(Continuing with the John Rector discussion.)
Within the Germanna family there are two branches of Rectors corresponding to two male immigrants of that name. The second and younger immigrant was John Rector who, at age 26, arrived at Philadelphia September 23, 1734, on the ship Hope with 19 other Nassau-Siegen colonists. This John Rector probably married a daughter of John and Mary Spilman of the 1714 group. He died in 1742 and left a young family [including John, Jr., whom recent Notes have discussed]. B. C. Holtzclaw thought that this John Rector was a nephew of the 1714 immigrant, John Jacob Rector [see Germanna Record 4 , page 78f]. From an examination of the Church Records in Nassau-Siegen, it is not possible to infer any relationship between John Rector and John Jacob Rector, even though the surname and the point of origination suggest there may have been one. [This material is being taken from an article in Beyond Germanna by James F. McJohn on page 194.]
Dr. Holtzclaw very correctly observes that birth records of 1707 or 1708 could apply to John Rector. Only one is found: "Johann Jacob Richter was born March 31, 1707. His father was Joerge Henrich Richter and his mother was Anna Maria. The godfather was Johann Jacob Druepler, single." [This information comes from the Siegen District Church Office on August 8, 1977.]
Dr. Holtzclaw identified the father above, Joerge Henrich Richter, as the Henrich Richter who was born the 6th Sunday after Trinity in 1681. This identification is probably based on the age, which would be about right, and the common occurrence of the name Henrich; however, there exists the following marriage record: "Joerge Richter and Anna Maria Druepler were married on July 20, 1706. The groom's father was Christoff Richter, formerly a citizen of Magdeburg, footsoldier in the royal palace guard at Siegen. The bride's father was Daniel Druepler, citizen of Siegen." [From the same church office.]
It is extremely probable that this marriage record pertains to John Rector's parents. The most telling factor is that Johann Jacob Druepler was a godfather for John Rector. This name ties the marriage to the birth. The godfather was probably the mother's unmarried brother. Dr. Holtzclaw assigned a Hermann as the father of Heinrich, who was equated to Joerge Heinrich. The Church Records do not support this.
Joerge Richter, married July 20, 1706, has not been identified yet as being related to the 1714 Richter, Johann Jacob. Since Joerge Richter's father was formerly a citizen of Magdeburg, where Joerge himself may have been born, very positive evidence would be needed to assert that the Rector branches are related.
(14 Sep 05)
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.