History of the Town of Flatbush

church, pursuant to the directions in the said Act mentioned and prescribed. The style, name and title, by which the said Trustees and their successors should for-ever thereafter be called, known and distinguished, was designated to be, "The Trustees of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Flatbush." These proceedings were all certified under the hands and seals, of Jeremias Vanderbilt and Joris Martense, the above-named Elders and Judges of the election, and duly acknowledged and recorded in the Clerk's office of the County of Kings, on the said 17th day of January, 1785. Upon the organization of the Board of Trustees, Philip Nagel was appointed their Treasurer, and they made a record of all the real and personal estate belonging to the church.

The church of Flatbush continued under the above-mentioned Act, providing for the incorporation of religious societies generally, until the 19th day of December, 1804. Some few years anterior to this time, the Legislature of the State, passed a special Act providing for the incorporation of the Reformed Dutch Churches, and therein designated who should be the Trustees of every Dutch church, and the manner of their appointment. By this Act, it is provided that the minister or ministers, and elders and deacons, and if during any time there he no minister, then the elders and deacons during such time, of every Reformed Protestant Dutch Church or congregation, now, or hereafter to be established in this State, and elected according to the rules and usages of such churches within this State, shall be the Trustees for every such church or congregation. The Act then prescribes the mode in which the Trustees and their successors shall become a body corporate, and the name or title of such in-corporation. In the same Act, further provision is made that it shall be lawful for the Trustees of any Reformed Protestant Dutch Church or congregation, elected by virtue of any former law of this State, by writing under their hands and seals, duly proved and acknowledged, and also recorded in the office of the clerk of the county, to declare their will, not to continue any longer a body corporate under such former law, and thereupon such body corporate shall cease, and all the estate, real and personal held by them, shall pass and be vested in the Trustees of the church or congregation made a body corporate, in the manner provided for the Dutch churches.

Under the provisions of the Act last above-mentioned, John Hegeman, Johannes E. Lott, Court Van Brunt and Andrew Suydam, "The Trustees Of The Reformed Protestant Dutch Church Of Flatbush," elected according to the provisions of the Act, entitled "An Act to enable all religious denominations in this State, to appoint Trustees, who shall be a body corporate, for the purpose of taking care of the temporalities of their respective congregations, and for other purposes therein mentioned," Passed April 6th, 1784, did on the 19th day of December, 1804, by a certificate executed under their hands and seals, certify and declare, that they would not continue any longer a body corporate, under the said recited Act; which certificate was duly proved, acknowledged and re-corded, as the Act requires. On the same day, (December 19th 1804,) Martinus Schoonmaker and Peter Lowe, ministers, Peter Stryker, John Williamson, Johannes E. Lott and Hendrick H. Suydam, Elders, and Joseph Hegeman, Cornelius Stryker and Lawrence Voorhees, Deacons elected according to the rules and usages of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Flatbush, did by a certificate, executed under their hands and seals, also certify and declare, that they and their successors, forever should