The Huguenots of colonial New Paltz and New Rochelle: A social and religious history.
Item
-
Title
-
The Huguenots of colonial New Paltz and New Rochelle: A social and religious history.
-
Identifier
-
AAI3008816
-
identifier
-
3008816
-
Creator
-
Carlo, Paula Wheeler.
-
Contributor
-
Adviser: Barbara Welter
-
Date
-
2001
-
Language
-
English
-
Publisher
-
City University of New York.
-
Subject
-
History, United States | Religion, History of
-
Abstract
-
Several hundred French Huguenots arrived in the colony of New York in the second half of the seventeenth century. Although some had left France prior to the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, most arrived in the years immediately surrounding the revocation. The Huguenots who founded the village of New Paltz in Ulster County were among the earlier arrivals, while those who founded New Rochelle in Westchester County arrived later. The New Paltz group had left Europe under more fortuitous circumstances and were able to bring many of their personal assets with them. In contrast, the New Rochelle group had fled with little more than their lives. Because of the different circumstances of their respective emigrations, the New Paltz Huguenots enjoyed greater material advantages than did those in New Rochelle. This factor exerted long term influences on diverse aspects of life, including family size and relations, slaveholding patterns, and possibly political affiliations during the War for Independence.;A major focus of this study concerns religious alignment and questions the long-held assumption that the Huguenots rapidly and eagerly conformed to Anglicanism and to Anglo-American culture. In the case of New Paltz, it was the Dutch Reformed Church and Dutch culture that exerted more influence than the English church or culture. Nevertheless, Huguenots here attempted to retain as much independence as possible. New Rochelle, in contrast, appears to present a classic case of rapid conformity to Anglicanism. However, the content of sermons and other primary sources that have received little or no scholarly attention to date, suggest that this conformity was highly selective and that many distinctly Calvinistic beliefs and practices were retained by these French Anglicans at a time when mainstream Anglicanism was decidedly Arminian. Persistence of the French language demands reassessment as well. New Paltz inhabitants were bilingual, using both Dutch and French, until the time of the American Revolution. In New Rochelle bilingualism persisted until at least 1760, with English more commonly used for official public documents, while French was used in the private sphere and for religious purposes.
-
Type
-
dissertation
-
Source
-
PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
-
degree
-
Ph.D.
