GERMANNA_COLONIES-L Archives

From: John Blankenbaker <>
Subject: (116)Germanna Colonies, History of
Date: Wed, 18 Jun 1997 15:45:01 -0400

The one hundred and sixteenth note in a series on the Germanna Colonies

On 27 Apr 1794, George Ru"ckstuhl had his natural son, Wilhelm, baptized.
The sponsors were Valentine Bungard and the child's mother who is not
specified. George Rookstool married Catherine House and moved to Preble Co., OH.

George Schlatter and his wife Margaretha attended the Hebron church in 1776.
John Shlatter and Elisabeth Schlatter were confirmed at Hebron in 1777. A
Margaretha Schlatter was confirmed in 1778. A George Slaughter obtained a
300 acre patent on 28 Jan 1733 which was noted as adjacent to George Long
and Matthew Castler which probably means that George "Slaughter" was German
and perhaps related to the people above. A Conrad Slater is in the 1739
Orange Co. tithables very much among the Germans. A Conrad Slaughter is
mentioned in deeds. Conrad Slaughter's wife was Margaret according to the
will of John Snider (Culpeper W.B. A, p.214). This appears to be the case
of a German family whose name was close to a known English name. In cases
like this, the tendency is for the German name to be spelled according to
the known English name. It then becomes harder to recognize that the family
is German, not English.

Johannes Schwabach was the pastor at Hebron Lutheran Church from about 1764
to 1774. After Rev. Klug's death, there was a gap of about a year before
Schwarbach came to Hebron. He was born in Europe and was a teacher in
Pennsylvania. He moved on to the Valley of Virginia where he was a
catechist. In 1768 he wrote, "I am overburdened with work . . . in six
months, I have instructed and confirmed young people in seven different
congregations at a considerable distance from each other." Deacons Adam
Garr and Adam Wayland wrote at the same time that "The efforts of Mr.
Schwarbach . . . please us very much." The deacons complained at the same
time that Mr. Schwarbach could not officiate at their weddings and they had
to use the English pastor. Schwarbach's retirement seems to have been
motivated by a desire to escape the heavy physical duties such as
ministering to congregations up to one hundred miles away. His wife was
Margaretha.

The Selcer (Selzer, Seltzer) family is another family whose members seemed
to straddle the Blue Ridge Mountains. Matthew Selser owed money to the
estate of Michael Clore in 1763.

Elizabeth Sta"r was confirmed in 1782 at the Hebron church at the age of 17.

Rosina Stature was confirmed in 1782 at the Hebron church at the age of 17.

In the comments about Johannes Schwarbach, it was noted that he traveled far
in his duties of serving as a minister to different people. It may also be
the case that people would come to Hebron for special services, especially
confirmation. Thus there may be no records to be found for the Sta"r and
Stature family in Culpeper Co. Or if the records are sparse for a family,
it may be that they were not permanent residents.

to be continued
John Blankenbaker
Beyond Germanna
PO Box 120
Chadds Ford, PA 19317
http://www.wp.com/germanna/
http://www.concentric.net/~sgtgeorg/germhist.shtm

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