The Exhumation of Rev Jan Teves

Service Description

Rev Jan Teves was a university educated Dutch Reformed Church pastor who ran afoul of the Church. After years of resisting the secularization of the Church at the turn of the 20th century he was accused of violating the VIIth Commandment and expelled from the Manse to the street in the dead of winter . He defended his innocence, divided his congregation and synods and ultimately left the Netherlands in disgrace, arriving in America in 1906. His dysfunctional family arrived piecemeal with children choosing different paths. He preached in various Dutch communities in Iowa, New York and Michigan, never finding secure employment. His daughters said he fell on the ice, striking his head and then had declined mentally. The Probate Court judged him insane and committed him to the state hospital. He was later transferred to the Pine Rest Christian Home, as case #9, where he died. His doctors were interesting characters. The last one attributed his death to tertiary syphilis, but his medical record evidence is ambiguous. Could modern science and good old fashion genealogy research answer the question: was he an adulterer or was he framed? We will explore the Church, civil and medical records and conduct anthropological studies to generate evidence seeking to exonerate him. Rev. Teves was not unique; other contemporary "rogue preachers" provide context for his story. Please see the blog post for further information: https://www.wai.md/post/rev-jan-teves-research-project. The exhumation is scheduled for the Spring of 2022. The processes at the cemetery, Court, medical examiner, health department and with scientific collaborators will be discussed.