The First Reformed Church Burial Ground

The First Reformed Church Burial Ground. . First Reformed Church burials were made in two graveyards in the Stockade area of colonial Schenectady, one on Church at State Street and the other between Green and Front Streets. From 1859 to 1879, most of these burials were moved to Vale Cemetery. Thus, the Reformed Church section at Vale contains headstones showing the surnames of many of Schenectady's founding families, such as Teller, Brower, Veeder, Bradt, Vrooman, Schermerhorn, Peek, Van Eps, Van Guysling, Truax, Groot, Fonda, and Van Slyck. One of the oldest headstones, dated 1725, is Jan Mabee's, whose descendants carried on Mabee Farm, now a key historic site in the Mohawk Valley., Founded before 1674 by Schenectady's first settlers, the First Reformed Church is Schenectady's oldest congregation. Many of its first members and its building were lost on the night of the 16g0 Schenectady Massacre. The second structurer cine 702, was replaced by a third in 1734 to accommodate its ever-growing congregation. By 1773, Schenectady was a successfully diversified community of 2,300 residents. A fourth church, erected in 1814, was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1861. The fifth building, completed in 1863, was an architectural landmark designed by noted Victorian architect Edward Tuckerman Potter. It was the victim of a devastating fire in 1948. A sixth church was bout using the remaining foundation and walls. , "Schenectady Town, View from Cowhorn Creek, circa 1690" by Len Tantillo, is based on written accounts, close scrutiny of Col. Wolfgang Romer 1698 map, and colonial Dutch-American architecture., 2. Headstone of James van Eps and his wife, Susan van Guysling in the First Reformed Church section at Vale., 3. A land transaction document from 1745 transferring private land in the Stockade to the First Reformed Church, 4. Mabee Farm Historic Site, location of the oldest Dutch farmhouse, circa 1670, still standing in the Mohawk Valley, 5. "A North View of the Old Reformed Dutch Church in the City of Schenectady” by Giles I. Yates is dated 1813. A fourth church was built nearby in 1814., [ Main image: ] A detail of the Mary Ann Roque map (1763) shows the location of the third building of the First Reformed Church in the middle of the intersection at the center of the Stockade.