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The Birthplace of Effingham County

Genealogy

Genealogy is a major part of the mission of the Georgia Salzburger Society. In the early days of the society, Pearl Rahn Gnann dedicated much of her life to researching Salzburger families and collecting genealogical records for posterity. Her work is a treasure of genealogical information for Salzburger descendants.

Mrs. Gnann spent many years visiting people of the heritage and viewing old family Bibles, studying courthouse records, walking in cemeteries and recording information from gravestones and old wooded markers. She obtained information from various sources including personal interviews. The results of her many years of work was the 1956 publication of the first edition of her monumental Georgia Salzburgers and Allied Families.

Following the death of Mrs. Gnann, her daughter, Mrs. Charles Gnann LeBey (Miss Amy) continued to collect records and update the Salzburger genealogies and published two updated editions of the original work. Martha LeBey Lassiter, Mrs. Gnann’s granddaughter, and other family members continued this work and a four-volume set of Georgia Salzburgers and Allied Families were published in 2003.

Many families of the Salzburger and German heritage of Ebenezer, Georgia, do genealogical research for their specific families and many books of family genealogy have been published over the years. From the original work of Dr. Donald Mabry, Dr. Frank Perry, Jr., and Robert F. Griner, email and web site links for the exchange of genealogical information continue to provide contact information for exchange of family information.

Georgia Salzburger Society Genealogy Exchange

If you have done research and/or have knowledge of the early ancestry of a certain family or families of this heritage, and you are willing to share information with others, or if you have a web site on a family or families of this heritage, please contact the Georgia Salzburger Society. The Society’s phone number is 912-754-7001 and the email address is  [email protected] .

Family Name Contact
Arnsdorff
Brander, Mathias Gordon Baker
Burgsteiner Lisa Axtell
Dasher Berkley Ivey
Exley /Oechsle / 0chslin Vincent Exley
Geiger, Gieger, Gyger Anne H. Connell
Gerry Gieger
Griner, Greiner Robert “Bob” Griner
Heck, Hock, Hague Sheila Casper
Heidt, Haid Helen Heidt Marshall
Hinely, Heinle Lisa Axtell
Lineberger, Limeberger, Leimberger Joseph W. Lineberger
Miller, Rentz Fay Rentz
Neidlinger Philip Neidlinger
Rahn, Conrad Francis C. Hutto
Remshart, Gugel, Heidt Ruth Padilla
Seckinger, Seckinger Ernie Seckinger
Schneider, Hans Michael Frank L. Perry, Jr.
Treutlen, John Adam
Wisenbaker Alice Conklin

Georgia Salzburger Society Links of Interest:

Ebenezer, Georgia

Jerusalem Evangelical Lutheran Church

An article about Jerusalem Church that appeared in “The Lutheran” magazine.

New Ebenezer Retreat Center

Full service retreat facilities: meeting rooms, housing and meals.

Ebenezer Alive

Providing educational programs for school groups

Treutlen House

A Children’s home renewing the ministry of the early Salzburger Orphanage (1737), the first orphanage in Georgia.

European Connections

Francke Foundations, Halle, Germany

This orphanage foundation, which dates from 1698, was one of the strongest German connections of early Ebenezer;  It was from here that Pastor Boltzius and other early pastors came to Ebenezer, Georgia.  Many original documents relating to Georgia Salzburgers are maintained in its archives.

The Province of Salzburg

This site included information on the land, history, tourism and other topics.

The Land of Salzburg

This is mostly a tourist and travel site in the land of our ancestors.  Locate the Pongau and Pinzgau districts.  Most of the Protestant exiles who emigrated to Georgia and founded the town of Ebenezer originated in these two regions.

The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge

This publication and missionary society, located in London, England, gave assistance to the early Salzburger community at Ebenezer and provided the salaries for two pastors in the early days of the Lutheran Church in Georgia.

Exulanten Memorials

KAMMERSTEIN, BAVARIA, GERMANY

exulanten_35366

http://www.pfaenders.com/html/exulanten_memorials.html

Georgia Connections

Georgia Historical Society

The Georgia Salzburger Society is an affiliate chapter of the GHS

Georgia Secretary of State – Archives

A resource page on the Georgia Salzburgers

Goethe Institute – Atlanta

The German Cultural Center in Atlanta offering German language classes, library, German films and programs.

The Richard C. Kessler Reformation Collection

A collection of rare and valuable documents of the Protestant Reformation housed in the Pitts Theology Library of Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.  This great collection came into being through the leadership and vision of Richard and Martha Kessler, as well as other project partners.  Mr. Kessler is a Salzburger descendant and Past President of the Georgia Salzburger Society.  More than 2,000 woodcut images in the Digital Image Archive are accessible on this site.

Lamar Institute

Archaeological institute that has conducted periodic digs at Ebenezer since 1987.  “Reports” include information about work at Ebenezer.

Georgia Salzburger Society
2980 Ebenezer Road
Georgia Highway 275
Rincon, GA 31326
912-754-7001
[email protected]