"In place of a good vocation that they had, they have nothing at present except what they can gain from some cleared land where they are obliged to live very modestly."
Graffenried gives us no clue as to how he obtained his information but it would appear that he was in contact with someone in Virginia who was aware of the situation.
We have recently read Spotswood's comments at the end of two years and he describes the Germans as having done no work for him; however, he was very pleased with them and wished that Virginia could have more of their countrymen.
John Fontaine left us a description of life at Fort Germanna in his journal. He left Williamsburg, with John Clayton, on November 9, 1715, after having breakfasted with Spotswood. For the record, Fontaine said that the purpose of the trip was to look at land to buy for his family; however, he extended the trip thirty or so miles beyond the last farm he looked at in order to pay a visit to Germanna. Fontaine had been befriended by Spotswood and, when one thinks of the breakfast meeting with Spotswood on the day of the departure from Williamsburg, one easily surmises that the visit to Germanna was at the request of Spotswood. In other words, Spotswood wanted a report on how things were at Germanna.
We have a good physical description of Fort Germanna as a result, but as to what life was like for the Germans, it must be inferred for the most part. Fontaine is clear on one point, "The Germans live very miserably." There was little variety in the food and perhaps the quantity was limited. They went to church daily and twice on Sunday. There was no description of any commercial activity, in fact, there was no description of any activity they were engaged in except for the church service.
It must be remembered that the comments of Fontaine are coming from a man who breakfasted with the Governor. Life on the frontier was hardly an approximation of life at Williamsburg. When he visited, the Germans had only passed through one growing season. There were no mills in vicinity to grind their grain. Probably little attempt had yet been made to grow flax for linen so their clothes would have worn thin by then. Life on the frontier is usually hard in the first years.
We know they were holding church services. With a school teacher in the group, they were probably having school for the children. They were a respectable civilization. In comparison to their English in Virginia, they held more church and school sessions. The physical limitations under which they lived would improve with time.
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.