The Lutheran Church members in the Robinson River decided to send Rev. Stöver, Michael Smith, an elder, and Michael Holt, a member of the congregation to Europe to solicit funds. The trip was not expected to be short. This must have been a hard decision, especially for Smith and Holt who were leaving their family and farm behind. To finance the trip, it was agreed that the solicitors would be allowed to keep one-third of the funds they raised.
It is always better to travel with letters of recommendation. The group wanted to secure the Governor's blessing but he did not know them. So they went first to the Spotsylvania Court with a petition which they asked the judges to affirm. On page 337 of the Order Book for 1730 to 1738 , it reads:
"On the petition of Michael Holt, Michael Smith & Michael Clore in behalf of themselves and ye rest of the Germans, seated by the great Mountains on the Robinson River, in this County, setting forth that they have a Minister, (Ye Rev. Augustine Stover) who they accommodate, pay and satisfy his salary at y'r own charge, and have already purchased a Glebe & built a house for the use of Y'e S'd Minister. And also that they are building a Church for Y'e congregation, but being of low circumstances (& obliged to pay levies in the Parish where they live) and not being able to go through the charge, are sending home to Germany y'e Rev. Augustine Stover, Michael Holt & Michael Smith in order to get some relief & assistance toward Y'e building of said Church & maintenance of y'e s'd Minister."Humbly desiring this Court to recommend the same to his Hon. the Governor in order that they might get a certificate of him to testife the truth thereof; is granted and ordered that ye same be certified according to petition.
"At a Court held in Spotsylvania County on Tuesday September 3rd 1734. Teste: T.A. Harris clerk."
With this certificate from the court they applied to Governor Gooch, who certified to the truth of what they had already done, their need of help, and also that his written testimonial was given, that full credence might be given the commissioners in Germany in all their endeavors and undertakings. The seal of the colony was affixed. Signed by William Gooch, September 18, 1734.
The collectors went first to England where they were kindly received by the German Lutheran ministers in London, Rev. Frederick Michael Ziegenhagen, court chaplain; Rev. Henry Alard Butjenter, court preacher at the German court chapel of St. James; Rev. D. Henry Walther Gerdes and Rev. Henry Werner Palm, pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Savoy. Here they received not a good contribution, but also a letter of recommendation from them to Holland and to Germany.
From England they proceeded to Holland where they began their collections in Amsterdam about the first of August, 1735.
(The quotation of the petition above is from " History of the Hebron Lutheran Church, Madison County, Virginia " by Rev. W.P. Huddle, with an epilogue by Margaret Grim Davis. For more information contact the church at P.O. Box 100, Madison, VA 22727.)
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.