The 1688 Germantown Quaker petition against slavery

Abraham Isacks op den Graeff (c. 1646 – c. 1731) was an original founder of Germantown, Pennsylvania, as well as a civic leader, award-winning weaver, and signer of the first organized religious protest against slavery in colonial America. He, or his brother Derick, are briefly mentioned in

John Greenleaf Whittier John Greenleaf Whittier (December 17, 1807 – September 7, 1892) was an American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Frequently listed as one of the fireside poets, he was influenced by the Scottish poet ...

's poem "The Pennsylvania Pilgrim" simply as "Op Den Graaf".

Early life

Abraham op den Graeff was born c. 1646 in

Krefeld, Germany Krefeld ( , ; li, Krieëvel ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the World War II, Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of ...

. He was the son of Isaac Herman op den Graeff and grandson of

Herman op den Graeff Herman op den Graeff ( Aldekerk, 26 November 1585 - Krefeld, 27 December 1642) was a Mennonite community leader from Krefeld. Origin Herman Op den Graeff was the first historically proven member of the Op den Graeff family. He was born on 26 N ...

. The Op den Graeff family were originally Mennonites, and are believed to have come from nearby Aldekerk in the Catholic Duchy of Julich about 1605 to avoid persecution. At that time Krefeld was an exclave of the County of Moers, and under the authority of the Prince of Orange of the Netherlands. In contrast to the leaders of Julich and the nearby Electorate of Cologne, the leaders of the Netherlands were tolerant of non-conforming religions. As a result, Krefeld had become a point of refuge for the persecuted Mennonites. Many of the Krefeld Mennonites were weavers, or practiced other cloth making trades such as dying. Abraham himself was a weaver. Quaker missionary work in the lower and middle Rhine River valley during the 1660s resulted in the conversion of a number of Mennonites in and around Krefeld. Among these converts were Abraham Op Den Graeff and his family. The Quakers were not as readily tolerated by the people of Krefeld. In 1679 five of them, including Abraham's brother Herman, were forcibly exiled from Krefeld. They were eventually allowed to return through pressure from the English Quakers, but by this time William Penn's Colony was being established (1681-1682). The opportunity to follow their Quaker beliefs without fear of persecution was undoubtedly a major factor in their decision to emigrate from Krefeld. Abraham and his brothers were among the first to leave, arriving at Philadelphia,

Province of Pennsylvania The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn after receiving a land grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania ("Penn's Woods") refers to W ...

on the Concord in October 1683. "Ship Passengers Mentioned in Merion MM Minutes; Chester County, PA."
, Yvonne Prough. U.S. Genealogical Web Archives. Accessed 29 sept 2011

Germantown Settlement

Abraham op den Graeff and his family were one of the original thirteen families which founded Germantown. There he helped established the linen industry, winning the first Governor's prize from

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

, a cousin of Abraham op den Graeff, in 1686 for the finest piece of linen woven in the Province. In 1688, Abraham along with three others signed the first organized religious petition against slavery in the colonies, the

1688 Germantown Quaker Petition Against Slavery The 1688 Germantown Quaker Petition Against Slavery was the first protest against enslavement of Africans made by a religious body in the Thirteen Colonies. Francis Daniel Pastorius authored the petition; he and three other Quakers living in G ...

. In 1689, he was one of the original charter grantees for the settlement, and that year was elected to the Provincial Assembly, representing the settlement until 1692. He would also serve as a burgess of Germantown.

The Pennsylvania Pilgrim

Abraham or his brother Dirck is briefly mentioned in

's abolitionist poem "The Pennsylvania Pilgrim", published in 1872.

Notable descendants

His descendants used a variety of spellings of the surname, including Opdegraf(f), Updegraf (f), Uptegraft, Updegrave, Updegrove, Updegraph, Uptegrove and Upthegrove. Pennsylvania Governor Samuel Whitaker Pennypacker was the fourth great-grandson of Abraham."Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania"
John W. Jordan. Genealogical Publishing Com, 1978. , . p. 486

References

External links

* Transcription of the text of the 1688 Germantown Quaker Petition Against Slavery at Wikisource {{DEFAULTSORT:Graeff, Abraham op den 1646 births Year of birth uncertain 1731 deaths Abolitionism in the United States Dutch emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies German emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies German-American culture in Pennsylvania People from Krefeld