Fred Zimmerman and Johni Cerny found a list of people in the Gemmingen, Germany, church book who were going to Pennsylvania in 1717. Altogether there were six families. Four of the families are well known as Germanna families: Weaver, Clore and two Smith families (using their Anglicized names). The fifth family made it to Virginia also; this was the Mihlckher family. If you drop the two "h" letters, probably you would come closer to the "true" name. Thus, Milcker might be better.
The eventual fate of the sixth family is totally unknown. This was the Bekh family which has been spelled as Beck. The family probably did not disappear entirely and, in fact, may have made it to Virginia along with the other five families above. We only have the names of 48 of the immigrants in 1717, namely the ones for whom Alexander Spotswood paid the transportation. He had partners in the planned naval stores project and they may have paid the way of the about thirty other people who arrived in 1717/18. The Becks could have been in this subgroup.
What became known as the Second Germanna Colony left very late in the year, apparently in late July. By the time they made it to London, most of the passenger shipping for the season had probably been closed out. I mention this because it is possible that the Becks might have caught a ship that did make it to Pennsylvania. But it is about equally probably that they made it to Virginia. When the family left Baden, it consisted of Lorentz Beck (40), Anna Martha (same), Lorentz (14), Maria Margaretha (13), Hans George (10), and Anna Catharina (8).
Returning to the Milcker family, it consisted of Hans Michael Milcker (30), Sophia Catharina (same), Anna Margaretha (7), Anna Catharina (4), and Sophia's sister, name not given. When this family arrived in Virginia, it consisted of Hans Michael, Sophia Catharina and Maria Parvara (Barbara). The two daughters are missing and probably the sister is missing since Barbara's name is given as Milcker. Maria Parvara might have been a daughter born on the way.
This importation record is the last time the family is mentioned in Virginia. There are two theories as to what might have happened to them. Theory One is that they left immediately for Pennsylvania which is where they wanted to go. By the standards of the day, they were bound to Alexander Spotswood as servants because he paid their way. Many servants escaped from their servitude by slipping out under a dark moon. Since no record is known in Virginia for the family, perhaps the Pennsylvania records hold the key.
Theory Two for the Milckers, which also holds for the Becks, is that the head of the family died. This creates a void in the records; however, the family may still be present. An excellent example of this is the Joseph Weaver family, another Gemmingen family. The father died very early in Virginia though the son, who eventually took the name Peter, remained to carry on the name. Peter Weaver had been thought to be a later comer until the Gemmingen records were uncovered.
All of this long winded story is told for two reasons. First, it illustrates the dangers of trying to find wives for men. The pool of women who could be wives is larger than we generally believe. Maybe one of the Milker or the Beck girls did become the wife of a Germanna settler. Johann Hirsch (that is as close as I can get to John Doe in German) may have married a Catherine. How do we know that it wasn't Catherine Beck?
Second, I have had a run of luck in having people identify individuals. Maybe if I put forth the Milker and Beck names, someone can tell me something.
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.