Pasma family
Pasma, a Dutch Mennonite family, living in the province of Friesland, and originally residing at Akkrum, where they were farmers; the family name of Pasma is not found before 1810, but the family is much older and found as early as 1600. It is not clear whether the first generations were Mennonite, but Hendrik Franses (b. ca. 1745) was a Mennonite. In 1770 he was married to Wybrich Atzes, widow of Atze Joostes. They were farmers at Snikzwaag near Joure in Friesland, and the curious fact is mentioned that the owner of their farm, Baron Hobbe of Aylva, donated to them the farm on which they lived. Their grandson Hendrik Franses Pasma (1813-1891), married to Fokje Jans Fokma, both Mennonites, was a farmer at Irnsum and Haskerdijken. He was an outstanding pioneer in agriculture. Though he had in his youth received little education, he later educated himself by much reading and studying. In 1868 he published an important brochure on the cattle plague and addressed numerous meetings of farmers. In 1879 he was one of the founders of the Fries Rundvee-Stamboek (Frisian Herdbook Association); and on the instigation of the city of Kampen he founded a model agricultural farm near Kampen. He was also active in finding methods for improving the manufacture of butter and made a plan for better drainage of Friesland by building pumping-engines and canals, which project was taken over by the government of Friesland. Hendrik Franses Pasma was an alderman of Haskerland and a member of the States of Friesland, and also a deacon of the Mennonite congregation of Heerenveen. His great-grandson is Frans Hendriks Pasma (b. 1886 at Joure), Mennonite pastor of Mensingeweer 1913-1916, Dantumawoude 1916-1921, and Grouw 1921-1951, who was the moderator of the Algemeene Doopsgezinde Sociëteit (ADS) 1940-1946, active in behalf of a better pension for retired ministers, and ministers' widows, author of Onze Vermaning (Bergum, 1917), De Doopsgezinden te Grouw (Grouw, 1930), De Friese Doopsgezinde gemeenten in de laatste halve eeuw (n.p., n.d., 1947), and Doopsgezind Handboek (1954). Since about 1850 a number of descendants have joined the Reformed Church.
Bibliography
Haan, H. de. Frans Hendriks Pasma, zijn Voorouders en Nageslacht. Leeuwarden, 1956.
Wumkes, G. A. Stads- en Dorpskroniek van Friesland II, 1800-1900. Leeuwarden, 1934: passim, see Index.
| Author(s) | Nanne van der Zijpp |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1959 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Zijpp, Nanne van der. "Pasma family." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Pasma_family&oldid=126622.
APA style
Zijpp, Nanne van der. (1959). Pasma family. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Pasma_family&oldid=126622.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, pp. 121-122. All rights reserved.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.