Reinders, a Mennonite family name, found since the early 18th century at Sappemeer, Dutch province of Groningen, where Reinder Luitjes (d. 1758) and his son Luitje Reinders (d. ca. 1800) (his descendants assumed the family name Reinders) were farmers, Jacob Luitjes, a member of this family, was a (lay) preacher of the Sappemeer congregation from 1780 to ca. 1807. Recently two members of the Reinders family served as Mennonite ministers after studying at the University and Mennonite Seminary at Amsterdam. Uko Jan Reinders (1868-1917) served at Ternaard 1897-99 and Dantumawoude 1899-1916, and was very active in the cause of state pensions for the poor. He published a historical paper on Jan ter Borg in Doopsgezinde Bijdragen, 1897. His brother Luurdo Reinders (1870-1948) served as Mennonite pastor at Berlikum 1897-1937.

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 279. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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