The discussion here on the Redmans convinces me that we are talking about a German family; however, not all of the personal names that I gave for the Redmans are necessarily German. It may be the case that, through a convergence of names, there were two branches of Redmans, an English family and a German family. It may also be the case that the Redmans had been in the community for a while, and had marriages with an English family, with the result that some of the first names came from the English side of the family. I am still mystified how the family could have had as many members as it did and did not leave more records.
The mention of the Henkel family brings to mind another Germanna family, that of George Teter, of Schwaigern (the home of several Germanna families). The Germanna George Teter must be distinguished from another George Teter who lived in the Valley at the same time. It is seldom that there were as many marriages between two families as there were between the Teter and the Henkel families.
George Teter, born in Schwaigern, married Maria Margretha Luttman, in 1720. In 1727, Hans Jorg Dieter went to the police court in Schwaigern to obtain an exit visa (and to pay the taxes due on his property). The baptism paper of Rev. Paul Henkel in America identifies Georg Teter with Schwaigern. The Dieters arrived in Philadelphia in 1727, and lived in Pennsylvania for a few years. They then moved to Virginia, where George Teter (Jeter) obtained a patent, in Orange County, for 200 acres on the south side of the Robinson River in 1735/6. The patent was adjacent to Michael Cook, who was also from Schwaigern. George Teter died about ten years after this, for Margaret Teter obtained a bond in the administration of his estate in 1743/4. She signed for herself as Maria Mariagreda Dieter.
The record of the family grows hazy for a period. Disposition of the land and the remarriage of Maria Margaret are unknowns. Eight children are known, but two apparently died as infants, and information on one daughter is scarce. Among the knowns:
1. George (b. 1730), married, about 1764, Mary Ann Margaret Henkel.
2. Paul (b. ca 1732), married Rebecca Henkel.
3. Mary Barbara (b. May 1734), married, first, Rev. Jacob Henkel, and, second, David Harman.
4. Philip (b. ca 1733 - 36), married Susanna Henkel
5. Rosina, married Marin Peterson.
I am not sure just how the Paul Henkel, mentioned here recently, fits into this picture, but I have few doubts about his being a part of this picture. The Henkels apparently never lived in the Germanna community, but, with all of the marriages between the Henkel and Teter families, it would appear that Henkels should be honorary members.
The marriages between the Henkels and Teters took place in North Carolina, I believe. My comments are based on an article on George Teter by Franklin Cockran in
Beyond Germanna
.
(17 Jan 01)
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.