Spotswood said the Second Colony of Germans were settled on 13,000 acres of land which Robert Beverley had hoped to claim or patent. But the land was so remote that no one, as an individual, wanted to move there. The settlement depended upon seating several families at the same time so that they would provide mutual protection. The arrival of the seventy-odd Germans provided the opportunity that was needed. Spotswood and Beverley, with other partners, placed the Germans there. (They could do this, even without the German's permission, because the partners paid the German's transportation costs which would make the Germans indentured servants and bound to follow orders.) It is of interest to descendants, especially, to know where this land was and the site in particular. The 13,000 acres was increased to 40,000 acres and though Spotswood made it seem that this was an after thought, it probably was almost simultaneous with the settlement. One thing that Spotswood does not mention is the land, when plotted, amounted to about 65,000 acres, not the 40,000 acres claimed.
I have been able to pinpoint the settlement site rather narrowly in spite of the fact that the land totaled about 100 square miles (ten miles by ten miles). Germanna itself is on the south side of the Rapidan River which is the southern branch of the Rappahannock River. The Second Colony was on the northern side of the Rapidan River between the two branches of the Rappahannock River. And it was about two miles west of Germanna. Thus when it was settled in 1718, it became the western-most point under English control and civilization. No fort was provided. The houses were built close together for the twenty-odd families. Thus it appears that the danger from Indians was considered minimal but still requiring some precautions. Two features which helped to identify the site are Fleshman's Run and German Run. Cyriacus Fleshman was a leading member of the group. The site was known at the time as New German Town which distinguished it from the name German Town which was often applied to Germanna itself.
Though the First and Second Colonies were only about two miles apart, they were engaged in quite different activities. Their adjacency lasted only about one year because the First Colony moved away then. But during this period, the Second Colony either went to Germanna for some of their church services or else the Second Colony provide transportation to Rev. Hager so that he could come to them at "New German Town". They were of different faiths, the First Colony being German Reformed and the Second Colony being Lutheran. But ministers who could speak in German were extremely scarce, especially in Virginia, and so there can hardly be any doubt about Rev. Hager serving both Colonies.
Life for the Second Colony was described as hard. Certainly there was plenty of physical labor. The Rev. Hugh Jones wrote about them in 1724 based on his five years in Virginia which ended in 1722. Probably he was repeating comments that others made, including Spotswood himself. He wrote:
"Beyond this (Germanna) are seated the Colony of Germans or Palatines, with allowance of good quantities of rich land, at easy or no rates, who thrive very well, and live happily, and entertain generously."
(parenthetical remarks added; paragraphing also added)
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.