Hengelo (Overijssel, Netherlands)

Hengelo, an industrial, rapidly growing town (1953 population 52,474; 2007 population, 81,431) in the Dutch province of Overijssel, noted for textiles and iron works, had 475 Mennonites in 1954 and was the seat of a Mennonite congregation. In the 17th century Mennonites living in Hengelo and in Borne and Goor formed a congregation of the Groningen Old Flemish branch. In 1728 this congregation was divided into two congregations, one at Borne and one of Hengelo-Goor.

During the 17th century the Hengelo Mennonites attended the meetings at Borne or Zenderen or Twekkelo, but since about 1709 meetings were also held at Hengelo in the private home of Berend ter Horst and his descendants. In 1792 Wolter ten Cate gave the congregation a meetinghouse at Hengelo. Though he lived at Hengelo, having been the promoter of its textile industry, he was a member and elder of the Borne congregation. The meetinghouse—so ten Cate ordered— should be plain and without luxury. It was remodeled in 1855, 1883, and 1953. An organ was put in in 1874. The meetinghouse was demolished in 1961 and a new meetinghouse was built at that time at Schalkburgerstraat 22.

In the 18th century the core of the Hengelo congregation was formed by the ter Horst, ten Cate, and Nijhoff families. During this century preachers were regularly chosen from the membership, the last being Engbert Nijhoff, 1757-1805. Its first trained minister was Govert Jans van Rijswijk, 1800-1806.

Church activities included a Sunday school for children, a ladies' circle, and a choir.

As of 2014 the congregation no longer existed.

Bibliography

Doopsgezinde Bijdragen (1879): 7; (1884): 152.

Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. II, 283.

Hoop Scheffer, Jacob Gijsbert de. Inventaris der Archiefstukken berustende bij de Vereenigde Doopsgezinde Gemeente to Amsterdam. Amsterdam: Uitgegeven en ten geschenke aangeboden door den Kerkeraad dier Gemeente, 1883-1884: II, Nos. 1924-1925; II, 2, 99.

Reliwiki. "Hengelo, Marktstraat/BurJansenstr - Doopsgezinde Kerk." 17 February 2012. Web. 14 October 2014. http://reliwiki.nl/index.php/Hengelo,_Marktstraat/BurJansenstr_-_Doopsgezinde_Kerk.

Reliwiki. "Hengelo, Schalkburgerstraat 22 - Doopsgezinde Kerk." 17 February 2012. Web. 14 October 2014. http://reliwiki.nl/index.php/Hengelo,_Schalkburgerstraat_22_-_Doopsgezinde_Kerk.

Uit het Verleden der Doopsgezinden in Twenthe. Borne, n.d.: passim.

Additional Information

Church Ministers

Minister	Years
Engbert Nijhoff	1757-1805
Govert Jans van Rijswijk	1800-1806
Barend Rusburg	1807-1823
Jan Visscher	1824-1828
H. ten Cate Hzn	1829-1864
A. Ballot	1864-1871
I. H. Boeke	1872-1878
H. Boetje	1879-1911
G. Heeringa	1912-1940
P. J. Smidts	1941-1947
K. T. Gorter	1948-

Church Membership

Year	Members
1733	87
1767	80
1840	85
1861	60
1898	170
1925	390
1954	347

Maps

Map:Hengelo (Overijssel)

Author(s)	Nanne van der Zijpp
Date Published	1956

Cite This Article

MLA style

Zijpp, Nanne van der. "Hengelo (Overijssel, Netherlands)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Hengelo_(Overijssel,_Netherlands)&oldid=145454.

APA style

Zijpp, Nanne van der. (1956). Hengelo (Overijssel, Netherlands). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Hengelo_(Overijssel,_Netherlands)&oldid=145454.

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Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, pp. 703-704. All rights reserved.

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