Henry Nicholas de Fremery (1867-1940) was a leader among his generation of Dutch Spiritualists, a tireless writer and lecturer with many contacts in England, Germany and France.
In 1902, Johannes S. Göbel invited de Fremery to join him as an editor of Het Toekomstig Leven, a quality magazine for all Spiritualists in the Netherlands, founded in 1897.
De Fremery was a proponent of scientific investigation, something many Spiritualists were not interested in, and wrote several important books about Spiritualism.
A bitter conflict about the genuineness of the medium Mrs. Susannah Harris resulted in de Fremery terminating his role as co-editor in 1914. His friend Johannes Göbel had sided with the majority that strongly believed that Mrs. Harris was a genuine medium and not a fraud. De Fremery withdrew from the Spiritualist scene a disillusioned man.
De Fremery was also a gifted artist. He created beautiful sculptures and wrote books for children that he illustrated himself. Overall, he is one of the most interesting and outspoken figures in Dutch Spiritualism during the first decade of the twentieth century.
A signed portrait photograph of H.N. de Fremery dated 1902, Bussum, is included in the photo collection of the Letterkundig (Literary) Museum.
De Fremery's letters to Herman Johan Robbers (1868-1937) were published, apparently in 1906. He was also the author of Nieuwe handleiding tot de kennis van het spiritisme: telepathie van levenden, stervenden en overledenen (Bussum : Van Dishoeck, 1905) and Een spiritistische levensbeschouwing (C.A.J. Van Dishoeck, 1907).
The archives of the Dutch Spiritualist Society "Harmonia" (Archive (HUA)) include records relating to H.N. de Fremery.
The preliminary biographical sketch for this entry relating to the history of Spiritualism in the Netherlands was kindly provided by Mrs. Loes Modderman in December 2013.