Matthias Blankenbaker

Founded in 1730, St. Mark's Parish covered the western part of Spotsylvania Co. On 1 Jan 1735, Orange County was formed and St. Mark's became the parish for it. At this time, Orange Co. included several of the present day counties, including an area in the Shenandoah Valley. When Culpeper Co. was formed in mid-century, St. Mark's became the parish for what is today's Culpeper, Madison, and Rappahannock Counties. In 1752, Bromfield Parish was split off. St. Mark's included several pockets of Germans (Mt. Pony, Little Fork, and the Robinson River) at some time during its existence. The following members of the Germanna community are mentioned in the Vestry minutes: Frederick Cobler, Michael Holt, Thomas Wayland's wife, Matthias Blankenbaker, Jacob Holtzclaw, Jacob Fishback, Frederick Zimmerman, Christopher Kabler, Conrad Cabler, John Cobler, and Woolfenbarger.