Berends, Wouter (b. 1677)
Wouter Berends can be regarded as the progenitor of the Wouters family. His father Beernt Wolters (Wouters) came as a poor man from Westphalia (Germany) about 1670 to Knijpe in the Dutch province of Friesland. He was originally a Roman Catholic, but became a Mennonite and joined the Groninger Old Flemish congregation. His son Wouter Berends, b. 1677, settled as a brushmaker at Joure, and about 1700 as a merchant in Sneek, where he attained great prosperity. He did not unite with the congregation at Sneek, since it belonged to the Waterlander branch, but with the Old Flemish congregation at nearby IJlst. In 1746 at his instigation an Old Flemish congregation was organized (17 members) in Sneek, for which he contributed a warehouse to be used as a church. The date of Wouter Berends' death is not known; he was still living in 1755. There was later much confusion in the adjustment of financial matters between Sneek and IJlst. Wouter Berends had as the last member of the Old Flemish congregation at Joure given the funds of that congregation to IJlst, and now Sneek also laid claim to them. Not until 1767 was the difficulty resolved.
Bibliography
Doopsgezinde Bijdragen (1890): 94-102; (1892): 90-98.
| Author(s) | Nanne van der Zijpp |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1953 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
van der Zijpp, Nanne. "Berends, Wouter (b. 1677)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1953. Web. 25 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Berends,_Wouter_(b._1677)&oldid=75386.
APA style
van der Zijpp, Nanne. (1953). Berends, Wouter (b. 1677). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 25 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Berends,_Wouter_(b._1677)&oldid=75386.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 277. All rights reserved.
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