This note continues with a discussion of a misleading and erroneous article recently published about the Germanna Colonies. The primary topic this time is the role of Christoph von Graffenried in the emigration of the Germanna colonists to America. (Graffenried styled himself Christopher de Graffenried.)
The statement is made,
"He [Spotswood] had an agent in London at the time whose name was Von Graffenried to whom he sent urgent messages to secure more help here in Virginia."
Later parts of the story imply the "time" was when the Second Germanna Colony was in London trying to get to Pennsylvania and that these were the people whom Graffenried secured for Spotswood.
This cited article fails to mention that Graffenried played a very active part in the emigration of the First Germanna Colony. And he played no part in the emigration of the Second Germanna Colony. So the history is wrong in its omission of the role of Graffenried with the First Colony and is wrong in attributing a role to him in the Second Colony emigration.
Graffenried had concluded his operations in America in 1713 and he returned that summer to London where he found the First Colony was waiting for him. He, and the George Ritter Company, were broke and they could not assist the Nassau-Siegen people even though they had recruited them. Graffenried in his memoirs tells how the problem was resolved by the efforts of the Nassau-Siegen people themselves, and his efforts in getting Col. Blakiston to commit Lt. Gov. Spotswood to paying the balance of the money needed for their passage. Graffenried also helped the Germans find employment. Graffenried says that winter was approaching and he did not like to travel in the winter. So as soon as the general arrangements were completed for the Germans, Graffenried returned to Switzerland and never returned to London. This was in the fall of 1713.
He noted in his memoirs that he heard later that the Germans had boarded a ship in January of 1714 (new style), implying that he had not been there at the time. From his words, it could be inferred that he left London in the fall of 1713. The Second Colony was in London in the fall of 1717 so that Graffenried missed the Second Colony by four years. He never knew anything about the Second Colony.
Graffenried was not an agent for Spotswood. He had nothing to do with the Second Germanna Colony. He had a lot to do with the First Germanna Colony. If Graffenried had not started recruiting them in 1709 or 1710, there would not have been a First Germanna Colony.
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.