In the last note, Catherine Finks, who married Christopher Crigler, was mentioned. They had children from 1751 to 1778. All of them were baptized at the German Lutheran Church. In entering the information for the first ten children, there is no mother listed. The name of Catherine is omitted for all of them, except for the eleventh child, Wilhelm or William. Sometimes the record keepers simply failed to make the proper entry, but I am convinced in this case that the reason he did not list Catherine is that she was not there. The children were brought by the father without the mother being present.
From a study of the Finks family at the Lutheran Church, I am convinced that the family was not Lutheran. They were opposed to the Lutheran Church, especially to the baptisms of infants. There are two groups that I can think of that might be opposed. First, there are the Anabaptists who are opposed to all infant baptisms, believing that this is a function which should be performed when a person is an adult. The second group which might oppose the baptisms at the Lutheran church is the Catholics. The Reformed Church members would hardly be opposed, nor would the Church of England people. The Church of England and the Lutherans regarded each other as members of the "true" church with the Church of England holding their service in English and the Lutherans in German.
For a while, I was impressed by the stories told by the descendants of Mark Finks. They said he was born in the Alps or he was born high in the mountains. What is remarkable about these attributions is that the Anabaptists today give these "locations" as their spiritual and/or physical home. So I was inclined to think the family was Anabaptist. It would describe a lot of their behavior patterns. A major weakness in this thesis was the role played by Mark Finks, Jr., during the Revolutionary War. He was a Captain in the Militia. The Anabaptists were not only opposed to infant baptisms but they were pacifists. Mark Finks, Sr., had died in 1763 or 1764, but his wife, Elizabeth, lived until at least 1776, when she was recorded at the Lutheran Church as taking communion. But about 1776, there is a turn around in the attitude of the Finks family toward the Lutheran Church. It would still be hard to believe the major change in attitude displayed by Mark, Jr., in a few years. I haven't completely abandoned the thought that the family might have been Anabaptists but an alternative theory might fit the facts better.
I am now inclined to believe the family was Catholic and had convictions strong enough to keep them from participating in a Lutheran baptism. Tomorrow I will cite a small piece of evidence toward this end. At least it would not be so improbable that Mark, Jr., could be a Captain in the Militia.
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.