Portielje (originally Portille), a Dutch family, which is thought to have fled from French Flanders be­cause of persecution, moving to Amsterdam. The first generations of this family seem to have been Mennonites, but in the 17th century they became Reformed. The descendants of Pieter Portielje (1781-1847), who was married to Clara van Aken (a Mennonite), however, became Mennonites, and some of the family have been very active members of the church. David Abraham Portielje (Amster­dam, 1814-52), married first to Catharina van Eeghen and after her death to Alida Johanna Fock, studied law and then became a director of the Dutch Association of Life Insurance Companies (Hollandsche Sociëteit van Levensverzekeringen), founded in 1807 at Amsterdam by Anthonie Hartsen, also a Mennonite. His son Jan Pieter Portielje (1843-1909), married to Cécile Dorothée Fock, stud­ied law, and became a director in the same company. Besides this he was a trustee of the Collegiant-Mennonite orphanage Oranjeappel, treas­urer of many Mennonite corporations, and a trustee of the Algemene Doopsgezinde Sociëteit (ADS) 1893-1909. His son David Abraham Portielje (1872-1927), married to Anna Helena Voûte, also studied law and was like his father and grandfather a director of the life insurance company at Amsterdam. He was also a trustee of the Oranje­appel orphanage, manager of the "Christina Stichting", a trustee of the North Holland Wid­ows' Fund, and member of the church board at Amsterdam. As a member of the executive commit­tee of the ADS he was active in the matter of pensioning retired and invalid pastors. He was also a curator of the Mennonite Theological Seminary. P. B. Westerdijk commemorated him in a warm­ hearted In Memoriam, found in the Doopsgezind Jaarboekje of 1928.

Bibliography

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, pp. 204-205. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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