In the winter of 2001-2002, I began researching and compiling additional information and pictures about the Garbers. To answer my questions I found it necessary to visit a number of libraries, conduct internet searches, and conduct interviews of family members. After several years of fruitful research, compilation, and writing I realized that I had developed a draft manuscript that would be of interest to others. The question then was how to best distribute the family history and pictures for the benefit of present and future generations. After considering a number of options, I decided to publish my book entitled Johannes “John H.” Garber, His Descendants in the Shenandoah Valley. Hopefully, this micro-historical study of farmers and ministers in search of religious freedom and peace may promote an understanding of our rich heritage to present and future generations to help them appreciate their ancestors and their Christian values.

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.

The history of the Garbers is a slice of American history from its infancy and represents the history of other German families. Many German families followed John H. Garber to the Shenandoah Valley with surnames like Bowman, Cline, Flory, Glick, Harner, Huffman, Landis, Miller, Myer, Norford, Reed, Sanger, Shifflett, Sipe, Stoner, Stover, Wampler, and Wine.

The book covers seven generations of Garbers in the Shenandoah Valley and is richly illustrated with photographs of family members dating from the 1840s, buildings, and unique family artifacts dating from 1805.

Johannes “John H.” Garber, His Descendants in the Shenandoah Valley can be purchased one of two ways. You can receive a copy or copies by completing and mailing the on-line order form with a check for the appropriate amount, and your book(s) will be mailed to you. Or you can order a copy from a bookstore.

In 2004, I put the book Johannes “John H.” Garber, His Descendants in the Shenandoah Valley on the back burner for another project. Owen Harner, a resident of New Hope, Virginia, and a local historian, recruited me to help him organize material that he had compiled over 50 years about New Hope, Virginia. After two plus years of research and writing, we realized that we had a book that might be of interest to the local community. In 2006, Owen and I published The History of New Hope, Virginia, The Past Two Hundred Years. The book explains the beginnings of the village, how it was born, and how it grew. It provides images and information about the community's people, historical houses, businesses, and organizations brought together for the first time. New Hope is a farming village that has borne witness to historical events large and small to include the Civil War Battle of Piedmont, development in transportation systems, and twentieth-century development.

The History of New Hope, Virginia can also be purchased by sending the author a completed order form with a check for the appropriate amount and your book(s) will be mailed to you.