The Virginia Germans

Rating:
Summary: History in lieu of geneology
Review: I bought this book when my wife and I visited the Mennonite culture center in Lancaster County, Pa., in Jan. 1992. I've rarely enjoyed a book more, primarily because I was able to read it in very general information about the roots of part of my family, colonial era German-Americans living near persent-day Bristol, Va.-Tenn. who migrated over the Appalacians into Harlan County, Ky., around 1800. Wust describes the migration of the Germans down the Shenandoah Valley, settling the Allegheny side and leaving as remnants 3 isolated Va. German-speaking villages (non-Mennonite) even today. We did not visit those villages, but according to a Mennonite harness-maker in Dayton, Va., two of them still existed at that time. This is not something that you can learn about from official tourist info centers. Many of the German family names mentioned by Wust still exist in E. Ky., often in Anglicized form (Stambach=Stumbo or Stambaugh, Diehl=Deal, Joachim=Yoakim, etc). Written for hillbillies (and others) in search of their roots.

Rating:
Summary: Contents:
Review: The Virginia Germans by Klaus Wust

The University Press of Virginia

1969

Contents:

Part One: 17th Century Forerunners covers the First Germans in Virginia.

Part Two:

In the Piedmont
In the valley of Virginia
First Consolidation
Indian Wars
Revolutionary War
Part Three:

Distribution of Colonial Stock
Bilingual Politics
Slavery
The German Churches
Cultural Resources
Folkways, Crafts & Arts
Vanishing Traces
Part Four:

Isolation and Nativism
Civil War and Reconstruction
German Americanism
Prohibition and World War
Notes

Bibliography

Index

Maps:

German Settlements 1714-1745

German Congregations in 1810

Rating:
Summary: What a Classic
Review: This is a great foundational work on the beginnings of the German element in Virginia. Sections cover the beginnings in the early 1600s and follow through to WWI. Most of the focus is on pre 1850 German settlements but also included is a chapter on the Civil War. If you can find it, get it!

Rating:
Summary: What a Classic
Review: This is a great foundational work on the beginnings of the German element in Virginia. Sections cover the beginnings in the early 1600s and follow through to WWI. Most of the focus is on pre 1850 German settlements but also included is a chapter on the Civil War. If you can find it, get it!