New Paltz French Church (Crispell Memorial)

French Church (Crispell Memorial). Digital image. Historic Huguenot Street (http://www.huguenotstreet.org/assets/vt_fc.jpeg), Copyright© 2008 Huguenot Historical Society.

At the end of our tour of Huguenot Street in New Paltz, we came upon what is called the French Church. What you see above is a reconstruction done in 1972 of the original building constructed in 1717.

While the first congregation was formed in 1683, the first church was not erected until 34 years later and then replaced in 1773 with a larger structure. In 1839, the Dutch Reformed Church of New Paltz erected a large brick building further north on Huguenot Street which is still standing and has an active congregation even today.

The Crispell Family Association raised the funds for the 1972 building which is as true as possible to the original structure based on archival information.



Baptismal Pitcher and Bowl, New Paltz French Church. Digital image, taken Sunday, October 26, 2008 in New Paltz, New York. Privately held by Thomas MacEntee, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Chicago, IL. 2008.

Although I realize it was not the original church, the building which is situated on the location of the original produced feeling of awe as I entered and my eyes were immediately drawn to the windows on the far end. Sitting there was a large pewter bowl and pitcher which had been used to baptize many of my ancestors beginning with my 7th great-grandfather, Hugo Freer, Jr. who was baptized on October 17, 1691.



Freer Family Pew, New Paltz French Church. Digital image, taken Sunday, October 26, 2008 in New Paltz, New York. Privately held by Thomas MacEntee, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Chicago, IL. 2008.

As the tour guide explained to the group that the congregation had its roots in Calvinist tradition in that families sat in pews which faced each other and which could be rented for a yearly fee. As with any society, those who could afford to pay a higher rent, were able to have the front pews.

Needless to say, the Freer Family Pew is second from the last on the north end of the square church.



Pulpit, New Paltz French Church. Digital image, taken Sunday, October 26, 2008 in New Paltz, New York. Privately held by Thomas MacEntee, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Chicago, IL. 2008.

The church has been reconstructed entirely in wood and stone as you can see from the pulpit in the photo above.

One interesting note about the Huguenot church in New Paltz: having had a history of adaptability, the congregation merged with the much larger Dutch Reformed Church in the city. The Huguenots appeared to have no issue with eventually dropping their French language for the preferred Dutch language of the region. And with their religion, while they brought their Calvinist beliefs with them to these shores, they were able to meld them with those of the local Protestant church.

Freer-Low House

This past Sunday, October 26th, I was able to finally take the tour of Historic Huguenot Street in New Paltz, New York. I had joined the Huguenot Historical Society several months ago and was sent a pass that allowed up to four people to take the standard tour.

At the beginning of the tour, the guide brought us outside in front of the main building housing the exhibits and gift shop - it is the DuBois Fort - and asked: which two homes would you like to see? Since there are seven original stone houses on the street, and the tour was scheduled to last 60 minutes, we had to choose only two of the seven.

Not being shy, I selected the Freer-Low House and then let the other party in the tour select one, which they did - the Bevier-Elting House.

We walked down the street about 500 feet to the historical marker in front of the Freer-Low House.



Freer-Low House Historical Marker. Digital image, taken Sunday, Ocotber 26, 2008 in New Paltz, New York. Privately held by Thomas MacEntee, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Chicago, IL. 2008.

The stone house was started in 1692 and finished in 1694. The tour guide was able to point out the original entrance which is now the second window from the left. The home was built in the standard three-level configuration of the time: cellar, ground floor room or "great room," and loft. The cellar would have been used to store items especially root vegetables and liquor or brewed items and the loft was used to store grain.

It is said that Hugo Freer and his wife Jannetje Wibeau never occupied the house since she died in 1693 and he died in 1698. By 1735, the home had made its way into the hands of Hugo's grand-daughter Rebecca and Johannes Louw, her husband. At that time a new addition was made and the right-half of the home was added.

Around 1776, the back end of the house, which was later used as a kitchen and breakfast room where added, being wood frame in construction.

When we first entered the home and turned to the left, ending up in the Great Room, I was a bit disappointed. It seems that in 1943 when the house was purchased by Rev. John Wright Follette, a direct descendant of Hugo Freer.

Rev. Follette took up the project of modernizing the house which included the addition of indoor plumbing and electricity. What was a typical 17th century Huguenot home became a 1940s/1950s colonial style home.

Here is a photo I took of the Great Room as it exists today. The only original items are the floor boards, with their square nail heads, and the beams. Everything else, including the hearth was renovated during the 1940s. The original hearth would have been jambless which was the style of the 17th century Huguenots.



Freer-Low House Great Room. Digital image, taken Sunday, Ocotber 26, 2008 in New Paltz, New York. Privately held by Thomas MacEntee, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Chicago, IL. 2008.

The tour guide did make it a point to discuss the hardware which Rev. Follette had specifically made true to the Huguenot style which was used for all the doors. I took this photo of the door leading from the Great Room to the wood frame addition in the rear.



Freer-Low House Great Room Door. Digital image, taken Sunday, Ocotber 26, 2008 in New Paltz, New York. Privately held by Thomas MacEntee, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Chicago, IL. 2008.

I did some research as to why the historical society decided to leave the Freer-Low House in its current altered condition and to me, the reasons make sense. Besides the money needed to restore the home and the possibility of damaging the stone, leaving the home in its mid-century colonial period points out to people the various ways - successful and unsuccessful - in which these and many other historical homes have been altered.

The Huguenot Historical Society got its start from just such an alteration: when the Deyo House was severely altered in 1894, the local outrage and the tearing down of other stone houses, led to the preservation of the Jean Hasbrouck House in 1899 thus launching the society.

At the end of the tour, I snuck back to take this photo of the chest which my 9th great-grandfather, Hugo Freer, used to transport his personal items across the atlantic with him in 1675, arriving in Kingston, New York.



Chest belonging to Hugo Freer, the Patentee. Digital image, taken Sunday, Ocotber 26, 2008 in New Paltz, New York. Privately held by Thomas MacEntee, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Chicago, IL. 2008.

For a more detailed description of the evolution of the Freer-Low House to what it is today, see http://www.hvnet.com/museums/huguenotst/freer.htm.

My Trip to the Huguenot Historical Society

Great Room in the Bevier-Elting House. Digital image, taken Sunday, Ocotber 26, 2008 in Mount Tremper, New York. Privately held by Thomas MacEntee, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Chicago, IL. 2008.

I just came back from a short trip home and while I was there I took advantage of being so close to New Paltz, New York and scheduled a tour of my ancestors' homes.

The Huguenot Historical Society maintains a collection of seven original stone houses and one reconstructed church along Huguenot Street which has been called "America's oldest street."

I joined the society several months ago know that I'd would be in to see my Mom sometime in October. Tours are not conducted after November 1, so this past Sunday, October 26th was really my last chance.

Over the next few posts I'll take you on a tour of the Hugo Freer house which was built by my 9th great-grandfather as well as the Bevier-Elting house and the reconstructed French Church where many of my ancestors were baptized, worshipped and are buried.

I was able to learn quite a bit about the daily life of these early settlers and it was quite a feeling to be in the same house built by Hugo Freer and inhabited by his children and descendants.

Tombstone Tuesday

Headstone of Hugo Freer, Patentee of New Paltz, and his wives Marie Haye and Jannetje Wibeau. Digital image taken Sunday, October 26, 2008 at the Huguenot Burial Ground (aka Walloon Cemetery), New Paltz, New York. Privately held by Thomas MacEntee, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Chicago, Illinois. 2008.

Hugo Freer, my 9th great-grandfather, was one of the Huguenots who founded New Paltz, New York in 1677. Hugo married Marie de la Haye on October 2, 1660 at Mannheim, Germany. Marie Haye died at Hurley, Ulster, New York in 1676.

Hugo next married Jannetje Wibau around 1678 and she died at New Paltz on December 8, 1693. Hugo Freer died at New Paltz in 1698.

Wordless Wednesday

Freer House, New Paltz, New York, 1720. Digital image of postcard of home erected by my 7th great-grandfather, Hugo Freer (b. 1691). Privately held by Thomas MacEntee, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Chicago, Illinois. 2008.