I originally posted a query here concerning locating a copy of No. 5, Germmana Record.  Somehow I had the impression they were out of print.  I believe I was in error.  

I've contacted Melissa Hook to see if they are still available.

Hi Barb, First Thanks for everything everyone did for the reunion, I always enjoy seeing our "cousins"  and the history lessons!  You mentioned on the tour the William Rector house, we passed by, as being on the natl register- I have searched the web and can not find the site. I understood that the site would tell the history of the house. I am looking for any docs on William Rector Born July 1768 married to Margaret "Peggy" Robinson on Feb 23 1791 (Fauq records) died Jan 24 1834- His son Walter "Watson" was my great- grandfather. William's land documents have been hard to locate. Thanks so much, Virginia (Weimer)

Hello to everyone.

Brand new member and hope to make new Germanna descendants friends on this Web Site.

A Jacob Holtzclaw descendant.

Don Rightmyer

Editor, Kentucky Ancestors

Kentucky Historical Society

Frankfort, Kentucky

Dear Jan,

Thank you for bringing to light a number of errors in Dr. B. C. Holtzclaw's works! You have added all of these new Wayland cousins to the Germanna family with your thoroughly researched article. Correcting errors in previously published works allows us all to refine our research. Thank you!

Suzanne Collins Matson

Jan,

Thank you so much for this article regarding the two Joseph Waylands!  What a well researched and informative article and it's great that you have set the records straight with valuable information!!

Barb Price

Michael, Ginnie, Marc, everyone involved....thanks for the on-line newsletter and brochure of Reunion activities. I delivered my set of collected goodies for the auction to the VC on Thursday (some were already pre-sold). Things have definitely turned the corner at our beloved Foundation. Participants are in for some very pleasant suprises at the Reunion. Can't wait!--Craig Kilby

From a survey dated 5 August 1727 for 615 acres in Stafford County, the name of the husband of Catherine Thomas is found. His name was Edmund Thomas. This Catherine Thomas later married Johannes/John Holtzclaw, son of the immigrant Hans Jacob Holtzclaw. Apparently, the warrant is not extant but is referenced in the survey giving a warrant date of 12 January 1725/26. Since the warrant was assigned to Edmund Thomas by John Savage (surveyor) in 1725/26 and the land granted to Catherine Thomas 22 January 1727/28, it could be inferred that Edmund Thomas died sometime within that timeframe.

Research continues to determine the ancestry and family of this Edmund Thomas. One small error should be noted in the survey file. The name given on the folder is Edward Thomas; this is incorrect. The survey clearly states Edmund Thomas. It should also be noted that the folder is not an original part of the document file, but merely part of the LVA filing system.

The Rogers Ford Winery was once owned by George Kemper and I'm still connecting him to the Kemper family, so I will have more information soon!  The winery is located in Sumerduck and it's absolutely beautiful there.  The owners are very interested in the history of the area and have collected quite a bit of information.  It should be very interesting!

Barb Price

I just noticed that there was  a tour of the Kemper property in Summerduck. Which Kemper was this?

Dr. David Sam, President of Germanna Community College, delivered this beautiful tribute to the memory of his mother and to the noble calling of nursing at the pinning ceremony of the newest class of Germanna nurses. Germanna Community College was brought into being by a grant of 100 acres of land from the Germanna Foundation in 1969.

The text of Dr. Sam's speech follows:

Good afternoon.  On behalf of the Local College Board, Administration, Faculty and Staff of Germanna Community College, welcome to the 2010 Nursing Pinning Ceremony.

In honor and recognition of these newest nurses and of nurses everywhere, please let me begin by reading a poem:

Ode to a Nurse

She is a symbol in her immaculate white,

Softly treading through the stillness of the night,

Quick to cope with a sudden emergency,

She is that wonderful nurse who is on duty;

Day in and day out the constant rounds she will make

Weary, tired, the patient, she does not forsake,

Gently caressing the crying, frightened child,

Tenderly caring for the bedridden senile;

She is the nurse, the beautiful Angel in white.

She is like a star, shinning ever so bright,

Many tears, and smiles along the way she has seen,

But she will stand up, 'ever like a great Queen.

This poem was written by a nurse, my mother, Ann J. Sam.

Her story is her own, but not very different from those of many of you who are graduating this year. She was one of 11 children who survived to adulthood in a family of Polish immigrants. She grew up in poverty, moving from house to house as her father worked the jobs he could find in Western Pennsylvania.

Of those eleven, all but one dropped out of school to help earn money for the family. The one who graduated from high school was my mother.

She dreamed of being a nurse, but her mother laughed and said, "We're too poor. Just work any job you can until you find a husband." And so she cleaned houses for several years and did some part-time bookkeeping.

WWII gave her an opportunity that otherwise may never have come: The Nurse Cadet Program. She had her education paid for by the government in return for a commitment to serve as a military nurse if needed. The war ended before she graduated in 1946 and so she did not serve in the Army.

But her life was one of service, especially through her career as a nurse. She was old school. She always wore her whites and her cap and her pin.

Last March, when she died at 91 years of age, she was still a licensed nurse.

I learned a lot from my mother, including what it meant to be a nurse. In the last part of her career, she worked as night nurse supervisor at a nursing home.

In her last few weeks of life, she struggled with pain, with fear, with confusion. It was hard for all of us in the family to watch.

But time after time in the hospital or the rehabilitation center, one nurse after another came to her side, ministered to the body and the machines, but also to her mind and spirit, held her hand, calmed her down, prayed with her, helped her to deal with her fears. Those nurses also cared for us, the family, listening to our concerns, helping us to deal with our fears and our mourning as mom slid away.

One day, one of the last days that I saw her alive, I was in the hospital room as a different nurse entered, checked the monitors, changed a drip, then talked quietly to mom. That nurse held mom’s hand, helped her to quiet her fears as mom knew her time was coming.

She spoke briefly to me and began to leave the room. It was then that I noticed that her name tag said "Ann, RN."

I said, "Ann, you are an RN?"

She said, "Yes."

And I said, "Ann who is an RN meet Ann who is an RN," and I pointed to my mother. "You have just done for her what she did for countless people in her career. She worked at a nursing home. She held the hands of so many who were dying. She would be honored and proud to know you because you carry on in the great tradition of what it means to be a nurse. Thank you."

And Ann the RN went back to Ann the RN and spoke quietly to her again about being a nurse. Then she finished, leaving the room.

So to you who are in the audience and are nurses, and to you who are about to become nurses, on behalf of families everywhere, on behalf of patients everywhere, thank you for ministering to our bodies, our minds, and our spirits. Thank you for making our pain a little less, our fears a little less, our hope a little more, our health a little better, and our final passing a little easier. You may not know how much of a difference you make, or you may not be thanked enough even if you do.

My mother is a tough act to follow. But, graduates, I know all of you will do her and nurses everywhere proud. Congratulations.

Thank you all for answering the great calling of nursing.

I have found a land grant for 264 acres on the branches of Great Run issued on 4 March 1726 to John Peter and Harmon Kemper in the Library of Virginia archives.  Both John Peter and Harmon were less than 10 years old at that time.  Does anyone know how they could have been issed land grants at that age.

Regarding the  First Colony Tour as described on the Reunion Page,  I am keenly interested to learn which of the First Germanna Colony descendants attended services at this (Elk Run, Anglican) church. They were not compelled to do so, as they had their own church at Germantown and were exempted from parish levies by statute.

Would anyone be willing to E Mail me a copy of Acrey Berrey's will? I am a Berrey,  Missouri descendant of Acrey's son James and Elizabeth Finks.

Craig,

I'm looking at a copy of the will (Madison Co., VA Will Book 2: 114-116) and the date was 24 September 1806 rather than 1804.  Hurt Yager could have been born in October 1804 as reported and still be the son of Jemima Berrey.

Cathi

Part of the strategic vision of The Germanna Foundation is to promote transatlantic relationships with the people of Germany. What better way than to encourage Americans to travel and study there?

Germanna Foundation Trustees Marc Wheat and Mark Pfundstein are alumni of the Congress-Bundestag Staff Exchange, and highly recommend any opportunity to share American culture with German parliamentarians and their staff.

Each year, 120 young people from 28 countries have the opportunity to take part in the International Parliamentary Scholarship program in Berlin. Recent college graduates can intern in the office of a Member of the Bundestag (German parliament), and and meet other young people from throughout the world seeking to strengthen democratic institutions.

http://www.germany.info/Vertretung/usa/en/__PR/K__Wash/2010/02/04__IPS__... is the link to a ten-minute video on the scholarship program. The application deadline is June 30, 2010.

Matthias House family lived on House Hollow Rd. in Culpeper county. The road ends at the Madison/Culpeper lines. I'm trying to figure out which roads the family would have taken to reach the Hebron Church. Any ideas?

Although it has been widely assumed that the first settlers of the Robinson River Valley were members of the so-called Second Colony, the distinction for being the first to patent land in this area falls to someone few would guess.He was not a German. He was not a land baron. He was not a government official. He was not a surveyor. He was not a land speculator. He was not even a member of the Church of England.

So, who was he?

His name was William Rush, of Washington Parish, Westmoreland County. And he was a Quaker. William Rush patented his 400 acres of land on the south side of the Robinson River on 11 May 1726. (Patent Book 12:350). This was 44 days before that hearty band of 24 Second Colony German families took up their sundry patents along the north side of the river on 24 June 1726. (Patent Book 12:474-483). Part of the narrative from the 2009 2nd Colony Tour, as related on this web site, speaking of one of the early German patents Michael Clore) says: The only other nearby settlers were two Quaker brothers across the Robinson River along Quaker Run. These two land grants to Benjamin and William Rush, together amounting to about 800 acres, were actually granted over a month before the Clores.Cut off by the Robinson River on the west, did they even know the Clores? One can assume the answer is yes, as there were not other White people around.

Benjamin Rush took out his own patent adjacent to his brother on 23 March 1727 (N.S., PB 12:349)

Origins of William and Benjamin Rush

These two brothers were the sons of William Rush, who died in Westmoreland County in 1708, by his wife Elizabeth. They were grandsons of William Rush, Sr. and his wife Alice Grey. Among the latters' daughter was Elizabeth Rush who married Joshua Hudson, the ancestors of many Yagers (through the marriage of Nathaniel Yager to Elizabeth Hudson in 1789 in Culpeper County) and also of the well-known radio talk show host Rush Hudson Limbaugh.

This information came to my attention by virtue of dating and citing each of the 112 Crown Patents and Northern Neck grants on the map of early land settlers of the Robinson River Valley made by John Blankenbaker in 1988, which can be found in Germanna Publication No. 18.

Craig Kilby February 2010

The following website has an alphabetized listing of the 1764 Culpeper County Rent Rolls.  Questions: (1) Re:   " Mark Finks, orphan"   - 

Does anyone have information on who this person would be???.  I have  Mark Finks (m Eve Fischer)  born 1744 d 1834; son of the Mark Finks Immigrant listed in Germanna Record #18. Is my Mark Finks  1744 birth date in eror?  Is this another Mark Finks

(2) Source for the  The 1764  Rent rolls is listed as Broderbund Softwares Inc. Family Archives #310 Census Index Colonial America, 1607 - 1789 (Release Date November 11, 1995.

Is anyone familiar with this source, where it can be found, its reliability???  

http://www.melungeons.com/early_va/1764culpeprcountyrentrolls.htm

Years ago I had a note from Washington County, TN that a daughter had married a Brown and was connect ed to the Gov. Brown of GA.

Have you checked this line?

Germanna descendant and Apollo 11 Astronaut Buzz Aldrin celebrates his 80th Birthday on January 20.  Please sign a giant birthday card for him - the Planetary Society is gathing greetings from throughout the world at http://www.planetary.org/special/fromearth/buzz/

Last summer, several German newspapers ran articles about the connection between Aldrin and his Germanna roots.  Read them in English and German at http://www.germanna.org/germana_message_board#comment-167

You can be proud that the Germanna Foundation has members in 47 states, the District of Columbia, Germany, and Australia.

Let's get New Hampshire, North Dakota, and Rhode Island in the game! (f you know someone who would be interested in the heritage of Germanna in those three states, give them a gift membership).

As you might have guessed, the Commonwealth of Virginia is in first place by a long stretch -- but would you be surprised that less than a quarter of our membership hails from the Old Dominion?

Using data current as of January 1st, it might surprise you to learn that California is in second place in membership. Distance no longer a barrier due to modern technology, two of our most active Trustees, Michael Oddenino and Barbara Price, both live in southern California.

Close behind California in membership is the Lone Star State of Texas, which owes its independence from Mexico due to the efforts of men like Germanna descendant Elbridge Gerry Rector.

A gentlemanly fourth place goes to the Commonwealth of Kentucky, heavily settled by Germanna descendants in the early Federal period of our Nation's history. Missouri and North Carolina are tied for fifth, but Ohio is right behind them and gaining. Maryland, Florida, and Indiana are neck and neck.

Bringing up the field, and tied for last place: South Dakota and Hawaii. Anyone up for an expedition to Hawaii to bring up our numbers there?

Dr. John W. Wayland is one of those giants of Virginia history upon whose shoulders we all stand, and to whom all owe such a debt of gratitude. His interest in, and contribution to, our knowledge of the Germanna Colonies is well known.

The following biography is taken from a write-up by Francis F. Wayland, titled "John Walter Wayland, a biographical sketch" published in 1990.*
_____________

John Walter Wayland was an educator, historian and author. He was born on 8 December 1872 at the family home in Shenandoah County known as "Woodlawn." His father was John Wesley Wayland, a school teacher, cabinet maker and skilled mechanic. His mother was Anna Kagey Wayland.

Wayland received his early education from his parents, and at age 11 attended a one-room school house at Rochelle, and later "a normal two summers" in New Market. In the early 1890s, he taught two years of school in Shenandoah County

He enrolled at Bridgewater College where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1899. He earned his Doctorate of History from the University of Virginia in 1907. He taught at Bridgewater College for seven years, at the University of VIrginia for three years, and for 22 years at what is now James Madison University.

Upon his retirement in 1931, he devoted the rest of his life to historical research and writing, especially in the field of Virginia history. He was the author of over 30 books and over 300 published articles and pamphlets. He made the maps included in some of his books.

Among his works was History of Virginia for Boys and Girls published in 1920, and used in Virginia schools over a quarter of a century. He also wrote the lyrics to "Old Virginia" which was a song that for many years was sung throughout the state.

His hobbies included collecting nicknames and pen names, and making canes from wood found at historic places.

He died at Harrisonburg, where he had lived since 1909 on 10 January 1962. He is buried in Oak Lawn Cemetery in Bridgewater. He was survived by his wife and two sons.

*Source: The Fairfax Line, A Historic Landmark by Arthur T. McClinton, John W. Coleman and Francis F. Wayland (Edinburg, VA: The Shenandoah County Historical Society, 1990), 21-23. This book includes a reprint of John W. Wayland's The Fairfax Line (1925) and Thomas Lewis's Journal of 1746.

"Uhrmeiersch," the ancestral home of the Richter/Rector family, was built around 1640 and was destroyed in the closing days of World War II, in April 1945. "Uhrmeiersch" was the home of the Germanna colonial family of Hans Jacob Richter and his wife Anna Elisabeth Fischbach. Their son Johannes married in Virginia to Anna Catharina Fischbach, granddaughter of Germanna colonists Rev. Henrich Haeger and his wife Anna Catharina Friesenhagen.

A painting of the house "Uhrmeiersch" appears in Dieter Tröps and Udo Bohn, Trupbach 1389-1989: Ortsgeschichte in Texten und Bildern (Heimatverein Trupbach, Siegen-Trupbach, 1989), at 198.

There is a charming photograph by Otto Arnold taken on April 8, 1931 of "Uhrmeiersch" with five children in the foreground leaning on a fence. The Germanna Foundation has a framed copy of this photograph, which can also be found in Otto Arnold, Otto Arnold Photographie: 1927-1938; Siegerlaender Landschaften, Bilddokumente einer Suedwestfaelischen Kulturlandschaft (Siegen: Verlag Arnold, 1986) at 124.

Both of these books, rare in the United States, can be found in the library of the Brawdus Martin Germanna Visitor Center.

The history of "Uhrmeiersch" is given on pages 197-198 of Tröps and Bohn.

Haus Nr. 18 Uhrmeiersch (Trupbacher Str. 65)

Erbaut ca. 1640. (Built around 1640.) [Ownership of the home transferred in 1668 from Johannes Schmidt to Hermann Becker. Further research needs to be done, but it appears at this time that ownership of the house descended in the same family (frequently through the female line) since at least 1668].

1668 Hermann Becker
1680 Christoffel Richter, Uhrmacher (Clockmaker) mit (with) Anna Cath. Becker
1707 Johannes Richter, Uhrmacher (Clockmaker)
1760 Hermann Richter, Uhrmacher
1812 Johann Henrich Hoffman, Vorsteher mit Maria Elis. Richter
1862 Johannes Henrich Stracke, Kleinschmied (locksmith) mit Cath. Hoffman
1880 Carl Zimmer, Landwirt (farmer) mit Helene Stracke
1910 Carl Zimmer, Landwirt
1940 Carl Zimmer, Landwirt

"Bei den Kaempfen um Trupbach im Jahr 1945 wurde dieses schoene Fachwerkhaus von Granaten getroffen und brannte voellig nieder." [During the fighting in Trupbach in 1945, this beautiful half-timbered house was hit by a grenade and burned to the ground.]

The owners of the Richter house site, which is now used as a barn, are brothers Fritz and Theo Bottenberg, who have hosted the Germanna Foundation visitors to their home over the last several years. Fritz even made the transatlantic flight to come to a reunion several years ago.

On the 2005 Germanna Trip, Cary Anderson recalls that Fritz
mentioned in his remarks to the group that they were living in the house when it blew up and burned. Fritz then stated that his mother owned the current house where she had a grocery store. He contined: "We just moved over here."

In December 2009, Jurgen Schneider wrote that "The Trupbach Rector Home was destroyed by phosphor bombs two days before the end of World War Two in 1945. Near the house was at that time an anti-aircraft defence position.

"The last three generations of farmers who lived in the house were clockmakers in the wintertime. Older generations combined the farm with a blacksmith's shop. Till 1867 the house was for many generations inherited in the women's line.

"My mother, born in 1907, spent in her childhood many vacations in the Rector House. It was the house of her grandparents. Her father Gustaf Zimmer was born in the house in 1868."

As a gift to visiting Germanna Foundation, Fritz and Theo Bottenberg, on behalf of the Trupbach Heimatverein, presented a square section of the herring-bone stone floor to the Germanna Foundation, on display now in the Visitor Center. The Germanna Foundation maintains close ties to the Heimatvereine of the ancestral villages of Germanna families, maintaining communication and friendships with the historical associations that promote the preservation of the history of the ancestral villages and surrounding areas.

"Uhrmeiersch" and the family that lived in this house for some 300 years has been a topic on the "Germanna Colonies" e-mail list. Join in the conversation by sending an e-mail to germanna_colonies-l-request@rootsweb.com with the word "subscribe" in the subject line.

Better yet, sign up with the Germanna Foundation trip to Trupbach and other villages you would never see on a commercial tour. See http://www.germanna.org/germany_trip for details.

[A founding trustee of the Germanna Foundation, John Walter Wayland wrote a book of short stories from history to be used in the classroom. This is a transcription of the first story in this 1922 book. His First and Second Colony ancestry can be found at the Marc Wheat Database. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from your fellow members and volunteers of the Germanna Foundation!]

HISTORY STORIES FOR PRIMARY GRADES (1922)

By

John W. Wayland, Ph.D.
Professor of History and Social Science,
State Normal School, Harrisonburg, Virginia
Author of How to Teach American History

PART ONE
THE FIRST CHRISTMAS SONG

Some angels sang the first Christmas song, and some
shepherds heard it.

It was one night, long, long ago; and it was in a
country far, far away.

In that country the people kept a great many sheep.
The men and boys who took care of the sheep were
called shepherds.

The shepherds would take the sheep out where the
grass was green, and keep them there all day. They
would keep a sharp watch so that nothing would come
out of the woods and hurt the sheep. Often they would
lead the sheep down, by the brooks, where the cool,
clear water went tumbling over the stones, and where
they could find nice shady places under the trees.
Sometimes the shepherds would camp out with the
sheep. They would stay out in the fields and watch
the sheep all night. Cattle and sheep often like the
nighttime for grazing better than the daytime.

But I started to tell you about the first Christmas
song.

Well, in that land so far away, some shepherds
were out in the fields one night, keeping watch over
their flock.

All at once they thought it was morning, but it
wasn't. It grew light - just as light as day - but
it wasn't morning. The light came all at once; and
when the shepherds saw the great light, and found
that it wasn't morning, they didn't know what to
think of it. They didn't know what to do. They
were frightened, terribly frightened.

And then they saw somebody. Somebody stood
right before them in the great light. It was an angel,
and he began to speak to them. He said :
" Don't be afraid ! I bring you good news. I come
to make you happy. It is Christmas !"

And then the shepherds saw more angels.
A great crowd of angels stood right before them
in the bright light. And then the angels began to sing.
These are the words they sang:

" Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, good will toward men."

It was the first Christmas song! The angels sang
it, and I imagine that the shepherds learned to sing
it, too. Every Christmas, nowadays, a great many
people sing that song.

Is it not a beautiful song? Don't you think it ought
to make the world happy ?

NOTE TO THE TEACHER. There are many simple, beautiful
Christmas songs that may be sung with the children at this
season in connection with this story and others of similar
character.

Cafe Hayek informed me that Leonard Read's essay "I, Pencil" celebrates its 51st anniversary this month.

"You may wonder why I should write a genealogy. Well, to begin with, my story is interesting. And, next, I am a mystery—more so than a tree or a sunset or even a flash of lightning... For, the wise G. K. Chesterton observed, 'We are perishing for want of wonder, not for want of wonders.'"

Read more at http://www.econlib.org/library/Essays/rdPncl1.html

More and more genealogists are turning to social networking sites to track down distant relatives, conduct research projects, plan for reunions, and raise funds for publishing new books.

The Germanna Foundation has established pages on Facebook and LinkedIn. Join in!

The direct link to the Germanna Foundation Facebook page is http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=41635124837&ref=ts and the LinkedIn group link is http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=133155&trk=anet_ug_hm

Facebook has 350 million subscribers world-wide, most heavily concentrated in the United States, followed by the European Union. A recent article from the Heritage Foundation estimates that 70 million American households have a Facebook account. To help make it easier for these millions of users to find us, we have a "Memorial Foundation of the Germanna Colonies in Virginia" Facebook group.

LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking site of 55 million users that is very helpful to find common interests based on job experience, location, and groups to affiliate with. Retired? Just check that you are consulting in an area of expertise. Searching for other groups on LinkedIn that might be of interest? Try the Society of The Cincinnati, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, Civil War Sesquicentennial Network, German-American Relations, Philanthropy Network, Transatlantic Forum, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Conservation Easement, and Friends of Scouting.

There are a lot of unconnected Germanna descendants out there - let's find them and connect them to their first ancestors in America.

For more information on www.Facebook.com and www.LinkedIn.com, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LinkedIn

GERMANNA_COLONIES is a mailing list primarily for descendants of the Germanna Colonies which were the original German settlements under Governor Spotswood that were established near Fort Germanna in what is now Orange, Culpeper, and Madison Counties, Virginia. There were two colonies established in 1714 and 1717 with some "latecomers" arriving from 1719 to about 1735. Anyone researching their German heritage or the history of this region is welcome!

The list is independent of the Germanna Foundation, but many of its members are the most active participants. Join in the conversation and encourage others get to know members of the Germanna Diaspora from all over the world!

To subscribe send "subscribe" to germanna_colonies-l-request@rootsweb.com (mail mode, which allows you to receive e-mails soon after they are sent) or germanna_colonies-d-request@rootsweb.com (digest mode, which packages them up and sends them out in a group).

The Germanna Visitor Center was the most beautiful I've seen it for the Culpeper Holiday Tour of Homes - filled with poinsettias, German goodies, a Chistmas tree and German Christmas decorations. It was nice to be with friends old and new watching our first snow-fall of the season from the warmth of the library and museum. Congratulations to Sandy Allyson, Skip & Joy Poole, Frank Turnage, Kathy Ellis, Madison and Katharine Brown, Bob Sexton, Brian Rector and our other volunteers for making this event possible.

I am stuck....my husbands grandfather was Howard Rector of Marshall, Va., born 1893. His father was Edward Rector, known as Euby. I cannot locate the documentation for Edward to prove his part in the line. Can anyone point me in the right direction?