Monday, December 31, 2007

More Garber Family History

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.

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