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TABLE OF CONTENTSInventory |
Guide to the South Reformed Church of Brooklyn Glass Slides
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Descriptive Summary | ||
| Creator | South Reformed Church (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.) | |
| Title | South Reformed Church of Brooklyn Glass Slides, | |
| Dates: | 1840-ca. 1921 (Bulk ca. 1900-ca.1921) | |
| Abstract: | The South Reformed Church of Brooklyn Glass Slides consist of thirty one 5" by 4.25" lantern slides (glass slides). The photographs date from approximately the turn of the twentieth century to the early 1920’s. Most images depict South Reformed Church Sunday school events, mainly the school children and adult chaperones marching in Anniversary Day (now Brooklyn-Queens Day) parades, including the parades of 1916 and June 9, 1921. Other images include a drawing of the first church edifice (1840-1863) and a photograph of the church sanctuary. | |
| Extent: | 1 box, .1 cubic foot | |
| Identification: | S-31 | |
| Location: | The material is located in the Archives at Queens Library. | |
Historical/Biographical Note
The South Reformed Church of Brooklyn, New York was first formed in 1838, the membership being drawn from the First Reformed Dutch Church of Brooklyn. The first church building, made of wood frame in 1840, was located at Third Avenue and Forty-Third Street. The first Sunday school was established in 1843. This church became known as “The Bergen Church” because of the involvement of members of the Bergen family in the church’s incorporation and earliest membership. “The Bergen Church” burned down in 1863.
A new church building, located at Third Avenue and Fifty-Second Street, was finished in 1875. Rapid urbanization of the surrounding neighborhood, dramatic increases in church and Sunday school membership, and the construction of a disruptive elevated subway line along Third Avenue caused the church to move into a new, larger edifice at Fourth Avenue and Fifty-Fifth Street in 1904.
The Sunday school, always one of the most important parts of the church, saw enormous growth during the last decade of the 1800’s and the first two decades of the 1900’s under the superintendencies of Mr. George W. Pool, Mr. Harry L. Spence, Mr. Arthur Hall, and Mr. William J. Heiser. In 1890, the school boasted 25 teachers and 300 students. Between 1897 and 1904, the school more than doubled its membership to over 1,100 students. During the 1910’s, the size of the Sunday school grew to 1,561. This figure made it the largest Dutch Reformed Sunday school in the United States.
Students in the Sunday school took part in a number of special events each year in addition to their regular classes and singing society. In addition to holding a Christmas party and putting on a yearly play, students marched in the annual Anniversary Day (now Brooklyn-Queens Day) parades along with students from other Sunday schools of Brooklyn and Queens.
Over the 1920’s and 1930’s membership in the church and the Sunday school declined as the ethnic and religious makeup of the neighborhood evolved. By 1926, the Sunday school had about 750 students. By May 1940, when the church held a series of events commemorating its Centennial, its Sunday school enrollment had shrunk to about half that number. (1)
Church membership continued to decline in the years after World War II and between 1975 and 1976, the South Reformed Church merged with the Bay Ridge United Presbyterian Church to become the Bay Ridge United Church. Services for the Bay Ridge United Church were held in the former Bay Ridge United Presbyterian Church at 636 Bay Ridge Parkway. The Bay Ridge United Church, still in existence, continues on at this location as of 2006. (2)
The names of South Reformed Church of Brooklyn’s church pastors and the years of their pastorates were: Rev. Samuel M. Woodbridge, D.D. (1841-1850), Rev. Jonathan M. Rowland (1852-1853), Rev. John M. Manning (1854-1873), Rev. Henry V.S. Meyers, D.D. (1874-1882), Rev. A. DeWitt Mason, D.D. (1882-1891), Rev. John Talmadge Bergen, D.D. (1892-1895), Rev. Benjamin E. Dickhaut, D.D. (1896-1903), Rev. William J. MacDonald, D.D. (1904-1917), Rev. Robert A. Watson, D.D. (1917-1927), Rev. George Steininger, S.T.M. (1928-1938), Rev. LeRoy C. Brandt, Th. M., Ph.D., (1939-1942), Rev. Frank C. Williams (1943-1963), Rev. John A. Shope, (1963-1968), and Rev. H.L. Rozeboom (1969-1975). (3)
William A. Bearmore, the photographer of at least one of the images in the collection, was a printer, compositor, and watch salesman who lived at 269 57th Street in 1900, (4) at 437 57th Street in 1905, (5) and 390 Pacific Street in 1907. (6) He and his family may have once been members of the South Reformed Church congregation.
Edward Van Altena, manufacturer of the glass slides, was a prominent photographer and manufacturer of glass slides. His output included tinted slides and sing-along slides for movie theatres. He worked in New York from the 19th Century through the 1950’s, between 1904 and 1919 in partnership with John Duer Scott. (7), (8)
Sources:(1) Edith W. Cottrell, ed., Centennial Anniversary, South Reformed Church (n.p: n.p., 1940).
(2) Gail Dewees, “Faith in the City: Visiting Our Communities of Belief: Bay Ridge United Church,” New York Daily News (March 5, 2006), November 28, 2006 http://gothamgazette.com/community/43/news/2366.
(3) Peter N. VandenBerge, Historical Directory of the Reformed Church in America 1628-1978 (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B.Eerdmans Publishing Co.), 257
(4) New York, Kings County, Ward 8, Enumeration District 109. 1900 U.S. census, population schedule. Micropublication T623, roll 1047, page 6A. Washington: National Archives.
(5) Upington’s General Directory of Brooklyn, New York City Volume LXXII for the year 1905 (Brooklyn, N.Y.: George Upington, 1905) 74.
(6) Upington’s General Directory of the Borough of Brooklyn, City of New York Volume LXIV for the year 1907 (Brooklyn, N.Y.: George Upington, 1907) 70.
(7) “Die Luikerwaal: Lantern Slide Manufacturers, Importers and Retailers,” Die Luikerwaal, ed. Henc R. A. de Roo, June 3, 2006, Huizen, Netherlands, November 21, 2006 http://www.luikerwaal.com/newframe_uk.htm?/fabrikanten_uz_uk.htm.
(8) John W. Ripley, “All Join in the Chorus,” American Heritage 10.4 (June 1959), November 21, 2006 http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1959/4/1959_4_50.shtml.
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Scope and Content Note
The South Reformed Church of Brooklyn Glass Slides consist of thirty one (31) lantern slides (glass slides) each measuring 5 inches by 4.25 inches. The images, with the exception of a drawing of the first church edifice (1840-1863), date from the turn of the twentieth century to the early 1920’s. Most of the images depict South Reformed Church Sunday school children and adult chaperones marching in Anniversary Day parades, including the parades of 1916 and June 9, 1921. With one exception, which will be noted, no photographer’s name is indicated on any image.
There are also three images of children in the Anniversary Day parade “Go To Church” Band, one undated, possibly 1906, the other two dating from 1907 and 1908. The image from 1907 has a label, “photo taken by W.A. Bearmore.” A further three images, one of which is dated February 1912, depict what appears to be the costumed actors in the Sunday school’s annual play.
Three other slides in the collection include a photograph of the church sanctuary, an unidentified woman, and a man and child, the man perhaps being a pastor of the church or superintendent of the Sunday school.
Numbered stickers have been affixed to the slides. The collection consists of the slides numbered 2, 4, 25, 28, 51-53, 62-63, 65, 67-78, 80-81, 94, 96-98 and three slides missing numbers. Edward Van Altena created the slides in the 1920’s or early 1930’s. Many gaps exist, making the narrative structure unclear; the numbers do not reflect a chronological ordering scheme.
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Arrangement
The collection is organized by slide number, with the unnumbered slides placed at the rear.
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Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Creator of item, date of item (if known), identification of item, if a photograph its control number. The South Reformed Church of Brooklyn Glass Slides, Archives at Queens Library, Queens Borough Public Library.
Provenance
The provenance of the South Reformed Church of Brooklyn Glass Slides is unknown.
Access Restrictions
Open for research without restrictions. Manuscripts are only available in the Archives at Queens Library, please call (718) 990-0770 for hours. Manuscript users will be required to complete the division's Manuscript Usage Form and show their photograph identification or Queens Borough Public Library card. The identification will be returned to the user after she/he has returned the material. Manuscript users will deposit all their personal items behind the reference desk. Manuscript users must use the division's loose sheets of paper for note taking. To reiterate, no pen of any type is permitted. Paper and a pencil are available upon request. Manuscript users may be required to use special handling procedures depending on the conditions of the material.
Use Restrictions
Permission to publish materials must be obtained in writing from the:
- Archives at Queens Library
- Queens Borough Public Library
- 89-11 Merrick Boulevard
- Jamaica, NY 11432
- Phone: (718) 990-0770.
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Access Points
Subject Names:
- Bearmore, W.A.
- Van Altena, Edward
Subject Organizations:
- South Reformed Church (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
Subject Topics:
- Parades
- Religious institutions
- Sunday schools
Subject Places:
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- Sunset Park (New York, N.Y.)
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