Gibson Genealogy

History of the German Element in Virginia By Herrmann Schuricht 1898

EXCERPT:

Pages 76-80

"About the middle of the eighteenth century many Germans settled in Orange, Culpepper, Rappahannock, Fauquier, London, Prince William, Page, Green, Albemarle, and Louisa counties. Among the many German emigrants, who came to America in the early period of the eighteenth century, were Andrew Waggener with his five brothers.75) Edward with another brother settled in the present county of Culpepper in 1750. They joined Col. Washington as volunteers in his expedition against Fort Du Quesne in 1754 and marched with the First Virginia Regiment to the fatal scene of Braddock's defeat, where Edward fell among the dead. Andrew again took part in defence of the frontier against the Indians, was commissioned Captain and placed in command of Fort Pleasant. In 1765 he purchased land at Bunker's Hill, then in Frederick, now in Berkeley county, where he dwelled until the outbreak of the Involution, when he once more entered the army and served to the end of the war. He bore a major's commission and was in the battles of Valley Forge, Princeton, Trenton, and Yorktown. Major Waggener was a personal friend of General Washington and a frequent guest of the first President.above named counties are of exclusive English constitution. The names of German settlers and of their homes have been frequently changed, their origin has been forgotten and the Germans now living in the State know very little about it and often admire as the result of English "smartness" what has often been the fruit of German labor. This may be illustrated by the following."

"In 1886 the author bought his farm in the north-west corner of Louisa county, adjoining Albemarle and Orange counties—and in former years and particularly during the late war, he had noticed many traces of German life in this section of Virginia. The name of the real estate agent who sold him the farm was Yaeger (Jaeger), one of his nearest neighbours, named Orittenberger, was a descendant of a " Hessian" taken prisoner in the War of Independence, his butcher calls himself Schlosser, his provision dealer Scholz, his dry goods merchants Baer and Marcus, etc., and it was therefore but natural to conjecture, that Germans had already participated in the first settlement of these counties. To ascertain the facts he went to the county seat Louisa and asked the county clerk, Mr. Porter: "Do you know if any Germans have been among the earliest settlers ?'' — The clerk, with a smile and some emphasis, replied: "No Sir, — Louisa county is an entirely English county." — Upon the writer's request Mr. Porter showed him the Land Registers and he himself opened the oldest volume, beginning with the year 1742. After looking with surprise at the peculiar law style of the writing, the official remarked: "D if that don't look Dutch!"—The first county clerk, an Englishman, was no penman, as his uncultivated signature denotes — and very likely he employed a German assistant to do the writing. Among the first entries in the Register are the following German names, besides many of uncertain origin: I. Boesick, Robert Hesler, F. Hehler, Arndt, Armistead, (Armstaedt), Flemming, Kohler, No- ack, Brockman, Buckner, Starke, Spiller, etc., and in several cases "Fredericksville Parish" was mentioned as their place of residence. "Where is Fredericksville Parish located ?" inquired the writer of the clerk — and after a little hesitation he was told: "That was a German settlement in your part of the county."


"This occurrence and the fact that some German villages were founded in Louisa during the present century, about which some later chapter will report, illustrates how little is known about the true history of Virginia. No one will dispute that the Old Dominion is of English foundation, but it must be credited that German toil has materially assisted to make it vital and prosperous. The Germans themselves are to blame, if they are not duly credited for the part their ancestors took in the furtherance of this English colony. Many disowned their German nationality and claimed English or Scotch parentage, expecting to improve their social recognition thereby. This deplorable trait of character of many German immigrants has since disappeared, owing to the ascendance to a powerful united German empire, gaining the respect of all other nations, — but before 1870 it clouded the history of German emigration in Virginia and elsewhere.— The names of some of the oldest families in Fluvanna, Goochland, Pow- hatan, and Hannover, — although the English and French elements dominate in these countie?, — indicate that Germans belonged to the first settlers."

Too Many Accients

Greenbreir, West Virginia Vital Records:

I was researching my Davis line in the sate of West Virginia. I have never seen so many accidential deaths

Lecher County, Kentucky Genealogy

Aultz Family

This is one of my maternal lines.

dna and Melungeon

Linda Lear had her father's DNA tested. She said the test revealed that some of her ancestors came from an Anatolia/ Turkish haplotype. She has shovel teeth too. Linda is looking for her ancestors, one being Millard Adkins born 1887 and passed away in 1916 in the West Liberty, Morgan Co. Kentucky area?

Surname Meaning, Last Name Origin & Family Name History

This is one of the best sites to aid the genealogist to learn more about the origins of families.

Wilkes County, North Carolina

Interesting that Melungeons have a connection with Wilkes County, NC. I have ancestors who were married there and one ancestor was a constable in the late 1700's. Instead of going west, these familes move to Harrison County, WV. Up hear we call these groups as WV Guineas.

1779 Louisa Co. VA Census Index

Anderson, Michael

Anderson, Nathaniel

Anderson, Robert

Armistead, Robert

Bell, George

Boswell, John

Cockram, Nathan

Combs, Joseph

Crooks, James

Crump, Richard

Dabney, Samuel

Duke, Cliverius

Hughes, William

Johnson, Elijah

Johnson, Thomas, Sr.

Jones, Anne

Meriweather, William

Minor, Garret

Nelson, John

Pattie, George

Poindexter, John

Richardson, Richard

Suttles, Winney

Thompson, David

Watson, Randolph

Yancy, Charles

Source: Family Tree Maker's Family Archives, Colonial Index: Colonial America 1607-1789, CD# 310

The Age of Explorers and Conquerors

The year of 1492 marked the end of the Spanish conquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Muslims. In that same year Christopher Columbus stepped ashore Bahamian inlet of San Salvador and claimed the land for Spain. The people who greeted Columbus and his crew were the Arawak and Taino peoples. The following year 1493, the first Spanish settlement in the New World was established at Hispanola.

Then Columbus sailed to Cuba and Hispanola. The people living on the land were of the language of the Taino and Arawak speaking people. These people grew crops for food and they smoked tobacco. The Taino lived in cities. Some of their cities had populations as large as three thousand. Shortly after the Indian people encounter with the Spanish they were enslaved and made to work hard on colonial plantations. Some of those enslaved were shipped to Mexico. When the captives reached Mexico those who survived were put into chains and were forced to work in the silver mines. Spain encouraged citizens to settle in New Spain. In 1512 a Spanish declaration gave Spanish grantees the right to make slaves of the American Indians under the encomienda system.

The Spanish intentions in the first two decades of the 16th century weren’t colonization but instead to gain wealth for their country. The galleons carrying silver back to Spain had to pass through the Straits of Florida also known as the Florida Channel. This is a sea passage separating the tip of Florida and the Florida Keys from Cuba and the Bahamas Islands. The length of the straits is two hundred miles and the width is ninety miles. The straits connect the Gulf of Mexico with the Atlantic Ocean. The greatest part of the Florida current flows through the Florida Straits and forms the main part of the Gulf Stream. This small passage was vital to Spain’s newfound source of wealth.

Spain decided to send more expeditions to the Americas. In the spring of 1513 Juan Ponce de Leon landed on the eastern coast of Florida’s peninsula and made a claim for Spain. The peninsula had an abundance of beautiful flowers hence the name Florida meaning the land of flowers. In mainland America, the first five decades of the sixteenth century was an era of many unsuccessful attempts by explorers and Christian missionaries to establish a permanent Christian settlement in the New World. There were other notable voyages and expeditions recorded during this era such as Miruelo (1516), Cordova (1517), Pineda (1519), Ayllon (1520).

The indigenous People of Florida

While exploring the region of Florida, the voyagers saw many villages populated by another race of people who had diverse cultures. The voyagers reported that the indigenous population was dying by the thousands from Old World diseases. An estimated total population of the Indians at this time was anywhere from 20,000 to 40,000.

To the northwest the Indian villages of the Apalachee tribes flourished upon the land by the Suwannee and Apalachicola Rivers. At the center of the peninsula the Timuquanans had many villages along the St. John’s River.

In the southwest region the Calusa Indians had numerous homes from Cape Sable to Tampa Bay. The missionaries had to confront a persistent spirit of hostility to Christian teaching. These Indians were described as cruel, crafty, though recklessly brave, polygamous, and inveterately addicted to human sacrifice. Juan Ponce Leon of Spain encountered the Calusa Indians when he landed in 1513. The Calusa who put up a fierce resistance to the invaders did not welcome the Spanish. In 1521 during a skirmish an arrow mortally wounded Leon. Leon was laid to rest in the St. John River.

A small village of Tegestas Indians lived on Biscayne Bay. Some anthropologists believe that the Tegestas Indians originally from the Bahamas and had a kinship with the Calusa tribes.

The Ays tribe lived along the Indian River south of Cape Canaveral. There were only a few Ays people. These Indians came in contact with the early missions and were used for labor in the building the Christian settlements. These tribes connect to ethnologically and linguistically to the great Muskhogean or Creek family.

Some of he records of the early voyages to the Americas amazingly have been preserved. The Archives at Seville, Spain contain the many names of those who were courageous enough to cross over to the New World. I have attempted to bring these people and their stories back into the light of history.

Voyagers to America in 1528

Did your ancestors come to America in 1528? Click the above link to look for your ancestors.

The Age of Explorers and Conquerors

Search the genealogy tables for your Spanish American ansestors.

The Electronic Front Porch: An Oral History of the Arrival of Modern Media in Rural Appalachia and the Melungeon Community By Dr. Jacob J. Podber

Dr. Jacob Podber interviewed people from all over the U. S. who share a common Appalachian heritage. In his book he reveals how the Internet has brought the scattered Appalachian remnant together to form a family cyber community. The Internet has revolutionized the way people research their ancestors. The Internet is bringing families together and a better understanding of how their ancestors took part in the making of America.

"The book is published by Mercer University Press (September 30, 2007), they have published many books about Appalachian heritage. People worldwide are learning more about the overlooked history of many people who arrived in the Americas during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. For the first time in history many records an documents are being digitized and published on the Internet, libraries, historical societies and by people who have a love of preserving history."





Biography Of the author:

"Dr. Jacob J. Podber is Assistant Professor in the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts at Southern Illinois University. His research interests are in electronic media usage in rural Appalachia and other “outsider” communities. His article “Early Radio in Rural Appalachia: An Oral History” appears in the Journal of Radio Studies. He also has a chapter forthcoming in Global Media Studies: Ethnographic Perspective. Routledge Press. Dr. Podber has won several awards, including the Outstanding Dissertation of the Year Award from the Broadcast Education Association, the Carl A. Ross Paper of the Year Award from the Appalachian Studies Association, the Top Paper Award from the Broadcast Education Association, and the Top Paper Award on an American Theme from the Ohio University-American Studies Steering Committee. In addition, Dr. Podber was Graduate Production Supervisor for the videotape accompaniment to the book Entertainment-Education: A Communication Strategy for Social Change by Everett Rogers & Arvind Singhal."

The Melungeons: The Resurrection of a Proud People : An Untold Story of ... By N. Brent Kennedy, Robyn Vaughan Kennedy

Review Essay: The Melungeons

By Virginia Easley DeMarce, Ph.D.

The Melungeons: The Resurrection of a Proud People. An Untold Story of Ethnic Cleansing in America

By N. Brent Kennedy, with Robyn Vaughan Kennedy.

Published by Mercer University Press; Macon, GA 31210; 1994. xviii,

156 pp. Appendix, illustrations index. Softback, $16.95.



Statement from Brent Kennedy 12-03-02

Bridewell Palace

1618 Bridewell Royal Hospital to Virginia

1618 Bridewell Royal Hospital

Abbott, Eliz

Ascue, John

Baker, George

Baker, John

Ball, Mary

Beale, Gryffin

Bromley, John

Bullocke, William

Chauster, Nicholas

Chidley, Rich

Crooke, Thomas

Dowse, Barbera

Evans, Robert

Farnby, Charles

Fisher, John

Fysher, John

Geffrey, George

Gibbins, William

Hankle, George

Holland, James

Jennings, Agnes

Johnson, John

Kinge, John

Kinge, Nath

Kinge, Robert

Laratt, William

Lowe, Robert

Moyses, Joseph

Nicholas, Thomas

Nicholls, Thomas

Nichols, Thomas

Nuttinge, Andrewe

Okeley, Amos

Otley, Thomas

Parker, William

Plunkett, William

Poore, Jasper

Pyper, Roger

Reade, Phillip

Rotlingham, Thomas

Sampson, Kath

Seaborne, Frances

Setevens, Thomas

Showell, Thomas

Sotherne, Roger

Sotherne, Roger

Southerne, Roger

Spencer, Ricd.

Stevens, Thomas

Taylor, Edward

Throckmorton, John

Trentram, James

Hessian Soldiers who remained in America

Hessian Soldiers who stayed in the Americas after the American Revolutionary War.

1782 Havana

Assmann, Johannes
Cramer, Johann Franz Christian
Drewes, Johann Jost
Duesse, Johann Philipp
Figge, Christian
Fischer, Henrich
Friedeborn, Georg
Goebel, Johannes
Hahne, Ernst
Kann, Adam
Kleine, Karl
Knoechel, Barthold
Kuester, Ludwig
Kuethe, Henrich
Meier, Zacharias Wilhelm
Meisner, Johannes
Meuske, Johannes
Meyer, Zacharias Wilhelm
Risch, Johannes
Rodewald, Friedrich
Schimmel, Johann Georg
Schrantz, Josef
Schumann, Peter
Schwencke, Johann Georg Friedrich
Stallmann, Henrich Wilhelm
Stiesing, Henrich
Stoecker, Johannes
Tuitel, Jean
Ulenbruch, Henrich
Unger, Johannes
Walter, Jakob
Warlich, Jeremias
Weber, Johann Henrich
Werlich, Jeremias

The Genealogy Craze in America.

Strangled by Roots