Maureen, your comment gave me a good laugh! But I believe the basis of the separation between the Dutch Reformed church and the Irregular Church (still a Reformed church) was the coetus/conferentie dispute which itself pretty much paralleled the Patriot/Loyalist dispute. The coetus-Patriot-Pietist group wanted clergy trained and ordained in this country, while the conferentie were the more status quo traditionalists, who believed that the clergy should be ordained in the Netherlands in order to be fit to lead the church, and likewise were more apt to respect the established British government. I have read that the Baylor Massacre in 1778 contributed to a revulsion against the British, making patriots of many who had been uncommitted or even Loyalists, and bringing the irregular church to an end. Regina Haring http://www.dutchdoorgenealogy.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "Maureen Girard" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, March 26, 2007 5:29 PM Subject: Re: [NYORANGE] church for DEMAREST >I don't know about anyone else, but I would love to find an ancestor at an > Irregular Church. It sounds ever so much more interesting than plain ol' > Presbyterian or Methodist. What sort of church was it? > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] > On Behalf Of K Powell > Sent: Monday, March 26, 2007 10:13 AM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [NYORANGE] church for DEMAREST > > Other than Dutch Reformed could the church being looked for be one that at > one > time later 18th century was known as Tappan Irregular Church at Tappan > which > was then in old Orange County, now Rockland County? Lotsa Demarests were > down > there in the minisink, probably even before the Revolution - from Bergen > Co, > NJ.