This is the NINTH page of John BLANKENBAKER's series of Short Notes on GERMANNA History, which were originally posted to the GERMANNA_COLONIES Discussion List. Each page contains 25 Notes.
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GERMANNA History Notes Page 9 |
Nr. 201:
In this, the first of the third "century" of these notes, I would like to
review what these notes are all about. Of course, they are about the
Germanna Colonists, but I interpret the meaning of that phrase in a broad
sense. In part, that is because the Germanna Colonists have a lot in common
with all of the Germans. Secondly, many of the people that we call Germanna
Colonists lived for a while, either before or after their Virginia Piedmont
sojourn, in other colonies. Some of these individuals are not well known. To
the extent that these notes interest others whose Germanna connections may be
weak, we may learn more about our Germanna colonists.
To cite an example, the family of Mark Finks, is not well known. I suspect
he may have come to Virginia from Pennsylvania, as several of our people did.
If someone should have information on this family, I would like to hear it.
I know that Mark and his family were a little different from the usual
Germanna family, but I am not sure why.
One of the disadvantages of this open-minded attitude is that people ask me
questions about things or people for whom I know nothing. So be it; if that
is the price, then I pay it by at least trying to respond to their question.
I started in this Germanna business because I have a bunch of ancestors in
it. Perhaps you have heard me say that a grandfather was pure Germanna (some
Austrian, some Swiss and a lot of different regions of Germany). But, as I
studied the families and the history, I found that the history was
especially interesting. Then I found that the history, as it is usually
told, is incorrect. Now, one of the hardest things to do is to correct a
mistake in genealogy or history. I am surprised that corrections to
genealogy known now for several years are not known by everyone. In part,
that is due to the "power" of the written word. For example, I still hear
people saying that Michael Willheit's wife was Mary Blankenbaker. And some
of the things said about the Fisher family amaze me. In the face of
excellent evidence, people will persist in saying the opposite of what the
evidence says. One of my delights in publishing Beyond Germanna has been the
correction of the early Rector family history (due to others, I may add).
I would wish that others would use this forum more for discussions and
questions. No one owns the content; it is an open list for all opinions
presented in good taste.
So, join in the fun; it is a rewarding experience !
Nr. 202:
Continuing around the year with farmer-surveyor David Schultze, we pick up
with April.
[There is no explanation for a long break until the next date.]
June 22: Finished sowing buckwheat - more than five acres. Finished making hay - twelve little fields.
Gaps in the dates may be due to surveyor jobs. David Schultze was also a
very respected individual in the community. There were major land disputes
on which his testimony and opinions were solicited. Some of the work above
may have been done by relatives and hired hands.
Nr. 203:
Around the year with David Schultze,
So it went through the year with David Schultze. In reading these dates,
eleven days should be added to the days to obtain the actual point in the
season. That is, the dates are before the adjustment of the calendar which
skipped eleven days. So by the sun, the first hog was butchered on December 28.
There will be no note tomorrow as it is my turn to guide visitors at the
Hans Herr House. The Hans Herr House now has a web page, http://www.netconexinc.com/hansherr/.
This has a good picture of the house and a location map to find it. See you there!
Nr. 204:
In 1830, John Wesley Garr, M.D., was at work on the Garr genealogy. He was
able to locate two original documents, letters of reference, which Andreas
Gar had brought from Bavaria in 1732. One was from his pastor and the other
was from the civil authorities. Of course, they were in German script which
by this time was probably unintelligible to Dr. Garr. But he was able to
find a translator and so he learned the origins of the family.
This genealogical work continued until his son, John Calhoun Garr, published
the Garr Genealogy in 1894. Actually the book was entitled, "Genealogy of
the Descendants of John Gar or More Particularly of His Son, Andreas Gaar,
Who Immigrated from Bavaria to America in 1732". With about 16,000
descendants identified, the work is the earliest major Germanna family volume.
The accuracy of the book is quite good, but not perfect. The book has been
reprinted several times and is still in demand. In fact, I have just
received an inquiry this past week from a person who is trying to locate a
copy for sale. If you know of copies for sale, perhaps you could advertize here.
The accuracy in the book is high enough that people have come to trust it
blindly. Today I want to put out a word of warning that the book does
contains errors. The ones to be discussed today are not major but they could
have an impact on structuring families. One family in particular is that of
Michael Blankenbaker who married the daughter of the immigrant, Elizabeth
Barbara Gaar/Garr. Her birth, from the church records, was 11 Feb 1730 so
that she was a wee girl when she came to America. The authors gave each of
their seven children, all daughters, a birth year which, it appears, they
estimated without tangible evidence. They did not realize that there was
tangible evidence for some of the daughters. All of these daughters appear
in Michael's estate distribution.
Jemima was estimated at 1745; Mary at 1747; Margaret was given a specific
date of 28 Nov 1749; Elizabeth 1753; Christina 1760; and Rosanna 1763. What
the authors did not realize was that three of the girls had confirmations at
the Lutheran Church. That the girls being confirmed were Michael's daughters
comes from the estate distribution plus the lack of these names in other
Garr families. Rosanna was confirmed in 1785 at age 18 so her birth year
would be 1766/7 and not 1763. Eleanor was confirmed at 16 in 1782 so she was
born 1765/6, not 1755, which is a ten-year difference. Jemima was confirmed
in 1777, age not specified, but say 17 which would yield a birth year of
about 1760, not 1745.
Putting it all together and omitting some of the details here, I would put
the birth years as:
Jemima's marriage(s) may need reexamination in light of these dates. With the
fifteen-year adjustment, her two marriages are suspect. (It has been reported that
she married first Michael Crigler and second, Absolum Utz.)
The moral of the story is that even the best of the researchers are suspect.
Nr. 205:
The last note discussed some errors in the Garr Genealogy, but as a whole the
book is much to be admired. Listing 16,000 descendants of Andreas
Gar/Gaar/Garr, and some other families, it must be remembered that much of
the book was researched in the days of handwritten letters. The postage
bill, even at the more economical rates of that day, was probably enormous.
One family that the Garrs scrambled was the Lewis Fisher family. The son,
who was the author of the book, writes, "This record is taken from an entry
my father made in his book when he was in Virginia about 1849. . . ." I
always had the feeling that the information came second hand to the father,
as opposed to being original work. Certainly no original records are known
which verify the information about the family as the Garrs give it. On the
contrary, several original records suggest that the Garr's information for
the Lewis Fisher family is in error.
Since the events recorded would have been less than one hundred years old in
1849, one wonders how the errors were generated. Generally, the memory of a
person who is not yet senile still extends to some recollection of family
events of less than one hundred years.
The errors include the wrong children in the family and the wrong name for
one daughter.
The daughter who is called Elizabeth and who married Nicholas Wilhoit
actually had the name of Mary Margaret (or vice versa, but most probably in
the order given). She was sometimes called Mary and sometimes Margaret at
the church (other similar examples are known). The church records are quite
clear, with more than one reference, to the wife of Nicholas Wilhoit being
Mary Margaret. No reference is ever made to the wife of Nicholas being
Elizabeth. From the dates, it is not the case that two wives were involved.
The Garrs said that the daughter Margaret married ___ Watts. From the will
of the proven son, Adam, of Lewis Fisher, it is clear that this Margaret was
the daughter of Adam. Adam also had a daughter, Ann, who married Frederick
Kalfus. The Garrs had given a daughter of Lewis as ___ who married a ___
Kalfus. Thus, two of the children which the Garrs assigned to Lewis, were
actually grandchildren of Lewis.
What I suspect happened is that the elder Garr took someone else's word
concerning the family of Lewis Fisher and did not check the facts. There is
a moral for us here. One should check and recheck the information which one
receives. Or quality before quantity.
Nr. 206:
The last note discussed the Garr Genealogy, a book now more than one hundred
years old, and the Lewis Fisher family in which the authors made a few
mistakes. This note continues the Lewis Fisher family discussion but the
comments to be made here nothing to do with the Garr Genealogy.
Some people say that Lewis Fisher was the son of Sebastian Fisher of
Tulpehocken, Pennsylvania. Sebastian Fisher did have a son, Lorenz, but the
name Lorenz is not to be equated with Ludwig. Lorenz goes into its almost
sound alike name, Lawrence. Ludwig goes into Lewis. Lorenz and Ludwig are
not to be acquainted. Say that they were equal would be similar to saying
that John and Joseph were the same name.
Thanks to Hank Z Jones, the German history of Sebastian Fisher was
discovered. There is nothing in the story there to suggest that Sebastian
should or could be connected with the Germanna Fisher family.
Lewis Fisher managed to attract the attention of his descendants when he
wrote his will. Of course, at the time of writing, he had only a few
descendants but later ones had the will quoted to them over and over. He
used the statement, "Also, my will is if my Germany estate should be
recovered it should be equally divided among all my children." Those twenty
words certainly caught the attention of his descendants down to the present.
About a hundred years ago, a committee of them attempted to track this
estate down. By then they had imagined it amounted to millions of dollars.
They actually sent a person to Germany and hired a representative there. Not
surprisingly, not a single shred of evidence was turned up.
What did Lewis mean by "my German estate"? I don't have any doubt but that it
was an inheritance of which he was entitled to a part. It could be as simple
as one-third of a cow. Typically emigrants left parents behind who may have
had some property holdings. The emigrant often lost his rights just because
he was not there. I have read a copy of a letter in which a sister in
Germany writes to a brother in America that they divided the parent's estate
without considering him because they were not even sure he was still living
at the time of the division. And if he were, there was a question as to
transfer the assets. And she went on to say that the estate didn't amount to
much anyway. So this is most likely the story with Lewis Fisher. He probably
had some rights to property but his claim was proving difficult to press.
Even if the amount were very small, he could use the word "estate". The word
itself does not imply any amount.
So I am not holding my breath waiting for my share of the inheritance to
come in. If some of you think there is something to the story, you can buy
my rights. Make your best offer to the address below.
[P.S. Speaking of errors (which I have been doing recently), in note 191,
Uriah Rector should be referred to as the eldest son since he was the heir
of John Rector. MY mistake.]
Nr. 207:
The last notes have discussed the confusion concerning the Lewis Fisher
family. There is more than has been given. But to recap some, the Garrs gave
the wrong set of children. The claim that Lewis was the son of Sebastian
Fisher of Tulpehocken, Pennsylvania is not born out by the facts. And the
estate worth millions of dollars did not pan out. Or as the gold miners
might say, "It showed only sand."
There is more potential confusion. First, in the 1739 tithe list for Orange
County, there are two Lewis Fishers, one living north of the Robinson River
and one living south of the Robinson River. Two different men wrote down his
name as a tithe. What is one to make of this situation?
One theory is that there was only one Lewis Fisher who had homes on both
sides of the river. Each roll taker thought he was responsible for the man
and entered his name on the tithe list. Presumably under this scenario,
Lewis Fisher was absent when one of the tithe takers came around and this
census reporter used information from neighbors. Had Lewis been present, he
surely would have made the point that he had been counted already. After
all, it did cost money to be counted or enrolled on the tithe list.
I know of no other evidence that there were two Lewis Fishers. Except ---
Mrs. Margaret James Squires, in researching her Christoph Zimmermann in
Germany, reports that at the baptism of one of the Zimmermann children the
sponsors were Ludwig and Anna Barbara Fischer. But since Christopher
Zimmerman came with the Second Colony, this would make the sponsoring couple
too old to be the Lewis and Anna Barbara Fisher that we have been talking
about. Now suppose that the parents in Germany, at Sulzfeld, to be more
exact, had a son Ludwig who came with them to Virginia. The son married Anna
Barbara Blankenbaker and they were the parents of the family that we have
been talking about.
Under this condition, there might be two Lewis Fisher families, each with a
wife named Anna Barbara. Except for the poll list where the duplicated names
stand out, it would be easy to merge the two families into one and to think
there was only one family. Especially if the elder family was not too active
in generating records.
I have put forth this suggestion before, but I must say it has not generated
a lot of enthusiasm. One reason is that people hate to see a family changed
or upset. The evidence in the Lewis family shows that people, even when
presented with good, solid evidence are reluctant to accept new information
if it upsets their previous conceptions; however, if I were a Fisher family
descendant trying to find its German origins, I would start around Sulzfeld.
Presumably Cerni and Zimmerman of the "Before Germanna" monographs did look
in the area. They did not mention anything; however, not all church records
have been filmed. Also, a name as common as Fischer might have discouraged them.
Nr. 208:
The recent mention of the Orange Co. (Virginia, that is) tithe list for 1739
set me to thinking about some of the names there. This in turn brought me
around to my theory of convergent evolution. Now I am talking about names,
not species. The theory is not novel and many people have observed the same
result.
When the English wrote a German name, or even when they pronounced it, they
were apt to use an English name which was fairly close to the German name.
Eventually, even the Germans adopted the English spelling and pronunciation.
Thus two names, one English and one German, which might have little in
common originally, converge to one name. Not surprisingly, in a community
dominated by the English, at least in the record keeping, it is the English
name toward which the gravitation takes place.
My favorite example is the name Barlow, a perfectly honest English name. Now
there was a Germanna family who became known as Barlow but who had German
origins. When spelled, the original difference may seem striking. For
example, the original German name was Parlur or something similar to this.
The German "P" often sounds like the English "B" so the substitution of the
"B" is common. In the course of time, the German name gravitated toward the
better known Barlow until even the Germans were called Barlows.
I believe there was a German Slater (though this was probably not the
original spelling) who became known as Slaughter. For example, D.R.
Carpenter's map of early Madison Co. patents shows a George Slaughter. I
believe this was another case of convergent evolution. There were several
English Slaughters then and now. But I think one or more Germans have
entered the Slaughter name pool.
The net result is that one cannot be sure what the national origin was
solely on the basis of the present day name. Yet I encounter, as you
probably have, people who insist that their family must be English because
the name is English. I feel a little sorry for them for a variety of reasons
but mostly because their research is apt to lead to blind alleys.
Spilman is another Germanna name which is also an English name. Serious
arguments have arisen because some people refuse to consider that there are
at least two options for the source of this name.
Some names, such as Garrett, have a counterpart in many languages. The
German "Gerhard" leads naturally to Garrett (one instance of this occurred
in the Germanna group). But other nationalities also have counterparts.
Possibly Garriott comes from the Flemish language. It was an effort to keep
this spelling alive and well. In some cases, the owners threw the towel in
and adopted Garrett. But most Garretts recognize that the possession of this
name does not imply any one nationality.
Nr. 209:
What is the most distant relative that you have met and known as a relative?
In my case, Mary F. Mickey, who lives just up the road from me a piece, is
an eighth cousin. Our common ancestor never left Germany. Each of us descend
from a different son of this common ancestor. You could be descendant of
Charlemagne (picking a person whose descendants are better known) along a
path which is different from someone else. Then you could be umpty-umpth
cousins, such as thirty-third cousins just to pick a figure that is not
unreasonable.
Mary Mickey, as a young child here in the colonies, learned to read and
write the old German script using a German textbook as a guide. This has put
her in a good position to research the German records. She has done more for
research on the Willheit family than anyone else. The Willheit family had
not moved since the earliest church records were kept in Schwaigern. This
allowed her to reconstruct the family in an amazing amount of detail.
The earliest Willheit she found was Georg Willert/Willheit who was a member
of the Lutheran Church of St. Anne and St. John the Baptizer in Schwaigern.
Using baptismal, marriage, and burial records she had reconstructed ten
generations from Georg.
In the fifth generation, two men were born who would come to America. One of
these was Johann Michael Willheit, who was an early Germanna settler along
with his wife, Anna Maria Hengsteler, and two children, Tobias and Johann
(John). His descendants are known primarily as Wilhoit or Willhite though
there are variations of these basic forms. (Since Johann Michael's baptismal
name was Willheit, I avoid showing any favoritism toward one spelling or
another by using "Willheit".) In Schwaigern, there was another son but his
fate is unknown. In Virginia, four more children were born, Eva, Adam,
Matthias, and Phillip.
Johann Michael had a first cousin Johann Friederich Willheit, who arrived in
Philadelphia in 1731, several years after Johann Michael, with his wife and
four children. He settled in York County, Pennsylvania. His descendants are
known primarily as Wilhide or Willhide, although some use Wilhite. Some of
these children moved to Maryland. Though the two cousins were not all that
far apart physically, there is no evidence that they ever met in America.
A nephew of Johann Michael Willheit, Johann Friederich Baumgartner, came in
1732 via Philadelphia. He settled in Virginia near his uncle Michael.
Friederich's younger brother, Gottfried Baumgartner, also came to America,
at a later time in 1749. Gottfried did not move to Virginia as his brother did.
Another cousin of Johann Michael, Anna Rosina Willheit, who was married to
Samuel Abendsch�n, came in the same ship as Gottfried. Since records are
scarce for married women, there is no actual proof that she did arrive. If
she did come, they settled in Berks County, Pennsylvania.
These records show that relatives did not always join together in the new
country. Sometimes brothers, close in age, lived in different states.
Nr. 210:
In the one hundred and eighty-third note (Page 8), we gave the family of Matthias
Blankenbaker and his wife Anna Maria Mercklin. Matthias had a brother,
Balthasar, who is the subject of today's note.
Married at an unknown date, but probably ca 1717, Margaret ____,
per the headrights of Spotswood (she is called Anne Margaret in
Balthasar's will);
Came to Virginia in 1717 with Anne Margaret and no children;
Though Balthasar's will was written in 1762, it was not probated until 1772.
Children named in will:
[German research by Margaret James Squires]
Married Adam Wayland as his first wife;
Died after 16 May 1775 and before 7 Apr 1776, when Adam was married to Mary Finks.
Children:
[By his second wife, Adam had Adam and Hannah]
Married Lewis Fisher, ca 1735;
Moved to Kentucky after the Rev. War where her sons were living. Died there.
Children:
The families of Anna Barbara and Elizabeth are high confidence families
based on the wills, church records, and court cases.
There has been a lot of SPECULATION about the maiden name of Balthasar's
wife but it probably was not Utz nor Volck (Folg). Still Balthasar acted as
a sponsor for twelve of the children of John and Maria Sabina (Volck/Folg)
Hoffman. Since Balthasar came to Virginia without any children, it is quite
possible that he married in transit.
Nr. 211:
The Germanna Henry H�ger family has always inspired my awe. For their
courageous decision to emigrate, they take the prize among the Germanna
families. Marc Wheat recently opened a discussion of the family and the note
here today is intended to further that discussion.
Marc referred to Henry H�ger as the first German Reformed pastor in the
Americas. Perhaps the son of Henry, Johann Friedrich H�ger, has a better
claim to this than his father. The answer to this question depends on
several questions. Johann Friedrich left Nassau-Siegen in 1709 as a part of
the large emigration of that year. Apparently he was licensed as a preacher
before he left. In London, several of the German refugees petitioned to the
Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts for one John
Frederick H�ger to be appointed as their minister. After he agreed to
ordination by the Bishop of London of the Anglican church, he was appointed.
[See Walter Allen Knittle, "Early Eighteenth Century Palatine Emigration",
1937, p. 142.]
Hank Z Jones refers to Johann Friedrich H�ger as the Reformed minister of
the New York Palatines. [See Jones, "The Palatine Families of New York,
1710", 1985, p. 322]. From the training of Johann Friedrich in the German
Reformed faith, from the desire of the Palatines to have him as a minister,
and from his appointment to the Palatines in New York, it would appear that
he probably conducted services in the German language according to the order
of worship used by the German Reformed Church. His church members though
were of a mixed faith, mostly Reformed and Lutheran with a sprinkling of
Catholic. For all practical purposes, Johann Friedrich would appear to
qualify as a German Reformed minister. As such he was early than his father.
I have read excerpts from the history of the German Reformed Church in
America where the claim that Henry H�ger was the first German Reformed
minister was not made. That distinction was bestowed on others.
Some of Johann Friedrich's letters to the Society for the Propagation of the
Gospel have been preserved [see "Ecclesiastical Records of the State of New
York", Hugh Hastings, editor, 1901-1916; also the "New York Colonial
Manuscripts", V. 55, p. 29b and p. 29c, and V. 58, p. 57a contain brief
notes by Johann Friedrich]. In the two years, 1710 to 1712, Johann Friedrich
baptized 61 children and married 101 couples.
The Rev. Johann Friedrich H�ger, High-German Pastor at Kingsberg, married
Anna Catharine Rohrbach 13 Nov 1716. He died in 1721. Whether he had
surviving children is not clear. Jones does not give any but other sources
have answered the question in the affirmative. For a few more sources of
information about, or by, Rev. H�ger, see Jones.
Two avenues of questions to be explored are:
2. Did Johann Friedrich H�ger leave children?
Nr. 212:
The November issue of Beyond Germanna went in the mail yesterday. This is
the closing number in the ninth volume, which now makes fifty-four issues (of
ten pages each) that have been published.
In this issue, Nancy Dodge has a short article in the lead position which
discusses aspects of the lawsuit brought by Alexander Spotswood against
George Moyer, early Germanna colonist. William and Christopher Beverley had
testified on behalf of Spotswood against George Moyer. Their testimony is
not given which had left open the question of why they testified. Nancy uses
the known history of the Second Colony to show that George Moyer had
probably had his transportation paid by Robert Beverley who had been a
partner with Spotswood in the enterprise which utilized the services of the
members of the Second Colony. Thus George Moyer's position as a 1717
colonist is strengthened (he had not appeared on Spotswood's headright list).
Isham Tatum was an early minister in the Culpeper/Madison area. Some members
of the Germanna community were married by him which lead to a question of
which faith did he represent. Joan Hackett dug into the records and found
some history on the man who was known as "The Silver Trumpet" for his
oratorical skills. His way with words was so winning that he persuaded five
women to marry him.
An earlier issue of Beyond Germanna carried Gottlieb Mittelberger's
description of his trip to America. As he continuation of this, he also left
a description of the fate that befell the immigrants when they arrived, which
is summarized in a note.
The earliest major Germanna family history was the Garr/Gaar genealogy, a
monumental work listing about 16,000 descendants of Andreas Gar. It had
always been a puzzle to me how so much of the German history of the family
was known. Descendants so often have difficulty in finding the places where
their ancestors came from that it amazed me that so much was known about the
German history of the Garr/Gaars. The answer to this question is told, at
least partially, by an article on the early documentation of the family.
Stephen Broyles has studied how tracts of land are described. From his
articles on the subject, an extract was made on Virginia Land History.
Four more of the Culpeper Classes are presented. In Class 88, there are
Wilhoits, a Bunger and a Broils. In Class 89, a Fishback and more Wilhoits.
In Class 90 a Crim. In Class 91, a Yager, Southers, Berrys and Fleshmans.
Note is also taken of the presence of Garriott Vandyke following Peter
Vandyke in another Class. Previously this had been reported as Garrett
Vandyke, a difference which is very significant.
The issue closes with the surname index for volume 9. More than 600 surnames
are listed. As the new subscription season starts, the publisher has
announced the price line will be held.
Nr. 213:
Tomorrow will be another day of guiding visitors through the Hans Herr
House. Hans Herr and the Germans with him were Anabaptists. Today the
Anabaptist umbrella consists primarily of the Mennonites, the Amish, and the
River Brethren. The name "Anabaptist" means one who rebaptizes.
At the time of the Protestant Reformation, several people felt that the
reforms of Luther did not go far enough and they wanted to see more radical
changes in the church. In Switzerland, the German Reformed Church became the
established church and as such it carried the reforms beyond what Luther had
envisioned. Still, there were people in Switzerland who felt that the German
Reformed Church did not go far enough.
Within a short period of time, these reformers came to emphasize three
principles. The first point was that baptism should be an adult decision.
Infant baptism was not the means to salvation. In accordance with this
belief, the early adherents underwent baptism as adults. Since they had
already been baptized as infants (in the Catholic church), they were labeled
as rebaptizers or as Anabaptists. Of course, when their children were born,
they were not baptized. Later these children, on the basis of their own
decision, were baptized. So the term, Anabaptist, applied only to the first
people, but still the name has stuck down through the ages.
A second point was a belief in pacifism. They were not willing to join the
army or participate in armed conflict.
The third point, which perhaps evolved more slowly, was a belief in the
separation of the church and state. The established church in Switzerland,
now German Reformed, operated, as the Catholic church had, very closely with
the state (or city or canton in Switzerland). The state wanted children
baptized at birth which enrolled the children as citizens of the state.
Thus, baptism served as a two-fold gate, admission to the church and
admission to the state.
The state did not take kindly to the idea of pacifism either. Therefore the
state, in conjunction with the church, decided to eliminate Anabaptist
thought by eliminating the Anabaptists. A period of severe oppression
followed in which hanging, drowning, burning at the stake were the
techniques. If you are a member of a church group under this kind of
treatment, you would be inclined to believe in the separation of the church
and state. Of course, there was the theoretical admonition from the Bible
for the separation of the church and state.
So, at the time, which would be the early 1500's, the Anabaptists were
considered very radical. But of the three ideas which tended to separate
them from their fellow Christians, two are widely accepted today, namely,
adult baptism and separation of church and state. Pacifism may not be widely
accepted but there is a more tolerant attitude toward it today.
Nr. 214:
In the thirteenth edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, an article on the
Anabaptists by Frederick Cornwallis Conybeare, Doctor of Theology and
one-time Fellow of University College, Oxford, states that the name
Anabaptist means re-baptizer and is taken from the Greek. Dr. Conybeare also
states that in the time of Martin Luther the term was used derisively by the
enemies of the Anabaptists because the Anabaptists denied the validity of
infant baptism. Consider also the German word for Anabaptist which is
Wiedert�ufer. This means one who baptizes anew or again.
Anabaptist thought spread rapidly from Switzerland down the Danube to Vienna
and down the Rhine River to Rotterdam. Though there was no central head of
the body, individual groups cooperated. In Friesland and Holland, a Catholic
priest, Menno Simons, left the Catholic Church in 1536 and became very
active in the Anabaptist movement. Besides preaching, he wrote much, signing
his own name to his tracts. Adherents to the Anabaptist beliefs became known
as Mennonists, which in English became Mennonites. One elder of the
Mennonites disagreed with the other leaders on the question of church
discipline. This was Jacob Ammann who finally broke away from the Mennonites
in the 1690's. His followers are called Amish. Clearly, the Mennonites and
Amish spring from the same common root which they fully shared for 170
years. These two groups are the major divisions of the Anabaptist thought
and practice but each has divided into smaller groups.
Though Anabaptists were in many countries of Europe, it is the Swiss
Anabaptists who sent, directly and indirectly, the most people to America.
The first years were very hard for the Anabaptists in Europe with thousands
of martyrs created by the combination of the established Catholic, Lutheran,
or Reformed Church, in conjunction with the civil authorities; however, the
Anabaptists remained a movement to be considered in Switzerland, southern
Germany, and among the Dutch. Something of an accommodation was reached
between the Dutch civil authorities and the Anabaptists but the persecution
in Switzerland continued for at least two centuries. Had there been no
persecution in 1709, there would not have been a Germanna. How this came
about is one of those strange twists of fate.
In the year 1709, the city fathers of Bern decided to rid themselves of a
number of Anabaptists and hired one Christoph von Graffenried to forcibly
take a number of the Bernese Anabaptists and find homes for them elsewhere.
Graffenried saw America as the logical outlet for these people and so he
visited London that summer seeking a home for them. While there he happened
to met Francis Michel, just back from America. Michel's tale of precious
metals in the back country of Virginia spurred Graffenried to start a new
endeavor in which miners from the Nassau-Siegen area would be useful.
Backing up to the time of the Thirty Years' War, 1618 to 1648, much of
Germany lay in desolation, especially the areas along the Rhine and in south
Germany. The rulers saw their tax receipts fall sharply due to the
population decrease. They invited people from other regions to move in and
occupy some of the vacant farm land and homes. Some of the Anabaptists moved
at this time to Germany while others were expelled by the Swiss. Life was
easier in Germany but restrictions still hurt the group. They had to pay
special taxes, serve in the army (very much against their principles), and
restrict the size of their meetings. Nor could they have a meeting place.
William Penn offered two things which these agrarian people wanted, cheap
land and free exercise of religion. Thus, was the great migration to
Pennsylvania started. Hans Herr and the other members of his party were in
the forefront of this rural group when they left in 1709. They came from
Germany, very much in the heart of the area from which the Second Germanna
Colony came. Here was another coincidence between the Anabaptists and our
Germanna colonists.
Nr. 215:
In note 204, I mentioned the Garr Genealogy, probably the earliest major
Germanna genealogy to be published. In the letters and statements written at
the time of the Garr family's emigration, the pastor of Andreas Gar
mentioned that three hundred people were leaving. The evidence generally
shows that such groups tended to travel together. It would be usual for them,
or a large part of them, to have used the same ship. Since we know the ship
that the Garrs used, it would seem that we should read the passenger list
with an eye to discovering whether other passengers turn up in the Germanna
community as Andreas Gar did.
So this past weekend I scanned the passenger list for the ship Loyal Judith
which arrived at Philadelphia on 25 Sep 1732. Several names certainly caused
me to pause, but the most striking names on the list were Hans Georg Riser
and Georg Adam Riser. This sent me to Beyond Germanna, vol. 3, no. 4, where
Gene Dear has an article on the George Razor Family.
Gene identifies the originator of the family as George Adam Ra�ser who came
to America from Germany on the ship Mary and Sarah, arriving in Philadelphia
on 26 Oct 1754. Consulting Rupp's "Thirty Thousand Names of Immigrants", one
can confirm there was indeed a Georg Adam K�iser. That this is a misreading
of Ra�ser is likely when one considers the similarities in the German script
between the letters K and R. The K is written with a "knapsack" on its back
which looks like the loop of the R. Incidentally, this same ship which
brought Georg Adam K�iser also brought Georg Lud. Nonnenmacher, another
Germanna name.
Georg Ra�ser did not move immediately to the Germanna region but lived for a
while in Sussex Co., New Jersey. Twenty years after his arrival in America,
he bought land in the Germanna community.
I would consider it extremely likely that the Hans Georg Riser and Georg
Adam Riser who came on the same ship with the Gaars to be related to the
later Georg Adam K�iser/R�iser of the later ship. If I were wanting to
research the origins of the Razor/Racer family, I think I would start with
the communities in the area where the Gaars originated. We know hundreds of
people left with the Gaars and shipmates had often been neighbors. This also
furnishes a motivation for the George Adam Ra�ser who bought land in
Culpeper Co., VA, to have moved to Virginia from New Jersey. He probably had
friends or relatives there. Also, if I were searching the German records, I
would keep a second eye open for Nonnenmachers.
Both the Gaar and Garr spellings appear in America. If I have not used one
or the other consistently, it is because I don't want anyone to think that I
am showing favoritism. The Gaars/Garrs emphasized in their book that there
was no correct spelling of a name. Any way that you choose to spell your
name is right.
Nr. 216:
The Germanna Thomas family has more than its share of mysteries; however,
thanks to the research of Mrs. Margaret James Squires, published in Beyond
Germanna, vol. 1, no. 3, we do know something about the early Thomas history. Anna
Maria Blanckenb�hler was the sister of Matthias, Balthasar, and John Nicholas
Blankenbaker, who came in 1717. She was also the daughter of Mrs. Cyriacus
Fleshman and the half-sister of the Fleshman children and of Henry
Schlucter. All of these individuals are known 1717 immigrants but there is
no proof that Anna Maria came with her family in that year, though it would
seem probable.
Before the Second Colony members had taken up their land patents, John
Thomas, Sr., had died and Anna Maria Thomas remarried, this time to Michael Kaifer. They had five children. Michael Kaifer's will helps to clarify all of Anna Maria's children including the daughter's husbands. One of the 1726 land patents was to John and Michael Thomas (both of whom were minors). The name has been given erroneously as Tomer.
The children of John and Mary were (no significance to the order):
Nr. 217:
As another comment on the Thomas family of the last note, there was a Thomas
family of English origins living in the Robinson River community near the
German Thomas families. And there were some mixed-nationality marriages by
both the German and English Thomases just to confuse the issues. Also,
Thomas research has not been helped by the attitude of the researchers of
the English Thomas family.
Some comments about the English Thomas family were published in Green's
book, "Culpeper County Virginia". Written by Mary Dunnica Micou, the opening
statement she makes is, "Without doubt the Thomas family of Orange County,
and also that of Culpeper County, is descended from the earliest emigrant of
that name, who came to Essex County, . . . ." The tone of the remark biases
the discussion right away by saying, "in spite of my ignorance, I am sure
about what I am saying." In fact, the first Thomas family in the area which
became Culpeper County was German, as a strong argument can be made that the
first group of inhabitants of future Culpeper County was the Second Germanna
Colony.
Without a doubt, people who are SURE of what they say, are often wrong.
Seriously, German Thomas research has been a problem. Prof. Holtzclaw
agonized over whether he had some individuals in the right family. Perhaps
his interest was heightened by the fact that two of his Holtzclaws married
Thomas girls.
I have made one of two very minor contributions but quantum leaps in the
evidence are needed.
On a different subject, Kim Umstadter at finaltch@cstone.net asks questions about her Garrs which I can't answer. With her permission, here is the gist of her query:
Nr. 218:
Recent questions here have touched on why our Germanna forebears turned from
their original faiths to alternatives. Quite aside from any questions of
practice and theology, which I am not addressing, a major reason was the lack
of pastors in the Lutheran and Reformed faiths.
The First Colony tried to find a replacement for Rev. H�ger who was growing
old. As Marc Wheat recently pointed out, there weren't too many Reformed
ministers in America. Therefore the search for a replacement for Rev. H�ger
turned to Germany where they advertized. And they were unsuccessful. When
Rev. H�ger died, the community went without a German pastor.
The Second Colony needed a minister and they sent two people to Germany
about 1725 to find a Lutheran pastor. They were unsuccessful. They converted
a school teacher, John Caspar St�ver, into a minister to solve their
problem. On the fund raising trip to Europe in the mid to late 1730's, they
were lucky to have hired an assistant to St�ver.
When Rev. Franck resigned from the Hebron Lutheran Church in 1778, the
church appears to have been without a regular minister for about nine years.
This was not their choice. And, when they did get a minister, it was a local
man, William Carpenter. Actually this was probably a wise decision as he
stayed for many years in the community.
The common problem was a lack of ministers. There was no source at first
except in Germany. It was many years before a regular supply of pastors was
developed in America.
On the other hand, the Baptists were almost entirely home-brew. It was
easier for a man to undertake the calling of a Baptist minister than it was
to become a Lutheran or Reformed pastor. This meant there were more Baptist
churches available to attend. If your regular Lutheran or Reformed Church is
without a minister, you might be inclined to attend a Baptist Church.
******
"John Wayland was born the 25th of March
In the rear is this inscription,
The book is in the Rare Book Collection of Randolph-Macon College and was
intended for use in Lutheran worship services. The Waylands were early
Germanna pioneers.
Nr. 219:
Barbara Vines Little did an analysis of John Rectors in the Germanna
community and found that two separate John Rectors had been merged into one
individual. First, a John Rector arrived in 1734 at Philadelphia on the ship
Hope. Though B.C. Holtzclaw thought this John Rector was a nephew of the
1714 immigrant, John Jacob Rector, James McJohn has refuted this argument in
Beyond Germanna (vol. 4, n. 2). That he was indeed from Nassau-Siegen seems
certain judging by the large number of other immigrants from Nassau-Siegen
on the same ship.
The 1734 John Rector married, shortly after arrival, an unidentified woman who
is thought to have been the daughter of John and Mary Spilman of the 1714
group. The records supply ample evidence that there were two sons, John, Jr.,
and Nathaniel. There are no hints that there were any other children. The
1734 John Rector died in 1742 so his span of life in Virginia was very
limited. The widow married Timothy Reading.
Nathaniel, the younger of the two sons, married Anne ?, and died by 20 February
1805, when his sales account was recorded in Fauquier County, VA.
A grant of 115 acres of land was made to John Rictor and Nathan Rictor.
This was paid by Tim Reading, father-in-law [sic] to the applicants. On 22
Sep 1766, John Rector and Rebecka his wife, sold this 115 acres for nine
pounds and five shillings to Nathaniel Rector. John Rector of Culpeper Co.
had purchased, in 1761, eighty acres lying on the north side of
Bloodsworth's Road from Joseph James. This land was sold to Nathaniel Brown
in 1771 by John, with Rebecca's release. In 1774, William Lodspik [Lotspeich]
and his wife Magdaline sold 62 acres in Brumfield Parish in the Great Fork
of the Rappahannock Rivers on a head branch of Crooked Run. In 1776 this
land was sold and this is the last record of John and Rebecca in Culpeper
County records.
On 4 March 1831, Benjamin Rector of Iredell Co., North Carolina, filed an
application for a Revolutionary War pension. He said that he was born in
Culpeper Co. in 1761. In 1779 he entered the war as a substitute for his
father John Rector in Surry Co. Thus it appears that John, Jr. (son of the
1734 immigrant) moved from Culpeper Co. to Surry Co. between 1776 and 1779.
Benjamin is the only child that has been identified. He died 11 Feb 1849 in
Alexander Co., NC.
Holtzclaw stated that John, Jr. had a second wife, Mary, and that he left a
will of 1815 recorded in Fauquier Co., VA, where he had nine children.
Clearly, Holtzclaw is speaking about another John Rector whom he has
confused with John, son of the 1734 immigrant. This second John Rector has
been identified by John P. Alcock. He is the son of Harman Rector, Sr., and
is a grandson of the 1714 immigrant, John Rector.
Both of the articles, by Little and by Alcock, are in vol. 8, n. 2 issue of
Beyond Germanna.
Nr. 220:
George Razor was introduced here a few notes ago. He arrived on the ship
Mary and Sarah in Philadelphia on October 26, 1754, from Amsterdam via
Portsmouth, England. No family was apparently with him and, in fact, he
married Margaretha Butlinger 6 May 1755 at St. Michael's Lutheran Church in
Philadelphia. Witnesses to the marriage were David Dewnlow, Johan Geo.
Huber, Martin Schaht, Margareth Barb. Burchard(in), Margretha Kehrer(in) and
Anna Maria Reig(in). He settled in Newton township, Sussex Co., New Jersey.
On 14 May 1774, George bought 100 acres in the Robinson River area of
Culpeper Co. (now Madison Co.) from Frederick and Sarah Baumgardner. The
Razor/R�ser family is found in the Hebron Church Register from 1776 to 1788.
About 1794, George Razor, Sr., his sons, Peter and Christian, son-in-law
George Swindle, several members of the Swindle family and, possibly at the
same time, Aaron Clore moved to the Abbeville district of South Carolina.
Family legend states that George, Sr. died during the move and was buried
along the way. In South Carolina, the family consistently became Rasor
whereas the family name in Virginia became Racer.
Counting George Razor, Sr. as individual number 1, then his children are 2.
through 7.
(to be continued)
Nr. 221:
Continuing with the Razor family,
Nr. 222:
(Continuing with the Razor family,)
Nr. 223:
(Continuing with the Razor family,)
Issue of George and his first wife, Franky:
Since the time that Gene wrote the article (1991), some information on the
Swindle family has come to my attention. This is courtesy of the
Sutherlands, Thora and William, who wrote about the Timothy Swindle Family
in Beyond Germanna, vol. 7, no. 4. There were two George Swindles in the
Robinson River community, one being a nephew of the other. On 30 Jan 1786,
George Swindle married Catherine Rasor and, on 21 Jan 1790, George Swindle
married Hannah Cornelius. It is believed that the marriage to Catherine was
by the nephew, the son of Michael Swindle. Thus the family of Catherine (#6)
here should be examined carefully.
The geographical distribution of the family in the first few generations is
interesting and typical of many early families. The founder, George Razor,
was born in Germany, came to America via Philadelphia where he married,
settled first in New Jersey, moved to Virginia, and finally was in the
process of moving to South Carolina when he died. It is impossible to know
all of his motivations for the moves. I speculated earlier that the Raiser
family may have known or been connected to the Gaar/Garr family.
The children of George moved about in several directions. Jacob seems to
have stayed in Virginia. Peter moved to Indiana and his children were to be
found in South Carolina, Indiana, and Missouri. Christian moved to South
Carolina and one of his sons died in Florida. Susanna took the initiative
and moved to Boone Co., Kentucky at an early date. Until Catherine's husband
is clarified, it is not clear where she lived. George and his children seem
to have remained in Virginia.
Based on the similar names among immigrants, there may be related branches
of the family to the Germanna branch.
Nr. 224:
Plotting land patents and grants is a frustrating work but lots of fun.
Doing so today has led to a series of thoughts to share with you.
There is nothing permanent about the names of geographical features. At one
time there was a river called the Rappahannock which flows down toward the
ocean from the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Going upstream, a
little way above the modern town of Fredericksburg, the river divides into
two parts. These used to be called the North Fork and the South Fork of the
Rappahannock. When Alexander Spotswood came to Virginia, he renamed the
South Fork the Rapidan (or Rapidanna, Rapid Anne). Then the North Fork no
longer needed to be called "North" and so it became simply the Rappahannock.
Later it was decided the Rapidan was the main fork of the Rappahannock River.
Now the land between the Rappahannock and the Rapidan Rivers is called the
Great Fork of the Rappahannock or simply the Great Fork. This was a fairly
sizeable area taking in the modern counties of Culpeper, Madison, and
Rappahannock. So the history of many of our Germanna people occurs in the
Great Fork which extends to the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Fort Germanna itself, the original home of the Germanna people, is outside
the Great Fork but just across the Rapidan River. Germantown in Fauquier
County is also outside the Great Fork but not far from the lands of the
Great Fork.
Returning to the Rappahannock River, i.e., the northern fork of the original
Rappahannock River, it has undergone a few name changes. The river, that is
the northern fork of the original river, forks itself. These two branches
have a variety of names. One is called the South River, the Elk River,
Eastham River, and Hazel River. The other fork is called the North River, the
Hedgman River, or just simply the Rappahannock River. The tendency to use one
or another of these names depends on where you are along the river.
The land between the North River and the South River is called Little Fork.
The Little Fork is a part of the Great Fork. A patent description may say
the Little Fork in the Great Fork. Unfortunately, though the term Great Fork
seems never to be misapplied, the term Little Fork is also applied to splits
in other water ways.
Many of the smaller waterways duplicate names. Some names are extremely
popular such as Beaverdam Run, Muddy Run, Crooked Run. In the Great Fork, I
can cite two Beaverdam Runs in the Great Fork though there are probably
more. One flows into White Oak Run, known originally as Island Run, and the
other Beaverdam Run is in the Little Fork flowing into the North River.
My interest in the Little Fork lies in its being the home of several of our
Germanna citizens. Some of the people who owned land, either by patent,
grant, or purchase, were Jacob Holtzclaw, Frederick Fishback, Tilman Weaver,
Harmon Miller, Henry Hoffman, John Young, Harman Back, Jacob Fishback, James
Spilman, George Wayman, John Crim, Joseph Coons, and Henry Otterback.
Nr. 225:
The second major family genealogy to be published that pertains to the
Germanna people was "Genealogy of the Kemper Family in the United States" by
Willis Miller Kemper and Henry Linn Wright. It was published in 1899. Willis
Kemper went on to publish another Germanna genealogy, one for the Fishback
family. In the Kemper genealogy, Mr. Kemper found several source documents
to aid him which advanced the state of the Germanna history. Still, he made
some mistakes.
I can only smile when he (Willis Kemper) insists that the proper spelling of
the Kemper name is K E M P E R. (This was in marked contrast to the opinion
of the Gaar/Garrs who stated that there was no correct spelling of a name.)
I would think a large fraction of the Campers would not agree with Willis
Kemper. [Out of curiosity, how universal is the spelling Kemper and what
other variations are there?]
Two Kemper brothers came to America. John was in Virginia among the Germanna
people. His brother, (John) Henry Kemper came to Pennsylvania in 1738� the
year of the Avenging Angels, a reference to the terrible problems
encountered by emigrants that year. A sister of these two brothers also
came, some time after 1742, with her husband, Johannes Brumbach, and her
family. They settled in the Shenandoah Valley.
Willis Kemper, as with writers on Germanna history, assumes that the
importation of the miners from the iron-mining region of Nassau-Siegen was
because of an iron industry in Virginia. Kemper also assumes they were
recruited at the request of Spotswood with Christopher de Graffenried as the
agent for Spotswood. He was wrong on these points. Graffenried, supported by
the letters of Spotswood, makes it clear that he initiated the recruitment
of the Nassau-Siegen people to mine silver for the enterprise of George
Ritter and Co. in which Graffenried was an associate.
Willis Kemper did read the autobiography of Graffenried and did read the
letters of Spotswood. The mystery is, with all of this material at hand, how
he could have erred. But perhaps, more than anything, it demonstrates that,
when a person has some ideas in his head, nothing can get him to see
alternative views.
Kemper went on to identify the site of Germanna as we think it is located
today. He goes on to say this is where Spotswood had an iron mine and the
first iron furnace in America was built and the first pig iron was made.
Later writers and researchers decided there was no iron mine or iron furnace
at Germanna. The led one individual, Broadus Martin, to insist that Fort
Germanna was down the Rappahannock/Rapidan River some thirteen miles. And so
errors were piled on top of one another.
(This page contains the NINTH set of Notes, Nr. 201 through Nr. 225.)
John and George would like very much to hear from readers of these Germanna History pages. We welcome your criticisms, compliments, corrections, or other comments. When you click on "click here" below, both of us will receive your message. We would like to hear what you have to say about the content of the Notes, and about spelling, punctuation, format, etc. Just click here to send us your message. Thank You!
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April 4: One and a half acres of oats sowed and by this time the pond cleaned.
April 7: Hauled some manure. Cleaned trees (?).
April 10: Sowed another half acre of flaxseed and two acres with oats.
April 14: Sowed one and three-quarters acres with oats.
April 18: Sold two cows. Seeded nine and one half acres with oats for ourselves.
April 19: Melchoir drove to Philadelphia. Returned on the 20th. Price of wheat was 4 (shillings) and 1 (pence)-30 bushels.
April 20: Two and three-quarters acres of oats sowed.
April 25: Fed the last turnips to the cows.
April 26: Sowed oats for the last time this year.
April 27, 28: Made fence and plowed.
May 1, 2: Plowed up about one and a half acres of old meadow.
May 2: Received a bee swarm already! Sheared sheep - 4 pounds of wood from four white sheep.
May 3, 4: Plowed the new land for buckwheat.
May 5: Fed the last oats straw.
May 7, 8, 9: Plowed for buckwheat.
May 9: Made rails and carried wood.
May 10: Began to plow in the field to the South.
May 18: Finished plowing.
June 25: Cut 580 sheaves of grain.
June 30: Almost finished harvesting - 1240 sheaves. 1100 sheaves of grain in the barn [unthreshed] and 140 bundles of hay.
July 4, 5: Cut grain and bound 1680 sheaves.
July 10: Finished picking flax.
[We called it pulling flax when I was a boy].
July 11: Began to mow oats.
July 12: Sold two sheep.
July 13: Bound 65 sheaves.
July 14: Bound 65 sheaves.
July 17, 18. Bound 113 sheaves. Till now, 370 sheaves.
July 21: Began the second plowing.
July 27: Hauled manure.
August 9: Finished the second plowing and shifted the fences.
August 15, 16, 17: Threshed wheat.
August 21: Began to sow a little.
August 27 to 31: Continued seeding.
September 9: The brown cow had a calf.
September 11: Began to mow.
September 12: Finished sowing rye and wheat.
September 12, 13, 14: Joseph mowed.
September 26: Began to mow buckwheat.
September 29: Continued to mow buckwheat.
September 30: Rode to Philadelphia to the election.
October 1: Election day.
October 2: Returned from Philadelphia.
October 3: Hauled the second crop of hay home.
October 4: Cut buckwheat.
October 5 to 9: Threshed some buckwheat.
October 19, 20: Finished making the second crop of hay. The cider from my apples was made this month.
October 26: Began to dig out the turnips:
October 30: Brought in the cabbage.
November 12: Cleaned the stables.
November 16, 17. Made a new bakeoven.
November 26. Had a flax breaker: Joseph.
December 9: Much rain and high water.
December 12, 13: Threshed rye.
December 14: Cleaned rye - fifteen bushels.
December 15: Cleaned stables.
December 17: Butchered the first hog - brought 95 pounds.
December 20: Threshed wheat.
December 21: Butchered at Abraham J�ckels.
December 23: Cleaned wheat - nine and a half bushels.
December 24: Sold the wheat.
Margaret 1749,
Elizabeth 1752,
Mary 1754,
Jemima 1760,
Christina 1763,
Eleanor 1765,
Rosanna 1767.
1. Hans Balthasar (Paul) Blanckenb�hler:
Born 29 Apr 1683 in Neuenb�rg, Baden (then a part of the
territory of the Bishops of Speyer);
2. Elizabeth now married to Adam Wayland;
2. Elizabeth Blankenbaker:
3. Anna Barbara now married to Lewis Fisher.
Born in Virginia as she is not on Spotswood's list;
3. Anna Barbara Blankenbaker (named after her grandmother):
4. Elizabeth, b. ca 1746/50, m. Morton Christopher;
5. John, b. ca 1750/52, m. Rosina Willheit;
6. Mary, b. ca 1753/55, m., <1775, Godfrey Yager;
7. Joshua, b. 1759, m. Rachel Utz;
8. Lewis, b. ca 1762, m. Elizabeth Link;
9. Anne, b. 1768/9, m. Nicholas Yager, she d. before 1790;
Born in Virginia as she is not on Spotswood's list;
10. Stephen, b. ca 1736, m. Mary Magdalena Garr;
11. Adam, b. ca 1740, m. Elizabeth Garr;
12. Barnett, b. ca 1752, m. Eve Wilhoit;
13. Eve, m. Mark Finks, Jr.;
14. Mary Margaret, b. ca 1743, m. Nicholas Wilhoit.
1. Who do the historians of the German Reformed Church say was their first
minister in America?
(to be continued)
The son who was christened as Hans Wendel became known as John Thomas (Jr.)
in Virginia. Two more children were born to John, Sr. and Anna Maria in
Virginia. These were Michael and Margaret.
(I sympathize with anyone researching the Thomas family. One soon learns
what a blessing it is to have a name as distinctive as, say, Blankenbaker.)
Her husband's grandfather was Bernard Ashby Garr who was born
in Richmond, Indiana, on 31 Mar 1889. He died in Madison Co., Virginia about
1952 (in a reversal of the usual pattern). He had moved to the
Madison/Culpeper area about 1930. The reasons are not clear, but they are thought
to be occupational. He had two brothers, Wayne, who died in a railroad
accident, and Caspar who lived in Culpeper before he died in the 1970's.
Bernard married Virgie Louvine Taylor of Fletcher, Green Co., VA, sometime
in the 1930's. Three children are known: Ruth, b. 7 Feb; Wayne Lewis, b. 29
Jun 1937; and Frances Mae, Kim's husband's mother, b. 28 May 1940. The three
children are still living, but know little about their father and mother. If
anyone can help Kim, please respond to her at her email address (by clicking
on it above).
Nancy Dodge sent a copy of an old Wayland record which is to be found in a book
entitled, "Volls�ndiges Margurger Gesang-Buch" which had been printed at
Germantown, PA in 1770. In the front, is this inscription,
"John Wayland His Book
God give him grace therein to Look
Not to Look But Understand
that Learning is Better than House and Land
for when House and Land is gone and Spent
then Learning is Most Ex[c]ellent.
in the year of our Lord one Thousand
Seven Hundred & Fifty Four."
Dieses Gesang-Buch geh�ret Mir
Johannes Wayland
Den 7 Aug Yhr. 1792"
[This information on the Rasor family comes from Gene Dear.]
The issue of Jacob, no. 2, and his second wife, Elizabeth:
(to be continued)
The information that I have presented on the Rasor family was compiled by
Gene Dear and published in the vol. 3, no. 4 issue of Beyond Germanna. Gene
acknowledges that a major source of information was the pension applications
of Peter and Christian Razor. Information from Pauline Bunner and from the
notes of B.C. Holtzclaw was also useful.
Issue of George (#7) and his second wife, Mary:
This material has been compiled and placed on this web site by George W. Durman, with the
permission of John BLANKENBAKER. It is intended for personal use by genealogists and
researchers, and is not to be disseminated further.
Pg.101-Comments 0001-0025
