Hans Graf was born in 1661 in Switzerland,[1] [2] and fled to Alsace during the persecution of the Mennonites.[3] [4] Some secondary sources[4] claim that Hans bore the title Baron von Weldon. He emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1696, first to Germantown.[5] [6] He may have emigrated with his brother Martin, who is mentioned in his will. [7] Hans purchased 84 acres from Jan Krey in "Germantownship" on March 27, 1704, which and his wife Susanna sold on May 16, 1715 (along with more land they had acquired) to Gerhard Rittinghuysen.[8] From there Hans went west, and appears to have patented land in what is now West Lampeter, before finally settling at what is now known as Groffdale around 1717.[8] Hans warranted 1419 acres in this area (previously warranted by one Martin Kendrick) on October 4, 1718 and it was patented November 18 1737.[9]
In addition to farming, Hans ran a trading route between Philadelphia and Harrisburg, picking up blankets from Philadelphia and trading them to Native Americans for hides and furs, a trading route conventiently bisected by his farm.[6][3] Hans and his wife Susanna (Orndorff or Kendig)[1] had six sons and three daughters. [7] Hans died prior to May 7, 1746 (the date on which his will was proved) [7] and is buried in the Groffdale Mennonite Brick Church Cemetery in Leola, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.[1][2]
Although many sources cite a birth date of 1661, it is unclear of a primary source exists, and the Groff Book (vol. 2) puts birth date ca. 1675.[10] Jane Evans Best says the following on her conclusion that Hans is the son of Marx Graf:
Since Hans Groff (E) and Martin Groff (L), his brother, each had a son named Marx, I believe they were the sons of this Marx Graf (GR34).[11]
Wife: Name unknown
Date: Date unknown
Issue: (note that Hans' will clearly differentiates between Jacob and his children by Susanna)[7]
Wife (2): Susan Orndorff or Susanna Kendig
[12]
Date: ca. 1700 [citation needed] [13]
Issue:[7][2][14][6]
It seems likely the brother mentioned in Hans Graf's will, Martin Graf, is the Martin Graff/Groff appearing in the warrant map of Earl Township.[15]
January 31 1714, one Hans Graff applied for a warrant for 300 acres in Chester county, near Strasburg. It was patented June 16, 1718.[16][17]
In 1715/1716, a warrant for a Hans Graeff was signed for 200 acres of land in what was then Chester County[18].
On April 16 1718, a warrant is signed for Hans Graef for 300 acres at Strasburg, in Chester County.
October 4 1718, a warrant is signed for Hans Graef for 1100 acres at Strasburg, in Chester County[19].
In January 1727, Hans Graeff requests to build a mill on Cocalico Creek[20].
In 1735, Hans Graff warrants and patents 200 acres in Lancaster.[21]
On November 18, 1737, Hans Graff receives patent for 1419 acres in Lancaster that had been originally warranted by Martin Kendrick et al.[22]
On the same November 18, 1737, Hans Graff applies for warrant for additional 188 acres which is patented April 16, 1739.[23]
Graf[1][2][6] is variously spelled Graeff[7], Graffe[14], Graff[4][3], Groff[12], and was later anglicized to Grove. Graf is German for "Earl", so although no descendants are known to have adopted the surname Earl, some places named after Hans Graf and relatives bear the name Earl.
Hans Graf is buried in the Groffdale Mennonite Brick Church Cemetery in Leola, Pennsylvania. The original tombstone of Hans Graf was missing for a long time, but is believed to have been found, bearing the inscription "H G". A second tombstone was made, reading: "HANS GRAF, The first Settler, Came from Switzerland A.D. 1696. Settlement was made at the head of Groff's Run. He purchased 1419 Acres of land from John Richard, S Thomas Penn, for 141L. 18 S. [equal to $686.80] along Groff's Run. He Built a log Cabin on the old Groff farm A.D. 1717. His purchase included the land on which the Groffdale Meeting House is built. Died A.D. 1746."[1]
There were a number of different individuals going by some variant of "Hans Graf" in Lancaster County around this time. This section will attempt to summarize information about them to help distinguish. Distinct estate inventories and wills proven in particular demonstrate that these are distinct individuals.
Estate inventory was dated March 1, 1726. Appears to have settled in what is now East Lampeter in 1717. Married Anna Lichti about 1721-22.[24]
Estate inventory dated January 14, 1730. Appears to have settled on the Pequea creek, then in Strasburg, Chester County, in 1710. Married a woman named Ann.[25]
Married Ursula Neukomm on Feb 13, 1694, this is often cited as the name of the missing first wife of this profile. But this Hans Graff (1662-1740) does not appear to have emigrated.[26]
Hans Graff (1698-1741), son of Hans Graff (1662-1740) also married a Neukomm: Veronica Neukomm, who is also sometimes listed as the first wife of the individual in this profile.[26]
Will proved February 1, 1749. Best notes that "one record" states a marriage to one Anna Bare.[27]
Died October 20, 1749, estate inventory is dated October 28, 1749. Married a Hannah.[28]
We find two wills under the name of Hans Graf (or close variants) in Lancaster Pennsylvania from about the right time. The first[7] appears to match our Hans Graf, and has as executors Emanuel Carpenter, Rudy Sterner and John Morris. The second will [29] is for one John Graff (Hans Graffe in the text), and the will itself is not recorded, being in German. However one of the executors is named Martin Bare, pointing to a possibility that it is this second Hans Graf who has the connection to an Anna Bare (or Bar/Barr). This second will is proved February 1, 1748, long before the suspected death dates of any descendents of our Hans Graf who are themselves named Hans/John.
Martin Kendrick/Kundig is found both in the warrant maps of Earl (including previous warrant of Hans Graf's land) and the warrant maps of Pequa, leading one to wonder if Hans Graf followed his (possible) in-law.
There are also numerous "Bear" surnames in the area, a possible match for Hans' theoretical wife Anna Bar(/Bare/Barr/Bear).
I think it's likely that two different men have been conflated by the recent merge of Groff-345 and Graff-389. The life dates (1683-1733 vs. 1661-1746) are not close, one of them seems to be from Switzerland and the other from Alsace or Germany, and the marriage dates of Groff-345 and Susan Orendorf appear to overlap with the marriage of Hans Graff and Anna Bär. I am not familiar with this family so I don't have sources in my back pocket to offer here, but I think this merge needs to be walked back. - Smith-62120 22:19, 20 January 2019 (UTC)
One of the first Groffs in America, especially in the Pennsylvania area, was Hans Conrad Groff. He settled in the region later to be Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania (the area famous for the 'Pennsylvania Dutch').
From Baretswil, Switzerland and a prominent family, Han Groff was the son of Max Graf of Switzerland.
However, Hans left his homeland with his brother, Michael or Martin (1675 - 1760) to escape religious persecution. The family were of the Mennonite faith / practice. They first traveled to Alsace, Germany for a short time then arrived in Pennsylvania about 1695, an area open to religious immigrants and welcomed by William Penn.
Hans carried with him the family bible printed in 1585. First he was in Germantown, PA. He sent for his family. His wives over the years were Susan Orendorf Kendig and Anna Bare.
Hans Groff purchased vast amounts of land by the early 1700s. The land originally purchased from the William Penn family by Martin Kendig then was sold to Hans Groff.
His log home alongside a large white oak tree was built on ‘Graf’s Run’ / 'Groff’s Dale' (named for Hans Groff) in Lancaster Co. which was very much a wilderness. It was a few miles west of New Holland, PA and eventually became known as Groffdale.
Working as a farmer, Hans then became a trader of goods. Hans (also referred to as 'John') traded many items with the local Indians(even learning their language), such as vegetables, milk and blankets in exchange for furs. Over the years he became quite wealthy.
Land for the Groffdale Mennonite Church was given by Hans Groff in 1717.
His sons who carried on the family lineage were: John (born in Switzerland), Peter, David, Daniel, Marcus and Samuel. Some sons and grandsons over the years changed the spelling to ‘Grove’.
Reportedly Hans Graff b. about 1661-1672 was son of a Marx GRAFF of Bäretswil, Zürich, Switzerland, and his wife Elsbath. Richard Davis suggests Hans GRAFF is the son of Hans Jägli GRAFF b. 15 Jun 1623 and Elisabeth PFENNINGER. Again, ages don’t quite match. Myrna Grove says Hans GRAFF the wagon builder and wagoner who went to Germantown in 1696 was son of Marx GRAFF of Steinsfurt, and a first cousin of Hans Jacob GRAFF. She says he went unmarried to America, with relatives paying for his voyage. He became an Indian trader. By 1704 he was doing well enough to purchase 84 acres from Jan KREY near Germantown, and married Susanna KENDIG of Germantown. However, Wrightsman says Hans GRAFF of Steinsfurt immigrated with his second wife in 1703, and his son Jacob may have been born in Steinsfurt (2 Apr 1699). The Hans GRAFF b. abt 1675 in Ittlingen, m. to Susanna KENDIG of Ittlingen, was grandfather of the Barbara GRAFF who married Christian ‘the Bridge Builder’ BINKLEY about 1769. He is the Hans GRAFF who is most famous in Lancaster Co, having been wealthy — Groffdale /Graffsthal west of New Holland PA is named after him. Note that two men named Hans GRAFF were taking land in Lancaster County around 1717, and it is hard to distinguish them. While the 1675 Hans GRAAF settled in Lancaster Co in 1717, with the second wave of Mennonites who arrived on the 3 ships on 24 Aug, the slightly younger Hans GRAF had already arrived, spent some years at Germantown, then in 1716 took out a warrant of 1,000 acres in Pequea near the 1710 immigrants. This earlier immigrant was reportedly the son of Max GRAAF of Baretswil, Switzerland. Some Web sites say Hans was born in Baretswil and emigrated first to Alsace about 1695 and then to America, where he settled near Germantown PA, just W of Philadelphia. However, Richard Davis reports him as born near Ittlingen in the Kraichgau, Germany, and immigrating to Pennsylvania about 1704 — he lived at Germantown from 1704 to 1715, moving that year to Lancaster Co. Descendants told a family story that Hans was living near the Pequea but discovered a spring (west of New Holland) while searching for lost horses, and moved there. (He must hav been at the time living on the [upper] Pequea [below Paradise PA] , not near the 1710 tracts.) He died in 1746 in Earl Tp. Brackbill says he is the Hans GRAFF shown on the warrantee map of W Lampeter Tp, having taken an oblong of 300 acres that ran E to W (slanted a bit to the NW) abutting the land of Isaac LEFFEVRE and Hance MAYLEY. This tract was warranted 31 Jan 1714, surveyed 23 Oct 1716, patented to Hans GRAFF on 16 June 1718 [A-5-316]. The tract was on lower Mill Creek, about where Big Spring Run (Mylin’s land was called Big Spring) runs N into Mill Creek. Lee Arthurs, who has tracked all the 1717 tracts near Felix LANDIS, says Hans GROFF had 300 acres lying just to the W of Peter YORTEE’s land on Mill Creek, which on the E side abutted Derrick JANSEN’s 500 acres, which abutted Felix LANDIS’s land on Mill Creek. Richard Davis says Hans GRAFF signed a warrant for land in Lancaster, but did not take it up. Hans GRAFF also took 1,030 acres that were the E half of a tract in modern P.O. zip code 17572, below Paradise PA [the Strasburg Railroad cuts through the bottom 1/3 of GRAFF’s land there]. Warrantee map of E Lampeter Tp shows it as a long narrow strip running NW–SE, abutting Paradise Twp [to the E], surveyed ‘in year 1710’ for Hance GRAFF 1000 As. & All[owances], ‘divided 24 Oct 1716’ from the neighboring tract surveyed at the same time for Harman RIGHMAN. http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/rg/di/r17-522WarranteeTwpMaps/r017Map2823LancasterEastLampeterWeb.pdf A Hans GRAFF had 1,150 acres surveyed [year not given] on ‘ye south east side of Conestogoe River’. This may be the 1,130 acres just mentioned, although they don’t lie on the Conestoga itself. A bit later, Hans GRAFF acquired tracts of land in W & E Earl Tps that were nearly as large as New Holland is today, but to the west of the city. His land reached from the Conestoga down to just west of New Holland, including the area of Groff’s Run (now Groff Creek) and the next big tributary to the south. The warrantee map for W Earl Tp shows Hans GRAEFF warranting 5000 acres & allowances on 4 Oct 1718 which were patent to John MOYER 2 May 1735. A tract of 1,419 acres & allowances that covered what became Groff’s Creek was warranted on 9th mth 22 day 1717 to ‘Martin KENDRICK et al.’ but then warranted 4 Oct 1718 to Hans GRFF, patented 18 Nov 1737 to Hans GRAFF [A-8-292]. The W Earl Tp warrant map shows that in 1742 Hans GRAFF’s sons Samuel, Mark, and Danial each got a farm touching his on the north. Richard Warren Davis in Jan 1994 Mennonite Family History (p. 9) confirms Hans GRAFF’s birth as about 1675 and says he came with his second wife to America, leaving his minor son Jacob in Germany. Jacob later appeared among the Palatines in London in 1709 and came on to America, where he shows on tax lists from 1717. (Hans’s first wife was supposedly Anna LICHTI. Hans first went to Germantown west of Philadelphia, where he bought property 1704 and lived to 1715. He signed a warrant for land in Lancaster in 1710 but did not take it up until 1715. He died 1746 in what is now Earl Tp. Information on his wife is also from this Davis article. I.D. RUPP’s history of the county included a “key footnote” recording the traditions of “Groff’s discovery of the fine spring at Groffdale, his big wagon used to haul Indian furs, and his achievement of learning the Indian language.” 1718 two Hans GROFFs and Jacob GROFF are listed as paying taxes in the Conestoga area, which included the whole area around Lancaster at that time. About 1724 Hans GROFF of Earl Tp became prominent in fur trading and transportation, and applied for acreage for a gristmill where the Cocalico Creek ran into the Conestoga. He is probably the 1724 tax list Hance GRAFT “Wagmr” [wagonmaker]. A Hans GRAFF of Lancaster Co. was naturalized under the law of 1728/39, another in Oct 1738 / May 1739. Source: "The Groff Book, Vol. 1: A Good Life in a New Land” by Clyde L. Groff, Walter B. Groff and Jane Evans Best (1985) - Lancaster Co. PA during its first hundred years. The Groff Book, Vol.II, 1997, by Jane Best. For a summary of Hans GRAFF settling in what became Groffdale and Weaverland in eastern Lancaster County, see John L. Ruth’s book The Earth Is the Lord’s, p. 201.
Facts referencing Mennosearch should be substantiated independently, as they were referencing a paid website that appears to be defunct. The date of 1698 for the marriage with his first wife is plausible, though it would put the location of the marriage in the New World. The 1690 baptism seems less likely, given the claim that Hans was baptised with a different name (George Michael) and in a location (Steinsfurt) not near where he is thought to have been from. The claim as to the name of his father is, of course, of great interest and should be independently verified.
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Hans is 23 degrees from Herbert Adair, 22 degrees from Richard Adams, 18 degrees from Mel Blanc, 24 degrees from Dick Bruna, 19 degrees from Bunny DeBarge, 31 degrees from Peter Dinklage, 18 degrees from Sam Edwards, 17 degrees from Ginnifer Goodwin, 20 degrees from Marty Krofft, 14 degrees from Junius Matthews, 12 degrees from Rachel Mellon and 12 degrees from Harold Warstler on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.
edited by Charlotte Graft
The sourcing for this is almost entirely secondary and sometimes contradictory, but I will do my best to point to these sources. I don't know if there is a separate Hans Graf (1683-1733) but most of the info here I have seen referenced in secondary sources for Hans Graf (1661-1746).
by Groves, George N Publication date 1941 PG 7 https://archive.org/details/genealogyofgrove00grov/page/n21
& larger bio on PG 27 https://archive.org/details/genealogyofgrove00grov/page/n61
The Acknowledgement section lists 10 different imports from which it is created.
The Source section has 29 sources, but only the first 10 are keyed to certain facts. The facts to which the others apply are not known.
I can see one set of parents, different birth dates and locations, 3 wives with different marriage dates and locations, different paths through Europe, different immigration years, lots of land records for a Hans Graf. But are we dealing with one man, or two, or more?
Who among you profile managers or trusted list members is willing to do the research required to assess and verify which facts and stories are for Hans Graf of Groffdale?
Also on profile Graff-888 is Deed C-322 from Lancaster County Deed Book A, which is the quit-claim deed ceding the property of Hans from the widow and other siblings to David Graff, the youngest son.
The will of Hans Graff can be found at Familysearch under PA Probate Records, Lancaster County Wills, Volume A, p 113-114.
These 3 primary source documents should be the foundation of this profile.
Will of Hans GRAEFF, written 8 Nov 1738, probated 7 May 1746, Earl Tp, Lancaster Co PA.
If anyone has this will, please post it here.
Please see image 1 at the profile of David Graff, (Graff-888).
It contains a statement made in 1876 by a Levi W. Groff, in which he provides details of his ancestry back to his immigrant Hans Graf, and says it is based on the Bible of Hans Graf and other papers in his possession in 1876. (Source: Mennonite Research Journal, Jul 1970, p 28).
In 1876, Levi Graff was in possession of a farm which was a part of the 1419 acres in West Earl which was patented to his gggrandfather Hans Graf, the same as shown in Image 3 above.
The Hans Graffs with wives named other than Susanna, and with property in Lampeter and Conestoga do not belong in this profile.