"After the storm was over, we were still 900 miles from land. But following it we had two weeks of good weather and we were able to strike ground at 89 fathoms. After another day we had stormy weather which made us afraid because the ship was in poor condition. With land so close we might not be able to avoid it. We could not leave the pumps nor dry ourselves out."
"Finally we saw land, the Isle of Wight. In this last storm one ship lost a mast and it had to be towed into port by one of the four warships with us. When we approached Downs, we learned from a Dutch privateer that England, Holland, and France were at war [the War of the Spanish Succession]. At Gravesend, I went by land to Poplar so that I could deliver a letter to the wife of the captain. The captain said that if I wanted to go to sea with him, he would pay me half a crown a day to keep books for him. I thanked him but said no and paid him for the trip. He returned some of the money because I had worked during the storms."
"I left some things in London because I expected to return to there. I rested a few days than went to Harwich where I caught a mail boat. The Queen has six of these and they travel so fast that it is difficult to capture one, but we stayed in port because a returning mail boat said there were enemies lurking. We traveled at night and the sea was rough. It was especially bad because we were in a small boat and I became sick. About ten in the morning, we reached the Rhine River where we landed. That same day, the tenth of October, we reached Rotterdam. The winds were so bad that we had to travel by land. We were challenged many times by the people. We joined two Frenchmen who wanted to go to Switzerland but we were later advised to avoid the French because of the damage that the French soldiers had caused in the district. Fortunately, we met a group of Swiss people going our way. Above Cologne we had to make detours and we went through Hagen, Siegen, Dillenburg, and Wetzlar. In Württemberg we had to travel between the French and Bavarian lines. Finally, we arrived safely at Schaffhausen." [December 1, 1702.]
"God be praised for ever! Amen"
In a summary, Michel noted that mechanics are scarce and expensive [in Virginia]. The best trades are carpenters, joiners, coopers, shipbuilders, masons, smiths, locksmiths, tailors, and glassblowers. Skilled workmen are well paid, up to thirty pounds sterling per year with board included. It is possible to get to Virginia for very little money for the captains in London hire labor or will take a promise to pay in Virginia. In Virginia, the inhabitants come in large numbers to buy or hire servants, and the new employers pay for the transportation. The debtor then belongs to the creditor until he pays off the debt. According to law, each workman must pay his master 400 pounds of tobacco and three barrels of corn. Above that amount, he can sell the goods and so earn the money to pay the passage money.
Michel notes that he wrote in a hurry as he had been requested to make a short report. He admits there are some errors and that he spelled by the way the word sounded to him.
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.