John Blankenbaker's Germanna History Notes

Note 1571

(Continuing with Inheritance Practices.)

The practices followed in any one area for the preferred method of inheritance varied.  Germany was a collection of hundreds of principalities, and each of these probably had its rules.  These changed in the course of time also.  When I said that in northern Germany the land went to the youngest daughter, I was quoting Roger Minert, a researcher (I think that is the name).  He was telling his own personal story.  In Eighteenth Century Germany, the most common rule was that there was a freedom to divide one's estate in any way that one saw fit.  It was never as rigid as it was in England.  There were localities and periods of time where the rules were more rigid.

Craig is right about the home place going to the youngest son.  He was often still at home and he was charged with taking care of his mother.  He was given the home place.  Many times the oldest children receive nothing because they have already been given something, probably when they left home.

There is a map of the Little Fork area on my web site.  It shows the original patents that were broken up by the later subdivision of the land.  Holtzclaw, for example, divided his land into several parts and sold or gave the pieces.  The web site address is www.germanna.com .  If any of you have my book, The Culpeper Classes , the centerfold is a map of Culpeper County showing the location of the Little Fork.

The rate at which Germans were assimilated into the community depended upon the percentage of them in the community.  In the Mt. Pony area, there were very few and they very quickly became a part of the English community, speaking English, attending English churches, etc.  In the Robinson River Valley where the concentration was much higher (and where there was an active German church) they were still arguing in 1800 about which language to use at church.  In the Little Fork, we have a situation somewhat in between the previous two, but the lack of an active German church meant they would be inclined to switch to English more easily.  They were receptive to switching to the newer denominations, such as the Baptists.

The Germanna residents were generally NOT exempt from the established church.  There were periods of time when the Germans were exempt, but the law always required that they be supporting a minister of their own.  The Little Fork group had no minister, only a reader.  The Germantown group had no minister after Rev. Hager died.  They had to support the Anglican Church.  There were no separate German Parishes, except for a few years there was a limited St. George Parish around Germanna.  The St. Mark's Parish Vestry Book is the record of business transactions, not vital records.  It shows the monies levied and the expenditure of monies.  There are some interesting things in it, such as who was on relief and who was providing the relief, who asked to be excused from the tithe, etc.  Very few of the vital records for any Anglican Parish have been retained but there are some.  The Library of Virginia (LoV) has published a book showing their holdings of church records for all denominations.
(17 Jan 03)