Fortgens was a Mennonite family, first living at Emmerich, Germany, from where a number of members migrated to Amsterdam, among them Jacob (?) Fortgens, father of the well-known Zonist preacher Michiel Fortgens. Abraham Fortgens was a Mennonite deacon of Emmerich about 1690. His son Isack, born 1685 at Emmerich, died ca. 1751 at Amsterdam, moved to Amsterdam and served the Zonist congregation as a deacon 1715-1720 and 1728-1735; Catherina, daughter of Isack, in 1731 married Abraham Fock, a Mennonite emigrant from Danzig. Some members of this family joined the Zonist congregation and are often found as deacons until the end of the 18th century; others joined the Amsterdam Lamist congregation.

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 356. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

©1996-2013 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.