author
John F. Mesick
A 19th-century Reformed minister and family historian, he left behind a small but distinctive body of work that ranges from a forceful sermon on social morals to a detailed genealogy of the Mesick family. His writing offers a clear window into the religious convictions and historical interests of his era.
1 Audiobook
A Discourse on the Evils of Dancing
by John F. Mesick
About the author
Born on June 28, 1813, John F. Mesick was educated at the classical school of Catskill, graduated from Rutgers College in 1834, and completed his studies at the Theological Seminary of the Reformed Dutch Church in New Brunswick in 1837. A biographical note in Mesick Genealogy says he entered the ministry that same year, first serving in Rochester, Ulster County, New York, and later in Harrisburg.
Mesick is best remembered for two very different kinds of writing. His 1846 sermon A Discourse on the Evils of Dancing reflects the moral and religious debates of the time and was preached in Harrisburg before being published. Decades later, he compiled Mesick Genealogy (1888), a family history tracing the descendants of an early Palatine immigrant and preserving records, traditions, and local research that might otherwise have been lost.
Although little biographical information appears to survive online beyond these works, the record that does remain suggests a writer shaped by both pastoral duty and a strong interest in ancestry, memory, and documentation. That combination gives his books a special appeal today: they are not only historical texts, but personal efforts to guide a community and preserve a family story.