Continuing with the correction of errors in a recent article, the statement is made that:
"Spotswood now refused to release them [Second Colony members]. They sought common council and took their case to the Royal Governor at Williamsburg who released all but two families who later purchased their freedom."
It was not a question of bondage as Spotswood simply sued for money to which he, Spotswood, thought he was entitled. The Germans felt that the conditions were poorly defined and that the money was excessive. In fact, their first plea was that "by the law, they owed nothing". They submitted a petition to the House of Burgesses [the Assembly of the people] who consulted with the upper chamber, the Council. The Council issued a decision that the person acting as Deputy Attorney for the King in the said County of Spotsylvania do appear for the Germans [the Petitioners] in the suits so they the Germans may have the benefit of a fair trial. All that was decided by anyone or any group in Williamsburg was the Germans should have a fair trial and that the King's attorney should assist them.
The Royal Governor did not issue any statement or decree. He did not release any families. Nor did any families have to purchase their freedom. The majority had judgments against them and had to pay something.
There was a total of nineteen lawsuits. Six of these were dismissed, either outright or with the defendant trivially paying court costs. Thirteen of the suits went to trial. Awards, on the average were far below the amount that Spotswood sought. For example, he sued Conrad Amburge for 32 pounds. The jury awarded Spotswood 2 pounds, 13 shillings, one and a half pence. Several of the other suits had a similar result. A few of the suits did yield Spotswood larger amounts. The suit against George Moyer was for 24 pounds and 12 shillings plus a few pence. The amount awarded was 15 pounds, 11 shillings and a ha' penny. These decisions, by the jury, damaged Spotswood's reputation.
One must remember that these suits were being held in the court of the county which was named for Spotswood. Also the jury consisted of people who were more nearly peers of Spotswood than of the Germans. Even under these favorable conditions for Spotswood, he got only a fraction of the amount that he was asking for.
Spotswood wrote that the Second Colony members were freemen and not servants. So, by his words, they were not his servants. But everyone besides Spotswood has thought of them as servants who were obligated to serve a fixed number of years. The actual basis of the suits has never been clear. The records do not leave us any notes of the court minutes. Two ideas have been put forth. One is that Spotswood was trying to recover what he paid for transportation costs. Another is that the Germans had cattle in a partnership with Spotswood. At the end of the period, cattle equal to the original allotment plus one-half of the increase were to be returned to Spotswood. He might have felt that he was not getting enough in return.
A summary of the cases by James E. Brown has appeared in " Beyond Germanna ", in volume 5, number 3 (May 1993). The men whose suits did not go to the jury were Crigler, Bellenger, Holt, Utz, Clore, and Fleshman. Men having to pay something were Paulitz, Amburge, Jeager, the three Blankenbaker brothers, Snyder, Moyer, Cook, Bryol, Smith, Kaifer, and Sheible.
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.