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 […]
The Wives of Jacob Holtzclaw
By Barbara Price In all my years of research into my Holtzclaw family, I’ve always wondered about the second wife of Jacob Holtzclaw, the 1714 immigrant. What do we know about his wives and how do we know that he was married twice? Hans Jacob Holzklau was first married to Anna Margreth Otterbach, his childhood […]
Meet our archaeology field season staff
We’re pleased to welcome aboard these seasonal archaeology staff members to help Germanna’s archaeologist, Eric Larsen, Ph.D., with new excavation work at the Fort Germanna and Enchanted Castle site, and to supervise the VCU field school students later in the summer. Thank you to all of our members and supporters for making this possible. […]
Editorial: Unearthing stories of Germanna’s past
Thousands of people pass the place every week, yet far too few know of its international significance. Some remarkable moments in American history happened at the Germanna historic site, on State Route 3 in Orange County. Some of those stories are told, briefly, by exhibits in the Germanna Foundation’s Brawdus Martin Visitor Center where the […]
The World’s Languages, in 7 Maps and Charts
This Washington Post article makes several interesting points, including: (1) “Whereas English lags behind in the number of native speakers, it is by far the world’s most commonly studied language. Overall, more people learn English than French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, German and Chinese combined.” (2) “Some language skills could be more rewarding than others. If you […]
Research links Germanna CC employee to original Germanna settlement as 300th anniversary nears
Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star, June 20, 2014 Jean Rice found herself drawn to a strip of land off State Route 3, also known as Germanna Highway, in Orange County near the Rapidan River. Again and again she drove past the site of the original 18th century Germanna fort and settlement without knowing its history or realizing […]
Germanna Ford Public Boat Launch
FaQ: Germanna Ford History: Once called the Rapid Anne in homage to England’s Queen Anne, the Rapidan River connects the Blue Ridge Mountains with the Chesapeake Bay. It’s the same waterway that flowed through and sustained the lives of Indigenous peoples for thousands of years, as well as German and English immigrants and enslaved Africans. […]
The Historic Gardens of Salubria
Under the Garden Club of Virginia’s 2010 William D. Rieley Fellowship, scholar of landscape architecture, Sonia Brenner (UVA MLA 2010), spent 3 months researching the garden and landscape at Salubria. The following is a summary of her fascinating report, SALUBRIA: AN INTERPRETATION OF ITS GARDEN AND LANDSCAPE HERITAGE, which can be read in its entirety […]
Germanna’s Trip to Germany—a Family Historian’s Dream
By Leslie Hall Fall 2011 Germanna Newsletter For any genealogist there can be nothing more exciting than actually seeing where one’s ancestors lived, to walk in their footsteps, and to imagine what their life must have been like. For me, the trip to Germany with my fellow Germanna travelers was all about that but so […]
The Revolutionary War and Germanna
Many Germanna-related individuals served in some capacity as patriots during the Revolutionary War. Thanks to the work of volunteer researchers, this page will grow as more Germanna patriots are recognized for their service to American independence and liberty. It is our hope that sharing this research will encourage many Americans to meet the documentary requirements for […]