Person:Hans Graff (6)

Will Transcript

I Hans Graeff of Earltown in the County of Lancaster and Province of Pen[n]sylvania Yeoman Being in Good Health of Body and of Sound and well Disposing mind and Memory thanks be humbly offered to god for the same and all other his mercies and favours and being mindfull of the mortallity of my Body Do make and ordain this my Last will and Testament in the Manner and form following that is to say principally and first of all I Give and Recommend my Soul into the hands of Almighty God that gave it and for my Body I Recommend it to the Earth to be buried in a Christian like and Decent manner at the Discrection of my Executors Nothing Doubting but at the General Resurrection I shall Receive the same again by the Might power of God and as touching such worldly Estate wherewith it hath pleased God to bless me in this Life I give Device and Dispose of the same in the following mannerand form

(Item) it is my will and I do order that in the first place all my Just Debts and funeral Charges be paid and satisfied

(Item) I give and bequeath unto my beloved son Jacob Graeff the sum of Thirty pounds Lawfull money of the said Province which sum of Thirthy pounds I have already paid unto the said Jacob and it is my Will and I do order it shall be to him in full of all Claim or Demands which he hath or hereafter shall or may have Pretend or Claim against my Executors Administrators or Estate and I do absolutely Declare and Cut him off from all and Every other Claim and Claims to my Estate Real or Personal in this Province or Elsewhere

(Item) I give and bequeath unto my Dear and Loving wife Susanna and her Children Peter, Samuel, Marrens, Daniel, John, David, Hannah, Fronick and Mary all the Rest and Residue of my Goods and Chattles and I Do give Device and Bequeath unto my said Wife Susanna Graeff and her Children Peter Graeff, Samuel Graeff, M(a)rens Graeff, Daniel Graeff, John Graeff, David Graeff, Hannah Graeff, Fronick Graeff and Mary Graeff and to their Heirs and assigns for ever, all my mefsuages (?) Lands Tenements and Heritaments (?) whatsoever or wheresoever, and I Do Nominate and appoint my said Wife Susanna Executrix of this my Last will and Testament and I Request my affectionate Brother Martin Graeff of the said Township and my well beloved sons Marks Graeff and Daniel Graeff to advice and assist my said Execute in the Performance of this my Last Will and Testament and I do hereby Utterly Disallow and Revoke and Disanull all and Every other Former Testaments wills Legacies and Executors by me in any ways before this Time named willed and bequeathed Ratifying and Confirming this and no other to be my Last will and Testament in Witness where of I have hereunto set my hand and seal this Eigth Day of November in the year of our Lord god one thousand seven Hundred & thirty Eight.

[Signed] Hans Graeff

Signed Sealed Published Pronounced and Declared by the said Hans Graeff as his Last will and testament in the presence of us the subscribers Emanuel Carpenter Rudy Sterner John Morris

Lancaster County May the 7th 1746 Personally appeared Emanuel Carpenter & Rudy Sterner two of the Witnesses to the within Will & on their Solumn affirmmation Declared they were present & saw & heard Hans Graeff the Testator abovenamed Sign Seal publish & Declare the above Writing to be his last Will & Testament & that at the doing thereof he was of sound mind & understanding before me Tho Cookson.

Citation: Wikitree.com

1. ↑ #341 in Graf/Graff/Groff Family "B", in Davis, Richard W. Mennosearch.

   'Hans Graff, b. c1672. d. 1746, Earl Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He was a young man when he was baptized into the Lutheran Church in 1690 at Steinsfurt and was called the son of Marx Graf. The minister gave him the new name of George Michael at his baptism in 1690. He apparently did not use his new name and continued to use the name Hans. He later was associated with the Mennonites in Pennsylvania. He emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1703.'

2. ↑ ^2.0 2.1 Graf/Graff/Groff Family "E", in Davis, Richard W. Mennosearch.

   'Hans Graff, b. c1672. d. 1746, Earl Township. He wrote his will on 8 Nov 1738 and it was proved 7 May 1746. md 1) first wife in about 1698, name unknown. md 2) Susanna. ... He signed his name "Hans Graff" in German on the deed.'

3. ↑ ^3.0 3.1 Williams, Thomas John Chew. A history of Washington County, Maryland, from the earliest settlements to the present time: including a history of Hagerstown; to this is added a biographical record of representative families prepared from data obtained from original sources of information. (Baltimore [Maryland]: Regional Pub. Co., 1968).

   'Hans Graff was born in Switzerland in 1661, and fled to Alsace during the persecution of the Mennonites. In Alsace he bore the title of Baron von Weldon. A number of copies of his coat-of-arms are in possession of his descendants. He came to Pennsylvania in 1696, and after remaining for some years in the neighborhood of Philadelphia, he settled in the Pequea Valley, on what is now called Groff's Run. [...] Hans Groff lived to be a very old man, and was buried in the graveyard attached to Groff's meeting house. His grave was marked with a rough sandstone slab, on which the letters "H. G." are still decipherable. The name of his wife was Susanna. Hans and Susanna Graff had nine children: Peter; David; John; Daniel; Marcus; Samuel; Anna; Fannie, and Mary.

4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3} Hans Graf, in Find A Grave.

   Inscription:
   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.