"The Lord our God will we serve, and His voice will we obey." Joshua 24, verse 24
The Somerset County area enjoys a rich history. Shown is the Harlingen
Church located on Route 206 in Belle Mead. Harlingen Reformed
Dutch Church was organized May 18, 1727 under the direction of Reverend
Henricus Coens of Aquackanonck, and a small wooden building was erected
by the congregation near where the church cemetery is located. The
church was under the administration of Rev. Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen.
Only occasionally were services held at the church as it was a strain on
the Reverend to travel all the way to this remote location. In 1762 the
congregation, along with the congregation of Neshanic church nearby, called
Rev. Johannes Martinus Van Harlingen, who remained until his death in 1795.
The present church building was erected in 1851. The original church
records were written in Dutch in leather-bound volumes which are retained
by the church in a fire-proof vault. Presently members travel to the church from Hopewell,
Manville, Hillsborough and Princeton as well as nearby areas. I recently found that I personally
have ancestors who worshipped at Harlingen as does my Aunt Barbara Stryker. If you have an
ancestor buried in the Harlingen Cemetery, email me and I will be glad to do
a lookup for you as I have copies of the cemetery listings.
Belle Mead Railroad Depot as shown in an antique postcard.
This is the Griggstown Reformed Church, located at 1065 Canal Road, Princeton. Although it has a Princeton address, it's located just over the Griggstown Causeway from River Road in Montgomery.
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Below are some of our favorite links:
Harry is a member of the Sons of Union Veterans.
Their website is beautiful. Make sure your speakers are turned on
before you access it as you wouldn't want to miss the music.
Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War
Check for your Civil War ancestors through the
National Archives. There are search engines and links on their pages.
You can also send for an ancestor's file. Find them at:
Check out the website for the 20th Massachusetts
Volunteers. They also have great music:
20th Massachusetts
Volunteer Infantry
For the Hunterdon County On-Line Site click here
To find a photograph of your Civil War Veteran ancestor,
check the Military History Archives by clicking here. Military History Photo
Archives
To find the graves of some famous New Jersey folks,
including Walt Whitman, William Carlos Williams, Sarah Vaughn, Stephen Crane,
Mary Mapes Dodge, Edward Stratemeyer and General George McClellan, click here
for a great "grave locator"