GERBER GARBER GARVER
The Gerber/Garber family name is common in Germany and Switzerland and possibly denotes the occupation of a tanner. Some researchers contend the occupational name derives from gerben (to tan, polish or curry), while others propose the name origin from garben (to gather into sheaves). The family name "Tanner" is generally distinct in Europe, but there have been a few cases of Anglicization from "Gerber" to "Tanner" in America. Similar names, such as "Geber/Gaber/Gaver," "Gruber/Grover," and "Carber/Carver," are distinct and unrelated to Gerbers, although isolated misspellings occur in known Gerber/Garber records. Many of the families in Europe were members of the Anabaptist peace sects who emigrated to America to escape the widespread persecutions which followed the Reformation. Johannes (H.?) Garber (b. ca. 1728-32; d. 1787, Shenandoah Co., Va.) in 1751 bought land in York Co. and married, ca. 1752, Barbara Miller (b. 1733; d. 1808), a daughter of Michael Miller. In 1761 he sold his farm and moved his family to Bedford Co., Pa., where they lived for the next twelve years. Johannes was ordained an elder and ministered to the congregation at Beaver Dam. In 1775 he moved to the Flat Rock area near Harrisonburg, Va., where he was a farmer and shoemaker and organized several large Brethren congregations in northern Virginia. He and his wife are buried in the family cemetery on the hill behind their home at Flat Rock. His will, written Sept. 4, 1787 and recorded Dec. 27, 1787, left two-thirds of his estate to his ten children: AB11+ Elder John Garber m. Barbara Zook; AB12+ Samuel Garber (b. 1756; d. 1814) m. Mollie Stoner; AB13+ Abraham Garber m. Elizabeth Humbert; AB14+ Martin Garber (b. 1761; d. 1814) m. Rebecca Stoner; AB15 Anna Garber m. Daniel Miller; AB16+ Jacob Garber m. Susanna Humbert; AB17 Daniel Garber m. (?) Susanna Miller; AB18+ Catherine Garber m. John Flory; AB19+ Elder Joseph Garber m. Catherine Leedy; and AB1a+ Magdalene Garber m. George Wine.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Garber Genealogy: Johannes H. Garber
Johannes “John H.” Garber, His Descendants in the Shenandoah Valley
Most of the Garbers in the Shenandoah Valley are descendants of John H. Garber of Flat Rock, Virginia, who established the Flat Rock German Baptist (today called the Church of the Brethren) and was the first German Baptist (Tunker or Dunker) minister to settle permanently in Virginia. His European ancestors Ulrich Gerber (b 1605), Christian Gerber (b 1635), Niclaus Gerber (b 1661), and Jo Hannes Gerber (b 1701) lived in Steffisburg, Bern, Switzerland. About 1719, his father, Jo Hannes Gerber, moved to the Palatinate area of Germany to a Mennonite community, where he and others were recruited by William Penn of Philadelphia to help settle the colony of Pennsylvania. Jo Hannes took a boat down the Rhine River to Rotterdam, Holland, and was the German immigrant who came to America about 1728. He arrived in Philadelphia and lived in Chester County, Pennsylvania, where his third son and our progenitor Johannes “John H.” Garber (1732-1787) was born.
In 1744, Jo Hannes Gerber moved his family to Lancaster/York County, Pennsylvania, where they continued to live after Jo Hannes' death in 1748. In 1768, Johannes “John H.” Garber, the son, moved his wife Barbara Miller and family to Frederick County, Maryland. In 1775, John H. Garber, as he became known, moved his family to the Shenandoah Valley at Flat Rock, Virginia. He was the first Garber to come to the Shenandoah Valley and thus began 275 years of Garber family history in the Shenandoah Valley.
Most of the Garbers in the Shenandoah Valley are descendants of John H. Garber of Flat Rock, Virginia, who established the Flat Rock German Baptist (today called the Church of the Brethren) and was the first German Baptist (Tunker or Dunker) minister to settle permanently in Virginia. His European ancestors Ulrich Gerber (b 1605), Christian Gerber (b 1635), Niclaus Gerber (b 1661), and Jo Hannes Gerber (b 1701) lived in Steffisburg, Bern, Switzerland. About 1719, his father, Jo Hannes Gerber, moved to the Palatinate area of Germany to a Mennonite community, where he and others were recruited by William Penn of Philadelphia to help settle the colony of Pennsylvania. Jo Hannes took a boat down the Rhine River to Rotterdam, Holland, and was the German immigrant who came to America about 1728. He arrived in Philadelphia and lived in Chester County, Pennsylvania, where his third son and our progenitor Johannes “John H.” Garber (1732-1787) was born.
In 1744, Jo Hannes Gerber moved his family to Lancaster/York County, Pennsylvania, where they continued to live after Jo Hannes' death in 1748. In 1768, Johannes “John H.” Garber, the son, moved his wife Barbara Miller and family to Frederick County, Maryland. In 1775, John H. Garber, as he became known, moved his family to the Shenandoah Valley at Flat Rock, Virginia. He was the first Garber to come to the Shenandoah Valley and thus began 275 years of Garber family history in the Shenandoah Valley.
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