John Blankenbaker's Germanna History Notes

Note 1751

The Fifty-First Note in each Hundred is one of the "Half-Century marks".  Therefore, I take time to write about these Notes and why they exist.  The collective "you" have (has?) a broad range of interests which never fails to amaze me.  It seems to me that someone is always interested in any given subject.  That is good because I am stumped occasionally for a subject to write about.

Basically, I try to write about the Germans who lived on the east side of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia.  Being on the east side eliminates the Germans who lived in the Shenandoah Valley.  And Virginia eliminates all of the other states.  BUT, I never hold to these rules.  I wander all over the globe, even to Germany occasionally.  It is a little hard to separate the different Germans into bins.  So much happened in Pennsylvania that the story of the Germans in Virginia would be very incomplete without several mentions of Pennsylvania and its people.

While the Notes may be informative at times, they are not research papers.  They are meant to stimulate interest to make the list more useful.  The list becomes useful when the readers can answer questions or generate new thoughts.
( NOTE from Website Manager:  Please see below , for information on the GERMANNA_COLONIES Mailing List at Rootsweb, which John mentions. )

I do feel badly that I cannot say more about the First Colony and its people.  There were more Germans in Fauquier County than we usually mention.  This is where others may make some contributions.  We need people who study the community , not just the family .  But if you can write only about your Eighteenth Century family, why not tell us something about it.  Remember that this list is not a monopoly.  It should be a cooperative society, with everyone giving and taking something.

As we have amply seen, we stoop on occasion to even writing about the English.  They interacted enough that a history would be incomplete without discussing some of their minor contributions.  Actually, their peculiarities are interesting even when they go at it with swords and staves.  Some of Germans did the same thing.  Does anyone know about a murder committed by a German?  There was at least one.

Let me slip in two advance notices.  This Saturday, I will be on duty at the Hans Herr House.  The Saturday after that I will be enjoying myself down in Tennessee.  Besides the official functions, there should be time to talk informally.  You can give me your feedback at these locations. ( Another NOTE from the Website Manager:  John is referring to the annual combined "East Tennessee Germanna Reunion" and the "East Tennessee Germanna BROYLES Reunion".  You can read about it here .)

Let me add there will be a Memorial Meeting (not a service) for Klaus Wust at the American Frontier Museum in Staunton, on October 18 at 2 p.m.  You may want to add this to your calendar.  Those of us who heard him at the 2002 Germanna Reunion may have heard him give his last public address.  But his memory will go on for a long time.
(05 Sep 03)