Historic Huguenot Street Digitizes Early Church Records
NEW PALTZ, NY (March 5, 2018) – Thanks to a grant from the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Historic Huguenot Street (HHS) has digitized records from the Reformed Church of New Paltz dating back to the 1680s and early 1700s. Two volumes of records, consisting of over 100 pages, document the community’s first marriages and baptisms, revealing the growth of the town and the social relationships between the French and Dutch settlers during the early colonial period.
“These records contain illuminating information, and scanning them supports their long-term preservation,” said Josephine Bloodgood, Director of Curatorial and Preservation Affairs. “Prior to the digitization, access to the books was limited to those able to visit the HHS Archives in-person. Now scholars, researchers, genealogists, and general audiences from around the world can discover and study their contents.”
Both volumes have been digitized and uploaded online in their entirety, courtesy of the Reformed Church and through the efforts of HHS staff members and interns. The documents have been uploaded to Hudson River Valley Heritage, a digital library that provides visitors with free access to search and browse historical materials. The records can be accessed by searching for “first register” and “second register” at hrvh.org/hhs, as well as by searching for names that appear within.
About Historic Huguenot Street
A National Historic Landmark District, Historic Huguenot Street is a 501(c)3 non-profit that encompasses 30 buildings across 10 acres comprising the heart of the original 1678 New Paltz settlement, including seven stone houses dating to the early eighteenth century. Historic Huguenot Street was founded in 1894 as the Huguenot Patriotic, Historical, and Monumental Society to preserve the nationally acclaimed collection of stone houses. Since then, Historic Huguenot Street has grown into an innovative museum, chartered as an educational corporation by the University of the State of New York Department of Education, that is dedicated to protecting our historic buildings, preserving an important collection of artifacts and manuscripts, and promoting the stories of the Huguenot Street families from the seventeenth century to today.
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Contact
Kaitlin Gallucci
Director of Marketing & Communications
(845) 255-1660
media@huguenotstreet.org