A History Of The Reformed Church Dutch

Reprint of the original, first published in 1856.

To anyone at all acquainted with the place which the Dutch Reformed Church in London has occupied during the centuries, it will not cause surprise to hear that I hesitated for a moment before accepting the invitation from its Council to relate the history of the Church on the occasion of its four hundredth anniversary. Not much time was left, and the material was voluminous. Only few church communities possess such a wealth of written documents bearing on their past history, or have been the centre to the same extent of so many varied activities. However, there were considerations on the other side, which made me decide to undertake the work. The extensive archives of the Church are well arranged and well preserved. The most important part, the voluminous correspondence, consisting mainly of letters addressed to the Church Council, has been made available, in a highly meritorious manner, by J.H. Hessels' publication: "Ec clesiae LondinoBatavae Archivum". Only a small part of the - often very detailed - minutes of the Council meetings has been published, but these pUblications by Dr. A. Kuyper and Dr. A.A. van Schelven cover two very important periods in the history of the Church. In addition, there are the pUblications of the Marnix Society, viz. Ruytinck's "Gheschiedenissen" (Hi story) and its sequels, and the Acta of the Colloquia of the Dutch church communities in England

Now at least 250,000 strong, the Dutch in greater Chicago have lived for 150 years "below the radar screens" of historians and the general public. Here their story is told for the first time. In Dutch Chicago Robert Swierenga offers a colorful, comprehensive history of the Dutch Americans who have made their home in the Windy City since the mid-1800s. The original Chicago Dutch were a polyglot lot from all social strata, regions, and religions of the Netherlands. Three-quarters were Calvinists; the rest included Catholics, Lutherans, Unitarians, Socialists, Jews, and the nominally churched. Whereas these latter Dutch groups assimilated into the American culture around them, the Dutch Reformed settled into a few distinct enclaves -- the Old West Side, Englewood, and Roseland and South Holland -- where they stuck together, building an institutional infrastructure of churches, schools, societies, and shops that enabled them to live from cradle to grave within their own communities. Focusing largely but not exclusively on the Reformed group of Dutch folks in Chicago, Swierenga recounts how their strong entrepreneurial spirit and isolationist streak played out over time. Mostly of rural origins in the northern Netherlands, these Hollanders in Chicago liked to work with horses and go into business for themselves. Picking up ashes and garbage, jobs that Americans despised, spelled opportunity for the Dutch, and they came to monopolize the garbage industry. Their independence in business reflected the privacy they craved in their religious and educational life. Church services held in the Dutch language kept outsiders at bay, as did a comprehensive system of private elementary and secondary schools intended to inculcate youngsters with the Dutch Reformed theological and cultural heritage. Not until the world wars did the forces of Americanization finally break down the walls, and the Dutch passed into the mainstream. Only in their churches today, now entirely English speaking, does the Dutch cultural memory still linger. Dutch Chicago is the first serious work on its subject, and it promises to be the definitive history. Swierenga's lively narrative, replete with historical detail and anecdotes, is accompanied by more than 250 photographs and illustrations. Valuable appendixes list Dutch-owned garbage and cartage companies in greater Chicago since 1880 as well as Reformed churches and schools. This book will be enjoyed by readers with Dutch roots as well as by anyone interested in America's rich ethnic diversity.

"The Dutch Reformed Church in the American Colonies remains the best study of the early years of the Reformed Church in North America. De Jong's careful account takes the readers on a fascinating journey from the establishment of a Dutch church at a mill in New Amsterdam to the early years of an indigenous American denomination. Along the way we become acquainted with issues in the colonial period that are pertinent in the twenty-first century for the Reformed Church in America: church multiplication, leadership training, discipleship, regional tensions, adaptation to cultural changes, worship, and liturgy. De Jong helps us to see that, in many respects, the more things change, the more they remain the same." The Rev. Dennis N. Voskuil, Ph.D. President and De Witt Professor of Church History Western Theological Seminary, Holland, Michigan "The reissue of De Jong's classic study is very welcome. Though of course there has been other important work on various aspects of the colonial Dutch Reformed experience in the thirty years since the book's first appearance, still it remains the standard comprehensive account - a careful and thorough work that shows a mastery of the sources and sticks close to them." The Rev. John Coakley, Ph.D L. Russel Feakes Professor of Church History, New Brunswick Theological Seminary New Brunswick, New Jersey