If you accept that looking a microfilm has almost the same excitement as looking at the original document, then the Colonial Records Project of Virginia is the place to go. In August, I was looking at the microfilm of the map which Francis Louis Michel drew to document and to explain his explorations on the upper Potomac River. To the Germanna people, this is a fundamental document because it became the basis of an enterprise in which the George Ritter Company and Graffenried were involved. They were so excited that they petitioned the Queen for land for a colony in the Shenandoah Valley. And they were accepted. To start the colony, they sought people in Nassau-Siegen because they thought the first productive work of the colony would be mining silver.
European understanding of American geography was poor. They seemed to confuse the colonies and referred to America as an island. Of course, they had no good maps to guide them plus they were confusion caused by the errors of earlier explorers. When Michel and Graffenried petitioned for land, William Penn, Lord Baltimore, and Lady Fairfax all protested that the land was an infringement on their rights. Even today we cannot be absolutely positive as to which area Michel was referring when he described the land he wanted for their colony. From the map which Michel drew, it would definitely seem to be the Shenandoah Valley as it clearly shows features of the Valley.
Willis Kemper, the author an early family genealogy on the Kemper family, was insistent that the First Germanna Colony left Germany with a definite purpose and objective in mind. He was correct in one regard. There was a purpose to their trip and there was a geographical objective. Where Kemper erred was in his estimation of their destination and their objective in going. He thought they were going to Germanna to work in the iron industry of Spotswood. They actually were supposed to be going to the Shenandoah Valley to mine silver for the George Ritter Company in which Graffenried had a percentage of the action.
Even well intentioned and developed plans sometimes incur problems and it was no different for the First Colony. After the First Colony got to London, they found that the George Ritter Company was broke and could not fund their trip to America. But their determination and their spirit of cooperation saved the day. They were willing to trade four years of labor for their transportation and they (with Graffenried's active assistance) found a buyer in the form of the agent for Virginia, Col. Blakiston. He did not buy their services for himself, but he committed Lt. Gov. Spotswood of Virginia to subscribing to their offer.
Because of the new geographical direction for these Germans, the first Virginia Piedmont Germans, in any sizeable number, came into existence. They proved to be good workers and Lt. Gov. Spotswood sought more Germans for a proposed enterprise on exposed western lands. Or was he the lucky beneficiary of the accidental appearance of a large number of Germans?
These are questions which I will be exploring in my talks at Hebron Lutheran Church in Madison, Virginia, on Saturday, September 20, under the auspices of the Virginia Chapter of the Palatines to America. (I think there are seats and food still available.)
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.