Robert Beverley, in his 1725 (2nd edition) " History of Virginia ", described the settlement of the Huguenots at Manakintown as follows: "In the year 1699, there went over about three hundred of these, and the year following about two hundred more, and so, till there arrived in all, between seven and eight hundred men, women and children." They were settled on a tract of 10,000 acres about twenty-five miles above the falls of the James River [roughly Richmond], on the south side of the river, in what is now Powatan County. A disagreement in their second year caused many to leave, so that in May 1702 there were 250 settlers left.
Francis Louis Michel was very interested in visiting these people. First, his trip had been motivated by a desire to find a place where colonists from Switzerland could be settled. The experience of the Huguenots, who were aliens in Virginia, would be a good example. Also, Michel was only at home in the French language. He hoped to gain first hand knowledge directly from people who were friendly. He was not looking for a place to live himself but he was looking to see what the terms and conditions would be for a large group of aliens.
At this time, Michel had no idea that he would get involved with a group of Germans, in addition to a group of Swiss, but in the course of events, this would be the case. Actually, there was more than one group of Germans and one of these groups was the First Germanna Colony. So Michel's account, besides being an interesting description of Virginia, is an essential part of the Germanna Colony history.
We left Michel when he had removed his personal belongings and trade goods from the ship. They transferred them to a sloop and started to sail up the James River. They (Michel and some friends) rented a house where they could store the goods. Michel continued on toward Manakintown by land, 75 miles distant. He had a map, rifle, and bayonet. The rifle was for hunting, not for security, as he felt it was safe to travel without a rifle. A rifle would only be necessary beyond civilization.
In three days they came to Falling Creek (approximately, today's Richmond). There were good lodging places everywhere, and since the residents love strangers, Michel had a good time. From there to the Huguenots, there were no houses, so Michel was concerned about getting lost. He sought some advice and decided to follow the James River, keeping it on his right. Since the settlement was on the south bank of the James River, he was bound to see it. As night was falling and a thunderstorm was threatening, he had not reached the settlement and he grew concerned. Some empty houses were seen and finally they went into one where one no one was home, but it had a little furniture and food; however, Michel continued on and came to a Frenchman who was cutting down a tree. The Frenchman told them that they were almost there.
In his travels, Michel mentions friends who were French (at least French-speaking, if not citizens), starting with the passengers on the ship from England. At times he makes them sound as if they were accidental acquaintenances and at other times he seems to indicate they did many things together in Virginia. The reader of his account is left confused about the exact relationship and by his alternation between "I" and "we."
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.