Beemster (Noord-Holland, Netherlands)

Doopsgezinde Kerk, Middenbeemster.
Photo by A. J. (Ton) van der Wal, Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed.
Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Beemster, a Mennonite congregation in the Dutch province of North Holland, 15 miles (25 km) north of Amsterdam. This region was once the Beemster Lake, which was reclaimed in 1612. Some Mennonites were among the settlers here; they joined the congregation at Oosthuizen. Nothing is known about the beginning of this congregation; the church book does not begin until 1797. Since about 1787 the congregation has been called Beemster-Oosthuizen. It had a church at an early date in Oosthuizen; in 1785 it also acquired one in the village of Midden Beemster, now the only one in the congregation. The congregation was a member of the Frisian Societeit in North Holland.

In the 18th and 19th centuries the congregation was served for more than a century by many preachers from one family: from 1734 to 1840 Klaas, Jan, Jacob Jansz, and Jan Jacobs Hartog. The last named preached here for 44 years. He was succeeded by the first minister from the Amsterdam seminary, P. Douwes Dekker, 1840-1844; after him came J. Sybrändy, 1844-1851; H. A. van Cleeff, 1851-1885; V. Loosjes, 1886-1890; P. A. Vis, 1891-1914; R. Kuipers, 1914-1944; after that Miss A. Leistra. Since 1944 the congregation has been combined with Purmerend.

The members in the 1950s lived scattered over all of Beemster and some in Oosthuizen, Avenhorn, Schermerhorn, and in Schermer; they were for the most part farmers. At that time the congregation had a Sunday school for children and a women’s organization.

Bibliography

Cate, Steven Blaupot ten. Geschiedenis der Doopsgezinden in Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht en Gelderland, 2 vols. Amsterdam: P.N. van Kampen, 1847.

Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. I, 152.

Hoop Scheffer, Jacob Gijsbert de. Inventaris der Archiefstukken berustende bij de Vereenigde Doopsgezinde Gemeente to Amsterdam, 2 vols. Amsterdam: Uitgegeven en ten geschenke aangeboden door den Kerkeraad dier Gemeente, 1883-1884: v. II, 2, No. 26.

Reliwiki. "Middenbeemster, Middenweg 87 - Doopsgezinde Vermaning." 14 March 2014. Web. 13 October 2014. http://reliwiki.nl/index.php/Middenbeemster,_Middenweg_87_-_Doopsgezinde_Vermaning.

Additional Information

Congregation: Doopsgezinde Gemeente Beemster-Oosthuizen

Address: Middenweg 86, 1462 HE Middenbeemster, Netherlands

Church website: Doopsgezinde Gemeente Beemster-Oosthuizen

Denominational affiliation:

Algemene Doopsgezinde Societeit

Church Membership

Year	Members
1747	36
1785	74
1819	143
1861	200
1898	273
1927	234
1950	190

Maps

Map:Beemster-Oosthuizen (Middenbeemster, Noord-Holland)

Author(s)	Nanne van der Zijpp
Date Published	1953

Cite This Article

MLA style

Zijpp, Nanne van der. "Beemster (Noord-Holland, Netherlands)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1953. Web. 18 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Beemster_(Noord-Holland,_Netherlands)&oldid=144799.

APA style

Zijpp, Nanne van der. (1953). Beemster (Noord-Holland, Netherlands). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 18 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Beemster_(Noord-Holland,_Netherlands)&oldid=144799.

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Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, pp. 262. All rights reserved.

©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.