January 18, 1608- My ninth great grandaunt, Hester Pletjes Op den Graeff, the daughter of Hermann Op den Graeff & Gretjen Driessen Pletjes, is born in
Krefeld, Herzogtum Kleve, Germany. She is one of 18 children, half of whom would die in infancy.
Hester's father, Hermann,
(my tenth great grandfather), was the first reported member of the
Op den Graeff family.
He was a
Mennonite bishop and
a wealthy linen weaver and merchant in Krefeld. He lived in a house with notorious stained glass windows full of hymns (partly to himself) and mystical religious symbolism, some of it Catholic. A window from his house, now in the Krefeld Museum,
says in German "To be God-fearing, devout and of good morals; zealous,
hospitable and truthful in speech--is Christian, and pleases the Lord; brings
favor, and sets many a one to great honor. Herman op Den Graff und greitgen lein
hoffrow. A 1630." (Translated from the German.)
Pictured is the Op den Graeff window of Krefeld, with the coat of arms showing the "Lohengrin Swan" of the Arms of Cleves.
The Op den Graeff family were said to be tall and spare in physique and have strongly marked features.
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