Quoted from the book:
SKETCH OF THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE REFORMED DUTCH CHURCH OF BERGEN, IN JERSEY CITY.
Compiled from the Ancient Church Records and Deacon’s Account Book of BERGEN, COMMUNIPAW, AND HASYMITS.
by D. Dersteeg.
With an introduction by Rev. CORNELIUS BRETT, Pastor of the Bergen Reformed Church
https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/public/gdcmassbookdig/sketchofearlyhis00vers/sketchofearlyhis00vers.pdf
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BURIALS. (pg. 13 – 21)
The burial customs of the original settlers of New Netherland were identical with those of the fatherland, and somewhat peculiar as compared with the American funerals of the present time. No Dutch burial in the first place was complete without the services of the aanspreker. The latter combined in his office some of the functions of the undertaker and the sexton of the present time, and the whole responsibility of the affair rested upon him.
As soon as a person had died, someone of the relatives or a kind neighbor went for the aanspreker, and the latter quickly followed up the summons and appeared at the sterfhuis (house of mourning), or house of the deceased, taking with him a few sheets of mourning paper. Upon arriving at the house, his first business was to take down the names of the people whom the family of the deceased wanted to acquaint with his demise, at the same time marking the names of those who were to be invited to attend the funeral, either as bearers or as mourners.
After the preliminary instructions had been received and the names put down, the aanspreker read his list before the family for possible corrections, and from the moment until after the funeral, he was the directing genius, and everything was executed according to his commands. He ordered the grave to be dug, the bell to be rung, if such was the custom in the town, ordered the coffin, the hearse, the carriages, if they were to be used; in short, and directed the whole affair.
If the place was very small, or the deceased very prominent, the aanspreker announced from house to house, in which case he went with an “open list.” If the “list” was too large for one man, he called to his assistance other aansprekers, but the original one, of course, remained the head man and responsible for the proper carrying out of all necessary operations. The aanspreker’s dress on those occasions was peculiar. Low shoes, black stockings, black knickerbockers, a black cutaway coat covered by a long, flowing black mantle, a white cravat or bands, and a queer-looking three-cornered hat or steek, from one corner of which, to the right, floated a long black crape like a streamer, whilst upon the left corner a rosette had been pinned, showing the sex and condition (married or single) of the deceased. If the latter was very rich or prominent, sometimes ten or twenty aansprekers were employed in announcing his death, and one, usually an old servant of the family, went in the middle of the street, dressed like the aansprekers, walking slowly along with head bowed, his face buried in a big mourning handkerchief, and led by two aansprekers, one on each side, whilst the others were doing the wete or announcement at the houses.
When the appointed time for the funeral approached all those invited to attend, repaired to the sterfhuis. The nearest relatives and closest friends of the family usually went a little earlier, and waited for the rest, partaking of some refreshments generally consisting of a glass of beer or spirits, before coffee had come into general use, and smoking a long clay pipe or a cigar. After all, were present, the chief aanspreker sometimes spoke a few words of consolation or offered up a prayer and hereupon signaled to the bearers to carry out the bier.
After the corpse had been brought out on the street or deposited in the hearse, the ruling genius who had been busy ranging the relatives and friends of the deceased, now said: “The relatives will please follow according to rank, “and all filed out in the order assigned to them, the youngest members of the family coming first, taking their places in the carriages, or following on foot as the case might be. All the mourners and bearers, and sometimes the driver of the hearse, were either clad in the same garbs as the aansprekers or else had rosettes pinned upon their sleeve, or upon the lapel of their coat, and the hands of the aansprekers were covered with white or black gloves, according to the sex of the deceased.
After everything was in readiness, one or two of the aansprekers took their places at the head of the procession, the bearers placed themselves alongside the hearse; other aansprekers, if there were any more, went between the hearse and the first carriage, and the cortege slowly wended its way towards the cemetery. Almost everybody, meeting the train, stood still, doffed hat or cap, and waited with bowed head until at least the hearse had passed by. At the gate of the cemetery, the bearers took the coffin out of the hearse, carried it to the aansprekers, walking slowly along with head bowed, his face buried in a big mourning handkerchief, and led by two aansprekers, one on each side, whilst the others were doing the ivete or announcement at the houses.
The corpse now was lowered into the grave, the aanspreker gav^ the sign to the grave digger to cover the coffin up, and hereupon the procession filed out in the same manner as they had come, and went in a body to the sterfhviis. Here beer or spirits, in later years coffee, and victuals had been prepared for them by the women who as a rule did not go to the cemetery. The long clay pipes with tobacco, or cigars, were on the table, and the mourners ate, drank and smoked some, in honor of the deceased. After the first pij^e or cigar bad been finished, all but the nearest relatives of the family departed, and the real mourners now were alone with their grief.
It is plain enough that the small pioneer village could not begin to conduct its burials in the manner just described. Bergen’s inhabitants had to get along as best they could, and the funerals, at firtt, like everything else, were very primitive. The burial records commence d on March 4th, 1666, on which date the remains of Michiel Teunissen were laid in the grave. Neither bell nor pall, nor liveiied aanspreker hallowed, so to speak, the humble funeral, and not until January 16th, 1678, when Engelbert Steenhuys’ remains were interred, had the con- gregation been enabled to procure a pall.
This pall was rather expensive, for according to the accounts of the deacons the cost of it was as foUows:
10 el of black cloth @ 24 per el . – – – 240
A linen cover to protect the pall – – – – 14
Total ——– /254
This first pall lasted till January 17th, 1715, when a new one was bought for the sum of /1 95, and then the old pall was probably refitted to do service at the burials of children.
On January Isf, 1798, a new large pall was bought costing £5-11-3, and a smaU one at an expense of £2-13-10.
The cost of the bier generally amounted to fVJ or /18, and the bier itself lasted 5 or 6 years.
After the church had been erected, several of Bergen’s inhabitants wished, in imitation of the fatherland, for a resting place in the sane -tuary, and on August 1st, 1682, the little daughter of Enoch Michielsc Vreeiand was the second to be buried within its walls. The third oji September 4th of the same year was Peter Marcelis, but it was impossible to find out the first one, because either time or frequent handling had effaced part of the writing of a few entries, one of which mubu contain the mention of the first person, buried in tbe church.
Two years had elapsed after the dedication, before the belfry received its bell, but on Jane 21st, 1683, was “buried the corpse of Maeckje Biltusen, daugbter of Baltus Barentse, the 6tb, in church and the 1st, with knell,” showing that about this time the village had received its
church bell.
It seems that an extra price was paid for the privilege of being buried in church, for comparatively few had their remains interred within its walls. The last one whom the record mentions as having bsen buried in the church was “Annatje Jackson, aged 49 years, who died on Friday, January 13th, 1758, at about 8 a. m., and was buried on Sunday, January 15th, in the church in the bapistry.” To be buried in, or before the bapistry was considered a token of deep veneration on the side of the members of a congregation, and this honor was u&ually only conferred upon preachers or other men, prominent in church affairs. The keeper of the burial record mentions one more Many people dying at other places like New York, Pemmerepock, Abasymus, Gemoenepa, Acquackenonck, Hackensack etc., were brought to Bergen for the purpose of there being interred, and likewise several corpses were conveyed from Bergen to New York, Constables Hook, Tappan, Acquackenonck and others. The first time a cor|)se from Bergen was buried at New York was on December 28th,
1683, at which date “Ide Cornel iszen Van Voorst was buried at New
York, with the pall of Bergen.” case like the foregoing, though this funeral took not place at Bergen but at New York, viz: “1701 July 19th, died in the Lord the Kev.
Seh ns, on Saturday afternoon, and was buried on Tuesday afternoon, July 22d, in the church before the bapistry at New York.”
Though the Bergen cemetery or church were the customary burying places, it was not contiDulsory that the burial should take place there; and the records contain several instances of interments of the remains of the dead upon hoincerijen, or farms.
Occasional entries in the record show that Bergen’s citizens, no more than those of other settlements, were exempt from visitations and calamities: “On October 25th was buried the corpse of Dirck Fjansz, who had been shipwrecked with his boat.” “On February 18tb, 1701, were interred the remains of Moses Suxbery, who was killed in the cedar swamp, on February 17th, by a falling tree.” ” On April 17th, 1704, was buried the body of Jacob van Giesen, who was drowned on April 13th, and found on the 15th.” Again: “1752, died October 18th, with the smallpox, a little boy of Pieter Van Benthuyzen, aged 18 years.” In 1753 three members of Nicholas Van Dam’s family died within three weeks, and in 1775 three members of Daniel Solders’ family were buried in five days. There are, besides tbeae, several cases where two or more members of one family died within a few months, showing that sometimes the place was visited hy dangerous and deadly diseases. Yet the village and its suiTOundiugs did not seem to be very unhealthy either, for people generally reached the allotted span, and a few even surpassed it by many years.
The records cite” three instances of people who reached a ripe old age, viz. : [[Earle-18|Edward Earle Sr.]], who died in his 84th year, and was buried on December 15th, 1711, on the island Sijckacus ; Marcelis Pieterse, who died on October 23d, 1747, 91 years old, and Cornelis Blinkerhof, who died on September 1st, 1770, at the age of 97 years and 4 months, lacking 6 days. Mr. Cornelis Blinkerhof was probably, at the moment of his death, the last one of those above whom the banner of the Dutch Republic had yet floated, before the final surrender of New Netherland to England in 1674, and therefore, at that time, was the last link, connecting the past with the present.
We are indebted to the register of the dead for the name of one elder at least of Bsrgen’s early church, viz.: “1732, August 13tb, died and the 15th buried, Wander Diederix, elder at Bergen.”
After the cemetery had been used for over 70 years, the need was being felt for a new one, and in 1738 Bergen’s second burying ground was opened. The first one to be interred here was Joseph, son of Hendrik van Winkel, on November 22d, 1738, though the other cemetery was not yet entirely abandoned, for on April 11th, 1744, Geesje, daughter of Matbys De Mott was still buried upon the old one. This second cemetery, after having been need for just half
a century, also became crowded, and the congregation was obliged to look around for a third burial ground, which was made ready for use and surrounded by a fence in the year 1789.
From an account, dated 1690, of the expenses incurred for the
burial of a pensioner of the Bergen Church, something like an estimate can be formed of the cost of funerals
Coffin and spirits, – – /25.10sto | Aanspreker, – – – /lO.lOst.
i keg of beer. – – – 15.16 | Matheus Cornelisse, for cart- Flour and milk, – – 6.05
i ing the good.'<, – – 3.00
Sundries, – – . . 15.05 i Total, ——‘-….. /85.06st
