Catharina Schaeff (Schaef), (d. 1692 at The Hague, Netherlands) was one of the last members of the Mennonite congregation of The Hague, which died out soon after, but was re-established in 1881. Catharina Schaeff, who never married, was undoubtedly well-to-do, for she made a number of legacies, including one to the congregation of The Hague and one to Bastiaen van Weenighem, who was her cousin. She had a remarkable collection of books; among them were some old Dutch Bibles, a copy of the oldest Dutch martyr book, Offer des Heeren, and other martyr books, the Foundation Book by Menno Simons, Dirk Philips' Christelyk Handboecxken, a number of old Mennonite hymnals, Sebastiaen Franck's "Wereltboeck" (obviously his Chronica . . .), the poetical works of Vondel and Camphuysen, writings of Galenus Abrahamsz and Bastiaen van Weenighem, and a collection of devotional books. It is not known what became of these books after her death.

Bibliography

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 438. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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