Record of the 1787 Annual District Meeting of the Church of the Brethren in Frederick Co., Maryland, listed as attendees "Johannes Garber and Samuel Garber, of Lentil's Creek, New Virginia." (Now known as Linville Creek, Rockingham Co., Virginia, but at that time it was in Shenandoah Co.)

There were no Zook families in that area of Virginia in the 1770-1790 period, but there were Zooks in the Frederick and Washington Co. area of Maryland, where John Garber lived until about 1775, and where he frequently travelled on church business and to visit relatives. So he was probably married in Maryland ca 1775-1776.

He moved to Clermont Co., Ohio in 1795, and organized the Stonelick Church there. In 1805 he helped Elder Jacob Miller organize the Lower Miami District, then moved north and became the first Elder of the Donnel's Creek District.

John Garber's will dated 11 Dec 1813, in Boston twp, Champaign Co., Ohio (now part of Clark Co.), lists children in the order "Jacob, Elizabeth, Nancy, Mary, Abraham, Barbara, Magdalene, Joseph, and Samuel." A separate bequest is made to "Peter Minnick, Sr. my son-in-law and Magdalena his wife". The will is signed Johannes Garber. Peter Minnick, Sr. and Jacob Minnick are listed as co-executors, but Peter Minnick, Sr., made his own will on 8 Jan 1814, and both wills were recorded the same day, 3 June 1814. Both wills also begin with a statement that the writer is "very sick and weak in body." Perhaps an illness which they both caught at the same time?

She is not the same person as Barbara Zook (M33 in the Harry D. Zook book) the daughter of Henry Zook of Chester Co., PA, who also married a John Garber! That Barbara was born in 1781 (too young to have 9 adult children in 1813), and also her family was Amish, and there is no indication that she left Pennsylvania.

The most likely father of this Barbara Zook is Henry Zug, son of Ulrich Zug. He was living in Frederick Co., MD in the 1790 census, and there is no complete list of his children.