John Blankenbaker's Germanna History Notes
Note 151
[NOTE from John BLANKENBAKER: Many of you take advantage of the capability
on those pages to send comments to us. We thank you for these, even if we do not reply
to every one. You can be assured that we read them and listen to your comments and questions.
Your input is a guide is a help in preparing these notes.]
[In putting together the web pages, these notes have been broken down into sets of
twenty-five. This note is the first of a new set. It is appropriate to
comment upon the aims of the notes. The emphasis is on the Germanna people,
or the Germans who lived in the Virginia Piedmont, in particular, in the
modern counties of Culpeper, Fauquier, Madison, and Rappahannock. The
precedents of these counties include: Orange, Spotsylvania, Essex, Prince
William, and Stafford. The notes have stirred interest in a broader range of
people, so the discussions, in some cases, have been generalized. Still, the
primary source of examples is drawn from the Germanna people.]
The county of Spotsylvania, Virginia came into being in 1720-1721. Initially it
included all of the following modern counties: Spotsylvania, Orange,
Culpeper, Madison, Greene, and Rappahannock. It ran from east of
Fredericksburg (which did not exist then) to the Blue Ridge Mountains, or for
about fifty miles east to west. Along the Blue Ridge it ran for about the
same distance. In the eastern parts, the extent was much less in the
north-south direction, making for a very roughly shaped triangle. At the
time, there was no settlements or towns in this region. Except for the eastern
region, the area was not settled. Toward the west, the First Germanna Colony
had been at Germanna (sometimes called Germantown), and the Second Germanna
Colony was still at New German Town, about two miles west of Germanna. These
were the pioneers of the frontiers. The First Colony could be said to be the
first settlers of modern Orange County, while the Second Colony became the
first settlers of modern Culpeper County.
All of Virginia was divided into
religious
parishes by the Assembly. The
government was responsible for the administration of the affairs of the
church in the absence of any bishops who lived in Virginia. The religious
parishes were solidly embedded into the fabric of the government. When
Spotsylvania County was created, it simultaneously decreed in the
legislation that the parish of St. George would extend throughout
Spotsylvania County. This St. George's Parish is to be distinguished from
the older, and much smaller, parish which had been created for the benefit of
the First Colony Germans (or for Spotswood's benefit?). This first St.
George's Parish was dissolved when the new St. George's was created.
Church attendance at least once a month was legally required of every person
21 years of age or older. This was a burden on many residents of St.
George's Parish because the only church was located at Germanna.