Few names in the Gemmingen index start with the letter " N ". From 1701 to 1742, the only family name is Niclas/Nikklas/Nicklas. Then in 1742, a Neubott appears, but this is the only time in the Eighteenth Century.
After this brief interruption by Miss Neubott, the index returns to the Nicklas family until 1777 when Friederika Catharina Necker appears once. In the 1790's, there is a brief interruption by three Näsle/Nässle entries. A Neidell appears in 1795 and a Närbel in 1808. A misplaced Muff appears in 1813. Altogether in the 1694 to 1815 period, there were 30 Nicklas in one form or another.
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| Niclas/Nikklas/Nicklas (1694-1815 | Neubott (1742) | Necker (1777) |
| Näsle/Nässle (1790's) | Neidell (1795) | Närbel (1808) |
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One of the purposes of going into this detail of the last few notes is to show how many different ways that a name can be spelled. None of them are more correct than any other. If one is doing research, then it is necessary to consider some variations which may even seem far fetched. First names are a help in deciding if two surnames are to be considered the same. Later, in the " B's ", I will give an example which even Andreas found difficult to believe.
Because Gemmingen sent so many Germanna families, and because some other Germanna citizens seem to have a tie to these individuals, I have wanted to study the Parish Records in as much detail as I can master (it would be better to call me an 'apprentice'). I plan on being especially alert to names or families which could have been the source of the Moyers and Barlows. As Nancy Dodge suggests in her response, the Moyers may have originated in the Maier, Mayer family.
In the homework problem, I had in mind another family which is often overlooked. In the list of 48 head rights used by Alexander Spotswood there are three names, Hans Michel Milcher (or perhaps Milcker), Sophia Catharina Milcher, and Maria Parvara Milcher. We can compare this to the list of names left in the Death Register by the Sexton of the Gemmingen Church in 1717 (see Beyond Germanna , page 907, as translated by Mielke and Hall). There we have the family of Hannss Michael MichlEkhr, his wife Sophia Catharina, his daughters Anna Margarethe and Anna Catharina, plus his wife's sister. The names of the two parents correspond. The lack of the two Gemmingen daughters and the mother's sister may be due to death. Maria Barbara may be an infant.
When we studied the "
M
" section of the name index (see the last note) we had the Mühläcker family with some variations. Because the names appear on Spotswood's list, we believe that the family did arrive in Virginia with other members of the Second Colony. They should also be counted as Germanna citizens. What happened to this family? No one knows. The father may have died and, hence, there is a lack of records. Or did the family skip out and go to Pennsylvania?
(07 Oct 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.