"After five days we came to my countrymen, who had arrived in this country two years ago. [It is believed this was a branch of the main Huguenot settlement on the James River above the falls. Michel spoke French yet he was a citizen of Bern, Switzerland. It is thought that he served in the French army. So when he says "countrymen" it includes the French, especially Huguenots.] The settlers here were in a very good condition even though they had been there only two years. They were the last settlers along the Mattapony River. We stayed with them for two days."
"Their conditions of settlement did not suit us. They were to plant and clear the land for fourteen years. Major Burwell would supply them whatever they needed. In return they were to give him one-third of their cattle and 100 pounds of tobacco annually. They had to repay him the money which he lent them. At the end of the fourteen years, he would decide whether to let them stay there any longer. We wanted to find a good place but this did not suit us."
"We went to Westpoint where the Mattapony and Pamunkey Rivers meet. To cross the river one must use the ferry. Since he was on the other side, we made a fire as a signal to him. The ferry costs one shilling per person. We had forty miles to go to Williamsburg to greet the Governor who met with us one morning. But first we had to go with him to prayers because it was time for them. Afterwards, he asked us what our desire was."
"We told him, namely, to settle at a favorable place and we asked him for advice. He promised to remember us and told his secretary to take us to President Blair who could explain the custom and usage of the country. Before we left the Governor, he ordered his servants to serve us dinner. The servants were not on good terms with the French and did not carry out the order right. They gave some soup with fresh ham and small beer. But the butler took us into the cellar and gave us some English stout and Rhine wine. The Governor drinks no wine nor strong drink."
"The Secretary then took us to see Mr. Blair who received us courteously and drank to our welcome from silver vessels. [Mr. Blair was the Bishop of London's representative in Virginia and a powerful figure in the Virginia government.] He laid before us a number of points but he was hindered by his small knowledge of French. He said we could take up some of the land of the college and we would not have to pay taxes for three years. After that time we would have to pay the quit-rents and the tithe each of which was about 100 pounds of tobacco. This sounded better than the situation at Mattapony."
"But first, I wanted to see what the situation was on the James River above the falls where the largest body of Huguenots was settled. The preacher is paid by the King there and they have better soils. And they did not have to pay anything for seven years. In Williamsburg we found that some people did not look favorably on the French. We returned to our ship and the captain informed us that we would have to remove our belongings from the ship which was agreeable to us."
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.