Do you have ancestors that were part of the Dutch Reformed Church of Harlem? Discover if they were buried in the church’s cemetery and later moved to the church’s new plot in Woodlawn Cemetery.
Do you have ancestors that were part of the Dutch Reformed Church of Harlem? Discover if they were buried in the church’s cemetery and later moved to the church’s new plot in Woodlawn Cemetery.
The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society has digitized its manuscript file of Disinterments from the Vaults and Churchyard of the Dutch Reformed Church of Harlem, 1869–1875. Prompted by New York City's northward growth, the Consistory of the Dutch Reformed Church of Harlem purchased a plot in Woodlawn Cemetery in 1869. The remains interred in its old cemetery in First Avenue between 124th and 125th Streets, and also those in the churchyard on Third Avenue and 121st Street, were removed to the plot in Woodlawn; the transfer was completed in 1875. Harry Macy's article, "Dutch Reformed Records of New York City (Manhattan)," (NYG&B Newsletter (now New York Researcher), Spring 1994) includes a comprehensive overview of the location of records from the Harlem church which was organized in 1660, as well as other Dutch Reformed churches in Manhattan.
There are five documents that make up this record set:
Disinterments from April 1870 – Harlem Cemetery
Disinterments of May 1869 – Bill of G C Greeborn
Letter, Adriance & Wood Letterhead
Patentees of New Harlem – Partial transcription of historic folio
Report of Committee on Vaults, dated February 12, 1875
There are images of the original scanned documents within these records. Please note that the majority of these documents are handwritten and can be browsed by flipping through the pages. You may be able to discover the following about your ancestor:
Full name
Age at the time of death, often times down to the day (e.g. 22 years, 1 month, and 25 days old)
Amount paid/balance to new account