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I am trying to locate and or differentiate any information about my Jacob Huffman, b. 1760, m. 1786 to Susannah Miller, father of Jacob II, Daniel, David, Samuel, Catharine, John H. Jospeh and Mary. He was married in Shenandoah County, VA on Nov. 4, 1786. Resided in Woodstock, VA for a time, also lived in Montgomery County, VA and Greenbrier County, WV. His son Joseph b. 1802, d. 1870-1880 in Greenbrier County, WV, married Margaret Smith on Aug. 25, 1830, she died 1850-1860. The Jacob Huffman from Germanna married a Mary Floyd in 1786. I just want to know for sure which Jacob is mine as there are three listed in the Germanna data base. Any information would be welcome and appreciated.
Great News!
We have had a sizeable donation of $650 toward the Zimmerman Memorial! As we had a total of $925 before, we have a total of $1575 of the $2000 needed. Therefore only $425 is needed to reach the goal! Who will start out the New Year with a gift, large or small to reach it? Any amount will be appreciated by the descendants of the Zimmermans. Thanks to the contributors!
Happy New Year to the Germanna Community!
Over the past several years we have received $975 in donations toward a large stone for Christopher Zimmerman. The stone will cost $2000, so we are just about halfway in the collection effort! Please if you are a Zimmerman descendant, consider helping in this lasting gift to your heritage. Thank you!
"The Germans are trying to preserve an eroding ethos of effort, productivity and self-discipline. In condemning them, we deny our own foundations." Read the rest of the column at
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/02/opinion/brooks-the-spirit-of-enterprise.html?ref=davidbrooks
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year All!
$25 has been donated toward the $150 needed for a memorial paving stone for Clay Cooper Rector, who was killed on the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Would you join with others to honor his memory in the Germanna Memorial Garden? This is a lasting gift to your family and Germanna heritage! Thank you!
Barbara Bounds, Office Manager, Germanna Foundation
Just a note to descendants of Hans Jacob Richter (Rector) of the original 1714 Germanna Colony settlers and all other interested parties.
The very rare and limited edition book The Rectors of Wayne County Kentucky has been added to my website at the following address http://www.rector.org/genealogy.htm. This is a free PDF download of the entire book, and the file is searchable.
The book was compliled by Clara Rector Barnes Smart of Charlottesville, VA, and was published in 1975 to be in the public domain. My mother, Ruth Yingling Rector, helped Clara with the research on the 475-page book, which has many references to the original families who settled at Germanna. You may download this by clicking the "Free Download" link on the page referenced above.
I may be contacted at the following email address: leerector@gmail.com.
You are welcome to distribute copies at will.
Enjoy!
Lee Rector
11/12/11
Thank you very much, Wayne, that's very generous of you!!!
Barb Price
Holzklau/Otterbach/Heimbach/Fischbach
One of the Rector descendants in this book is Clay Cooper Rector (June 27,1920-December 7,1941), killed on the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor.
Clay Cooper Rector was the son of Wendell Wesley and Lela Florence Cooper Rector. Clay was in charge of the storeroom on the USS Arizona. The last family member to see him may have been his cousin Clay who met him in the Pacific in 1940. His cousin Clay left Pearl Harbor two days before the attack on the USS Anderson. Clay Cooper Rector's brother was also lost in the military.
Clay can be found on pages 93, 136, and 137.
Photo at http://www.flickr.com/photos/heartofkentucky/4168028236/
Does anyone have extra copies of Volume 15 since it is now out of print? I would like to purchase several if any are available.
Many thanks,
Ann Green Baise (niece of James E. Martin)
2201 Great Falls St
Falls Church, VA 22043-1626
703-534-1753
Hi I'm just getting started on my descendants of Jacob Utterback through his son Elijah Utterback I'm trying to get in the D.A.R. and I'm haveing truble getting brith and death records of them I sent to the Vriginia health dept. and they told me they did not have any records of them.I have the census but they do not show names of the household I need help and would be glad to pay for any information that I recive. Martha(Utterback) Luallen-martha.luallen@att.net
While viewing the photo page, I noticed a picture labled John WilhoitHouse. Could someone tell me which John Wilhoit house this is, and where the picture was taken.
Thanks
Sandra vines
My ancestor was Lewis Rector, b c 1765 in Fauquier Co., VA; m Elizabeth Martin 17 Jan 1799 in Campbell Co., VA; d c 1830 in Anderson Co., TN. Probate documents only mention that his will was probated in open court -- no mention of names of children or spouse. Does anyone have ANY good documentation to prove that one of his sons is Martin Rector (b c 1810 in TN; m Nancy Duckett Rector 29 Mar 1840 in Warren Co., KY; d unknown)????
I have a copy of the military papers for War of 1812 for Lewis Rector! The documentation would also help me with DAR. Can anyone help, please?
Marsha Young mrszorro@hotmail.com
Harvard had the second-highest team GPA among Division I schools in 2010-11 (Harvard Athletic Communications).
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Harvard men’s swimming and diving team recorded the second-highest team GPA among Division I schools in 2010-11, as the squad earned CSCAA Scholar All-America honors, the organization announced. Six members of last year’s squad also received individual scholar All-America honorable mention honors.
The Crimson compiled a 3.40 team GPA during the 2010-11 season, tying it for second place among Division I schools with Boston College, and just .04 back of Denver. The team GPA represents an improvement from the 2009-10 season, where the Crimson placed sixth among Division I programs with a 3.34 team grade-point average.
Three freshmen led the way with the individual honors, as Chris Satterthwaite, Wes Stearns and Danny Crigler earned honorable mention accolades. Junior Nicholas Tan also earned a spot on the Scholar All-America squad, and seniors Blake Lewkowitz ’10 and Will Heyburn ’10 rounded out the sextet of honorees.
The CSCAA chooses its Scholar All-America team members on the basis of their performances in the pool and classroom. To be selected to the squad, swimmers must qualify for the NCAA Championships meet and achieve a GPA of 3.50 or higher. Honorable mention selections, meanwhile, must achieve an NCAA provisional qualifying time and a 3.50 or higher GPA.
Danny Crigler is the grandson of Germanna Foundation members Wayne and Elaine Crigler. According to Germanna Record 18 ("The Second Germanna Colony and Other Pioneers" by John Blankenbaker), Jacob Crigler, founder of the Crigler family in America, was probably a bachelor when he arrived at Germanna in 1717. Jacob Crigler married the widow Susannah (Clore) Weaver not long after arriving in Virginia.
I have received this information from Leslie S. Hall correcting information about the Crisler family.
Johni Cerny and Gary Zimmerman state that the father of Theobald (David), who was Leonard Sr., had his will probated in 1748 in Montgomery County, PA. This is incorrect as this Leonard was the Jr. and brother of Theobald Crisler of the Robinson River Valley. The father, Leonard Crisler, Sr., left no will when he died in 1740. HIs son, Leonard Crisler, Jr., died in 1748 and it was his will that was probated in 1748. There was a 1746 tripartite indenture between Leonard, Sr.'s widow, Anna Maria Bender Crisler, and her two sons, Theobald and Leonard, which spells out the relationships. A copy of this agreement was obtained from the Mennonite Heritage Center in Harleysville, PA which is in Franconia Township of Montgomery Co. In Philadelphia, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania has a copy of Leonard Crisler, Jr.'s will which was written in December 1748 which divides his estate between his widow and one daughter, Maria Barbara.
John Blankenbaker
John,
Thank you for clarifiying which Leonard is referenced in the 1748 will. I'm researching the Christlers in the RRV right now and appreciate the additional informatiion. On my next research trip to Philadephia, I will spend some time at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
Suzanne Collins Matson
Germanna descendant Jesse Wilhite/Wilhoit was enlisted in Captain Gabriel Long’s Rifle Company, Daniel Morgan’s 11th Regiment, Virginia Continental Line, according to Lon Lacey, member of the Culpeper Minute Men Chapter, Virginia Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.
While serving the patriot cause, Jesse Wilhite suffered at Valley Forge with George Washington.
The Wilhite family left Germanna and moved to Deep Run area north of Hebron Lutheran Church in Culpeper County (now Madison County).
In about 1805, he moved with other Wilhoit and Germanna families to Jefferson County, Kentuck, an area later to become Oldham County in 1826. They settled on Wilhoit Branch and Herrods Creek, and were founders of Herrods Creek Baptist Church.
His daughter, Lucy, married Jesse Lacy (spelling at that time), son of Elijah Lacy, who as a sixteen-year-old Goochland County militiaman, guarded Hessians at Albemarle Barracks. Elijah Lacy served twice near Richmond & Williamsburg and last at Yorktown.
More information on Germanna’s participation in the patriot’s cause can be found at http://www.germanna.org/revwar and at http://www.germanna.org/node/483.
What a neat picture. If I am correct and Jesse is the son of Matthias Wilhite and Mary Ballenger, he is also the brother of John Wilhite married to Lucy Stapp. The children of Matthias and Tobias seem to be complicated in all the sources. As I claim John, Joel and wife Mary etc. I am interested. My facts have John and Lucy in Woodford County and later in Owen County. Tobias, their son was married in Woodford County and was in the 1820 Owen Census. John and Lucy were also on the same Census and same page.
Yet I also have some of the same names for Tobias and Catherine (Walke) and come through Reynolds. Would sure like to know which children were which for old Tobias and Matthais.
According to Tobias will, PARISH of BRUMFIELD CULPEPPER COUNTY, VIRGINIA SEPTEMBER 1, 1761 (CULPEPER COUNTY, VIRGINIA) {WILL BOOK A,)His children listed were: Michael, Conrad, Mary (Broyles) Jesse and William. Jesse being born around 1739. According to the Germanna Record #13, it is believed Jesse, born ca 1748, son of Matthias, died young.. maybe there is more updated information out there that I don't have, but hope this helps.
I'm looking for a copy of this book. Any ideas? Also grateful for any help in researching my Rouse line. Descent from Matthias to Samuel to Moses to Moses Weaver to Con Alexander. Virginia to Kentucky to Missouri to Illinois. eeddy@cinci.rr.com
Hello,
Working on some Kemper, Hitt, Mauzy records today. Time to do some supplemental DAR applications and wondering if the Kemper book is a recognized source.
Looking forward to reunion/conference and seeing friends and cousins.
Beverly
NSDAR generally does not recognize books like Kemper's as an appropriate source. Usually family history books of that time are not adequately documented.
I am looking for some hints for where to start searching the area for family traces. I am coming to the area on Sunday to look around. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Nancy Briles
Fauquier Co Va Deeds compiled by John K Gott includes the following deed from Bk 6, pp 34-36, dated 23 May 1774. Bill of Sale between John Duncan and Elizabeth, his wife, of Culpepper Co. and Joseph Duncan Sr...L30...tract in Hamilton Parish..bought by sd Duncan of Joseph HITT...53 ac...oak on Marsh Road, joining Benj. Holtzclaw's land..saplings in Bumberry's line...oak on sd road near Turkey Run Church. Signed: John Duncan, Elizabeth (X) Duncan. Wit: Jos Blackwell, Thos. Keith, Samuel Blackwell. Recorded 26 Sep 1774. Ack. by GRANTORS.
The above seems straightforward, but some who have examined the above deed say that the abstract is not complete and that the list of GRANTORS also includes: Alice, Elisha, Eve, Harmon, Henry, John, and Peter HITT.
This additional list of GRANTORS seems very odd. Has someone garbled their notes regarding this deed? If these Hitt names are really there, what is their significance? Can anyone clarify this peculiar information that circulates on-line?
See who else is involved in the mission of the Germanna Foundation - join us at http://www.facebook.com/GermannaFoundation
The family secret behind the economic boom
Published: 18 May 11 16:57 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/money/20110518-35083.html
The backbone of Germany’s booming economy isn’t huge industry – it's thousands of small and mid-sized firms spread across the country. The Local's David Wroe reports on the quiet achievers known as the Mittelstand.
During the depths of Germany’s recession in 2009, Carl Martin Welcker did something the family firm had never done since Welcker’s great-grandfather founded it 131 years ago. He went to the bank for a loan.
Welcker, the fourth-generation managing partner of the Cologne-based firm Alfred H. Schütte, was faced with a drop of up to 90 percent in orders for the machine tools the firm manufactures, which are used in factories around the world.
“At that point in time, it doesn’t matter how healthy you are – you are in a tough situation,” he told The Local. “I went to the bank and said, ‘It doesn’t matter that I never needed help. I do now.’”
At the same time, he made “massive” use of the federal government’s Kurzarbeit scheme, allowing him to reduce his employees’ work hours and in some cases their wages rather than laying them off.
“I went to the guys and said, ‘We’ll go through it together and we are not laying anyone off,’” he said.
That was just two years ago. Last year, Schütte’s sales rose 200 percent and will likely rise even more this year – a stunning turnaround that highlights the rebound of Germany’s economy since it suffered its worst recession since World War II between 2008 and 2009.
“As fast as it went down, it’s gone back up again,” Welcker said.
Schütte is one of what author Hermann Simon, of the consultancy Simon-Kucher & Partners, has famously called the “hidden champions” – the thousands of small- and medium-sized firms that form the backbone of the German economy.
The Mittelstand, as they are called in German, are playing a key role in the torrent of strong economic data coming out of Germany. Last Friday, official figures revealed the economy grew by 1.5 percent in the first quarter of 2011, its largest year-on-year growth since reunification. The country's economic output has now exceeded the pre-crisis level of early 2008.
Figures released earlier in the week showed that exports had reached €98.3 billion in March, the highest monthly figure since record-keeping began in 1950. Unemployment fell below 3 million for the first time in almost 19 years in late April.
“These hidden champions are playing a central role” in Germany’s economic recovery, Hermann Simon told The Local.
The breakfast of champions
The typical Mittelstand is an unpretentious, quietly successful manufacturing firm run by its owners – often families covering several generations – with a loyal, local workforce that has been trained at the firm through apprenticeships.
More than two thirds are family-owned and based in small cities or rural communities – especially in the Rhineland and Baden-Württemberg. The average age of these firms is 70 years. They employ more than two-thirds of the country’s workers and contribute half of its GDP.
Mittelstand firms such as machine tool-makers suffered heavily during the global recession but also bounced back quickly because their products are what Simon calls “postponable but indispensable.” They sell things that businesses absolutely need but rarely need right away.
“The strength of the growth is probably temporary – we won’t have a new export record every month as we did in March,” he said. “But the long-term prospects are quite good to very good.”
The Mittelstand have inherent strengths, many experts say. Management consultant and author Bernd Venohr told a recent conference in Vienna that they focus on long-term survival and consider themselves part of their local communities, which commands the loyalty of their workers and their suppliers.
The owner-managers consider themselves stewards of a firm they will pass onto the next generation rather than flashy CEOs.
"The culture was helpful to survive the crisis," Venohr told The Local this week. "The Mittelstand behaved counter-cyclically: they tried to keep qualified staff, invested in research and development and sales, whereas many publicly listed companies with short-term performance pressures laid off people."
Having avoided firing people in 2009, firms like Schütte still had their fully trained workforces when the economic climate improved, which helped them bounce back faster.
“Germany still has a strong industrial base, other than say Great Britain or the United States,” Welcker said. “There were also smart – and lucky – decisions by politicians and entrepreneurs, (such as) Kurzarbeit.”
He said this allowed companies like his to keep the employees on board and prepare for a bigger and better future instead of just shrinking towards oblivion.
Indeed, Welcker never ended up having to draw on the line of bank credit he eventually secured for his firm. Things picked up before he needed it.
Mittelstand firms also tend to make high-quality, specialised products such as machine tools that can’t be bought elsewhere. Emerging economies, most obviously China, can’t get enough of Germany’s well-made tools.
“China may be the world’s factory, but Germany companies are building it,” Venohr said.
Riding the dragon
Indeed China overall is a major factor in the current boom, presenting both a massive opportunity but also a longer-term challenge to German manufacturers, experts say.
For now, it is sucking up German exports, especially for the automotive industry.
“We are doing a lot of forecasting work and we always tell our companies that it’s not a question of whether, but how much, the demand is shifting to Asia,” said Gerhard Hein, the director of economics and statistics with the German Machine Tool Builders’ Association.
“Take China for example: the demand is one third of the entire order intake from abroad in the case of German machine tools. This portion will increase and ... in say 2013 or 2014 we will see 60 or even 65 percent of worldwide machine tool demand coming from Asia. This is the big challenge.”
German Mittelstand firms have been flexible enough to adjust well to the new demand from the Far East, Hein said. But he and others agree that the looming issue is that China won’t be satisfied to remain a second-rate manufacturer itself.
“The Chinese are always clever enough that they never buy a mere machine. They always ask for know-how, process support, training of the workforce and other after-sales services,” Hein said.
It won’t be long before China is a competitor as well as a customer.
“China is the most serious competitor to the Mittelstand,” Hermann Simon said. “They are saying, ‘We want to be world class. We are determined to become world class.’”
Until then, commentators agree that the next few years should be a healthy time for the hidden champions.
“I’m quite confident we are at the beginning of an upswing that should reach for three or four years,” said Gerhard Hein. “We will see a strong jump in production in 2011 and also a prosperous 2012 for the Mittelstand.”
Bernd Venohr agreed China would become a "formidable competitor" and said speed bumps such as a possible burst of China's real estate bubble could spring up but added, "mid-term, I am optimistic."
David Wroe (david.wroe@thelocal.de)
Experts agree that it is easier and greener to register on-line for the 54th Annual Germanna Conference and Reunion by clicking http://www.germanna.org/catalog/20/conference_registration_2011
Be sure to email this link to all your kith and kin. You can have that family reunion and won't have to do the dishes!
I am a Martin descendant through Peter, James, James T and James E.
Our Martins moved to Kentucky and then to Indiana. I am very interested in sharing genealogical information with Martin cousins.
I have noted that Karen Jensen, an announced speaker for our 2011 conference is also a Martin descendant.
thank you,
Barbara Martin Naef
Hi Barbara,
I am a Martin descendant through Jacob Martin whose daughter Elizabeth married Berryman Smith.
They moved to Scott County Kentucky as did Jacob and his wife Sarah_____. Later they all moved to Faquiar County, Indiana and then the Smiths moved to Fountain County, Indian and then to Illinois.
There are a great many people from that part of Virginia who followed that path. I know because they all married each other. I am coming to the reunion this year. I've been putting it off for 15 years. I will be looking for information on the Martins, Smiths and the Conners. Will you be there, I'll bring all my "stuff".
I hadn't planned on going to the convention because I'm not interested in the Civil War. All of my ancestors were in Illinois or Missouri by the time the Civil War broke out. Do you think Karen Jenson will have anything to share about the Martins?
Marilyn Kinnie
Barbara,
I also descend from the Germanna Martins, but by a very different lineage. However, there seem to be fewer of us who are interested in the Martins so perhaps there are some things we can share. You apparently still carry the Martin name as your maiden name; My grandmother Young was a Martin so the surname is not too far removed with me.
My Martins moved from Fauquier to Harrison/Lewis Co WV and then to Cass Co, Indiana....on to Missouri.
On Sunday I am off to Germany with the Germanna Foundation and we will visit Muesen where the Martins originated.
All best wishes,
Gary E Young
Washington, DC
ygeyoung@aol.com
Do I have to have a different passwors to see the "Journal" ?
The Germanna Foundation's Spring newsletter is on the News & Events page at http://www.germanna.org/node/466. The journal you may be thinking of is a new website that is being marketed by a few individuals under a name and logo that is similar to Germanna's, but in fact is registered to a Maryland limited liability company.
Dedicatory Prayer – Siegen Forest
Dr. Benjamin C. Holtzclaw, Rhodes Scholar, Professor of Philosophy and Dean of the Graduate School, University of Richmond.
Sunday, July 21, 1957
Almighty God our Father: Thou who through countless ages hast been the refuge and mighty fortress of those who trust in Thee; Thou who dost guide the course of history by Thy mighty hand, so that in spite of the errors and blindness of sinful men, "all things work together for good to them that love the Lord"; Thou who, above all else, didst grant the great gift of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, who died for us, that we through Him might have eternal life in Thee:
We thank Thee on this day of commemoration of the distant past for all the blessings, that Thou hast bestowed upon us; we thank Thee especially for the courage and faith of these our ancestors who settled in this place, whom Thou didst guide across the waters to a distant land, to whom Thou gavest hope and sustenance and final prosperity in their new home, and who have left their heritage to us their descendants in this good and blessed land of America.
As we dedicate this tract of land on which they first dwelt, we pray that Thou wilt bless us, their descendants, and the organization that perpetuates their memory; we pray that Thou wilt especially bless our benefactor, who hails from our remote fatherland of Siegen and who enabled us to possess this original home of our ancestors in Virginia; and we pray that our organization may grow and thrive in future years, accomplishing good in our land and furthering Thy kingdom.
Grant above all that we, the descendants of this group of pioneers, may exemplify in our own lives the virtues of honesty, thrift, independence, and sturdy faith in Thee, our Heavenly Father, which enabled them to overcome difficulties and plant a home in the wilderness; that we may perpetuate these virtues in ourselves and our descendants; that we may be loyal to Thee in all that we do or say; that Thou mayest be first in our hearts and lives; that we may never forget that Thou art our Creator, Preserver, and Redeemer; and that this spirit of faith and love and loyalty to Thee may pervade our whole national life, so that we may preserve our souls and escape the manifest punishment which comes to peoples and nations that forget Thee.
Yea, more, we pray that men everywhere may come to Know Thee, to love Thee and to do Thy will, so that they may dwell together in peace and amity; that the spirit of the gospel may leaven the lump of humanity; that the kingdoms of this world may become the kingdoms of God and His Christ; and that Thy kingdom may come quickly.
These blessings we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
I am trying to connect my Jacob COUNTS (abt 1747-1829) to Jost Cuntz from the Germanna Colony. There seems to be little information about this family compared to others so I might be able to help link some of this together. He was born in either Pa or Maryland. Recognized Rev. War Soldier buried in Ohio. Lived (1783)in Fayette Co., VA/Bourbon Co. Kentucky Territory. Later followed his family to Miami Co., Ohio. Married Hulda Davis/Davies. They were Baptist. There seems to be a lot that points in the Gremanna direction but I just can't make it fit yet. Might you have anything to add? Thanks Stephanie Sprague.
In remembrance of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, the National Archives and Ancestry.com <http://www.archives.gov/global-pages/exit.html?link=http://www.ancestry.com> have announced that newly digitized records are available free to the general public for one week beginning on April 7.
We are in the process of organizing a Reunion in Washington Co., TN, for all Germanna descendants whose ancestors came through TN. It will be held in conjunction with the annual Broyles Reunion.
Tentative dates for the Germanna Reunion are 9, 10, & 11 September, 2011. The Broyles Reunion occurs on the 11th.
We are trying to line up speakers and will let everyone know as we get commitments.
Tentatively, Friday, the 9th, will be for meeting each other and going out to visit some original homeplaces, family cemeteries, and other places of interest related to Germanna. Times will be determined later and will be announced.
Saturday's activities will probably start at 9:00 AM. Ending time will depend on the number of speakers and the length of their presentations. If we finish early enough, we'll travel some more to whatever places attendees desire.
Lodging is plentiful in Greeneville, TN, and the drive from there is only about 10 miles. For those coming from the east, they can stay in Jonesborough or Johnson City. The drive from Jonesborough is about 14 miles, and from I-26 in Johnson City about 23 miles.
I'll post driving directions from Greeneville, Jonesborough, and Johnson City later.
I'll post more later, giving a list of all known Germanna families
who migrated to East TN in the late 1700's and early 1800's, and
there are a bunch of them.
We invite anyone who is even remotely related to the Germanna
families through marriage. There were many German families who
came through the Shenandoah Valley into East TN and married
into our Germannans. Many of these other Germans were even
from the same areas of Germany as our Germanna ancestors!
Some examples are BENDER/PAINTER, BOWMAN, COPP/CUPP,
CRUM/GRIM/GRIMM, FELLERS/FILLERS/G'FELLERS, FOX,
GUINN/GWINN/GWIN, THOMA/THOMAS, STONECIPHER/
STEINSEIFER, KEEBLER/KIBLER, RUSH/ROUSE/RAUSCH,
WEAVER/WEBER, WINDEL/WENDEL/WINDLE/WENDLE,
etc.
Regards,
George W. Durman (Sarge)
"Germany in Class" is looking for a few good educators to share their wealth of knowledge! Have a great classroom idea of your own that is begging to be shared? It can be a lesson plan or article that provides food for thought. Send it to dz-12[at]germanembassy.us and if your lesson plan is featured in "Germany in Class," you'll receive a gift bag full of Germany Info goodies for your own classroom!
Toward the bottom of this page, you will find draft comments prepared by the Germanna Foundation. You may wish to refer to these when preparing your own written comments, which may be submitted through Thursday, April 14, 2011. They will be considered and made part of the official record. Written comments should be sent to:
Mr. James S. Utterback, PMP
Culpeper District Administrator 1601Orange Road Culpeper, Culpeper VA 22701
Comments may also be emailed to James.Utterback@VDOT.Virginia.gov. Please include “Route 3 Public Hearing Comment” in the subject line.
Background
The Virginia Department of Transportation proposes to expand Route 3 from a two-lane road to a four-lane divided roadway from 4.1 miles east of Route 29 to four miles west of the Orange County-Culpeper County line. The section proposed for improvement is the last remaining two-lane section of Route 3 in Culpeper County.
Two alternative alignments have been proposed. One alignment (Alternative A) would construct the four-lane divided highway along the existing road alignment, passing to the south of the village of Stevensburg following roughly the current road. In the Stevensburg area the road’s median and shoulder improvements would be narrowed to minimize the impact to the residential properties along the right of way.
The second design (Alternative B) would again begin at the end of the current four-lane section east of Route 29 but would bypass Stevensburg to the north through the Brandy Station Battlefield and return to the existing alignment just east of Route 739 (Clay Hill Road). From that point east to the existing four-lane section at Lignum the road would continue along the existing alignment.
VDOT expects the project to advance through the design phase this year, with approval for right-of-way acquisition anticipated in November 2011. Construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2014, the 300th Anniversary of Fort Germanna.
The preliminary cost estimate for Alternative A is $38.9 million, including engineering, right of way and construction. The preliminary total cost estimate for Alternative B is $35 million. Both estimates are subject to change as the project advances and plans are refined.
DRAFT Testimony from the Germanna Foundation widening Route 3 (Germanna Highway) near Stevensburg
The Germanna Foundation was founded in 1956 to preserve and make known the history of the German settlements along the Rapidan River beginning in 1714 at Germanna, and their operations under the patronage of Lt. Gov. Alexander Spotswood.
The members of the Germanna Foundation are just as concerned about the future as we are about the past. We are particularly proud of our donation in 1969 of 100 acres of land to make Germanna Community College possible, and we were pleased that VDOT chose Germanna Community College’s Daniel Technology Center as the site of its March 23rd public hearing. This important asset to the life of Culpeper was built while Dr. Frank Turnage was president of the college; he now serves as executive director of the Germanna Foundation.
At the March 23rd hearing, Dr. Turnage and I were joined by other members of the Germanna Foundation Board of Trustees, including Skip Poole of Locust Grove; Ellis Hitt of Westerville, Ohio; and Barbara Price of Ventura, California. We also were joined by Dick and Leta Scherquist, who are caretakers of Salubria. Leta has lived on the grounds of Salubria since 1964, although her father had been there as a farm manager beginning in 1946.
Germanna Foundation member came to the hearing to listen and speak with VDOT representatives because of our sense of stewardship for the historic resources of Culpeper County, as our families were the first European settlers in this area. We are especially concerned about the impact and safety implications VDOT’s changes on Route 3 will have on Salubria, the home of Lt. Gov. Alexander Spotswood’s widow, Butler Brayne Spotswood, and that of her second husband, Reverend John Thompson, the rector of the Little Fork Church in Rixeyville. It is one of the surviving ancestral homes of Robert E. Lee. In the year 2000, Salubria was donated, under easement with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, to the Germanna Foundation by Laura Grayson.
Recent research using dendrochronology has revealed that Salubria is the older Piedmont Georgian "sister" of James Madison’s Montpelier in Orange County. Salubria enjoys a great potential for attracting tourists to Culpeper County through its outstanding architecture combined with its connections to prominent Virginia families.
In my written remarks, I would like to submit two recent front page stories highlighting some of the exciting discoveries that have recently been made at Salubria and its importance to local tourism: the first is from the March 4, 2011 edition of the Fredericksburg Free Lance Star, and the second is from the Sunday, March 6, 2011 edition of the Culpeper Star Exponent. The Germanna Foundation is investing many tens of thousands of dollars designated by our members for preserving Salubria and restoring its terraced gardens to make it the premier tourist destination in Culpeper County. We want VDOT to complement those efforts, not detract from them.
Salubria was placed on the Virginia historic landmarks register in 1969 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. For your reference, I have attached copy of the March 24, 2011 letter from the Department of Historic Resources disagreeing with VDOT’s assessment that there will be no adverse effect on historic resources from VDOT’s Route 3 proposals.
As both Salubria and the Brandy Station Battlefield are both on the National Register of Historic Places, Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act of 1966 requires VDOT to demonstrate that “there is no prudent and feasible alternative to using that land” and that the “project includes all possible planning to minimize harm to the ... historic site.”
As VDOT works thoughtfully through these requirements with the Department of Historic Resources, we hope that VDOT will aspire to achieve that kind of national awards it received for its traffic calming success on Route 50. We would like to see that kind of inspired work be done here to benefit the taxpayers of Culpeper County.
The current drawings VDOT has provided us will win no awards.
If built, danger to drivers visiting Salubria will increase. Tourist traffic to Salubria is anticipated to grow significantly as the house and gardens are interpreted and restored, just as it has at Montpelier. Every year, during the third weekend of July, the Germanna Foundation holds a special reunion dinner at Salubria where 200-250 cars are anticipated. Under the current drawings, a crossover at Salubria's entrance drive is necessary to assure safe automobile ingress and egress during this and other high traffic events.
My written remarks include a sketch overlay of the three changes that the Germanna Foundation seeks at the Salubria intersection to the proposed Route 3 Four Lane Expansion Project as presently conceived:
Immediately to the west of Salubia is a very old spring, probably used in pre-Columbian times, that much later served the needs of wagon teams on their way through Stevensburg. This is a special place to the children who attend Camp Salubria during our annual conference and reunion. From the maps we were provided by VDOT, we alerted your engineers that VDOT’s plans would provide the destruction of this unique site by the construction of a highway drainage pit. One of your engineers confirmed that on March 23rd with use of a GPS instrument and the assistance of Leta Scherquist leading him to the site.
This spring may have been used by Daniel Boone. In 1759, Cherokee attacks in the Catawba and Yadkin river valleys drove North Carolina colonists from their homes and farms. Daniel Boone, his wife Rebecca, his parents and brothers and sisters travelled more than 200 miles northeast to find sanctuary among friends in Culpeper County, Virginia. Daniel Boone settled at Stevensburg, near the finest plantation home in Culpeper County, Salubria. Boone worked as a teamster, hauling tobacco and other produce to from area farms to market in Fredericksburg by way of Germanna Ford. Daniel and Rebecca Boone's daughter Susannah was born at Stevensburg on November 2, 1760. Three of Daniel Boone's grandsons married three daughters of Joseph Miller and Susannah Rector, making many Boone descendants also descended from the Rector, Fishback, Hitt, Hanback, Utterback, Weaver, and Coons complex of Germanna families.
On behalf of the members of the Germanna Foundation, I thank you for your consideration of our concerns. And I hope you will understand what motivates us.
Why do we take care of Salubria? Why do we preserve the forest that our ancestors once hunted in? Why do we treasure the Rapidan River? Why do we travel across the Atlantic to visit a small barn in Germany, far from the major tourist attractions? Why do we work to piece together bits of information to form the mosaics that are our genealogies?
I wonder if it is something deeply inscribed on our hearts that tells us that every individual is infinitely important, that every person who ever lived is part of a drama that has purpose and meaning. And that our lives matter, too. Sometimes these insights are so important, that they can only be told on a scale that spans decades and centuries. And sometimes they are best told through the mute testimony of an old house, or a disused spring.
I am going to send your inquiry to Cathi Clore Frost, she is the author of several Germanna Records and she may be able to help you. John Blankenbaker does list Mathias Weaver as a son of Hans Dietrich/Peter Weaver and Elizabeth, as he is named in Peter Weaver 's will on 27 Mar 1763. He does also state that Mathias Weaver married Elizabeth Finks, daughter of Mark Finks, but their children aren't listed in his book, "The Second Germanna Colony and Other Pioneers, Germanna Record No. 18.
Between Cathi and John I think you might be able to garner your proof, they are both excellent researchers with excellent sources!!
Barb Price
Hi Barb -- I have already been in contact with Cathi -- she is presently out of town and I will resend my e-mail in a week or so. Thanks for the reply - I'll keep my fingers crossed that Cathi can come up with the necessary information.
Doris Stein
Missdoris@cox.net
DAR says I need to prove that Mary/Mollie was a daughter of Matthias Weaver and Elizabeth Finks. Mary/Mollie DOB 2 Nov 1760 (Culpeper Co., VA) – DOD 1 Mar 1847 (Madison Co., VA). Cornelius Carpenter had a wife name Mollie – is this the same person as the daughter of Matthias and Elizabeth? . The confusion may have been due to the fact family compilations from the Germanna Record had conflicting information such as: she was the daughter of George Utz, she was the daughter of Matthias Weaver, she was the wife of Alexander Carpenter.
The NSDAR does not use or accept as proof the family compilations published by the Germanna Foundation at this time. There may have been a time when they did, but they have not accepted them as proof for many years now. I checked the ancestor record for Matthias Weaver at NSDAR. The error report states that they have no proof that she was a daughter of Matthias Weaver because no one has presented proof of her maiden name. There is no mention of the other surnames you mentioned. So it isn't an issue of conflicting information; it is an issue of no proof being presented.
Suzanne Collins Matson, NSDAR Genealogy Consultant
Suzanne -- thanks for your reply. I have "feelers" out trying to get Mary/Mollie's maiden name -- I am going to request her father's will and probate -- evidently it lists a daughter Mary Carpenter.
If you think of anywhere else I can try please let me know,
Thanks again,
Doris Stein
missdoris@cox.net
Are you lost in Germanna? Don’t know your Crims from your Criglers, or your Fishbacks from your Utterbacks? Find your way with help from your cousins through your Germanna Family Working Group.
With the 300th anniversaries of our families in America coming up in just a few years, we want to encourage you to use wisely this time we have left by connecting you with others who share an interest in a specific family line and working on team projects together.
Not everybody who joins the Germanna Foundation is wild about genealogy, but all have at least an interest in it. Why not be the one in your family line to get your kin excited about something you want to accomplish to honor your immigrant colonial ancestors through your Germanna Family Working Group?
Maybe you want to update and document an old genealogy or publish one for the first time. Or identify the first descendant of your immigrant ancestor who settled in each State. Below are some ideas that members have pursued through the Germanna Foundation. Remember, we are a member-supported, volunteer-driven organization that relies on your stewardship of time and money to make exciting things happen:
1. Through the hard work of our volunteers, we have continued to hold, and have considerably expanded the seminar sessions at the Germanna Foundation Annual Conference and Reunion so that many topics relating to the Reformed, Lutheran, and Little Fork waves of colonization are presented, as well as some general topics to sharpen genealogical skills. Does your Family Group have a good speaker and topic to share?
2. We are developing databases of Germanna soldiers in the American Revolution and the Civil War. Does your Family Group have records it can share with this effort?
3. We conduct two tours at each Conference and Reunion to take people to the areas in which their ancestors lived in 18th century Virginia, including the chance to visit private homes that had belonged to Germanna people -- something not possible for individuals, but we can when we share our efforts.
4. We have operated eight successive summer tours to Germany (with a 9th filled and ready to go in June) to visit the villages of the ancestors, with special opportunities to meet with local historical and genealogical specialists, to get into the churches where marriages & baptisms occurred and see the actual original ancestral records, and occasionally to meet cousins from lines that remained in Germany. Have you considered having some family members go early or late in order to conduct research in Germany?
5. We have published three large format Germanna Record volumes of genealogy and family history in the past 5 years at considerable investment of funds raised by the Germanna Foundation -- close to $10,000 for each book. The Blankenbaker book is a general history of the entire second colony and each of its families, with photo ties to their villages in Germany and Austria. The Clore book and the Yager book (spearheaded by Cathi Clore Frost) are outstanding detailed and documented four-and five-generation genealogies focusing on the Lutherans who arrived at Germanna in 1717. We have a study of the Hitt family in the works, but it will be three years before it is published. We have attempted to get people to coordinate the gathering of material for genealogies similar to Clore & Yager on the Aylor, Broyles, Haeger, Kemper, and Utz families, but have not had great success in getting these projects near completion. This is a huge undertaking and not many persons have the time, patience and skill to do it. This is an ideal project spread across many researchers through a Germanna Family Working Group.
6. We have a website with a message board where people can post queries and make connections with others who share their lines, with news about the foundation and opportunities to order genealogy and other books, with a special section for members only with new research posted on family and Germanna-related matters, and with easy opportunity to sign up for the Reunion and for trips. If your Family Group has ideas on how to increase the quality of our website, let us know at foundation@germanna.org.
7. We have expanded the newsletter into an attractive and interesting publication, and have been able to include in it not only brief news items, but some one-page more in depth articles about families or sites. Germanna Family Working Groups would be excellent sources of interesting articles, with responsibility for drafting articles spread among the researchers.
8. We have encouraged investigation of the Martin cemetery site in Germantown (Fauquier County) in the hopes that if a thorough investigation were carried out and possibly even some DNA testing done, it would yield some helpful genealogical information.
9. John Howard, our volunteer coordinator has worked long and hard in the library to get our material in better order for accessing, and we continue to build our genealogical files as material is donated. He is recovering now from open heart surgery, and we need volunteers to continue his work. Pray for his recovery and for volunteers to step forward!We have many dedicated and talented members, and they are generous in sharing their discoveries with other researchers (and future generations!) through the Germanna Foundation. One dedicated member spent part of her HONEYMOON in England researching her ancestor, Butler Brayne Spotswood Thompson, the lady of Salubria. Now that is dedication!
Let us know if you would like to be part of the leadership team of your Germanna Family Working Group by emailing the Germanna Foundation at foundation@germanna.org. Tell us which family or famlies you would like to concentrate on, and we will match you with your cousins to help preserve your heritage for generations to come.
B.B. Mitchell, first president of the Brandy Station Foundation and the driving force behind extensive Civil War land preservation efforts in eastern Culpeper County, died Friday of congestive heart failure. He was 75. Mitchell, who went simply by the first name “B,” was a running back on the 1952 undefeated football team at Culpeper County High School who attended Virginia Tech on a track scholarship but injured his knee the spring of his freshman year. He served two years in Army intelligence, then worked 30 years in the Fauquier County school system, retiring in 1990. Mitchell taught high school English and coached football and track before being appointed the county’s director of transportation. Friends and family remembered him for his quiet dignity, leadership and humility. Clark “Bud” Hall, current chairman of the Brandy Station Foundation and a longtime friend, called Mitchell one of Culpeper’s “unsung heroes” and “the most unflappable human being I’ve ever known.” “He had hands the size of frying pans,” Hall laughed. “When he shook your hand, you knew it.” Culpeper native Willie Martin, 82, grew up with Mitchell and served alongside him on the board. Martin, who succeeded Mitchell as BSF president in 1994, called his friend an avid relic hunter who sported an amazing collection of Civil War artifacts. That love of history translated into Mitchell’s passion for fighting to preserve the Brandy Station battlefield from various threats in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including proposed housing developments and a Formula One racetrack. In court and at contentious county board meetings, Mitchell was the steady face of opposition, exuding calm resolve in the name of battlefield preservation. “If it hadn’t been for B,” Martin said, “there wouldn’t have been any Brandy Station Foundation and none of that land would be saved down there.” Today, the Civil War Trust and BSF have protected more than 1,000 acres of battlefield, and several landowners have put their property into easement. Mitchell had a close connection to the battlefield, as he lived in a mid-20th century rambler atop Fleetwood Heights, where the war’s largest cavalry battle climaxed on the afternoon of June 9, 1863. “He was an enormously fine gentleman in the Southern tradition,” Hall said. “He was courtly, very fine and generous. And he cared about Culpeper and the county and its history. … We built the Brandy Station Foundation around him.” In addition to sports, the Civil War, fishing and hunting, Mitchell’s other passion was spending time with his wife, Page. “He and I have been sweethearts for 53 years,” she said Monday, adding that her husband idolized his six grandsons, and they him. “He was a man of high integrity and a very intelligent man.” “He cared about your character more than your station in life,” added daughter Nancy Kochli. The family will receive friends at their home this week. On Friday at 1 p.m., a service will be held in Remington at St. Luke’s Episcopal. Burial will follow at Fairview Cemetery in Culpeper. -- Rob Humphreys, Culpeper Star Exponent, March 08, 2011
I have some material on the Hitt family at http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=marcwheat&id=I28044
My favorite source of Hitt genealogy on the internet is J.B. Hitt's site at http://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=jbh
I am a brand new member. Have traced my lineage to the above couple. My ggrandmother lived in MS and was the daughter of Celia Ann Hitt whose father was Rev. David Hitt; his father was Peter Hitt; his father was Joseph Hitt; his father and mother the above-mentioned couple. If you are in that line and would like to share info, I'd be most happy to do so. Thanks, JoAnn
Frank Hill Carpenter Jr., 88, of Fredericksburg died Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2011, while under palliative care at Mary Washington Hospital, after an illness of several months.
He was a World War II veteran and a member of American Legion Post 290 in Stafford County.
Mr. Carpenter was born Oct. 22, 1922, at Waverlie in Madison County to the late Frank Hill Carpenter and Ruth Cleveland White. He was a direct descendant of Maj. Armistead Brown of La Grange in Culpeper County and Capt. Lewis Davis Yancy of Arlington in Culpeper, and could count among his ancestors many of the family heads of the 1717 Germanna settlement.
He was a 1941 graduate of Criglersville High School and completed one year at V.P.I before service in World War II. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on November 25, 1942, and served in the Aleutian Islands. He was awarded the Asiatic-Pacific Theater Ribbon with one bronze star, Good Conduct Medal and World War II Victory Medal.
In 1951 he was employed by Rochester Ropes in Culpeper and remained there until his retirement in 1987 as a manager in the quality control department after 36 years of service.
Frank walked the canal path every morning until his illness, and often commented that he missed his walking partners, Carl Sponseller, Earl Cooper and near neighbor Everett "Peck" Brooks. He made friends easily and was a gentle man. He was an avid fan of NASCAR and sports, and loved his garden.
He is survived by his wife of 25 years, Lucy Clore Carpenter; two stepsons, Wilbur Harrison Bowler and Hunter Leroy Bowler, both of Fredericksburg; and numerous stepnieces and nephews.
In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his brother, James Harris Carpenter; his sister, Ann Cleveland Jenkins; and a sister-in-law, Lacy Clore Smith. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 18, at Covenant Funeral Service, Fredericksburg.
A graveside service with military honors will be held at noon Saturday, Feb. 19, in Oak Hill Cemetery, with the Rev. J. Larry Haun officiating. Pallbearers will be Charles Lee Clore, Robert Baldwin, Russell L. Marders, Raymond Palmer, Garnett L. Smith and Jeffrey Roles.
Memorial contributions may be made to The Memorial Foundation of The Germanna Colonies in Virginia, Box 279, Locust Grove, Va. 22508-0279, Attn: Dr. Frank Turnage.
An online guest book is available at covenantfuneral service.com.
http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2011/022011/02182011/608080
Hi Deborah!
I found a little bit of information regarding the marriage of Elizabeth Rector and Francis Hieronymus from BC Holtzclaw's, "Ancestry and Descendants of the Nassau-Siegen Immigrants to Virginia 1714-1750," states that Francis Hieronymus was a native of Vienna, Austria and that they had the following children:
Pendleton Hieronymus m. Polly Bush
Benjamin Hieronymus
Ludwell Hieronymus
Henry Hieronymus
Samuel Rector Hieronymus
Nancy Hieronymus m. John Lyons
I searched in "Rector Records" by Larry King and he has more information about this family. He states that Elizabeth Rector was b. abt 1746 in Fauquier Co., VA, she married Francis Hieronymous in Loudon Co., VA and that he was born 24 Sep 1729 in Vienna, Austria. He lists their children, which I will do and he also states that they lived in Loudon Co., VA, then moved to Clark Co., KY. He states, "Mrs. Hieronymous was a devout Methodist and founded the Ebenezer Methodist Church near Winchester, KY in 1797."
Children:
John Hieronymous b. abt. 1764 d. 1826 in MO. m. Charlotte Eubank; children--Mildred, Elizabeth, Plly, Frank, Stephen, John, Mary, Ambrose, Rector, Eliza, Catherine and Martha.
Benjamin Hieronymous b 1773 d. 1860 in Boonseboro, KY m. 1 Polly Bush Stites; children--Nancy m. wm Trimple; Lucy m. Wesley White; Shelton; Westley; Cynthis m. Alex Connelly; Eliza m. Joe Reed; Sophia m. Simpson Herrell; Emily m. Ben Exus; Will. M. 2 Susan Grisby Hampton; children--Benjamin, Jr.; Clifton; Albert.
Pendleton Hieronymous b abt. 1775 m. Polly Bush; children--Ben; Lucy; Arabella; William; Emily; July m. John Travis, they founded the Science Hills Academy, Shelbyville, KY.
Nancy Hieronymous b. 4 Nov 1799 in KY d. 3 Jun 1887, Fleming Co., KY; m. 13 Jun 1798 John Lyon in Clark Co., KY. Children--John Sails Lyon; Mary "Polly" Lyons m. Thompson Day; Morris; Sam; Mirian, Margaret; Daniel.
Henry Hieronymous b. 1776 d. 1831 in KY; children--William Henry m. Alvira Darnell; Benjamin Rector m. Sarah Bentley; Pendleton m. Martha Jane Wheat; Henry; Dewitt; Kitty m. John Martin; James.
Catherine Hieronymous m. James Jenkins; children--Pendleton; Benjamin; Therodick; Washington, Elizabeth.
Samuel Rector Hieronymous b. 1786 d. Lee Co., KY; m. Nancy Elkin; m. 2 Sarah White; children--Nancy m. Charles Davis; Francis; George; Tom; Damaris; Emily.
Francis Hieronymous b abt 1783 Loudon Co., VA d abt 1810 Clark Co., KY m. Nancy Burrus; children--Elizabeth m. John Hamilton
Well, I hope that this helps you! We had a very large group of Rector-Hieronymous descendants that attended the 2009 Reunion, if I remember correctly. Do you want me to pass on your name and contact info to them? I would be more than happy to do so and they might be able to help you more.
Barb Price
Holzklau/Otterbach/Heimbach/Fischbach
Barb Price
The ancestry of Dr. John Walter Wayland, long-time trustee of the Germanna Foundation, is rich in Germanna connections, making this distinguished Southern gentleman a cousin to nearly anyone who attends the Germanna reunion every Third Sunday in July: Behr, Blankenbaker, Dressler, Fischbach, Friesenhagen, Haeger, Heimbach, Hermann, Hoffmann, Jung, Kohl, Lueck, Nuss, Otterbach, Reichmann , Seelbach, Stuell, von Egen, Wayland, Weaver, and Wilhoit.
Although he authored of over 30 books and 300 articles over his distinguished career, a short essay entitled “The True Gentleman,” written for a contest sponsored by the Baltimore Sun, continues to shape the character of young Americans:
The fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon adopted “The True Gentleman”as its creed in the 1930’s, though not officially until the 2001 Fraternity Convention in Orlando, Florida. For many years, the authorship of “The True Gentleman” was not known by Sigma Alpha Epsilon until it was discovered in the United States Naval Academy Midshipmen’s Guidebook.
With his family's approval, Dr. John Walter Wayland was posthumously initiated into Sigma Alpha Epsilon during the Fraternity's 66th annual Leadership School in Chicago. The Virginia Omicron chapter at the University of Virginia was selected as Wayland's chapter since he had completed his master's degree at that institution in 1901.
Dr. John Walter Wayland, a true gentleman, lived his life according to the words of his essay, repeated in countless homes and campuses to commission a young man on new voyage in life:
"The True Gentleman is the man whose conduct proceeds from good will and an acute sense of propriety and whose self-control is equal to all emergencies; who does not make the poor man conscious of his poverty, the obscure man of his obscurity, or any man of his inferiority or deformity; who is himself humbled if necessity compels him to humble another; who does not flatter wealth, cringe before power, or boast of his own possessions or achievements; who speaks with frankness but always with sincerity and sympathy; whose deed follows his word; who thinks of the rights and feelings of others rather than his own; and who appears well in any company; a man with whom honor is sacred and virtue safe."
The following biography of Dr. John Walter Wayland is taken from a write-up by Francis F. Wayland, titled "John Walter Wayland, a biographical sketch" published in 1990.*
John Walter Wayland was an educator, historian and author. He was born on 8 December 1872 at the family home in Shenandoah County known as "Woodlawn." His father was John Wesley Wayland, a school teacher, cabinet maker and skilled mechanic. His mother was Anna Kagey Wayland.
Wayland received his early education from his parents, and at age 11 attended a one-room school house at Rochelle, and later "a normal two summers" in New Market. In the early 1890s, he taught two years of school in Shenandoah County.
He enrolled at Bridgewater College where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1899. He earned his Doctorate of History from the University of Virginia in 1907. He taught at Bridgewater College for seven years, at the University of VIrginia for three years, and for 22 years at what is now James Madison University.
Upon his retirement in 1931, he devoted the rest of his life to historical research and writing, especially in the field of Virginia history. He was the author of over 30 books and over 300 published articles and pamphlets. He made the maps included in some of his books.
Among his works was History of Virginia for Boys and Girls published in 1920, and used in Virginia schools over a quarter of a century. He also wrote the lyrics to "Old Virginia" which was a song that for many years was sung throughout the state.
His hobbies included collecting nicknames and pen names, and making canes from wood found at historic places.
He died at Harrisonburg, where he had lived since 1909 on 10 January 1962. He is buried in Oak Lawn Cemetery in Bridgewater. He was survived by his wife and two sons.
*Source: The Fairfax Line, A Historic Landmark by Arthur T. McClinton, John W. Coleman and Francis F. Wayland (Edinburg, VA: The Shenandoah County Historical Society, 1990), 21-23. This book includes a reprint of John W. Wayland's The Fairfax Line (1925) and Thomas Lewis's Journal of 1746.
Marc,
Many thanks for this timely reminder and rehash/update of what I had written about Dr. Wayland on this message board some time ago. I was going to write a new message about him but this seems to be the perfect point at which to reply.
In going through the Rare Books collection of the Northern Neck of Virginia Historical Society (see our catalog at http://www.librarything.com/home/NNVHS), I found the 1930 edition of his then-standard textbook titled A History of Virginia for Boys and Girls. Of course this is now completely outdated which is what puts it in our rare books collection. They don't teach history that way these days, you know!
Great to see Dr. Wayland is still "with us" in a way. I'm sure he would be amazed at our modern technology. Just as we will be amazed 100 years from now, no doubt.