Germanna Foundation

Preserving the historic heritage of the original settlers of the Fort Germanna Colonies in Virginia

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Announcing Germanna’s Christmas Markets on the Rhine River Cruise, December 2019

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Join your Germanna Foundation cousins on a cruise that takes you to 10 cities and 9 Christmas Markets in 4 countries from December 8-15, 2019. By going on this cruise, you help raise funds for the mission and work of the Germanna Foundation.

The cruise will ALSO trace a long portion of the river path taken by nearly all German-speaking persons who emigrated to the American Colonies in the 1700s.

Consider sharing this memorable familial experience with your friends and family, who are welcome to join us.

Sail along the picturesque Rhine River—Germany’s heart and soul—on this enriching itinerary.

Our 8-day, 7-night river cruise departs from Basel, Switzerland, on Sunday, December 8, 2019, and sails northwesterly, downstream, to Amsterdam, The Netherlands, where we will disembark on Sunday, December 15, 2019.

Our river boat, the AmaWaterways AmaStella, is a beautiful new luxurious 78-stateroom, 156-guest, 433-foot-long state-of-the-art river boat. Many stateroom categories feature both a full balcony and a French balcony.

Click on the below button for all the details and to let us know you’re interested in this trip:

More Information & Interest Form

Germany Trip 2018 Deadline

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The time has come for those intending to travel to their ancestral villages in Germany in 2018 to send their deposits to reserve a place. Space is limited, and many have already sent deposits.

The itinerary is tentative, and is completed only when tour leaders Barbara Price and E.K. Mello know the roster of travelers and which villages their ancestors emigrated from.

The non-refundable deposit of $200 is due at the Germanna Foundation office by check or credit card by 1 December 2017. The Foundation must reserve the group airline seats that month.

Call the Foundation at 540-423-1700 Mon-Fri, 10a-4p or mail your check to The Germanna Foundation, PO Box 279, Locust Grove, VA 22508-0279

Don’t miss this wonderful heritage travel opportunity! For more information, go to our Travel to Germany page. Also planned is a 2019 river cruise in Germany. Fill out the form on that page to let us know you’re interested.

 

Germanna families referenced in book

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We found extracts of references to Germanna families in Lothar Irle’s book, Siegerländer Persönlichkeiten Und Geschlecter-Lexikon: Hrsg. Aus Anlass Der 750-Jahr-Feier Der Stadt Siegen 1974. Siegen: Selbstverlag des Siegerländer Heimatvereins, 1974.

“Johann Henrich H., *Anzhausen 27. 8. 1644, 1690 bis 1703 Konrektor und Pastor zu Siegen, [verheiratet] Siegen 3. 12. 1678 Anna Kath., T. v. Bgm. Jac. Friesenhagen zu Freudenberg, 1703-1711 Pfarrer zu Oberfischbach, dann nach Amerika ausgewandert, [verstorben] Germantown (Virginia) 1737, 93 J. alt. Siehe: Cuno, S. 244; Lück, Eisen, S. 28 ff., 70 ff,; Hinke, S. 12 f.

“Sohn: Johann Friedrich H., 1703 stud. Herborn, wurde Pfarrer in Pennsylvanien. Er ist der erste, der ein Wörterbuch indianischer Idiome aufstellte, [verstorben] 1722 an den Folgen eines Indianerüberfalls. Siehe: Sgld. 1926, S. 49-57 (Karl Hartback); Lück, Eisen, S. 4, 11 f.; SZ 30. 5. 1973 (Jubiläumsausgabe), Teil VI, S. 1 (Alfred Lück).”

Here are the sources identified:

Submitted by: Marc Wheat

Trustee Jörg Becker, 1955-2016

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The Germanna Foundation announces with regret the death of trustee Jörg Becker of Siegen-Eisern, Germany on 25 July following a courageous battle with cancer. Hundreds of Germanna members knew Jörg from having enjoyed the walking tour he led each year of his ancestral village of Eisern on one of the Germany trips, or from his leadership of the group of 40 members of the German-American Association who came to Virginia in 2014 to share in the 300th Anniversary celebration at Reunion.
 

By profession, Jörg Becker was an attorney with a specialty in employment law. He was a co-founder of the firm Romuender & Associates in Siegen and for 25 years was active in the Siegener Anwaltverein, the local bar association, which had named him an honorary life member of its board. His fellow attorneys praised him for his qualities of integrity, optimism, inspiration, and for his great humanity.

Jörg was active in his community in many ways. From 2005 he had served as legal advisor for the board and oversight body of the Volksbank Siegerland, eG, one of the primary banking institutions in Siegen. He was active in the Heimatverein in Eisern, where he first became involved with the Germanna Foundation in 2003, and was active with the DAG / GAA (German American Association of Siegen-Wittgenstein), organizing the group’s visit to the United States in 2014. He also organized and led other group tours in Germany and abroad for the bar association, including one to Vietnam. He served as legal counsel to two hospice organizations, the Palliative Network of Siegen-Wittgenstein-Olpe e.V. and the Palliative-Medizinischer Konsiliardienst.
He was named to the Germanna Foundation Board of Trustees in 2014 following the retirement of fellow Siegener, Horst Schneider, and took an active role in promoting Germanna in Germany, and in collecting antiques from the Siegen area for the auction at Germanna’s annual Reunion.  The Foundation is placing an engraved paver in the Memorial Garden at the Germanna Visitor Center to honor Jörg’s memory and contributions to the Foundation.
In his student years, Jörg was an exchange student in the U.S. and maintained his ties with his host family and friends. For a hobby he was a serious collector of U.S. postage stamps, and for outdoor activities he was an avid hiker. His family suggested memorial contributions to the Deutscher Aplenverein, Sektion Siegerland, the local chapter of the German Alpine Club.
Jörg is survived by his wife, Birgit Egert-Becker and their two daughters, Corinna and Sonja.
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Become a member of the Germanna Foundation and get access to Germanna’s exclusive genealogy database, GermannaFamily.org, with thousands of names. Research your Germanna roots!

Germanna Foundation

GERMANNA FOUNDATION
The Germanna Foundation
MAILING: P.O. Box 279
LOCATION: 2062 Germanna Highway
Locust Grove, VA 22508-0279
Phone: 540-423-1700
Fax: 540-423-1747
Contact Us

Fort Germanna Visitor Center, Museum & Library

2062 Germanna Highway (Route 3)
Locust Grove, VA 22508
(Next to the Germanna Community College campus)
Office hours are 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm Tuesday through Saturday.
Out of town visitors are urged to call us at 540-423-1700 to confirm or to make special arrangements for groups.
Location

Hike Siegen Forest!

Behind the Fort Germanna Visitor Center is our 170-acre Siegen Forest nature and hiking trails along the Rapidan river.

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Remember the Germanna Foundation in your Will and Estate Plans.

About

The Germanna Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to exploring the Colonial Virginia frontier via the historic 1714 Fort Germanna and its German colonists and their descendants.

It conducts archaeological exploration and conservation, genealogical research and publishing, and historic preservation and interpretation.

The Foundation owns and maintains several historic sites and properties, such as Salubria Manor, that were part of or closely connected to the Germanna colonies, the town of Germanna, and the other early colonial Virginia settlements and towns in the Piedmont area of Virginia.