Today, Americans think of the greatest beaches in the world: Omaha, Utah, Juno, Gold, and Sword. Seventy-five years ago today, Americans and their allies hit the beaches to liberate a continent from the evil of National Socialism. Thanks to the outpouring of Germanna Foundation supporters who, during the seventieth anniversary in 2014, asked that the […]
A look into Fauquier County’s 18th century German past
Germanna Foundation Trustee Kristie Kendall wrote an article in The Piedmont Virginia magazine about the Peter Hitt house, which is under the stewardship of the Germanna Foundation: A WINDOW THROUGH TIME Driving through Fauquier County, I am often reminded of the strong German history in the area – signs for Rectortown off Route 17 north […]
The Germanna Foundation: Digging into History
Today the Orange County Review had an article in it about the Germanna Foundation, written by Amber Galaviz: The Germanna Foundation: digging into history With a new executive director and a new archaeology center under roof, the Germanna Foundation is making substantial progress in sharing and understanding the critical role the 18th-century eastern Orange County settlement […]
Germanna Foundation eyes the future
The Germanna Foundation’s new Executive Director was recently featured in Culpeper Star Exponent article written by Clint Schemmer: Germanna Foundation eyes the future The Germanna Foundation is no longer just a genealogy organization. The Virginia-based nonprofit has broadened its mission beyond representing the descendants of the Germans who settled the colony’s early 18th-century frontier. The […]
50 years into the future: Germanna Foundation seeks time capsule contributions
An article about Germanna’s time capsule appeared in the Orange County Review, written by Amber Galaviz: If you could write yourself a letter and open it 50 years from now, what would you say? Or what would you like to tell your future descendants about your life and family? These are questions the Germanna Foundation […]
Anna Jarvis, the Germanna Descendant who Founded Mother’s Day
Germanna descendant Anna Jarvis, the founder of Mother’s Day, devoted years to gaining national recognition for a day to honor mothers, as a fulfillment of a dream held by her own mother—Ann Marie Reeves Jarvis. Ann Marie was born in Culpeper in 1832, the daughter of Josiah Washington Reeves and Nancy Kemper Reeves, whose Kemper […]
The Chalice of Oberfischbach & Germanna
At the Germanna First Colony 300th anniversary celebration, Marc Wheat told those assembled at the Fort Germanna Visitor Center that perhaps the most meaningful object that our members had touched on the Germany trip with the Foundation was the Oberfischbach chalice. It was a chalice used in that parish to administer communion by Rev. Henrich […]
Who Were Germanna’s Founders?
The inspiring history of the Germanna colonies lay nearly forgotten for 200 years. Threads of awareness emerge in the historical writing of professor William J. Hinke c. 1920, in an inquiry to President Calvin Coolidge from Müsen, Germany, in 1927 about descendants of the 1714 emigrants from that village, in the Reformed Church’s commemoration of […]
The Cuntze Family of Niederndorf and Oberfischbach
By Barbara Price The Cuntze / Kuntze / Coons family can be traced back to around 1500 in the village of Niederndorf, located in the parish of Oberfischbach, near the city of Siegen. The family appears to have moved back and forth between Niederndorf and Oberfischbach. (1) The parish of Oberfischbach originated in the 12th […]
The Family of Anna Margreth Otterbach
By Barbara Price In my last article, I discussed the two wives of Hans Jacob Holzklau, Anna Margreth Otterbach and Catherine, maiden name unknown. What do we know about the first wife of Hans Jacob Holzklau, Anna Margreth Otterbach, and her family, namely, her sisters? Anna Margreth Otterbach was one of five daughters of Hermann […]
