Op den Graeff (surname)

View category for people with the Op den Graeff surname

Op den Graeff
Origin:	Netherlands, later Germany
Meaning:	Up away from the embankments or earthworks
Variant(s):	op Den Graff op den Graff Updegraff Updegrove
Wikipedia:	Search Wikipedia

Herman op den Graeff (1585-1642), painted by Matthias Laurenz Gräff (2007)

Op den Graeff^{[needs IPA]} is a German and American family of Dutch origin. They were one of the first families of the Mennonite faith in Krefeld at the beginning of the 17th century. Various family members belonged to Original 13, the first organized immigration of a closed group of Germans to America in 1683. There the family had a long history in religious service and politics, beginning in the late 17th century in the Colony of Pennsylvania. In 1688, they became forerunners of the anti-slavery movement by signing the first anti-slavery protest in North America. Their descendants spread into various lines, Updegraff, Uptegraft, Updegraft, Updegrave, Updegrove, Uptegrove, Ubdegrove, Uptegraph, Upthagrove. The Updegraff branch of Ohio belonged to the leading families of the Quaker religious movement and produced a long line of ministers and elders.

History

The earliest historically proven Op den Graeff, Herman op den Graeff (1585-1642) lived in Aldekerk (Kleve), near the border to the modern Netherlands.

Op den Graeff research at The Daily News, Lebanon, Pennsylvania (1988)

Claimed Cleves connection

Some believe that Duke John William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg had a morganatic marriage prior to 1585 with Anna op den Graeff van de Aldekerk, with whom he had Herman op den Graeff (1585-1642). Family tradition suggests that the name means "of the Count" and stems from the illegitimate birth of Herman, said to be fathered by the Duke. Most or all of the references on Geni.com follow that line (the papers supporting that view by one Glenn Wayne Miller had become unavailable at the cited web address by January 2013). But, no substantial evidence of any relation between Op den Graeff and the Duke has ever been presented, so most likely that connection is non-existent.

Works of William Addams Reitwiesner

Two of the descendants of Herman disagree, as noted at the web pages listed below. The late William Addams Reitwiesner (1954-2010), a respected part-time genealogist, links to and quotes with approval the detailed analysis by Neil Uptegrove, who analyses the "Count" story and the likelihood that the family were Jews from Spain or Portugal.

Uptegrove deals with the "Count" theory with two points that he considers fairly conclusive. Part of the rebuttal criticises the mistranslation: "op" does not primarily mean "of" (or "von" or "van"), and "Graeff" is a plural meaning "graves, embankments, or earthworks", having nothing to do with "Graf". He then includes a statement that the surname was in use long before Herman was born: "It is quite certain that a protestant activist named Abraham op den Graeff fled from the commune at Zwammerdam in 1561 to avoid capture by the Spanish, showing that this family name was in use well before the supposed father of Herman was born (1562)."

Uptegrove starts his discussion of the locational origin of the family by quoting from what was stated to be said by one Col. Henry W. Shoemaker: "As far as our family tradition is concerned, and it has often appeared in print, the Op den Graeffs and Van Bebbers were Spanish or Portuguese Jews established in Holland since the days of the Spanish occupation." Uptegrove covers four to five centuries of European history to show that that would be unlikely in view of the persecution of non-believers by the very powerful Catholic Church, which was extremely strong in Spain, which ruled Holland until the Reformation was well under way in 1581. Jews under Spanish rule anywhere in Western Europe would probably survive only by keeping a very low profile, preferably professing to have converted, and certainly not becoming Protestant activists.

Abraham Graeff (* around 1485) in a painting from Matthias Laurenz Gräff (2007)

Claimed Von Graben connection

According to another family tradition, the Op den Graeff, like the Dutch De Graeff family, descended from the Von Graben through Wolfgang von Graben, who were mentioned in Holland between 1476 and 1483. Wolfgangs younger son Abraham (op den) Graeff (* around 1485) was named as ancestor of that family. Graeff was the Dutch spelling of Graben during the 14th and 15th century. These sources are not documented and cannot be verified.

Lineage:

1. Wolfgang von Graben (died 1521)
2. Abraham (op den) Graeff (around 1485-1561)
3. Herman op den Graeff (around 1520-after 1567)
4. Anna op den Graeff van de Aldekerk (1557-1613)
5. Herman op den Graeff (1585-1642)

530 years of the Graeff family. Reunion meeting of the Family Association Gräff-Graeff at Styria in 2014. Chairman Matthias Laurenz Gräff and Ms Christine Elaine Updegraff at the Grabenstrasse in Graz.

Statement of the Family Association Gräff-Graeff

In 2014, members and representatives of the US-families Updegraff and Updegrove were also admitted as associate members into the Family Association Gräff-Graeff (Familienverband Gräff-Graeff e. V.). In case of the Op den Graeff family and their offspring Updegraff, Uptegrove etc, the Research is only based on the so called Scheuten Manuscripts from the 16/17th century and their family tradition.

The official statement of the Family Association about the Op den Graeff family reads: AN ORIGIN OF THE ORIGINALLY GERMAN OR DUTCH FAMILY OP DEN GRAEFF FROM THE VON GRABEN FAMILY CANNOT BE VERIFIED BECAUSE IT IS UNSOURCED. THIS THEORY IS ONLY MAINTAINED BY THEIR DECENDANTS.

The family at Krefeld

Herman op den Graeff at the 1632 Krefeld Mennonite Church Delegation (drawing by Matthias Laurenz Gräff, 2024)

The Op den Graeffs 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, stadtholder of the Republic of the United Netherlands. In contrast to the leaders of Julich and the nearby Electorate of Cologne, the stadtholders of the Netherlands were tolerant of non-conforming religions. As a result, Krefeld had become a point of refuge for the persecuted Mennonites during the 17th century. The Op den Graeffs, under the guidance of Herman op den Graeff, like many of the Krefeld Mennonites, were linen weavers, other relatives practiced in different cloth making trades such as dying. Some of these families continued this occupation later in Germantown, Pennsylvania. The Op den Graeffs had an influence on the circle of Mennonites, which turned Quaker in part around 1679-1680. In 1683 the three Op den Graeff brothers Derick, Herman and Abraham, grandchildren of Herman, with their families migrated to the United States. They are among the thirteen families, the Original 13, the first closed group of German emigrants to North America, often referred to as the Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Founders, who arrived on the ship Concord on October 6. The three Op den Graeffs had another brother, Adolphus Op Den Graeff (* 1648), who did not join the emigration but settled near Koblenz before 1680. His grandson John William (Johan Wilhelm) op den Graeff (1732 - between 1800 and 1804) immigrated in 1753 to Pennsylvania as well. Their descendants joined their name into Updegrove.

The family in Colonial America and the US

Abraham Isaacs op den Graeff in a historical sketch by Matthias Laurenz Gräff (2024)

The 1688 Germantown Quaker petition against slavery

Pastorius Monument, Philadelphia including the Original 13 families who founded Germantown

In Germantown, two of the Op den Graeff brothers, Derick and Abraham, signed along Francis Daniel Pastorius and Gerrit Hendricksz the first organized religious petition against slavery in the colonies, the 1688 Germantown Quaker Petition Against Slavery. Abraham op den Graeff was the only one of the three brothers who had descendants. Some of them continued in or returned to the Mennonite faith and were found in the Montgomery County congregations of Skippack and Boyertown until modern times. Then the family split up into a lot of different spelled names and family branches, Opdegraf(f), Updegraf(f), Uptagraff(t), Updegrave, Updegrove, Updegraph, Uptegraph, Upthegrove, Upthagrove and Ubdegrove. Pennsylvania Governor Samuel Whitaker Pennypacker was the fourth great-grandson of Abraham, while US-president Theodore Roosevelt was the sixt great-grandson of "bishop" Herman op den Graeff.

In 1802 Nathan Updegraff, a great-great-grandson of Abraham, settled north in Mount Pleasant, Jefferson, Ohio. This branch belonged to the 19th-century Quaker families of that state and produced a lot of Quaker Ministers and elders. The son of Nathan, David Benjamin Updegraff (1789-1864) of that family was a conductor and one of the leaders of the Underground Railroad. He was one of the first outspoken anti-slavery men, and voted with the first liberty party from conscientious convictions. His house was the home of antislavery advocates and temperance lecturers also a station on the Underground Railroad.

Coat of arms

Alleged Op den Graeff Coat of Arms since Herman op den Graeff (1585/1642). Drawing by Matthias Laurenz Gräff (2023)

There is a reference about the Op den Graeff glass paintings of Krefeld, with a description of Herman's possible, but not proven, coat of arms, found in the estate of W. Niepoth (op den Graeff folder) in the archives of the city of Krefeld, who noted a letter dated November 17, 1935, from Richard Wolfferts to Dr Risler: "Saw the Coat of Arms glass pane in the old museum: 'Herman op den Graeff und Grietgen syn housfrau' or the like. Coat of Arms - In the sign a silver swan in blue. Helmet decoration (I think): Swan growing."

Notable family members

Main Op den Graeff / Updegraff line family members from Krefeld and Pennsylvania:

1. Herman op den Graeff (1585–1642), Mennonite community leader of Krefeld, delegate and signer of the sign the Dordrecht Confession of Faith
   1. Isaac Hermans op den Graeff (1616-1679), joined the Quakers
      1. Herman Isaacs op den Graeff (1642-1708), one of the "Original 13", the first closed group of German emigrants to North America, original founder of Germantown, Pennsylvania
      2. Derick Isaacs op den Graeff (1646-1697), leader of the "Original 13", politician, signer of the first organized religious protest against slavery,original founder of Germantown, Pennsylvania
      3. Abraham op den Graeff (1649–1731), one of the "Original 13", politician, signer of the first organized religious protest against slavery, original founder of Germantown, Pennsylvania
         1. Isaac op den Graeff (1678-1745), linen weaver at Germantown
            1. Derrick op den Graeff (1696-1738)
               1. Joseph Updegraff (1726-1801), commissioner of York County, Pennsylvania
                  1. Nathan Updegraff (1750–1827), a founder and delegate to Ohio's first constitutional convention
                     1. David Benjamin Updegraff (1789–1864), conductor of the Underground Railroad, minister of Friends church
                        1. Jonathan T. Updegraff (1822–1882), U.S. Representative from Ohio
                        2. David Brainard Updegraff (1830–1894), minister of Friends church (Quaker minister)
                           1. William Ross Updegraff (1859-1940)
                              1. Allan Eugene Updegraff (1883–1965), American-born novelist, poet, and editor; died at Paris, France
            2. Herman Updegraff (1711-1758), Cordwainer, shoemaker, justice of the peace and of the Common Pleas Court for York County
               1. Abraham Updegraff (1746-1781)
                  1. Thomas Updegraff (1774-1857), businessman and agent for the Underground Railroad
                     1. William Updegraff (1798-1846)
                     2. Thomas Updegraff (1834–1910), attorney and five-term Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from northeastern Iowa

• Joseph S. Updegraff, member of the Ohio Senate

Other Updegraff members:

• Ed Updegraff (1922–2022), American amateur golfer and urologist
• Stephen Updegraff (born 1962), American refractive surgeon

Upthegrove line members : The Upthegrove line descendant from the Updegraffs of Germantown. US-army captain William Hendry Upthegrove (* 1836) came to settle in the area near Gainesville in 1865 and founded a branch of the family in Florida.

1. William Hendry Upthegrove (* 1836), Union Army captain who fought with General Sherman
   1. Roger Upthegrove, in 1912 he established the settlement of West Palm Beach
   2. John William Upthegrove (1872-1942)
      1. Laura Upthegrove (1896–1927), American bandit known as "The Queen of the Everglades"
      2. Clarence Dewitt Upthegrove (1899-1982), American businessman and politician
      3. John Woodrow „Woody“ Upthegrove (1912-1990), longtime police officer

• Dave Upthegrove (born 1971), American politician

Updegrove line member:

• Mark K. Updegrove (born 1961), American author and historian, director of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum

See also:

• Wieman v. Updegraff
• Updegraff, Iowa, an unincorporated community in Clayton County, Iowa, United States

Connection with William Penn

William Penn with his cousin Abraham Isacks op den Graeff

The Op den Graeff family is sometimes said to be related to William Penn, the founder and gouverneur of Pennsylvania. Sources say, that their connection goes through the Pletjes family, wives and ancestors of the Penn and Op den Graeff families. The sources in support of this view cited above, are derivative sources. Whether the original source documentation is sufficient to justify these claims is unknown.

lineage:

• Driessen Pletjes (1550–1645) ≈ Alet Goebels
  • Alet Pletjes (1583-?) ≈ (Sir ?) John Jasper
  • Child Margaret Jasper (c 1624-1682), 1st ≈ Nicasius Van der Schure; 2nd ≈ admiral Sir William Penn (1621–1670)
    • • gouverneur William Penn (1644–1718)
    • Ann Jasper (born c 1628) ≈ William Crispin (1627–1681)
  • Greitgen Pletjes (1588–1643) ≈ mennonite leader Herman op den Graeff (1585–1642)
    • Abraham Hermans op den Graeff (~1610–1656) ≈ Eva von der Leyen
    • Isaac Hermans op den Graeff (1616–1679) ≈ Grietjen Peters (died 1679)
      • Abraham op den Graeff (1649–1731) -- Updegraff family
      • Adolphus op den Graeff (1653–1680) -- Updegrove family

External links

• Neil Uptegrove's view - and we quote his "meaning" of the name above
• WARGS support of Neil's view
• Van Bibber Family, The early Up den Graeffs