The Geneline
The Monthly Newsletter of the Amelia Island Genealogical Society August 2013
AIGS August General Meeting Tuesday August 20th 2013, at 7:00 pm The Community Room, Fernandina Beach Police Station, 1525 Lime St, Fernandina Beach, FL
Researching Your Confederate Soldier Kathy J. Stickney Using her father’s family members as a case study, Kathy shows how to trace your family through the various records available on Confederate soldiers and their units. Records illustrated include muster rolls, trench rolls, register for a hospital, register of prisoner of war, oath of allegiance, roll of surrendered prisoners, company transfer, home guard rolls, and pension records. Information is provided on how to research a given unit, discover its chain of command, and the battles it fought. People are also encouraged to dig deeper by reading books, watching DVD’s, and visiting the various battlefields. About our speaker: Kathy Stickney grew up in Miami and now lives in Ormond Beach, Florida. She is a graduate of Florida State University with a Bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a Master’s degree in library science. She also holds a Certificate of Biblical Studies from Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida.
Kathy is an avid genealogist and has been researching her family for eighteen years. It was research into the experiences of her father’s family during the Civil War that led her to write her current book "For Those I Love". (Her book will be available for purchase at the meeting). As a genealogical author, she has also written articles published in genealogical magazines and journals including several about the Civil War. http://kathystickney.tateauthor.com/about-the-author/ Kathy is also a genealogical speaker and has spoken to various genealogical societies in Florida. She is a member of: The Alabama Genealogical Society, The Florida Genealogical Society, The United Daughters of the Confederacy, The Henry County Historical Group, Daughters of the American Revolution, The Halifax Genealogical Society, The Ohio Genealogical Society, and First Families of Ohio.
July 2013 MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Gus Reinwald Speaking for the Amelia Island Genealogical Society, I what to express our 2013 AIGS appreciation for the years of service provided by Frances Bartelt, as the BOARD MEMBERS Geneline Editor and by Kay Watt, as Board Member and Librarian. Both Royce “Gus” Reinwald Frances and Kay served the Society by selfishly giving their time and President energy to perform the tasks assigned to them. Volunteers are what make Charles Finnigan our Society work and these two did a lot of work. We thank you both. Vice President Bebe Granger The other day I was on Jekyll Island and came across an historical marker Secretary about the burial ground of several members of the du Bignon family. The Susan Anstead du Bignon family, from Sapelo Island, was part of a group of Frenchmen Treasurer who purchased Jekyll Island in 1791. Poulain du Bignon became the sole Michael Toomey owner a few years later. The marker says that Poulain, in his youth, was Past President an officer in the French East India Company in India and fought against Thomas Painter, the British to end their domination of that country. What a small world. Director/Membership My Great Great Grandfather, Neil Campbell, served in the British East Chairperson India Company in India, and there on Jekyll Island these two families Bob Keane came together with me seeing the Historical Marker! Director
Larry Conte Director Open Position Director
COMMITTEE CHAIRS & EDITORS Michael Toomey AIGS Website Bob Keane Program Lori Miranda Publicity Cindy Stanley/Bob Frey Librarian Kathy Nemaric Research Coordinator
Susan Anstead Editor Geneline Jean Mann Editor of Nassau County Genealogist
2 The President’s Tech Corner –
I didn’t know that there is a date calculator in Windows 7. The Facebook group Technology for Genealogy recently included a post about this date calculator. The calculator is genealogy friendly. To display and use the date calculator, click the Start button, and select All Programs, Accessories, and then Calculator. The Standard calculator displays. Click the View tab, and then select Statistics in the first group, and Date calculation in the third group. The calculator updates with a date calculation pane.
In the From field, enter the date mm/dd/yyyy or click the drop-down arrow and pick the date from the electronic calendar (button to the right of the field). In the To field, enter the date mm/dd/yyyy or click the drop-down arrow and pick the date from the electronic calendar (button to the right of the field). Click the Calculate button. The system returns: the difference in years, months, and weeks the difference in total number of days
To return to the Standard calculator, select Standard and Basic in the View tab.
3 Germanna by Bebe Granger
ermanna is The Memorial Foundation of the Germanna Colonies in Virginia, Inc. The website is www.germanna.org. It is a nonprofit organization formed in 1956. It was founded to preserve G the heritage of the first German settlements in colonial Virginia in 1714, 1717 and later on in the 1700s. The Foundation purchased a large tract of land in what is now Locust Grove, Virginia (between Fredericksburg and Culpeper). There is a Germanna Visitor Center, Library and Memorial Garden. The visitor center is located near the site of the original Germanna Fort that Lt. Governor Alexander Spotswood (photo left) constructed for the Germans of the first colony in 1714 near the Rapidan River, later called Spotsylvania. Spotswood was a British officer who was Lt. Governor of Virginia from 1710-1722. For more information, there is an extensive menu on the website that leads to an endless amount of information on the German immigrants, their descendants, and all things Germanna.
From the menu, the History of Germanna is told including timelines. It is quite a history, and as a member of Germanna, there is access to more research about their journeys and lives. The name Germanna was chosen by Lt. Governor Alexander Spotswood to acknowledge the German immigrants and the British Queen Anne, who was Queen at the time, but died months after the Germans arrived in Virginia.
Johann Justus Albrecht, an employee of the George Ritter Company was sent to Germany to recruit miners for the company's holdings in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the Carolinas. The first German immigrants came from Siegen and other towns of the Siergerland in Germany It had a deep mining history. Approximately, 44 Germans were recruited. They departed their homeland in 1713, and arrived in London by the summer. In 1714, they left for Virginia. They arrived in Virginia in April 1714. The actual number of immigrants who arrived is still a debate. One account states that only 33 can be documented in Germanna. Spotswood paid for part of their passage, so they agreed to sign a four-year contract to work for him in Virginia. He had a palisaded fort (drawing above right) built for them when they arrived in Virginia and furnished it with two cannons. The fort is long gone, but it was a pentagon shape. They were in the wilderness, and they needed protection from wildlife and Indians. Their job was to mine silver and later iron ore. The mining was slow to take off in the early years.
In 1717, the second colony from Germany hired Captain Tarbett in London to take them to Pennsylvania. There were approximately 80 Germans who sailed on his ship Scott. Captain Tarbett hijacked the Germans and took them to Virginia where they became indentured servants of Lt. Governor Spotswood. Tarbett heard about the offer by Spotswood to pay good money for German workers. Captain Tarbett received money from Lt. Governor Spotswood for his "delivery of goods".
4 Other subjects to read about are the archaeology and preservation projects in the area. The site that was Alexander Spotswood's home, the Enchanted Castle (photo left), is an ongoing archaeology project. Salubria, at one time, the manor house of Governor Spotswood's widow is owned by the Germanna Foundation. It is located seven miles east of Culpeper, Virginia. It remains one of the only structures surviving that is linked to the time of the Germanna settlement. There are detailed accounts of the preservation and research at Salubria on the website. It was built about 1757 by Reverend John Thompson for his wife Lady Butler Brayne Spotswood Thompson (Lt. Governor Spotswood's widow).
In the News and Events category, there is a mix of articles to read. There is an annual conference and reunion. The last one was July 19-21, 2013 held at the Germanna site. Another article reported 300 year- old documents were found in Germany in 2011. They were the Germanna emigration records from 1711-1715, found in the Siegen City Archives. There is a picture of one of the manuscript pages on the website. The red area of the map at left shows the Siegen area of Germany.
The German Jubilee Database is a project honoring Germanna families for the 300th Jubilee of Fort Germanna in 2014. There is an enormous amount of genealogical and source material in the database. It has 80,000 people with ties to Germanna in it. Anyone with ancestry to Germanna can send their material to [email protected].
For people interested in a visit to Germany, The Foundation offers an annual trip there. The itinerary depends on what Germanna families are represented in the group. On June 3, 2013, 24 members made the trip to Germany. Some of the families they are descended from are Fishback, Hitt, Yager.
Last, but not least, of all the categories to read on germanna.org is the List of Original German Settlers to Virginia. The research into these families and their descendents is continuing and updated as new information is found. There is the First Colony of 1714 from the Siegerland, settling first at Fort Germanna, then to Germantown, present day Fauquier County. The 1717 Colony from the Kraichgau of Baden, Wurttemberg, and some from Rhineland Pfalz (Palatinate) first settled across the Rapidan River from Germanna, then moved to the Robinson River Valley in present day Madison County. From 1717 to 1725, more German immigrants from the Kraichgau came. Last was the Little Fork Group who later bought land from the earlier Germans. The First Colony Germans bought land in present day Culpeper County starting in 1734 as speculation to encourage more Siegerlanders to journey to Virginia.
From the Revolutionary War menu category, the Culpeper Minute Men Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution, is collecting data on the Culpeper Minute Men, descendents of the first German colonists. The results posted can be read at www.cmmsar.com.
5 If you think you might be a descendent of the Germanna colonists, the DNA project may be of interest to you. Germanna and Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) have partnered in offering DNA kits. In the DNA kits there are instructions, swabs, sealed containers and an envelope. The end result is that a person may discover all of their eighth great grandparents. Genealogical proof shows that many of the families intermarried for generations while migrating. This has created a chance through DNA testing to find more than a patrilineal gg grandfather or a matrilineal gg grandmother. There are over 130 surnames associated with this project. For example, Albrecht, Cook, Fisher, Grimm, Hoffman, Koch, Martin, Miller, Reiner, Spilman, Weaver, Woods.
The Germanna legacy is being documented for future generations through the Memorial Foundation of the Germanna colonies. The Foundation offers educational programs, publishes genealogy books, a newsletter and histories. There is also a Germanna Association comprised of descendents who advise the Foundation.
The journeys of these early German immigrants to the wilderness of the Virginia colony on the Rapidan River, maintaining a subsistence, was remarkable. It would be quite an experience to trek to Locust Grove, Virginia to the Brawdus Martin Germanna Visitor Center to begin the Germanna journey of discovery. Let's go! Autoreise!
***A special reminder to our members: GENELINE is your society’s publication. Each member is encouraged to contribute material. Send your GENELINE comments & article submissions to Susan Anstead at [email protected]
To find out more information about the Amelia Island Genealogical Society and to access previous GENELINE publications visit our website: http://www.aigensoc.org/ The Society’s Library Collection is housed in the Fernandina Beach Library, 25 N. 4th St. Fernandina Beach, FL 32034. It includes the Nassau County Genealogist, and the GENELINE, AIGS’s monthly newsletter. All GENELINE articles are indexed by PERSI.
6 The Amelia Island Genealogical Society P.O. Box 6005 Fernandina Beach, FL 32035-6005
Membership Information Membership dues are $20 per person & $25 per family, per year. The membership year runs from January 1st through December 31st. To print a membership application or for more information go to our web site: http://www.aigensoc.org/aigs/index.asp To join, please send the completed application form, along with the appropriate fee to the address below or bring them to the next general meeting. The Amelia Island Genealogical Society P.O. Box 6005 Fernandina Beach, FL 32035-6005 The membership packet includes AIGS information and all current year issues of the society’s quarterly publication. Family history research training is offered through classes, workshops and ongoing programs.
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