Goossen is a Mennonite family found in West Prussia. Near Doornik in Belgium a hatmaker Goossen died for his faith in 1558. Four decades later, 30 September 1598, an Abraham Gooss of the Netherlands entered the preparatory school of the Elbing Gymnasium. In 1658 a Heinrich Goossen was living in Elbing. As early as 1621 a Gert Gosen was one of a number of Mennonites living in Beyershorst in the very low Scharpau in the Gross-Werder.

In the Elbing and Danzig congregations, as well as in several Gross-Werder congregations there were once members with this name. In 1789 the Gosens were listed in the Mennonite directory, a number of whom emigrated to Russia; just before World War II there were no Gosens left. This name was transplanted from Prussia and Russia to the United States (e.g., Beatrice, Nebraska) and Canada.

Bibliography

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Scottdale, Pennsylvania, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 542. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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