New-York tribune., 1901-01-06
SLEEPY HOLLOW RECORDS
THE OLD DUTCH CHURCH AT TARRy.
TOWN HAS PRESERVED VALUABLE
ANNALS OF EARLY FAMILIES.

hnoSt noteworthy watch night service here
aboufs of the new century's eve just passed was
that held in the old Dutch Church of Sleepy
holow- 1T was not a centenary service exactly
because the old church was not first opened on
Nhe tnrn OF a century, but il marked the entrance
OF the church upon the third century of its ex-
istence, and that is much TO be said for a State
which is in the incomplete third century of its
ME as a settlement OF white men, Everything
contributed to the Sleepy Hollow watch night
an atmosphere Of weird picturesqueness There
Is no apparatus for electric lighting in the
old building; il was lighted for the occasion en-
rreiy by candles, as in the days of the fathers
When the last hymn had been sung-the first of
the new century-and the benedction given, it
occurred TO some one in the congregation that
the candles used in that memorable service were
worthy to be preserved souvenirs The idea
was taken up by one after another of the
worshippers, and in the first hour of the
twentieth century the darkness of the silent
winter night was illumined by a long stream
Of impromptu candle bearers issuing forth from
those historic doors. The night. though season |
ably cold. was STILL and the candles remained
hghted until those who carried them had scat |
tered far and wide on their homeward ways.
1t is good to know that public interest has |
been thoroughly aroused to the Importance of |
preserving the memories that cluster about this |
monument Of fascinating and important past. |
Both Sleepy Hollow in particular and the people |
OF NeH-ho ork IN general owe much gratitude to |
Washington Irving for this, and, after Washing |
ton irving, TO the various organizations which |
make 1t their business to rescue and preserve |
from Oblivion the elements of National history |
that are connected with the few material relics
Of early American settlements hereabouts. If
the closing Of the old Sleepy Hollow Church as a
place Of regular service all the year round had
occurred in age less reverent of historical
memories. the old building might have been al
nod tn foil into
vanish. AS it is. the building itself is carefully
guarded against decay; services are still held
there in the summer. when the neighborhoOd of
TaTrytown is filled with summer sojourners and
special occasions like that of last Tuesday
night Most important Of all, the records of the
congregation from its establishment in the reign
OF Charles III have been translated from the
Dutch for publication by the enterprise of the
Yonkers Historical and Library Association.
OLD RECORDS EASILY LOST.
Morris P Ferris. president Of this association
who has supervised the work Cthe actual trans
lation being done by the Rev DR.. David Cole, |
former presidentJ. tells Of personal experience !
cf his which fairly illustrates the Importance of
such work as he has been engaged in. Not long |
ago Mr.. Ferris had occasion TO consult the rec !
ords of one Of the Oldest churches in this State |
Every one who has ever had anything to do |
with genealogical investigation knows how i'm |
portant to that work the registers Of births, |
oeaths and marriages kept in churches. and how /
largely such records relied on in Europe even
in the settlement of legal questions of inheri- |
tance. In this MIR. Ferris found that the |
church records prior TO the year 1900 were miss
ing, though the church itself had been founded /
early in the eighteenth century. The attention /
Of the rector being called TO this deplorable fact
and its Importance, he set to work with a will TO |
find the missing documents 1t occurred to Mr.. |
Ferris to suggest that some former rector might |
resgning his charge have unthinkingy in |
papers, and have carried them away with him. |
Upon this hint the enterprsing rector proceeded |
10 make inquiry among the families of his prede-
cessOrs, with the result that the books were |
found in a garnet among the lumber of the de- |
scendants of a long deceased rector, and were |
faithfully restored the custody of their right
full guardian. In somewhat the way there |
is always a chance that the Oldest and. for that
very reason, the most important documents Of
this kind may be lost at any time without blame
attaching to any one. 1T is not always that old
family papers are carefully preserved was
the case with those among which the above men, |
toned parish register had strayed.
The volume which the Yonkers Historical and
Library Association viii publish in February
will contain the only records of the kind now
e.tans between NeW-York City and Fishkill. |