Background
He was born in c. 1649 in Krefeld, Germany as son of Isaac Herman op den Graeff and grandson of Herman op den Graeff.
He was born in c. 1649 in Krefeld, Germany as son of Isaac Herman op den Graeff and grandson of Herman op den Graeff.
He was a subject of John Greenleaf Whittier"s poem "The Pennsylvania Pilgrim". Abraham op den Graeff and his family were one of the original 13 which settled Germantown, comprising 33 in total. There he helped established the linen industry, winning the first Governor"s prize from William Penn, a cousin of Abraham, in 1686 for the finest piece of linen woven in the Province.
In 1688, Abraham along with three others signed the first organized religious petition against slavery in the colonies, the 1688 Germantown Quaker Petition Against Slavery.
In 1689, he was one of the original charter grantees for the settlement, and that year was elected to the Provincial Assembly, representing the settlement until 1692. He would also serve as a burgess of Germantown.
The Pennsylvania Pilgrim Abraham was a subject of John Greenleaf Whittier"s abolitionist poem "The Pennsylvania Pilgrim", published in 1809.
Abraham op den Graeff was a famous member of the Op den Graeff family.