Philip Reinhard (1821-1889). He was the oldest and, initially, most renowned of the three theologian brothers. When the Vrije Gemeente was formed in 1878, he was its theologian. After his death in 1889, his widow lived in Velp with their son, Nicolaas Jan Agatho, a horticulturist (and perhaps innkeeper). Our American branch of the family maintained contact with this Velp branch until World War I.
Petrus Hermannus (1834-1911). He was leader of the Vrije Gemeente in Amsterdam. He made two voyages to America. In Spring 1888, he remained three months and discussed church affairs with the:
- Eastern Unitarians (Boston)
- Western Unitarians (Jenkin Lloyd-Jones, Chicago)
- Free Religious Association (begun by Ralph Waldo Emerson)
- Society for Ethical Culture (Felix Adler, NY))
In 1907, he returned to Boston at the invitation of Charles W. Wendte to participate in the Fourth International Congress of Religious Liberals. The three prior congresses had been held in London, Amsterdam, and Geneva. This Congress has evolved today into the International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF), which has UN consultative status.
Petrus’ son, Herman Pieter, was a horticulturist who resided in Belgium. His son made business trips almost annually to America around 1900.
Johannes Bartholomew (1837-1923). He was involved in business and government in the Veluwe district, which included his Apeldoorn home. Today, all North American bearers of the Hugenholtz name are from this line, and they live in eastern Canada. This line produced Charles James Courtney (1915-1943), whose efforts to resist the Nazis are recorded in De Vervolgden (The Hunted), ISBN 90-535-2520-3, by Annie Huisman-Van Bergen.
Frederik Willem Nicolaas (1839-1900). He was a minister and was invited to lead theVrije Gemeente in America, which in 1887, became formally affiliated with the Unitarian Church in America. For many years, there had been informal contacts with Ralph Waldo Emerson and the Unitarians. These groups were among the organizers of the great World Congress of Religions, held during the Chicago World’s Fair (a.k.a. the Columbian Exposition) in 1893. FWN’s daughters remained in America, but the Hugenholtz name continued only through the sons who returned to Holland.
Gerhard Willem Karel (1826-1893). He studied in Utrecht and became a businessman. Hillwood, the Anglicized version of the Germanic Hugenholtz name, is used among members of this line who lived outside Europe during the world war against Hitler’s Germany. This line had Johannes Bernardus Theodorus (1888-1973), whose life and work are described in The Biographical Dictionary of Modern Peace Leaders, 1985. This line also has Gerhard Willem Karel (1965- ), who researches Hugenholtz history and maintains an informative web site.