Herman op den Graeff ( Aldekerk, 26 November 1585 -

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

, 27 December 1642) was a

Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

community leader from

Origin

Glass windows of Hermann Baron op den Graeff

Herman Op den Graeff was the first historically proven member of the Op den Graeff family. He was born on 26 November 1585 in Aldekerk, Germany. Some believe that Duke

John William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg Johann Wilhelm of Jülich-Cleves-Berg (german: Johann Wilhelm, Herzog zu Kleve, Jülich und Berg, links=no) (28 May 1562 – 25 March 1609) was the last Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg. Biography His parents were William ''the Rich'', Duke of Jü ...

had a

morganatic marriage Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...

prior to 1585 with Anna op den Graeff (van de Aldekerk), with whom he had a son, Herman op den Graeff. No substantial evidence of any relation between the Op den Graeff and John William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg has ever been presented, so most likely that connection is non-existent.

Life

Herman op den Graeff was a wealthy linen weaver and merchant. In 1605, he removed to Kempen where he met and married Greitgen Pletjes (or ''Greitje Pletjes'') on 6 August 1605.

Krefeld Mennonite Church

In Krefeld, Op den Graeff became a leader of the Mennonite community, and in 1632, was one of two Krefeld Mennonite Church delegates to sign the

Dordrecht Confession of Faith The Dordrecht Confession of Faith is a statement of religious beliefs adopted by Dutch Mennonite leaders at a meeting in Dordrecht, the Netherlands, on 21 April 1632. Its 18 articles emphasize belief in salvation through Jesus Christ, baptism, ...

. In 1637, he was named as the "der hiesigen Mennoniten Herr Bischof" of Krefeld.

Descendants

Some of Herman op den Graeff's descendants migrated to the United States. They are among the thirteen families often referred to as the

Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Germantown ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Deitscheschteddel'') is an area in Northwest Philadelphia. Founded by German, Quaker, and Mennonite families in 1683 as an independent borough, it was absorbed into Philadelphia in 1854. The area, which is ab ...

Founders, who arrived on the ship ''Concord'' on 6 October 1683."Ship Passengers Mentioned in Merion MM Minutes; Chester County, PA."
, Yvonne Prough. U.S. Genealogical Web Archives. Accessed 29 sept 2011 Among these families were three op den Graeff brothers, including grandson

Abraham op den Graeff 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, ...

, a cousin of

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 ...

, the founder of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. Pennsylvania Governor Samuel Whitaker Pennypacker was Herman's sixth-great-grandson."Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania"
John W. Jordan. Genealogical Publishing Com, 1978. , . p. 486

Origin

Life

Krefeld Mennonite Church

Descendants

References

Further reading