Here are some more early German names (using English spellings) in the Robinson River Valley: Back, Baker, Baumgartner, Bender (Painter), Benneger, Beyerback, Beeman, Broyles, Bungard, Chelf, Crisler, Crecelious, Crees, Diehl, Deer, Finks, Fisher, Fite, Frady, Frank, Fray, Garr, Gerhardt, Holtzclaw, Hupp, House, Hoffman, Jacoby, Klug, Kinslow, Leathers, Lehman, Leyte, Lipp, Lotspeich, Manspiel, Mauck, Miller, Nonnenmacher, Racer, Railsback, Rinehart, Reiner, Slaughter, Snider, Southern, Spilman, Staehr, Stonecipher, Stoever, Swindel, Teter, Urbach, Vaught, Walk, and Ziegler. (The origins of the Swindel family are unclear; it is a German name.)
There were some men who were not German but who married German women. Their families may be considered German because half of their genes were German. These include Burdyne, Millbanks, and Oddenino.
These Germans left many marks in the Robinson River Valley. The Finks left a Hollow as did the House family. The Broyles and the Fishers left Gaps. The Tanners left a Ridge as did the Deals but the Garrs, Carpenters, and Aylors left Mountains. Collectively, the Germans left a Ridge.
You could go to church at Hoffman’s Chapel or at the Old Dutch Church. The latter is known now as Hebron Lutheran Church. Its cemetery overflows with German names though English names are becoming more prominent. (Incidentally, this cemetery has had to expand as the original cemetery is filling up.)
Though the contributions of the Germans have diminished with time as more English moved into Madison County, there was still a strong German presence at the time of World War II. The following German names were found in the ranks of their adopted country then: Aylor, Beahm, Blankenbaker, Broyles, Carpenter, Clore, Crigler, Delph, Finks, Fishback, Gaar, Hitt, Hoffman, Leathers, Mauck, Rucker, Smith, Tanner, Utz, Weaver, Yager, and Yowell.
To summarize, in 1725, land in Spotsylvania County, which then included the Robinson River Valley, was free. Our thrifty German ancestors took advantage of this and settled as a group in the Robinson River Valley without letting the dangers of being in such an exposed position deter them. The presence of the Germans encouraged others, the English in particular, but other nationalities also, to move in and become their neighbors. The German numbers were large enough that a distinct German flavor was preserved for a long time, which encouraged new German immigrants to settle there up to the time of the Revolution. After that, the normal ebb and flow of the tides lead to a changing mixture.
(03 Mar 06)
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.