Redwine is German in origin and has many variant spellings from the time the family came to the U.S. in the early 1700s. Originally the name was spelled RIETHWEIL. Redwine is the most common spelling used today. My dad's family is all German Lutheran. It is interesting now to find a German Lutheran line on my mom's side that connects back into Germany.

I just recently (January 1999) learned of my connection to the Redwine family of Georgia thanks to Bobbie Lou Bridges who is also a descendant of James and Cynthia (Redwine) O'Kelly. The Redwines intermarried frequently with the Ballinger, Sartain, Bond, Wade, and other families of Georgia and Mississippi, so it is no wonder that I found this connection to the Redwines. My Garvins and O'Kellys lived in Madison County, Georgia and in Yalobusha County, Mississippi near the Redwines and these other families mentioned above. Many thanks also to Imogene Bennett, Tex Dick, and Nancy Guest for sharing what they know about the Redwine families.

It is also a thrill for me to find out that this makes me more than double kin to my dear friends Imogene and Rex Bennett who live here in Springfield, Missouri. We are kin through the Ballinger family and also through the Redwines. Imogene is the membership chairman for the Ozarks Genealogical Society. I am also double kin to Nancy Guest who is an excellent researcher on the Ballinger line and whom I worked with to compile an article about the Ballingers for an Amherst County, Virginia Heritage Book in 1998. Nancy descends from the Ballingers and Redwines also. Imogene also helped us to write the article on the Ballingers for the Amherst book which was published in 1999.

And I am also double kin to Tex Dick through the Ballingers and Wades and the Redwines. This is all quite interesting. Many thanks to Tex Dick for the early generations of this family. He is THE AUTHORITY on the Redwines.

Imogene has shared some good things about the Redwine Methodist Church in Hart County, Georgia. There is a historical marker in the front yard of that church, and Imogene and her husband have been there to attend two different reunions over the years. One reunion was in conjunction with the 200th anniversary of its founding which the Methodist church had a celebration for it.

Imogene also mentions the movie, "I'd Climb the Highest Mountain" which has been aired on television. Susan Hayward played in it, and it was based on the book titled, "The Circuit Rider's Wife." The book was written by Corra (White) Harris, wife of Rev. Lundy Howard Harris. He was the minister of Redwine Church in 1887, and the book was based on that novel and happenings at the church when Rev. Lundy Harris was pastor.

Johann Ludwig Redwine, Sr., arrived on the ship "Osgood" in 1750, and there was a man on that ship named Gottlieb Mittelberger who wrote a journal about the trip. This is very interesting, and it will certainly make you appreciate the times we are living in today. A copy of this journal has been printed in book form and is located in the Library of Congress.

A transcription of the first chapter of this diary is now on the internet, courtesy of Imogene Bennett. This is the part that tells about the travels of the ship "Osgood" and what life aboard the ship was like when Johann Ludwig Redwine, Sr. came over from Germany. Imogene also has a complete listing of the passengers as well as where some originated and where they eventually settled. But she says those parts are far from complete, as this can be a tedious job to track down the place of origin and the place each settled in the U.S. after arrival. They came from many different places of origin. It appears that only Johann Ludwig Redwine, Sr. and family were from Freckenfeld, Germany. Gottlieb Mittelberger became disenchanted with America and returned to Germany in October 1754, then wrote the book in 1756 trying to discourage others who might think about leaving. Perhaps the trip wasn't as bad as he has painted in the first chapter, but regardless, it makes us appreciate our Ludwig Redwine. The hardships he went through to get here are beyond comprehension. There is even mention of transporting a large organ for use in the U.S. This was not an easy feat for the 1750s. The journal was translated into English by Carl Theo. Eben in 1898. Click on the following link to view Gottlieb Mittelberger's Journey to Pennsylvania in 1750

Because of my great interest in the American Revolution, I am wondering if Johann Ludwig, Redwine, Jr., also known as Lewis Redwine could have been a soldier or patriot of the American Revolution. He was the right age. Jacob Redwine, his brother, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War.

Here is my REDWINE lineage as far as can be determined (Tex Dick and others are still researching this line):

1. Hans REDWINE, b. ca. 1620 Bavaria, Germany (lived at Pfalz, Annweiler, Euberthal, in Bavaria, Germany)
2. Daniel REDWINE, b. ca. 1646 Bavaria, Germany, d. Wurttemberg, Germany; md. 12 Oct. 1669 at Holzgerlingen, Wurttemberg, Germany to Barbara BINDER, b. ca. 1649 at Holzgerlingen, Wurttemberg, Germany
3. Frederick REDWINE, b. 15 July 1679 Holzgerlingen of Freckenfeld, Wurttemberg, Germany, d. 23 Jan. 1753 Freckenfeld, Wurttemberg, Germany; md. ca. 1698 Holzgerlingen of Freckenfeld, Wurttemberg, Germany to UNKNOWN
4. Johann Ludwig RIETHWEIL (changed in America to REDWINE), b. 14 Aug. 1699/1710 Freckenfeld, Germany, d. ca. May 1772 Granville Co., NC; md. 15 Nov. 1731 Freckenfeld, Germany, to Barbara BACHLER/BAECHLEIN (various spellings), b. 1 Nov. 1710 Freckenfeld, Germany, d. aft. Aug. 1772 Granville Co., NC
5. Johann Ludwig RIEDWEILENS, Jr. (as spelled in baptismal record; baptized 8 Dec 1740 in Freckenfeld Lutheran Church), also known as LEWIS REDWINE, b. 4 Dec. 1740 Freckenfeld, Germany, d. 21 Feb. 1809 Rowan Co., NC; md. Maria Catherine WALTER, b. ca. 1740
6. Rev. William C. REDWINE, b. ca. 1775 Anson, NC, d. bef. 1841 Lafayette Co., MS; md. Malinda Lou COX, b. ca. 1770 NC, d. ? Mississippi
7. Cynthia REDWINE b. ca. 1801 NC, d. ca. 1856 MS; md. prob. Madison Co., GA to James O'KELLY, b. ca. 1797 GA, d. aft. 1850 MS
8. Elizabeth O'KELLY, b. ca. 1816 Madison Co., GA, d. ca. 1843 Lafayette Co., MS; md. ca. 1832 Madison Co., GA to Micajah Martin GARVIN, b. ca. 1812 VA, d. 29 Dec. 1870 Red River Co., TX
9. Henry Washington GARVIN, b. 28 June 1833 Madison Co., GA, d. 21 Feb. 1909 Garvin Co., OK; md. 16 May 1851 Lafayette Co., MS to Elizabeth Ann SARTAIN, b. 30 July 1837 Madison Co., GA, d. 29 Oct. 1921 Katie, Garvin Co., OK
10. McCager Martin GARVIN, b. 19 Oct. 1856 Newton Co., MS, d. 17 Dec. 1920 Frederick, Tillman Co., OK (buried in Hackberry Cemetery near Frederick, OK); md. 12 Dec. 1888 Jack Co., TX to Maizie Elmira Catherine SARTAIN, b. 7 Dec. 1871 Water Valley, MS, d. 15 Mar. 1954 Bailey Co., TX (1st cousins on the Sartain side) (buried in the Morton Cemetery, Bailey Co., TX)
11. Orpha Antonia Hazel GARVIN, b. 11 Nov. 1895 Jack Co., TX, d. 21 Dec. 1979 Cortez, Montezuma Co., CO; md. 12 Dec 1915 Parker Co., TX to William Earl HARRIS, b. 8 Aug. 1895 McNairy Co., TN, d. 5 Jan. 1967 Cortez, Montezuma Co., CO (both buried in the Dove Creek Cemetery, Dove Creek, CO) *These are my grandparents.

I am now the list manager for the REDWINE E-mail List on Rootsweb as well as the REDWINE Message Board on Rootsweb. The Redwine e-mail list was originally started by Tex Dick, who is still an active part of the list and continues to do Redwine research. THANK YOU, Tex, for all your assistance with the Redwines over the years.