Recently, I have been presenting some information about the First Germanna Colony which is to be found in various archives and libraries around the world. It takes some serious searching to find this material but a lot does exist and only a fraction of it has been found. Beyond Germanna welcomed this type of material for its value in correcting and enriching the record of our ancestors. This note gives some information about two specific Germanna families.
An old, handwritten document gives a fascinating glimpse into the life of two settlers in 18th Century Virginia. Johannes Steinseifer, still residing in Germany, received a letter from Johann Henrich Hoffman, asking him (Johannes) to collect a debt and to bring the money with hirn when he immigrated to America. Johannes did as requested, and the transaction is found in Court proceedings recorded in Protocolhuni Judiciale Amts (Siegen) vom Hain 1747-1749, now located at the city archive in Siegen, Germany. Mary Doyle Johnson provided a transcription of the manuscript, which was done by Friedhelm Menk, Director of the Stadarchiv Siegen and Fürstentum Siegen Landearchiv. The translation into English was done by Ryan Stansifer, who was the author of the article on page 583 of Beyond Germanna .
“On the 10th of May 1749 appears Johannes Steinseiffer of Eisern (who has the intention of moving to America) and produces a letter, written by Johann Henrich Hoffman who moved to America in 1743, dated Doppel Dab [Double Top?], Orange County, [Virginia] the 20th of September 1747. [Johannes Steinseifier] makes known that the aforementioned Hoffmann has requested that he, Johannes Steinseiffer, brlng with him to America the remainder of the proceeds of the sale of goods to Henrich Jung of Eisern, and wishes that Henrich Jung be directed to make payment.
“Appearing simultaneously, Henrich Jung of Eisern acknowledges that the letter produced by Johannes Steinseiffer is written in the hand of Johann Henrich Hoffmann, his seller, and is prepared to make payment, if assured that further claims of Hoffman would not have to be honored, if for some reason the money should not reach the selfsame.”
From this simple document, we learn many things. John Henry Huffman knew John Steinseifer. (It does not say so here, but both men married women whose maiden names were Schuster which tends to increase the chances that the two Schuster women were related, though the connection has never been found.) Apparently both of the men could write and used letters between Virginia and Germany as a way of communication. We learn also that John Henry Huffman went to Virginia in 1743. We even have some idea about where John Henry Huffman lived in Virginia.
(06 Apr 04)
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.