Everardus Bogardus (27 July 1607 – 27 September 1647) was the dominie of the New Netherlands, and was the second minister of the Dutch Reformed Church, the oldest established church in present-day New York, which was then located on Pearl Street at its first location built in 1633, the year of his arrival. Bogardus was, in fact, the second clergyman in all of the New Netherlands.[1] (The slightly obscure early history of the Dutch colony meant that he was often considered the first clergyman.)[2]
Early life in the Netherlands
Bogardus was born in Woerden, in the province of Utrecht, Holland in 1607. He entered Leyden University for the study of theology in July, 1627.[3] On 11 January 1632, just five years after he had entered Leyden University, he was ordained a regular minister of the Dutch Reformed church. Soon after he was commissioned by the "Lords Directors of the Honorable West India Company of the United Provinces of the Netherlands," to minister to the spiritual needs of the colony at New Amsterdam.[3]
A humorous anecdote about the building of this church contends that
Governor Kieft decided that there should be [a new church] of stone, and that it should be built inside the fort. There was a question as how to secure the money to build it. Kieft gave a small amount, as did other colonists, but there was not enough. Fortunately, just at this time, a daughter of Bogardus, the minister, was married. At the wedding, when the guests were in good humor, a subscription-list was handed out. The guests tried to outdo one another in subscribing money for the new church. Next day some of the subscribers were sorry they had agreed to give so much, but the Governor accepted no excuses and insisted on the money. It was collected, and the church was built.[5]
Bogardus died September 27, 1647, in the Princess Amelia shipwreck near Swansea, Wales, while en route to Amsterdam along with many of his congregants as well as his opponent Willem Kieft, himself.[1] Popular sources describe Bogardus... "on his way to Holland on a mission relating to his church. The people of New Amsterdam mourned for their minister, but there was little sorrow felt for the Governor who had plunged the colony in war by his obstinate and cruel temper."[5]
^ abHemstreet, Charles., "CHAPTER V: WILLIAM KIEFT and the WAR with the INDIANS" Chap. in The Story of Manhattan, (New York City: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1901), Released as The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Story of Manhattan, by Charles Hemstreet, E-text prepared by Gregory Smith, David Garcia, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team