Rev. Johannes Theodorus Polhemus was born in 1598 probably at Boikirchen in Rhenish Bavaria, a small community that no longer exists. It was probably near the present Wolfstein in Rhenish Bavaria. At some point he moved to Amsterdam. He died at Flatbush Long Island on September 9, 1676. It is recorded that he had a daughter baptized at Meppel in 1629; his next known child was born some fifteen years later indicating that his first marriage in the Netherlands was to an unknown wife; he married (2) about 1643 in Itamarca, Brazil Catherina Van Der Werven who died at Flatbush, Long Island about 1702.
Johannes enrolled at the University of Heidelberg on February 26, 1620 as a student of divinity as "Johannes Theodorus Polhemus, ductus Hammerstein, Boikirchensis Westriacus." After graduating, he served for a short time in the Palatinate before November 11, 1624. This is when he was designated to serve the church at Gieten, a small community near Assen in the province of Drenthe, Netherlands (in the northeast.) Apparently, he was too liberal for his conservative congregation, which added to his inexperience with the Dutch language and his Palatine dialect, made him unpopular. He left Gieten on August 13, 1627 and had to sue the congregation for payment of his salary. He then moved to Meppel in the same province. He served there for seven years. In 1629, he also became Rector of the Latin School receiving a stipend of 400 florins (probably per year.) In an article in the Winter/Spring issue of the "Van Voorhees Nieuwsgrief" (the newsletter of the Van Voorhees Association) called "Grootkirk of Mariakerk: Our Church in the Meppel" are photographs of the church pastored by Johannes Theodorus Polhemus. He was the pastor from 1627 to 1634. Meppel is in the Providence of Drenthe in the Netherlands. He left Meppel on February 10, 1634. Johannes apparently returned to Palatine for a short time. He then applied on December 3, 1635 for a position in the West Indies and it was granted. He, along with a large expedition including newly appointed governor, Count Johan Maurice of Nassau, some scientists, merchants, and soldiers sailed form Texel Harbor on October 25, 1636 and landed on the Recif of Pernambuco, Brazil on January 23, 1637. The Dutch had established colonies in Brazil in 1630 by conquering the Portuguese. The final distribution of the colonists was made in 1638. Johannes went as a minister with the colony and garrison which occupied the island of Itamarca, also called Tamarca or Tamarica, adjacent to the Recif. There he was in care of the spiritual needs of the settlers and soldiers. The Dutch settlers on the island were mostly of Wesphalian and Palatine stock. It is especially stated the Johannes was selected on account of his language talent. He not only preached there, but also often accompanied the Army in the field and on the mainland. He was able to preach to the Indians in there own language, preaching at various times in German, Dutch, French and Portuguese.
He married Catharine Van Der Werven about 1643. It was on Itamarca that three of his children were born. Due to civil unrest, he was forced to return to Recif in 1647/48. By 1654, the Dutch administration in Brazil had become inefficient and corrupt. The Portuguese revolted and the Dutch were given three months to either depart or embrace the Roman Catholic faith and become Portuguese citizens. In April of 1654, the Dutch Protestants with others were evacuated; for some reason not known, Catherina and four children took a different ship than that of her husband, Rev. Polhemus. She and the children arrived safely in Holland, apparently destitute, as her husband had not received his salary for a long time. The ship on which Rev. Polhemus sailed was captured by a Spanish privateer, which in turn was captured by a French Man-of-War, the ship St. Charles. The French, not wanting to return them all the way to the Netherlands, escorted the ship to New Amsterdam. Johannes, an American immigrant, brought the first Jew to New Amsterdam. He was reunited with his wife and family two years later in Flatbush, Brooklyn, where he became pastor. The family was separated for two and a half years before Catherine and the children finally arrived in America in Sep 1656.
There is an old Hebrew journal published in Amsterdam which contains this account, "And God cause a Savior to arise, the captain of a French ship, arrayed for battle, and he rescued them, the sons of Israel, from the hands of the outlaws, who had done violence unto them and oppressed them. And He conducted them until they had reached the end of the inhabited earth, called New Holland, and none of them were missing, praised be God"
When Rev. Polhemus arrived at New Amsterdam, there were three Dutch settlements on the western end of Long Island called Midwout, Amersfoort and Brueckelen; they later became respectively, Flatbush, Flatlands and Brooklyn. They were in need of a church and minister and welcomed the appearance of Dominie Polhemus. At his age, it was a difficult task to get adequate housing, secure a regular salary and serve these three congregations. Since there were no churches or clergy in these places, the people went to church in New Amsterdam. Rev. Polhemus's unexpected arrival appeared to be an answer from the Classis for a minister. Midwout and Amersfoort wanted him to remain and they erected some kind of church building and dwelling for their new minister. There are records that show that he house was inadequate for the weather. It was difficult to get it constructed as some of the "planks" were taken by others. He also had a problem getting his salary on a regular basis. There was also criticism about the amount of time he spent with his congregations.
In the fall of 1659, the Church of Midwout was about finished. It took nearly two hours to walk between Midhout and Brooklyn. Since Johannes was going on 62 years of age, the church in Brooklyn saw that this imposed an undue burden on him and they requested a new minister. The Rev. Henry Selyns was installed on September 3, 1660 and served until July 23, 1664. He was then dismissed and returned to Holland. Johannes was requested to return as their minister. This he did until his death in 1676. In 1666, during his service, the first church building in Brooklyn was built and continued in use for 100 years.
Quote - "We come now to consider briefly the earliest Dutch churches on Long Island. Before 1654 the people had to come over to New Amsterdam for regular preaching and communion. In 1654 came Dominie Johannes Theodorus Polhemus from Brazil, now about 56 years old, to serve the churches then formed to Midwout and Amersfoort, continuing here till his death on June 8, (9) 1676; and serving also at Breuckelen (Brooklyn) 1656 to 1660 and again from 1664 till his death at the age of about 78 years." "Polhemus was, indeed, Johann Theodore Polhemus, probably of German-Swiss origin, whose earlier pastorates seem to have been in the Palatinate; then at Meppel in the province of Overyssel, Netherlands; again in the Palatinate, until 1635; and from 1637 to 1654, in successive ministries at Olinda and at Itamarcas, both in Brazil. We have already shown that from Brazil he came to Amersfoort as the first Dominie of this historic parish. Polhemus was the first regularly stationed minister of the Dutch on Long Island. He came to New Netherland at the evacuation of Brazil by the Dutch, upon the surrender of that country to Portuguese domination. It is said that Polhemus preached in French and Portuguese while in Brazil, and undoubtedly, in Dutch. He of course, knew Latin and German, and probably other languages. When he came here, his wife did not accompany him. She went to Holland to seek collection of the arrears owing to him by the Dutch West India Company. His transfer to Long Island was ratified by the classis in 1656, and arrangements were made to aid Mevrouw Polhemus to come to Long Island to join her husband. Classis characterized her thus: "She is a very worthy matron, has great desire to be her husband, and has struggled along here in poverty and great straits, always conducting herself modestly and piously."
More About Johannes Theodorus Polhemus: Education: 1625, Heidelberg University. Emigration: Oct 25, 1636, Sailed from Amsterdam to Pemambuco, Brazil. Occupation: Minister Reformed Church of Holland.
More About Johannes Theodorus Polhemus and Catherina Van Der Werven: Marriage: Abt. 1641, Itamarca, Brazil.
Children of Johannes Theodorus Polhemus and Catherina Van Der Werven are:
+Adrianna Polhemus, b. Abt. 1645, Itamarca Island, Brazil, d. 1685, Bergen County, New Jersey.
Johannes Theodorus Polhemus (b. Abt. 1598, d. Sep 09, 1676)
Notes for Johannes Theodorus Polhemus: