Van Voorst tot Voorst is an old Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 noble

Nobility

Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...

 family from the Dutch province Overijssel

Overijssel

Overijssel is a province of the Netherlands in the central eastern part of the country. The region has a NUTS classification of NL21. The province's name means "Lands across river IJssel". The capital city of Overijssel is Zwolle and the largest city is Enschede...

.

History

The first documented ancestor is Fredericus van Hekeren van der Ese (in 1295) who was an adviser to Reginald II of Guelders

Reginald II of Guelders

Reginald II of Guelders , called "the Black" , was Count of Guelders, and from 1339 onwards Duke of Guelders, and Zutphen, in the Low Countries, from 1326 to 1343...

. The surname van Voorst entered the family in the 14th century when one of his descendants married Lutgardis van Voorst, whose ancestors owned the castle Voorst near Zwolle

Zwolle

Zwolle is a municipality and the capital city of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands, 120 kilometers northeast of Amsterdam. Zwolle has about 120,000 citizens.-History:...

, Overijssel

Overijssel

Overijssel is a province of the Netherlands in the central eastern part of the country. The region has a NUTS classification of NL21. The province's name means "Lands across river IJssel". The capital city of Overijssel is Zwolle and the largest city is Enschede...

. The counts of van Rechteren

Van Rechteren

The counts van Rechteren belong to the Dutch and German nobility. The German branch von Rechteren-Limpurg-Speckfeld has been mediatised....

 are also descendants of this couple.

During the twentieth century, the family produced several high ranking officers of the Dutch army, Commissioners of the Queen

Queen's Commissioner

The Queen's Commissioner is the head of a province in the Netherlands, who is chairman of both the Provinciale Staten and the Gedeputeerde Staten , but only has a right to vote in the latter...

, diplomats and members of the House of Representatives and Senate. Members carry the title of baron

Baron

Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...

.

Notable members of the family include

• Jan Joseph Godfried van Voorst tot Voorst
  Jan Joseph Godfried van Voorst tot Voorst (politician)
  Jan Joseph Godfried baron van Voorst tot Voorst Sr. was a Dutch politician and lieutenant-general of the Dutch army.He was a member of the RKSP and was President of the Senate between 1914 and 1929...
  
  .
• Jan Joseph Godfried van Voorst tot Voorst, son of the above.
• Franciscus van Voorst tot Voorst
  Franciscus van Voorst tot Voorst
  Franciscus Antonius Josephus Carel Baron van Voorst tot Voorst was a Dutch sport shooter who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics....
  
  .
• Eduardus van Voorst tot Voorst
  Eduardus van Voorst tot Voorst
  Eduardus Ludovicus Baron van Voorst tot Voorst was a Dutch sport shooter who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics and in the 1920 Summer Olympics....
  
  .
• Berend-Jan van Voorst tot Voorst
  Berend-Jan van Voorst tot Voorst
  Berend Jan Marie baron van Voorst tot Voorst is a Dutch, Christian Democratic Appeal politician. He was vice minister of Foreign Affairs from 27 September 1988 until 7 November 1989 in the Second cabinet of Lubbers and vice minister of Defense from 7 November 1989 until 1 June 1993 in Lubbers'...
  
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Literature

• A.F.H. van Heeckeren, 'Genealogie van de geslachten Van Voorst, Van Heeckeren, Van Rechteren' in: Heraldieke Bibliotheek (1876).
• E.L. van Voorst tot Voorst, 'Het Boek der Voorsten: Het geslacht van Voorst tot Voorst, uit officieele bronnen toegelicht' ('s-Gravehage, 1892).
• J.J. Hooft van Huysduynen, 'Bijdrage tot een genealogie van het geslacht Van Voorst tot Voorst' ('s-Gravenhage, 1968).
• Prof. Dr. J.G.N. Renaud et al., 'Het kasteel Voorst- Macht en val van een Overijsselse burcht' (Zwolle, 1983).