Ds. Alexander Johan Berman (17 September 1828 in

Zierikzee Zierikzee () is a small city in the southwest Netherlands, 50 km southwest of Rotterdam. It is situated in the municipality of Schouwen-Duiveland, Zeeland. The city hall of Schouwen-Duiveland is located in Zierikzee, its largest city. Zierikz ...

–14 February 1886 in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

) was the

Dutch Reformed The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family ...

minister of Watergang. As an author, he wrote literary criticism, and, in his younger years, poetry. He published an anthology with works by authors of his era.

Life

A. J. Berman studied at Leiden University, the alma mater of his father, judge and writer Joost Berman. Upon graduation Alexander Johan became in 1854 assistant minister in

Nijmegen Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...

. In 1856 Berman was appointed minister at the Dutch Reformed Church of Watergang. Sunday, 16 November was the official start of his work. On 26 November 1857 Berman married in

Alkmaar Alkmaar () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland, about 30 km north of Amsterdam. Alkmaar is well known for its traditional cheese market. For tourists, it is a popular cultural destination. The ...

with Gerarda Blom. They had 4 children. Since Watergang was a small community and Berman, who suffered from a lung condition, did not progress to a larger community, the family struggled financially. A friend from university, the author and literary critic Conrad Busken Huet, initiated an anthology through which money was collected for the family. The anthology ''Landjuweel'', set up a series of which only one volume was published, was edited by Berman. The minister's wife died in 1881, aged 45. Due to his health condition, Berman retired in 1883, just 2 years after his silver jubilee in Watergang. Next, he worked at the city archives of

and died in that city in 1886. Two of his children, Simon and Johan Alexander, enjoyed successful careers as a mayor and notary respectively, after training on the job.

Bibliography

Books

* 1854: '' Asters. Dichtbundeltje, bijeenverzameld door eenige HH. Studenten te Leyden, Utrecht en Deventer'', with J.E. Banck Jr., Didymus, J.P.N. Land, and A.J.C. Kremer.

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

: Jacobus Hazenberg Corns Zoon. (coauthor) * 1878:
Landjuweel: proza en poëzie"
', Volume 1. Amsterdam: G.L. Funke. (editor) * 1879: Isabella von Drücker: ''Een verwaarloosd kleinood''. From German.

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Nethe ...

: Gebroeders van der Post. (translator)

Articles

* 1870 – "Eene onderwijzing van den Zoon des menschen aangaande den Rustdag" in De Christelijke Huisvriend 11. * 1870 – "Weemoed", ''ibid''.

References

External links

Het Leeskabinet 1875
contains many book reviews by Berman
Asters
the poetry book that Berman coauthored
Landjueweel
the book that Berman edited {{DEFAULTSORT:Berman, Alexander Johan 1828 births 1886 deaths 19th-century Dutch Calvinist and Reformed ministers 19th-century Dutch poets 19th-century Dutch male writers Dutch literary critics Dutch male poets Dutch members of the Dutch Reformed Church People from Waterland People from Zierikzee German–Dutch translators Archivists