Op den Graeff 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.
Part of the Op den Graeff stained window of Krefeld, showing their coat of arms (left with the swan)
Herman op den Graeff in front of the 1632 Dordrecht Mennonite Church Delegation and as a signer of the Dordrecht Confession of Faith in a historical sketch by Matthias Laurenz Gräff
Possible, but bot proven, coat of arms Op den Graeff as descendants of Herman op den Graeff. Heraldic representation by Matthias Laurenz Gräff based on a stained glass window in Krefeld, 1630, which may depict the “Lohengrin swan” of the Kleve coat of arms in one window.
William Penn with his cousin Abraham Isacks op den Graeff
Krefeld, also spelled Crefeld until 1925, is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, its center lying just a few kilometers to the west of the river Rhine; the borough of Uerdingen is situated directly on the Rhine. Because of its economic past, Krefeld is often referred to as the "Velvet and Silk City". It is accessed by the autobahns A57 (Cologne–Nijmegen) and A44 (Aachen–Düsseldorf–Dortmund–Kassel).
City Hall
The city center of Krefeld in winter
Linn Castle at night
Bundesautobahn 44 towards Mönchengladbach