Continuing with comments by Spotswood from the same letter as the last quotation, he said:
"The tract then consisted of about 13,000 acres, but afterwards understanding that many others of the Germans, who had been sold for servants in this Colony, designed when the time of their servitude was expired, to come and joyn their country-folks, we thought it needful to inlarge the tract; and I finding, by the care which the Lord Commissioners of Trade took to send over the methods for making hemp and tar, that the Ministry at home was for encouraging the Plantations to raise Naval Stores, judged it convenient to take in a large quantity of piney lands, which lay contiguous and fit for tar and masts; and so it was increased to a tract of 40,000 acres.
Again, it is clear that the Second Colony Germans are to be associated with naval stores and with the 40,000 acre tract. We still seek evidence as to where in the 40,000 acre tract they were settled. Yesterday's quotation made it clear that they were clustered in a small area, perhaps to be thought of as a town.
It is instructive to hear the comments of Rev. Hugh Jones. Written in 1724, they are based on five years of experience in Virginia ending in 1722. Jones was a good friend of Spotswood (and an admirer of him). Jones wrote:
"Beyond this [Germanna] are seated the Colony of Germans or Palatines, with allowance of good quantities of rich land, at easy or no rates, who thrive very well, and live happily, and entertain generously."These are encouraged to make wines, which by the experience (particularly) of the late Col. Beverley, who wrote the history of Virginia, was done easily and in large quantities in those parts; not only from the cultivation of the wild grapes, which grow plentifully and naturally in all the good lands thereabouts, and in other parts of the country, but also from the Spanish, French, Italian, and German vines, which have been found to thrive there to admiration.
"Besides this, these uplands seem very good for hemp and flax, if the manufacture thereof was but encouraged and promoted thereabouts; which might prove of wonderful advantage in our naval stores and linens.
"Here may likewise be found as good clapboards, and pipe- staves, deals, masts, yards, planks, etc. for shipping . . ."
Jones was writing from a location in Tidewater Virginia. Thus to him, "beyond Germanna" would be to the west of Germanna. By comparing the comments of Spotswood and Jones, it is clear they were talking about the same Germans, i.e., the Second 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.