Dutchmen.

The Dutch Reform Church was Calvinistic and similar in theology and ecclesiastical structure to the Presbyterian Church. It was the established, or state, church of Holland, where its governing body, the Classis of Amsterdam, remained. This religion arrived in New York when the Dutch West India Company established it in its trading outposts in 1624. The first ordained minister, however, did not arrive until five years later. Followers were led by laymen appointed as Krankenbesoeckers (Comforters of the Sick). Although established, the church coexisted with denominations that were tolerated in the interest of attracting settlers. When the English took over the colony in 1664, there were only twelve struggling churches and six ministers, three of whom immediately left. Yet the church grew, spreading into New Jersey and later into Pennsylvania in spite of the lack of clergy, who could only be ordained by the Amsterdam...