I just took the July issue of Beyond Germanna down to the post office. Subscribers will see that it is being sent in a different way this time. It is in an envelope which unfortunately requires more postage, due to the added weight. But the advantage is that a heavier and better paper can be used. Since the ink jet printers have come out, the paper for them needs to be heavier. So the paper companies are turning their efforts toward making the better papers in a heavier grade.
Since this is the volume 13, number 4 issue, it makes the 76th issue that has been sent to subscribers. Every one of these has been mailed by the advertised date.
One of the topics over the course of time that I have been the happiest about is the work on the Rector family. More new information at the top (or the root of the tree?) has been published here in recent years than anywhere else. As was announced by Thom Faircloth and J. M. Paden, I will be at Crockett Park midday Saturday, the 14th of July. Then, a little later in the day I will shift over to the Fauquier Heritage Library. It was suggested that I would be there at 9:00 a.m., but I must drive from Pennsylvania first, so it will be later in the morning. Look for me in the Park from about 11:00 a.m. to about 2:00 p.m. (If people are still coming in at 2:00 p.m., I will stay longer).
The issue of Beyond Germanna that was just mailed has a lead article, by Rebecca Hilbert, that corrects and adds to the information for Elizabeth Huffman, a granddaughter of Henry Huffman, the 1743 immigrant. Elizabeth was the daughter of Ambrose Huffman, Sr., who married Mary Railsback. The Germanna Records have incorrectly said that she married Ambrose, Jr., the nephew of Ambrose, Sr., but the author shows that she married Zacheus Button.
A short note, with photos, amplifies on the German heating and cooking methods. Earlier, I had run the petition of Alexander Spotswood to King George, but the copy I was working from, which came from the microfilm at the Virginia State Library, simply could not be read in certain areas. Recently I ordered a copy from the Public Record Office in Kew Gardens, and that copy was easily readable down to the last word. This shows how bad some microfilm copies are. In this case, the problem was due to the original filming.
Another article amplifies on the process of becoming a Master in a craft or skill in eighteenth century Germany. Barbara Kolhoff describes another way to visit Germany, which leaves the driving to them , and she had a rewarding time.
The remaining titles are "The Johann Jacob Kneissle Family" and "Jonas Raser and Virinda Weaver" and "To Sleep, Perchance to Dream" and "Eighteenth Century German Passenger Traffic at Philadelphia."
(28 Jun 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.