This is a story of stocks and bonds. The Dutch came to the Berkshires as early as 1735. When Israel Van Deusen and the Burghardt families arrived, Great Barrington did not exist. The area was merely the Upper Parish of Sheffield.
The Dutch aided in Great Barrington becoming a separate town. In 1742, they contributed to the building fund for the first meetinghouse and to the salary for the first minister. Church and minister were two prerequisites set down by the General Court in Boston for any Massachusetts community being incorporated as a town. When Great Barrington did became a town, John Burghardt was chosen to serve as one of the first selectmen.
Their hand in becoming a town was ironic because, while good citizens, the Dutch were neither church members or churchgoers. First, they were not Congregationalists. Second, their first language was not English. Differing Christian sects was not as insurmountable a barrier to church attendance as a differing language. They could not understand the Rev. Samuel Hopkins, and so they were not drawn to services conducted by him.
Not good Congregationalists, they were good Christians, so, in the 19 years from 1742 to 1761, they did attend services periodically, and asked that their children be baptized. They were refused, and they were told baptism was reserved for church members.
To overcome this obstacle, they planned to bring a Dutch minister to town from New York every fourth Sunday of the month at their own expense. However, they needed a place to congregate and requested that their minister use the meetinghouse. Again, they were refused. Unfortunately, Hopkins refused this request as well. Sadly, he did so with contempt, as if it were an insult just to ask.
Hopkins said, “A Dutch preacher in our meetinghouse; that shall never be.”
The Dutch felt the insult and ceased to attend church at all.
Pastor Hopkins called out from the pulpit, “Where are those delinquents?”
Because he called attention to their absence, the Sabbath warden was duty-bound to report them to the tithingmen and, in turn, to the magistrate.
Attendance at Sunday worship was not voluntary; it was compulsory by law. Punishment for nonattendance was also mandatory. When Peter, John and Garrett Burghardt and Israel Van Deusen admitted their guilt, the magistrate could not overlook the offense, but he did have a choice of two sentences: a stiff fine or confinement in the stocks. Out of respect for the Burghardt and Van Deusen men, the magistrate allowed them to choose their sentence.
The men consulted a friend: Judge Timothy Woodbridge of Stockbridge. Woodbridge advised them not pay the fine because “it is your money they want, nothing else. If they find they cannot get your money, the business will cease, otherwise there will be no end to it while you have a farthing left.” The four men promptly informed the magistrate that they chose the stocks.
Now there was a problem: All historians agree that there were no stocks in Great Barrington. Some report that the sentence was postponed while stocks were built, and others claim the four men were transported and served their sentence in stocks in Sheffield. Wherever they were, all agree that Hendrick Burghardt came armed with his gun, powder horn and bullet pouch. He stood guard and warned the crowd that anyone who hurled insults, jeers or objects at his three younger brothers or Van Deusen while they were in the stocks would pay for the temerity.
Judge Woodbridge also attended the men in the stocks. He assured the crowd that their position in the stocks did not reflect poorly on them but on those who put them there. After their time in the stocks, the four men did attend church the minimum times required by law.
In exchange for this compromise behavior, they were taunted from the pulpit. Pastor Hopkins singled them out and pronounced, “Every Sunday that you are not in church, you are in hell.”
Finally, in 1762, they got a get-out-of-jail-free card. Jacob Burghardt bonded with 16 other Great Barrington residents. They approached Jacob Davies, the Episcopal minister in Connecticut. On Sept. 21, 1762, a paper signed by Rev. Davies was submitted to the court: The 17 “have put themselves under my care as members of the Church of England … as esteemed members of the Church of England, they are exempted from paying any rates or taxes or being accused as dissenters.”
Next, the group raised the money to build their own church: That is how St. James church was built in Great Barrington in 1762. Today it is Saint James Place. The church, converted to entertainment space, was the third church built in 1857. Church or cultural space, this third edition was always known for its excellent acoustics.
The Dutch contributed much to Great Barrington. Next week, on Christmas Eve, we will put together the pieces of Christmas as we celebrate it today and thank the contributors.
