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 of […]
The 1715 Jacobite Rebellion and Germanna
by John Blankenbaker As a result of the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715 in Scotland, George Hume spent nearly all of his adult life in Virginia where he became a respected surveyor including areas inhabited by Germanna people. Also, he was an ancestor of several Germanna families that makes him of special interest to Germanna historians. […]
