Until October 3, 1681, all marriages in Bergen were performed in the school-house, thenceforth in the church, it was the custom to be married in the presence of the congregation either by the minister or the Voorleezer, if by the latter, the record bore the clause "in the presence of the Court of Bergen." In the early days the usual fee was f6 in wampum, paid over to the church funds. Often a collection was taken up among the wedding guests for the poor. There are several instances of the kind on record. There was no almshouse until recent years, and in the early days the town paid for the board of the poor, but the method of arranging the matter sounds very strange nowadays. It seems from the records that the poor dependent upon the town were sold to the lowest bidder. Winfield quotes the following: "At Bergen Town meeting Dec. 15th, 1784, at a public Outcry is sold Enoch Earle to the lowest bidder for the sum of seven pounds, ten shillings, the conditions are as follows, the byer is to find the said Enoch Earle a Good Bed, Washing, Lodging and Victuals, and mending his close; the Overseers of the Poor are to find all the New Close and then the said Enoch Earle is to work for the Byer as much as he is able to do until the year's End." BURIAL CUSTOMS. The burial customs were probably the same as those of their fatherland and very peculiar in some respects. The most important character was the Aanspreker, upon whom rested the whole responsibility of the affair. Immediately upon a death he was notified, and at once repaired to the sterfhuis (house of the deceased) with a few sheets of mourning paper, upon which he took down the names of friends to be notified of the death, and marked those who were to be invited as bearers or as mourners. Until after the funeral he had full charge of all details. If necessary he appointed assistants, in case the deceased was very rich or very prominent there were often ten or even twenty Aansprekers employed to announce the death, and one, usually an old servant of the family, went in the middle of the street, walking slowly with bowed head and face buried in a large mourning handkerchief and led by two Aansprekers, one on each side, while the others were doing the "wete" or announcement at the houses. On these occasions all were dressed in low shoes, black stockings, black knickerbockers, a black cutaway coat covered by a long, flowing black mantle, with a white cravat or bands and a queer looking three-cornered hat or "steek," from one corner of which to the right floated a long black crape streamer, whilst upon the left corner was pinned a rosette showing the sex of the deceased and if married or single.