Op den Graeff () is a German and American family of Dutch origin.Prof. William I. Hull: William Penn and the Dutch Quaker Migration to Pennsylvania (2018) 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, Uptagrafft. 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 of the Upper Ohio Valley, with Family History and Biographical Sketches: History of Jefferson co., O., by J. H. S. And w. M. rainer. History of Logan, the Mingo chief, by R. H. Taneyhill. Resources of Jefferson co., by J. B. Doyle. Bench and bar of Jefferson co., by O. M. Sanford. Biographical sketches. Education and religion. by W. M. Trainer. The press. Medical history of Jefferson co. History of Belmont co., by C. L. Poorman, including Biographical sketches. Agricultural resources, by A. T. McKelvey, p 187 (1890)
History Origin The earliest historically proven Op den Graeff, Herman op den Graeff (1585–1642), lived in Aldekerk (Kleve), near the border to the modern Netherlands. 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.Krefeld Immigrants and Their Descendants, Bände 7-12, p 15 ff and 53 ff, Links Genealogy Publications, 1990Anna, Duchess of Cleves: The King's 'Beloved Sister', by Heather R. Darsie . No substantial evidence of any relation between Op den Graeff and the Duke has ever been presented. According to another family tradition, the Op den Graeff, like the Dutch De Graeff family, descended from the Von Graben through Wolfgang von Graben,"Van Bebber Pioneers Newsletter", Doc Store. January 1988" A copied text that is not documented by extern sources says: "Made up from genuine document by Pieter de Graeff, Baron van Zuid Polsbrook (Polsbroek), Purmerland and Ilpendam, living 1661, continued by Pieter Gerritsz de Graeff and after that by Dirk de Graeff van Polsbroek (Holland). In the Diploma of Nobility loaned to Andries de Graeff it was affirmed that the family De Graeff was formerly called von Graben, which is the same as de Graeff. This family today shows the same Coat of Arms as the De Graeff family." Accessed 29 sept 2011 who were mentioned in Holland between 1476 and 1483.Genealogisches Taschenbuch der Ritter- u. Adels-Geschlechter, Band 3, p 229 (1870)De Graeff (Pieter Graeff) and Von Graben in the dutch "DBNL"Der deutsche Herold: Zeitschrift für Wappen-, Siegel- u. Familienkunde, Band 3, p 91/92, von Verein Herold Graeff was the Dutch spelling of Graben during the 14th and 15th century.Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in Beziehung auf Abstammung und Begriffsbildung, p 254, by Conrad Schwenck (1834) These sources are not documented and cannot be verified. Another source reports that the Op den Graeff family may have come from Flanders.Archiv für Sippenforschung und alle verwandten Gebiete, Bände 27 – 28, p 470 (C.A. Starke, 1963)
Krefeld The Op den Graeffs were originally Mennonites, and are believed to have come from nearby AldekerkWilliam Penn and the Dutch Quaker Migration to Pennsylvania, by Prof. William I. Hull (2018) 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 Friend, Volume 48", The Friend., 1875. Harvard University. p. 67"Ship Passengers Mentioned in Merion MM Minutes; Chester County, PA." , Yvonne Prough. U.S. Genealogical Web Archives. Accessed 29 sept 2011"1683 Concord" , Pro Genealogists. Accessed 29 sept 2011 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.[June (Shaull) Lutz, History of the Op Den Graef / Updegraff Family (Grand Rapids, Michigan; 1433 Elderwood Ct. N.W.: J. S. Lutz, 1988), p. 12 (Original at University of Wisconsin - Madison) 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.
America 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,"Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania", John W. Jordan. Genealogical Publishing Com, 1978. , 9780806308111. p. 486 while US-president Theodore Roosevelt was the sixth great-grandson of "bishop" Herman op den Graeff.The Descendants of James Carrell and Sarah Dungan, His Wife. P 140/142 (1928)
In 1802History of the Upper Ohio Valley, with Family History and Biographical Sketches: History of Jefferson co., O., by J. H. S. And w. M. rainer. History of Logan, the Mingo chief, by R. H. Taneyhill. Resources of Jefferson co., by J. B. Doyle. Bench and bar of Jefferson co., by O. M. Sanford. Biographical sketches. Education and religion. by W. M. Trainer. The press. Medical history of Jefferson co. History of Belmont co., by C. L. Poorman, including Biographical sketches. Agricultural resources, by A. T. McKelvey, p 188 (1890) Nathan Updegraff, a great-great-grandson of Abraham, settled north in Mount Pleasant, Jefferson, Ohio.David B. Updegraff, Quaker Holiness Preacher, p 12, by J. Brent Bill (1983) This branch belonged to the 19th-century Quaker families of that stateUpdegraff family papers 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.
Original Thirteen The Original 13 were the families of Leonard Arets van Aaken, Abraham Isacks op den Graeff, Derick op den Graeff, Herman Isacks op den Graeff, Wilhelm Strepers, Tönes Coenen-Heggers, Reiner Theissen, Johann Simons, Johann Lenssen, Peter Kürlis, Johannes Bleickers, Johann Lucken, and Abraham Tunes Klinken.
The families, approximately 33 individuals from Krefeld who settled Germantown in Philadelphia in 1683 after facing exile in Europe, established the settlement as a center of religious freedom, cultural integration, and academic pursuit on 15,000 acres purchased by the Frankfurt Land Company. It would grow into a sophisticated urban village. It laid the foundation for further German immigration to the American colonies, promoted by Pastorius's 1700 publication Umständige Geographische Beschreibung der Pennsylvania. The promotion of tolerance led to Dutch and English settlers joining the community as well.
Wilhelm Rittenhausen was a notable immigrant to the community, establishing the colonies' first paper mill and serving as the colonies' first Mennonite bishop."The Founding of Germantown: A German-American Heritage Story", German School Campus. October 6, 2025. Retrieved 1 July 2026"EARLY HISTORY – The Founding of Germantown", Concordia Trust. Retrieved 1 July 2026. Herman Isacks op den Graeff was the original President of First Council in Germantown, in which he earlier published one of the first "Bill of Rights" in the colonies known as the Pamphlet of Protest 1680. The op den Graeff's original settlement in Germantown constituted 828 acres."The Op Den Graeffs", Nancy C. Sellers. Germantown Crier. 1974. Retrieved 1 July 2026 The families were intermarried, with Peter Kürlis's wife Eliabeth Dohrs descending from the op den Graeffs."Ancestors of Russell Smith", RootsWeb. Retrieved 1 July 2026 An example of cultural integration saw Kürlis's son Peter wed Mary Cloud, of English heritage."Our Family Ancestors", Thomas Maxwell Potts. 1895. p. 153. Retrieved 1 July 2026"Brief Life History of Pieter", FamilySearch.org. Retrieved 1 July 2026
Coat of arms
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."History of the Op Den Graef/Updegraff Family, p 22; by June Shaull Lutz, 1988 (Original at University of Wisconsin - Madison)
Notable family members
Main Op den Graeff / Updegraff line family members from Krefeld and Pennsylvania: Herman op den Graeff (1585–1642), Mennonite community leader of Krefeld, delegate and signer of the sign the Dordrecht Confession of Faith Isaac Herman op den Graeff (1616–1679), joined the Quakers Herman Isacks op den Graeff (1642–1708), one of the "Original 13", the first closed group of German immigrants to North America, original founder of Germantown, Pennsylvania Derick 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 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 Isaac op den Graeff (1678–1745), linen weaver at Germantown Derrick op den Graeff (1696–1738) Joseph Updegraff (1726–1801), commissioner of York County, Pennsylvania