Huidekoper family

Huidekoper, a Dutch Mennonite family, originated from Harlingen, province of Friesland, where Anne Jans Huidecoper, a merchant of hides, from which trade he received his family name, was born about 1640. Both he and his son Jan Annes Huidekoper (died 1746) were loyal members of the Mennonite congregation of Harlingen. A grandson of Jan Annes, Harm Jan Huidekoper, born 1776 at Hoogeveen, migrated to the United States in 1795, where he first was a clerk of the Holland Land Company and then an industrialist. He did not join the Mennonites, but in Meadville, Pennsylvania, where he died in 1854, he founded a Unitarian church, which caused some trouble. He published a number of theological works. He became the founder of the American branch of this family.

A half brother of Harm Jan was Jan Annes Huidekoper (born 1766 at Berlikum, died 1835 at Amsterdam), who was married to Geertruy Margaretha Stinstra. This Jan is the founder of the Amsterdam branch of the Huidekoper family. By his important businesses and high positions he was a very influential man; he was a member of the municipal board of Amsterdam and member of the board of directors of the "Great Fishery," of the Levant Trade, of the Amsterdam Chamber of Commerce, later also its president. Notwithstanding his many offices he served the Mennonite congregation of Amsterdam two periods as a deacon, 1796-1801 and 1811-1815.

Jan's four sons were all men of great importance: (a) Anne Willem (1796-1841) studied law and was a judge at Amsterdam and member of the Second Chamber of the States-General; he was much interested in improving the conditions of prisoners and served the Mennonite congregation of Amsterdam as a deacon 1821-1825 and 1831-1835. He was unmarried. (b) Pieter (1798-1852), member of the municipal board of Amsterdam, of the Second Chamber of the States-General, mayor of Amsterdam 1841-1849. Besides all this he was a banker and leader of a trading company. He was married to Sara Geertruida van Eeghen and was a deacon of the Amsterdam congregation 1826-1830 and 1841-1842. (c) Jan (1803-1876), married to his niece Catharina Huidekoper from Harlingen, became a merchant at Harlingen. (d) Albert (1807-1854), married to Aletta Jacoba Rahusen, also a businessman and deacon at Amsterdam 1836-1840. The Huidekoper family had a country house at Breukelen, which was known for its art treasures.

Of the late Harlingen branch should be mentioned Anne Willem Huidekoper, son of Jan (c); he was born 23 August 1836 at Midlum near Harlingen and died 7 April 1900 at Arnhem. After studying at the Amsterdam Mennonite Theological Seminary he became a preacher of the following Mennonite congregations: Burg, Waal, and Oosterend on the island of Texel 1861-1863, Bolsward 1863-1873, Koog-Zaandijk 1873-1877, and Almelo 1877-1878. In 1878 he left the ministry to found a banking house at Amsterdam. He was married first to Susanna Jacoba Portielje (died 1836) and then to her sister Cornelia Maria Portielje.

Bibliography

Huidekoper, Edgar. Huidekoper, Holland family, 1730‑1924 ... Meadville, Pa.: E. Huidekoper, 1924.

Molhuysen, P. C. and  P. J. Blok. Nieuw Nederlandsch Biografisch Woordenboek. Leiden, 1911-1937: VIII, 884.

Nederland's patriciaat: genealogieën van vooraanstaande geslachten. 's‑Gravenhage: Centraal Bureau voor Genealogie, 1927: XVIII, 206-216.

Author(s)	Nanne van der Zijpp
Date Published	1956

Cite This Article

MLA style

Zijpp, Nanne van der. "Huidekoper family." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Web. 25 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Huidekoper_family&oldid=119553.

APA style

Zijpp, Nanne van der. (1956). Huidekoper family. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 25 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Huidekoper_family&oldid=119553.

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Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, pp. 836-837. All rights reserved.

©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.