In response to Ethel's query as to the accuracy of the story of the murder of John T. Demarest's wife and nine children as it appears on the website of the Pascack Reformed Church, I have to report that the story is a total fabrication. Rev. Demarest and his wife had three children, and while the wife and children all died prematurely, they died at different times, in differing circumstances, and not violently. The family's story can be read on the Dutch Door website, under "Other Historical". Regina Haring http://www.dutchdoorgenealogy.com ----- Original Message ----- From: <ETHELKK@aol.com> To: <Dutch-Colonies@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, May 12, 2008 5:30 PM Subject: [DUTCH-COLONIES] John T Demarest, wife and nine children murdered? > Many moons ago, I went on a tour of the Pascack Reformed Church and > Cemetery, located at 65 Pascack Road, Park Ridge, Bergen County, NJ. and during a > tour of the cemetery, the guide told a story about the Rev. Demarest coming > home in 1856 and finding his wife and nine children murdered. I forgot about > this story until last week when this story is repeated in a local paper The > Pascack Valley Community Life on 7 May 2008 with quotes by Carl Weil, the > church historian. "In 1854, Dr. John T. Demarest became the first full-time > minister of the Pascack Reformed Church, Weil says, barely audible. And in > 1856, Demarest came home to find his wife and nine children brutally > murdered." >