Loosjes is an old Dutch Mennonite family, whose ancestor, as far as is known, was Aryan (Adriaen) Jacobs Loosjes (1550-1635), living on the Molenbuurt at Zaandam, Dutch province of North Holland. This family has produced a large number of Mennonite preachers, first of whom  was  Krelis Aryanse (Cornelis Adriaensz Loosjes) (1660-1720), a grandson of Aryan Jacobs, who from 1693 until his death was a preacher of the Frisian congregation at West-Zaandam. His son Adriaan Loosjes, his grandsons Cornelis and Petrus Loosjes, as well as a number of other descendants, are mentioned in other articles. Some members of the Loosjes family were ardent Collegiants, e.g., Herman Loosjes of Zaandam, who in 1706-1708 spoke occasionally at the Collegiant center at Rijnsburg. Another outstanding member of the family was Cornelis Overbeek Loosjes (1785-1841), a son of Vincent Overbeek, a plumber at Haarlem, and Engeltje Loosjes, a daughter of Cornelis Loosjes, who served the congregation of Zutphen 1818-1838, resigning because of bad health.

Bibliography

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 390. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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