The Germanna Reiner family originated in Schwaigern, Württemberg. The first member of the family to come to Virginia was Maria Barbara, who had married Johann Michael Koch. Then 32 years later, her brother, Johann Dieterich Reiner, arrived with his family, a wife and five children. The oldest child, Hans Dieterich, was born in 1716, and the youngest surviving child, Eberhardt, was born in 1733. Eberhardt, age 17, purchased 530 acres from Ambrose Powell in 1750, the year after they had arrived in Philadelphia. Eberhardt never married, but the other children all did. The girls were married very quickly; it almost seems as if they were engaged before they arrived.
When Eberhard wrote his will, he mentioned his sister (Mary) Margaret (born 1723), who seemed to be married to a Withauer or Witham. The latter name is to be found in “ Hebron Communion Lists ”, where the spelling is Wittem, Withim, or Wittim. At the first mention, in 1784, Margaret would have been 61, and she was listed as a widow. Normally, a listing as a widow is close to the time that widowhood commences, but in 1789 she is also listed as a widow. The last mention for her is in 1796, when she was 73 years old.
A correspondent writes that a Peter Witham seems to have been born in Culpeper County in 1763. If Margaret was his mother, she would have forty years old, which is possible. Except for the reference to Culpeper County and an age match that is ok, I know of no evidence that Peter Witham was the son of Margaret. There are no Withams in “ The Culpeper Classes ”, nor in the Personal Property Tax Lists for 1789. Therefore, the family does not seem to have been numerous in Culpeper at the time of the Revolution, which increases the chances that Peter is the son of Margaret.
Peter Witham’s Revolutionary War Pension Application said that he was a private in the company of Captain Fisher Rice and they marched to Jamestown, where a skirmish took place, and then they retreated and marched back to Culpeper where he was discharged. He also served three months in the company of Abros Bohannon. Another time he served at Yorktown at the time of the battle, but was marched to Winchester to guard prisoners. He also served in the suppression of the Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania in 1794 or 1795. Peter was born 9 March 1763.
A descendant, it appears, of Peter, one Nancy Witham, married John Agee in the Nineteenth Century. The Agees were Huguenots and descended from one Mathew Agee, who appears to be the only Agee who came to America. Allied names to the Agee family include Dickinson or Dickens. The name Agee is probably to be identified as the same as the name Acree, who appears in the Culpeper Classes. His first name was William.
(04 Jun 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.