Herman op den Graeff


Herman op den Graeff was a Mennonite community leader from Krefeld.

Origin

Some believe that Duke John William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg had a morganatic marriage prior to 1585 with Anna op den Graeff, with whom he had a son, Herman op den Graeff.Herman op den Graeff was the first reported member of the Op den Graeff family. He was born November 26, 1585 in Aldekerk, Germany.

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 on August 6, 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. 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 Founders, who arrived on the ship Concord on October 6, 1683. Among these families were three op den Graeff brothers, including grandson Abraham op den Graeff, a cousin of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania Governor Samuel Whitaker Pennypacker was Herman's sixth-great grandson.

The Legend of the Lohengrin Swan

A fictional book published in 2011 by Nancy Dellinger entitled "The Legend of the Lohengrin Swan" plots Op den Graeff as a central figure leading during the tumultuous religious divisions and wars of the period.