I do not have the answer on Catherine Huffman, the daughter of Little Fork Henry Huffman. In 1960, B. C. Holtzclaw said that she married John Ashby. John Alcock in “ Fauquier Families ” shows a marriage bond was issued 27 Oct 1783 to Ashby and Catherine Huffman. Humphrey Brooke was the bondsman. Then in 1964, Holtzclaw, in “ Ancestry and Descendants . . . ” says that she appeared as not being married in 1791. He did not cite any evidence.
***** John Frederick Miller came in 1738. He married Anna Maria Arnd 4 Jul 1737, and they had one child, Matthias, who was born on 2 Jan 1738. Four years earlier, in 1734 in Germany, John Frederick had been accepted as an apprentice in the Guild of Steelsmiths and Toolmakers. Normally, the training program would probably have run many years during the apprentice and journeyman stages and a man was not allowed to marry during this time. Perhaps he considered marriage more important and left the program. Thus, the trip to America could have been an economic alternative.
There is no record of the son Matthias in America. Since the family traveled on the ship Oliver, which departed in July 1738 and on which about two of every three people died, and since ocean voyages were especially hard on the young ones, it is very unlikely that Matthias arrived in America. Note that he was only about six months old when the ship left. In America, John Frederick had a wife Mary, but whether this is the woman, Maria (German form of Mary), that he married in Germany is uncertain. Considering that Mary was a popular name and considering the death rate on the ship's voyage, it is only a probability, perhaps about one chance in three, that she is the same person.
What John Frederick did for the first ten years that he was in America is uncertain. The first record for him occurs in 1748. He acquired 400 acres on the North Fork of Mayo River in the Patrick-Henry County area, which was then Lunenburg County. The very next entry in the record book was made by Harman Crites, who is undoubtedly the Hymenäus Creutz on the Freudenberg emigration list of 1738. Sometimes, this last name is given as Critz. This is a family who has never been recognized as a Germanna family.
When Halifax County was formed in 1752, John Frederick Miller and Harman Critz were added as tithables. Both of these men were naturalized in 1753. It appears that these two were the first naturalized citizens of Halifax Co. John Frederick often used both of his given names but not always.
By 1755, the effects of the French and Indian War were felt. A series of forts were erected in the area. Fort Mayo was built on the plantation of Miller. In 1759, Miller filed for damages due to the fort. The garrison had cut down a large orchard, burned one house and 1600 fence rails, and used 518 feet of planking in building the fort. In addition he lost the use of his property. It was decided that he was entitled to something more than twenty pounds money as damages. During the war, Miller purchased property to the east. Apparently he issued mortgages and bonds, since he was in court several times seeking money due him. By 1780, he appears to have been the owner of two thousand acres in the Patrick and Henry County areas.
(21 Dec 02)
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.