John Blankenbaker's Germanna History Notes

Note 18

The First Colony Germans entered for or bought land from Lady Catherine Fairfax in the year 1718.  This was in the Northern Neck, a parcel of millions of acres which the Kings of England had granted to private individuals.  So when the Germans bought their land, they were not buying from the Crown but were buying it from the proprietors of the Northern Neck.

At this time, only three of the Germans were naturalized, Jacob Holtzclaw, John Hoffman and John Fishback.  Acting as trustees for the group, they bought 1800 acres though it appears that the final plot contained a couple of hundred acres more than this.  In making this purchase, they acted as a group and agreed to share equally in the expenses.  It is said that after dividing the land into equally sized lots, they drew straws to assign the lots to the families.

In doing this as a group, they were continuing the cooperative behavior that had been evident since leaving Siegen.  They shared expenses in London and they pooled their resources for the down payment on the transportation to Virginia.  They left as a group to their new land and shared the expense in doing so.  Along the way they contributed to the building of a home for the minister.

Their new home quickly became known as German Town though it must be remembered that other locations in Virginia were also called German Town.  The Germantown which became the permanent home of the First Colony was first in Stafford Co., then in Prince William Co., and finally in Fauquier Co.  Today Crocket Park lies in the midst of the original grant and furnishes the best view of it.  The landscape is altered by the formation of lake now though.

As the families grew, additional land was purchased, both in Fauquier Co. and in the area which became Culpeper Co.

By the time of the move to German Town, other Germans were also coming into the region.  Following notes will back up in time and look at these Germans.