Claes (Klaas, Klaus, Nicholas) Jansen, one of the first Mennonite settlers in the United States, came to Germantown, Pennsylvania, from Krefeld, Germany, in 1685. Later he lived in the Skippack area where he became a trustee in the Mennonite congregation in 1708 and a preacher in 1717. The assertion (DB 1884, 75) that he was appointed minister in 1692 or shortly after to serve together with Rittenhouse is not attested by  the old documents. It is very probable that Claes Jansen was the ancestor of the Johnson family which was very prominent in the Lower Skippack congregation in the 19th century furnishing three Henry G. Johnsons as ministers in succession and leading to the nicknaming of the congregation as the "Johnson Mennonites."

Bibliography

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 91. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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