Johannes Megapolensis

Johannes Megapolensis (1603–1670) was a dominie (pastor) of the Dutch Reformed Church in the Dutch colony of New Netherland (present-day New York state in the United States), beginning in 1642. Serving for several years at Fort Orange (present-day Albany, New York) on the upper Hudson River, he is credited with being the first Protestant missionary to the Indians in North America. He later served as a minister in Manhattan, staying through the takeover by the English in 1664.

The minister is best known as the author of A Short Account of the Mohawk Indians, their Country, Language, Figure, Costume, Religion, and Government, first published from his letters by friends in 1644 in North Holland, and being translated into English in 1792 and printed in Philadelphia. He is also known for having ransomed and saved the French missionary, Father Isaac Jogues in the 1640s. The priest had been serving in the Mohawk Valley and had been taken captive by the Mohawk. He was later captured again and martyred by the Mohawk.

Megapolensis was born in Koendyck, Netherlands in 1608. His father, also named Johannes, was a Protestant domini or minister in Egmont-aan-Zee. The father Latinized the family name from the original van Mecelenburg. (Another source suggests the original name was von Grootstede.)

In 1630 the younger Megapolensis married Mathilde Willems in the Netherlands. The couple had at least four children born there in the next twelve years.

In 1642 Megapolensis was hired by Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the Patroon of Rensselaerwyck, a vast estate encompassing much of what is now Albany and Rensselaer counties, to serve as minister to his territory. He and his family went to New Netherland, where he served in Rensselaerswyck and later Fort Orange until 1649. At first the family lived in Greenbush, New York before moving to Fort Orange (now the city of Albany). During this period, Megapolensis served as missionary to the Mohawk people, and is believed to be the first Protestant missionary to Native Americans in North America. The Mohawk territory was west of Fort Orange in the Mohawk River valley but extending up to the St. Lawrence River and down to the Delaware River, with other territories used for hunting.

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