.

During the Revolutionary War it was used as a shelter for soldiers and as a hospital for Continental and French soldiers.

My great7 grandparents, Richard Curry and Elizabeth Jones Curry, lived during the Revolution.  They resided in the politically diverse, wildly divided, Westchester County, NY. In the midst of the war, Richard and Elizabeth were senior citizens and they had already lived through much hardship.

When Richard was only twelve years old his father died. On the 5th of June 1722 the  Court proclaimed that Richard Curry, son of Richard Curry dec’d (who had just died the previous month), was to be bound unto Nathan Jones of Bedford until the age of 21. It is uncertain if Richard’s mother was still alive. It is possible that, as a widow, she could not feed and cloth her children and she was forced let her children go as indentured servants.

Richard’s new home with Nathan Jones would prove to be beneficial to his future. Nathan’s young, and I like to image extraordiarily beautiful, daughter was to eventually become Richard’s bride.  In approximately 1734 Richard and Elizabeth married in Bedford NY and they settled in the Cortlandt Manor/Peekskill area of NY.  According to Rev. Warriner’s book, Old Sands Street Methodist Episcopal Church, written in 1885:

About 1730, having married, he [Richard Curry]  took his young wife and all their effects, and, mounting themselves on a single horse, they rode northward into the almost unbroken forrests in the northern part of Westchester County, then still, occupied by the wild Algonquins. He located in the valley of Peekskill Creek, a few miles back from the Hudson, where he became an extensive land owner, reared a large family and died in 1806.

On Valentine’s Day, 1778, Elizabeth passed away.  Her daughter Martha, who I am descended from, died only 9 months later during childbirth. Elizabeth was buried in St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Cortlandt Manor, Peekskill NY. It is possible that Martha might be as well.  Martha’s husband and their remaining children would leave NY as Loyalists and settle in what is now New Brunswick.

Richard Curry would live on for another 28 years. He did not leave with his son-in-law as a Loyalist.  If he did side with the Loyalists his age may have prevented him from attempting the long and arduous journey. He was 96 when he died and is buried alongside his wife.

Here is the idyllic little church and cemetery where the remains of Richard and Elizabeth Curry reside…

St.Peter’s Episcopal Church, Cortlandt Manor, Peekskill NY.

From Benson J. Lossing's "Pictoral Field Book of the Revolution", 1850

Deep in the heart of New Brunswick sits a pretty little Queen’s County location know as Jemseg.  It has a rich history thanks to it’s location on a prosperous trading river system.

In 1659 the first trading post was built in Jemseg by Col. Thomas Temple, Governor of Acadia and Nova Scotia.  This was a fortified post that allowed trade with the local Maliseet Indians and easy access to the thriving town that is today’s Saint John (by way of an efficient river system). In 1667 Acadia was returned to France and Temple left to settle in Boston. By this point the post was used for both trading and military control.  In 1674 the post was attacked and taken over by the Dutch, but their occupation only lasted several months before the Acadians reclaimed it.

In 1713 Acadia was turned over to the English for the last time and the British controlled the area once again. Many local Acadians  stayed on their land until 1758 when General Moncton burned the remaining Acadian farms of the Jemseg area and ensured that they left.

After 1758 and before 1783 a small handful of English families populated the Jemseg area. A few took over “abandoned” farms and shelters left by banished Acadians. The area was a rich agricultural source with an excellent river system to support the transport of their goods to neighbouring villages. It was an area just waiting for a population surge and the American Revolution provided that. In 1783 the Loyalists were expelled from America.

When those Loyalist came looking for a new home, the Jemseg area was an obvious choice. The Dykeman’s  knew good farming land and understood the importance of a deep and complex river system.

When Loyalist Gilbert Hatfield Dykeman came to the Maritimes with his parents he was 14 years old. Together they settled in Gagetown. Eleven years later, on July 10th, 1794, Gilbert married Dorcas Manzer who also came to Queen’s County as a Loyalist with her parents at the tender age of 6.

Together they choose to begin their married life in the rich agricultural land that Lower Jemseg had to offer. Extensive flat farming land backed onto the fertile riverbed and allowed for successful crops with accessible irrigation. There was a local school, started in early 1800’s  for the 6 future children they would have and the Anglican Church stood proudly at Gagetown just across the river (although the distance was significant, the river system allowed sufficient access).

By the 1820’s the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel sent Rev. Abraham Wood to the Jemseg area as a travelling pastor to the local pockets of population.  Where the St.James Anglican Church stands now an earlier Church was likely built around 1850 (the cemetery there has stones as early as 1850).

In fact one of the oldest burials at the site is that of Gilbert Hatfield Dykeman who died on  October 1st, 1851.  He is my great5 grandfather, a descendant of Dutch immigrants to New Amsterdam (in what is now Harlem NY). Gilbert shares his gravestone with his wife Dorcas who died almost 11 years later on August 1st, 1862.

The pretty stone Church that stands in Lower Jemseg today was built in 1887. Many  Dykemans would have been involved with the building of the new Church.  Today the Dykeman name is still predominant in Lower Jemseg. Two hundred and twenty-six years after they arrived as Loyalists they still live there, farm there, and worship there too. They came Loyal to the Crown and now they’re Loyal to their Home.

Stone of Gilbert H. Dykeman and wife Dorcas Manzer at St.James Anglican Church, Lower Jemseg NB

Dorcas Manzer, wife to Gilbert Hatfield Dykeman, on side of husband's stone at St.James Anglican Church Cemetery, Lower Jemseg NB

For pictures of St.James Church and individual stone shots check out the following rootsweb page: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~damery/QU/Camb-08/Camb-08.htm

On the 24th of August, 1753, a small newborn boy was baptized in Elizabethtown NJ. His name was James Hatfield and he was baptized in the St. John’s Episcopal Church… a Church founded by missionaries of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, from London England.

This Society was officially organized in 1701 by King William III. A Charter was issued that said the Anglican SPG was: “an organisation able to send priests and schoolteachers to America to help provide the Church’s ministry to the colonists”… and was later amended to add to it’s mandate: ” the evangelisation of slaves and Native Americans.”     By 1702 the first missionaries were sent to America. In 1706 St. John’s Episcopal Church in Elizabethtown NJ was built under the SPG’s guidance.

Forty-seven years later James Hatfield was born and was baptised in this Church.  During the Revolution St. John’s Episcopal Church was occupied by the British Army calvary. At the age of 23 James joined the British Army and acted as a guide, according to tradition, in almost every expedition in New Jersey. It is easy to picture him often in the local British headquarters… what was once his local Church. By the end of the war the St. John’s Episcopal Church was turned over to the hands of the Rebels under the leadership of George Washington. Today this Church is considered a US Army Historic Site.

But James Hatfield did not grovel to Washington. Instead he chose to remain loyal to the King. He set sail for Shelburne Nova Scotia, with his family, in 1783 as a United Empire Loyalist. There he worked as a lumber surveyor and eventually left Shelburne in the summer of 1785 and settled in Tusket River NS.

At the age of 53, or thereabouts, James passed away. His daughter Phoebe, my great5 grandmother, was likely born the same year the Rebels took over the Elizabethtown Episcopal Church under Washington’s leadership (1780). As a precocious three year old she would have traveled the seas to the new land of Nova Scotia, no doubt wide-eyed with wonder! Perhaps her earliest memories would be on that ship… waiting to dock in a new land, a new home.

Always elusive, the Fisher’s have not been an easy family to find. But earlier last month I was able to locate my great great Grandfather, John Marshall Fisher & his wife Charlotte, along with most of their children, on the 1901 British National Census.

What a decadent source of information. I learned the ages of John Marshall (44) & Charlotte (34) in 1901, which in turn indicated their birth year. I learned where they were born and how they made their living (John worked in a Chemical Works plant).  I was also able to confirm that they were neither lunatic, imbecile nor feeble-minded (phew!).

But one of the more interesting things I learned (and this is something often overlooked) was the discovery of their home address and the neighbours that surrounded them.

In 1901 John & Charlotte and five of their six children (twins would come later) lived in 4  Cookson’s Cottage, Whitley Bridge, Yorkshire, West Riding. Their oldest son, John Marshall jr., worked and lived on a neighbouring farm about a mile and a half away (also found in the 1901 census).

4 Cookson’s Cottage was beside the local almshouse. Their neighbours in the almshouse were the widow Jane Cooper, age 73, widow Sarah Hepworth, aged 80 & a 63 year old bachelor, George Harrison.  Also, just a few buildings down from them was a Wesleyan Chapel (listed next to 1 Cookson’s Cottage in the Census).

The presence of this Chapel is an important clue. Time may have erased the Cookson’s Cottages, but a chapel has a better chance of surviving the ages. And even if the Chapel is gone, the local archives probably have a record of where it was. And if I can find the Chapel location, then I know that John and Charlotte were only steps away.

The Census also indicated that Whitley Bridge was in the Ecclesiastical Parish of Kellington. In 1868 someone wrote this about the parish :

“KELLINGTON: …The parish is noted for its superior breed of sheep and short-horned cattle, also the quality of its barley for malting purposes. The soil is a light sandy loam. A canal passes through the parish to Goole. The village, which is of considerable antiquity, at one time belonged to the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of York, value £300, in the patronage of Trinity College, Cambridge. The church, dedicated to St. Edmund, is an ancient structure, with a low, square, western tower containing three bells. In the churchyard is an ancient stone with a cross rudely sculptured. The parochial charities produce about £5 per annum. The Wesleyans have a chapel. Earl Cathcart is the principal landowner.” (GEN UKI).

I have yet to sort out the religion of the Fishers. Likely they were Anglican, and if that is the case then there may be records of marriage and birth at the St.Edmund Church in Kellington. But there is a chance that the Fisher’s may have attended this Wesleyan Chapel a few doors down. Perhaps they joined the widows Jane & Sarah and old George for the walk to Church on Sunday morning.

Not all Churches are tethered to the ground.

On the 12th of October 1662 the Purmerland Church floated out to sea, leaving Amsterdam for the promising shores of America.  Benjamin Bartense was the ship’s captain and going along for the ride were my ancestors Isaac Vermeille, his wife, Jacomina Jacobs and their four adult children (including son Johannes, also in my direct line). They each paid 39 florins for the trip.

Ther Vermeille’s were used to moving. Isaac was likely born a foreigner in London, UK, moved to Leyden, Holland (before August 1629), moved to Manheim (after 1637), returned to Leyden only to sail off to America in 1662.  It is believed that Isaac may have been a Walloon from Belgium whose family escaped persecution by going to London (where Isaac was probably born).

The ship that left for America was called “Purmerland Church”. It was a haven, a place of religious freedom, and it was guided by the hand of God. It was God who would deliver them across the ocean to a new homestead, where they could practice their faith in the way the believed they should. It only makes sense that they would call their ship, their Church.

Once they landed in America in February 1663 they settled in what is now Harlem NY. They were immediately embroiled in a war with the Indians. The Indians of the Esopus tribe attacked the area on June 7th, 1663. They burned farms,  killed 12 men, 4 women and 3 children.  Also, four women and six children went missing. It was not a warm welcoming to the area. Immediately following this massacre, 40 local men were formed into militia companies. Isaac Vermeille was one of these men. He was issued a musquet for the purpose of being a local protector.

In 1665 Isaac Vermeille’s name is listed as a member of the Church at New Harlem. This is the oldest  Church in Harlem NY and it survives today as the Elmendorf Reformed Church. The original building was erected during the winter of 1665, at what is now the corner of First Avenue and 127th Street, Harlem NY. This  means that Isaac and his family were original members of this earliest Church. Rev. Hendick jansen Van Der Vim was the Pastor of this Church between the years 1664-1684.