Words To Remember

"The truth is this--genealogy is our living, and we are busy every minute, [and we] could use more hours." --Jane Wethy Foley, 1942

Monday, January 17, 2011

Description of the Selyns Manuscript

The Rev. Dr. Thomas De Witt, in his Historical Discourse, 1856, page 24, says:
"I have in my possession a small manuscript volume of Domine Selyns, dated 1686, in which there is a register of the members of the church, arranged according to the streets. These streets are found below Wall Street and east of Broadway, while the remaining families are placed 'along shore,' On the East River, above the Fresh Water or Collect, and also on Governor Stuyvesant's bouwerie or farm. This manuscript volume was doubtless prepared by Selyns to direct him in his family visitation."

This list has been printed at least four times, namely:
A in Dr. Thomas De Witt's edition in "The Collections of the New York Historical Society," Second Series, Vol. L 1841, pp. 392-399.
A1 in David T. Valentine's "History of the City of New York," 1853, pp. 331-343.
AH in James Grant Wilson's "Memorial History of New York," Vol. I, 1892, pp. 446-452.
A1a in "The Year-Book of The Holland Society of New York," 1896, pp. 178-189.

Of the above mentioned publications, A is the only edition from the original. It was prepared by the Rev. Thomas De Witt, D.D., of the Collegiate Reformed Dutch Church of New York. An "Introductory Note" on pp. 390-391 and a very short critical note on p. 399 were added to the text.

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