Lutherans were present in the upriver part of New Netherland from its earliest days! They were counted among the New Netherland Dutch although they were mostly of German and Scandanavian backgrounds. The earliest Albany-area Lutherans included members of the Bradt, Douw, Gansevoort, La Grange, and Myndertse/Van Iveren families.

Albany's Lutherans date their establishment as a church to 1649. However, records and resources for these early years are sparse and conflicting as Lutheran organizers were mostly engaged in attempting to secure freedom to worship in New Netherland.

In 1669, the Reverend Jacobus Fabritius came to New York and held the first Lutheran service in Albany on April 25. His tenure was short and he was followed by Reverend Bernard Arnzius in 1671. During the 1670s, the English solidified their hold on New York - thus providing Lutherans with more spiritual freedom.

By 1680, the Albany Lutherans had purchased a house and two lots - the second parcel to be used as a burial ground. The first church was built shortly thereafter on the south side of Albany, west of today's South Pearl Street, and just above the Ruttenkill as it meandered downhill on its way to the Hudson.

Sharing Pastor Arnzius with Lutherans in New York and along the Hudson, the Albany church was run more by its lay leaders who were called deacons. As few of Albany's wealthier residents were members, the Albany Lutheran church was unable to raise sufficient funds to support a resident pastor. This problem became chronic and was not remedied until after the Revolutionary War.

With the death of Bernard Arnzius in 1691, the Albany Lutheran church was without a pastor until May 1704 when Justus Falckner first arrived in Albany. Over the past decade, the Albany congregation had dwindled as most of the elders had died and their children were drawn to the more mainstream Dutch Reformed church. At the same time, many of the more faithful Lutherans had spread out into the countryside of greater Albany County.

Although most years he made only an annual trip to Albany, Falckner sought to rebuild the Lutheran congregation at Albany. The earliest surviving records date from Falckner's time. He also ministered to Albany's Anglicans until the arrival of Reverend Thomas Barclay in 1708. Anglican services were held in the Lutheran church until St. Peter's English church was built several years later.

With Falckner's time shared with New York and Hackensack, the Albany congregation continued to decline. During the three decades of peace, newcomer and established Lutherans continued to move to the more outlying regions with Loonenburg (Athens) becoming the Lutheran center of the upriver region.

Justus Falckner died in 1723. In 1731, Falckner was succeeded by Wilhelm Christoph Berkenmeyer who served in simultaneously in a number of locations until his death in October 1751. Berkenmeyer's chronicle of Lutheran activities in New York provide an important window on the Albany church and point up the Albany congregation's subordinate role in the development of Lutheran culture in the Hudson Valley. The church building had ceased to exist and the infrequent services were held in the home of Jan Evertse and others.

In 1742, Philp Livingston, the owner of an adjoining lot, enabled the Albany Lutherans to build a "parish" or "church house" on the church site. With no resident pastor, it was rented to deacon Evertse.

In the years that followed, several itinerent Pastors preached in Albany - although none of them lived in the city! Chief among them were Nicholas Sommer, John W. S. Schwerdfeger, and John C. Hartwick. Despite his loyalist sympathies, Schwerdfeger served the Albany Lutherans during the Revolutionary war from his home in Brunswick. He later settled in Canada!

In August 1784, the Albany Lutheran church was reorganized. Reverend Heinrich Moeller served from 1784-90 and again in 1802-06. A new church was built on the old site in 1786. In 1795, it was described as "of a Gothic and very peculiar construction." Local lore tells us that stone from the fort was used in its construction.

During the 1600s and 1700s, Albany's Lutherans were chiefly of German or Scandanavian ancestry. Mostly, its members were middling representatives of the production and service economies and included an even larger number of regional farmers. Without a pastor for most of the colonial period, the Lutheran church served as a German cultural center in Albany.

We find existing accounts the Livingston-Lutheran relationship puzzling! See Swan of Albany, pp. 44-45.

first posted:6/5/02; revised 12/23/08