Baron Christoph de Graffenreid of Bern, Switzerland, was of
an ancient and illustrious family. In order to relieve the suffering
of a number of his countrymen, and also to improve his own fortune,
he brought over a colony of Swiss and Palatine Germans to Carolina
in 1709, founded the city of New Bern, and was created a Landgrave
by the Lord Proprietors.
His oldest son, Christopher, born in 1691, accompanied his
father to America and remained there, becoming the ancestor of
most of the de Graffenreids, now living in the United States.
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