Stijl, a Mennonite family formerly found at Harlingen, Dutch province of Friesland. Its members, most of whom were engaged in trade and manu­facture, were related by marriage to other Mennon­ite families of Harlingen like Hannema, Hanekuik, and Oosterbaan. Johannes Stijl, born 1758 at Harlin­gen, died there 15 June 1802, studied at the University of Franeker and the Amsterdam Mennonite semi­nary and served as pastor in the Mennonite congre­gations of Emmerich 1786-1788 and Makkum 1788-1792. The most prominent member of this family was Simon Stijl (1731-1804), a practicing physician at Harlingen, and the author of some important liter­ary and historical works; he did not join the Mennonite Church.

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 633. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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