Since 1956, the Germanna Foundation has published hundreds of years of genealogy across thousands of pages in twenty volumes of research and is in the process of expanding our database of over 100,000 known descendants. Now, modern science has developed the new tool of DNA testing to expand beyond the limits of genealogy, as Dr. Spencer […]
New Genealogy Database of Germanna Descendants
The Germanna Foundation has a new data-rich genealogy website database of Germanna descendants at GermannaFamily.org. The database is a project of Germanna Foundation Trustee and Genealogist Cathi Clore Frost. To access the database, you must be a paid member of the Germanna Foundation (Become a Member/Renew Your Dues securely online). Annual membership dues are only $35 per year […]
“Rectors Remembered” Donated to Foundation
Thank you to Laura Wayland-Smith Hatch, who announced that she is donating her recently released genealogical compilation, “Rectors Remembered” to the Germanna Foundation. The compilation reflects almost 10 years of work and consists of 8 volumes and more than 5,000 pages. Laura’s work is available on Amazon, and we’re sure that Rector descendants will find […]
Johannes Walk’s Homecoming, October 19th, Clemmons, NC
The gravestone of Johannes Walk (b & d 1769) will be returned to his home church of Friedberg Moravian Church near Winston-Salem, North Carolina during the homecoming worship service on October 19, 2014. The public is invited. Johannes Walk lived only for a few months, but we remember him – he is related to nearly […]
Did you ever wonder how the 1714 colonists were related?
Here’s a chart that shows the interrelatedness of the Germanna Colonists upon arrival, April 1714. Marriages reflecting the ancestry of the husband, wife or both. How to Use the Table: Find your ancestor and look along his or her row. Anyone with an H or W in a shared column is a cousin of yours through […]
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 […]
Are you related to the founder of Mother’s Day?
Did you know that the founder of Mother’s Day and her mother whom she was celebrating were Germanna descendants? Find out if you are related to her by reading this article by Dr. Katharine Brown. Consider making a donation to the Germanna Foundation in honor of your own mother. Mug: Germanna Descendant by GermannaGeschaft View Germanna […]
1942 Book: Fisher Genealogical History
A reader who is a direct descendant of Ludwig Fisher sent the Germanna Foundation a link to an online 1942 book by Gertrude Fisher Harding called, “Fisher Genealogical History.” You can read the book in various format by clicking on this link or view it here. Below is the text format to help with keyword searching […]
Mystery tombstone returned to Germanna
Orange County-Review, March 28, 2014 By Kerry Sipe A six-month-old infant who died before the American Revolution has been the subject of a multi-state mystery involving a tombstone found 250 miles from the grave it was intended to mark. The lost tombstone will soon be returned to its proper place after an official of the […]
Five ways to share your Germanna research
Wow! We’ve had a lot of snow! You may have seen it on national news, but Germanna Country has been really socked in with heavy, wet snow. Classes at Germanna Community College have been cancelled, and the Germanna Foundation’s Visitor Center is closed until this coming Tuesday morning. Too much snow over President’s Day Weekend! […]
Germanna DNA Project Update
Corlee Morris, Group Administrator for the Germanna DNA Project, advises that she needs to close the gap in the Germanna Y-DNA Chromosome Database from men who have a direct male-line descent from: Johann Juste Albrecht (Switzerland); Melchior Brombach (Muesen); Rev. Henrich Haeger (Oberfischbach); Johannes Kemper (Muesen); Johannes Spilman (Oberschelden). We have identified potential descendants for […]
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 […]
Germanna and the Founders and Patriots of Texas
“Bond reflected that good Americans were fine people and that most of them seemed to come from Texas.”–Ian Fleming, Casino Royale The third largest state in the membership rolls of the Germanna Foundation is the Lone Star State of Texas. We are proud of our Lone Star members, whose ancestors brought their heritage of liberty […]
History of the Little Fork
The Little Fork community, named for its location in the Little Fork of the Rappahannock River where the Hedgeman and Hazel Rivers meet to form the northern branch of the Rappahannock River, became important as a settlement with strong Germanna ties. People from the home villages in Germany with family connections to the Germanna settlers […]
Who Were The German Settlers in the Robinson River Valley?
by John Blankenbaker To say that the Second Germanna Colony came in 1717 is too simplistic. We now know that people left in 1717 who did not make it to America in 1717. We might say that everyone who came in the period from 1717 to 1725 was a member of the Second Colony. If […]
Tips to Enhance Your Genealogy Research
In doing genealogy, use the following checklist to get more out of your efforts: 1. Research log. It shows where you have searched and may help you decide where to search next. 2. Correspondence log. This reminds you to whom you have written, emailed, or called and when. Include the reason for the contact. 3. […]
The Six Fathers of European Men
By John Blankenbaker In the limit, there was one father, Adam. Though Adam’s descendants are beyond counting, nearly all men in Europe descend from just six men and to these men we can give the names, R, I, G, J, N, and E. We can trace a path of male descent for European men from […]
The Revolutionary War and Germanna
Many Germanna-related individuals served in some capacity as patriots during the Revolutionary War. Transcriptions of many pension applications of Germanna descendants may be found here. An important unit to the story of Germanna is the Culpeper Minute Men, organized by recruits from modern-day Culpeper, Fauquier, Madison, and Orange counties. The Culpeper Minute Men Chapter, Sons […]
“The Gallant Pelham” Linked to Germanna Families; Revolutionized Use of Artillery Under J.E.B. Stuart
Major Linked to Area Families By Kimberley Glascoe – Culpeper Star-Exponent Published: June 20, 2011. Although John Pelham’s Civil War legacy ended in Culpeper County, his genealogical presence has not. A Fauquier county resident recently discovered he has another connection to the area. James Flanagan, a retired Fauquier County science teacher, says that Pelham is […]
List of Original Germanna Settlers
Due to the prominence of Lt. Governor Alexander Spotswood in American history, much was known of his involvement with the establishment of the Germanna Settlement, but little of the German Settlers who were brought to this area with the First Colony of 1714, the Second Colony of 1717, and later groups. The Germanna Foundation has […]
How To Research at The Library of Virginia
Having Germanna ancestry means the Library of Virginia is a great resource to find more information on your family background. One of the richest storehouses in the world for genealogy data, the Library of Virginia is the place to find those extra pieces of data that help add texture to your history. Research at the […]
Germanna DNA Project
Germanna and Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) have joined forces to develop the most comprehensive Germanna DNA Project ever. FTDNA is the oldest and largest DNA database company and Germanna is pleased to work with them. FTDNA will make a small contribution to the Germanna Foundation for every individual that participates in the Germanna DNA Project. […]
Care and Feeding of Tombstones
“Pip, the narrator and central character of Charles Dickens’ classic Victorian novel Great Expectations, informs us early in the story that, as he never knew his parents or saw any pictures of them, he drew his first impressions of what they must have looked like from the shapes of the lettering on their gravestones. Certainly, […]
18th Century Germanna Emigration Records Discovered in Germany; Fills Gap in Colonial Virginia History
Germanna Foundation Trustee and Secretary Barbara Gregory Fishback tells how 300-year-old documents important to colonial Virginia researchers were discovered in Germany by Germanna Foundation researchers: “In preparation for the 2011 Germanna Foundation Trip to Germany, [Germanna Foundation First Vice President ] Dr. Katharine Brown and I made plans to conduct research at the Stadtarchiv Siegen, […]
