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 […]
Germanna First Colony Land Patent Map
Here the land map of Germantown in Fauquier County, Virginia. It shows the schematic outline for individual family tracts on the 1,805 acres of land in 1729. Unfortunately, most of the original land tracts are now under water in modern day Crockett Park, and some are on private land. Presently, we are searching for the […]
Germanna Second Colony Land Patent Map
Here is an early land patent map showcasing where several Second Colony ancestors had land in the Robinson River Valley in Madison County, Virginia. Many of the grants for land patents were between 300-400 acres. Do you see your ancestor’s family name? Click to enlarge.
Germanna Museum Artifact: John Spotswood
Alexander Spotwood’s oldest son, John, died at the age of 34 and was buried in New Post, Virginia, just southeast of Fredericksburg. His burial site was found by accident in 1931 by Massaponnax Gravel Company workers via a steam shovel. The cast iron marker with John Spotswood’s name is now on display at the […]
BREAKING: Horse Stolen from Col. Spotswood
Okay, maybe the news is 281 years old, but Germanna Foundation President Marc Wheat came across a mention of Germanna and the Iron Works in the January 7, 1736 edition of the Virginia Gazette newspaper about a horse stolen from Col. Spotswood. We wonder if anyone got the “handsome reward” that was offered for the […]
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 […]
Germanna mentioned in 1789 newspaper
We found a newspaper clipping from the September 3, 1789 issue of the Pennsylvania Packet that surprised us with such a late reference (1789) to Germanna as a location. We’re looking for more information about this from our readers. Do you know where Col. Ball’s house really was, or have you come across additional references to this from […]
Knights of the Golden Horseshoe Expedition Ride Reenactment
(Dale Duvall/Culpeper Times) Virginia Colonial history will be re-visited as horseback riders from across the United States gather to re-enact Colonial Governor Alexander Spotswood’s Transmontaine Expedition up and over the then imposing Blue Ridge Mountains. It was 300 years ago that this expedition paved the way and began the never ending westward expansion of America. Starting […]
Germanna and the War for Independence
As we celebrate Independence Day, let us remember the many Germanna-related individuals who served as patriots during the Revolutionary War, helping to earn the liberty we celebrate today. An important part of the story of Germanna and the Revolutionary War is that of the Culpeper Minute Men, organized by recruits from modern-day Culpeper, Fauquier, Madison, […]
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 […]
Mother’s Day history
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 […]
60th Anniversary of the Germanna Foundation
March 14, 2016 is the 60th anniversary of the creation of the Germanna Foundation! To celebrate, we’re making available a free pdf of Germanna Record #9 that tells the whole interesting story of how the Foundation was created. The dedication in this 1966 book still applies: “To the undaunted few who changed the old world […]
Remembering Pearl Harbor and Germanna’s Own
Pearl Harbor Day is a time of remembrance for Americans. At 7:55 and 42 seconds, on the morning of December 7th, 1941, thousands of unsuspecting Americans were killed in a surprise attack by the Japanese on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. It was the bloodiest foreign attack on U.S. soil in the modern war era, until […]
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 […]
45th Anniversary of a Germanna Descendant on the Moon
The year 2014 not only marks the 300th anniversary of Germanna in America but July 20, 2014 marks the 45th anniversary of the first moon landing by Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in 1969. Astronaut and Germanna descendant Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin is a direct descendant of the Rev. Henry Häger, the […]
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 […]
Today in 1714: Virginia Gov. Spotswood takes note of new colony of Germans
Three hundred years ago today, on April 28, 1714, the official records of the Colony of Virginia take notice of a small group of Germans to be settled at a place called Germanna on the Rapidan River: “The Governor acquainting the Council that Sundry Germans to the number of forty two men women & children who […]
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 […]
Story of discovered grave marker takes new turn
Culpeper Star-Exponent | March 21, 2014 | By Jeff Say The mystery of the historic grave marker found in the Southridge Village and Town Homes subdivision has taken a new turn. In December, a grave marker engraved “No. 2, Johanes Walk, b(orn) 4 March 1769, d(ied) 13 November 1769,” was discovered by a crew cleaning up […]
Germanna Headstone Unearthed
(Culpeper Star-Exponent) The headstone of an infant who lived and died in the 18th Century was recently unearthed in the town of Culpeper. The unassuming marker for one Johanes Walk, who was born and passed away in 1769, is directly linked by blood to the earliest organized settlement of Germans in colonial Virginia and likely […]
Brooke’s Bank
From Tappahannock, intersection of Queen Street (Rt. 360) and Rt. 17 take Rt. 17 north 14 miles. Turn right at Brooke’s Bank Road. Follow signs. Brooke’s Bank (c. 1751) was built by Sarah Taliaferro Brooke following the death of her husband William, who died in a naval battle. The land was granted to Mrs. Brooke […]
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 […]
John Back – Revolutionary War Soldier
John Back: Revolutionary War Soldier from the Little Fork The Revolutionary War pension application of John Back for his service contains information about his birth, places he lived and how long he lived in each place in addition to his military service. Back was a descendant of Harman Back who arrived in 1738 from Siegen and […]
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 […]
