Lt. Gov. Spotswood continued to push for a resolution of the precious metals question. Col. Blakiston in London must have dreaded opening letters from Spotswood which harped on the theme of getting approval for the gold and silver mines. Queen Anne died and was succeeded by King George I, a German himself. Spotswood urged Blakiston to try the argument with King George that he would be helping his fellow countryman if the question were resolved. In the meanwhile, Spotswood complained about the expense of the Germans (he mentioned partners) and said there was no chance to recover these expenses until the Germans could be put to work.
Actually, this was not true. Spotswood did recover his expenses from the efforts of the Germans. On 31 Oct 1716, William Robinson patented 3,229 acres above the falls of the Rappahannock in the parish of St. George in Essex Co. This was the land where Fort Germanna was built. The true owner of the land was soon divulged; no one was surprised when the land was transferred by Robinson to Spotswood. Spotswood explained that a third party was used because it did not look good for him to sign a land patent as governor to the benefit of himself as a private individual. While it is true that Robinson paid the required fees for this (and no doubt was reimbursed by Spotswood), it was also a requirement that the land be proven up by building houses, clearing and planting crops and setting an orchard. This the Germans did by their farming activity. So Spotswood could consider that he clear title to the land thanks to the Germans.
There is, of course, a minor question about who was the sponsor of the Germans. Spotswood had suggested, and it was approved by the Council, that the Colony ought to contribute to their expense since they were guarding the frontier. The Fort, for example, would probably be considered as property of the Colony, not of Spotswood. Nevertheless, he patented the land on which the fort sat, giving his approval as Governor to his actions as a private individual.
Spotswood visited Germanna on only a few occasions before he eventually decided to move there. By and large, he left the Germans on their own, with little direct supervision. For a while, he put a relative on the site as overseer. This was Frances HOME who was an interesting tale in himself.
Francis Home had revolted against the Crown and was sentenced to hanging but was able to get the sentence changed to "transportation" meaning he was to be banished to the colonies and sold as a servant. A kinsman purchased his freedom and he went to work for Spotswood as overseer at Germanna.
Unfortunately for him, he died not long after this (in 1718) and was buried on the shores of the Rapidan River at Germanna. Francis had a brother, George Home, who was also transported to the colonies. George, took up the trade of surveying and became very well known among the later Germanna people. It merely shows that some of the best people in Virginia did not come voluntarily. Some of George Home's descendants married Germanna people, so Spotswood could have claimed (had he lived long enough) that he was related to some of the Germanna people.
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.