On any short list of the best governors of Virginia from Jamestown to the present, the name of Alexander Spotswood would be found. For many though, his lawsuits against the Germans tarnished his personal reputation forever. His motivations and the underlying reasons in filing the suits are not entirely clear. The statement has been made that he was suing for the transportation costs but his own actions later show that this was not a valid claim. Perhaps he was attempting to keep the Germans from moving. His lands, to which he did not have clear title, were based on the settlement of the Germans. If they left, his claim to the 40,000 acre Spotsylvania tract might be in doubt. Perhaps he was in need of money and saw this as a way to pick up several hundred pounds of money.
The shock to the Germans can be judged by the first lawsuit which was brought against Jacob Crigler on 5 Sep 1723. Spotswood claimed that Crigler owed him thirty-four pounds, eighteen shillings, and four pence. To put this into perspective, a skilled wage earner working steadily for a year would only earn this much. The personal estate of many of the early Germans was only worth about this amount. Thus, Spotswood was suing Crigler for about a lifetime of savings. Crigler pleaded innocence and asked for an extension which was granted. Spotswood was granted time to consider the Crigler plea. During the next March term at court, the suit was dismissed with the consent of both parties with Crigler agreeing to pay the cost of the suit.
At about this same time, Cyriacus Fleshman and George Utz, on behalf of themselves and fourteen other high Germans filed a petition in Williamsburg for assistance in the suits brought by Spotswood. The Council decreed, on 24 Apr 1724, that the Deputy Attorney for the King in Spotsylvania County should be appointed to assist the Germans so that they may have the benefit of a fair trail. The decree noted that the Germans had complained that Col. Spotswood had unjustly sued them in the Court for the nonperformance of a certain Agreement pretended to be made by them in consideration of money advanced them upon their transportation into this colony. The Germans said they applied to Spotswood for a copy of the Agreement but he has refused to give them any such copy. They said that they had done all of the work assigned to them.
The Germans should have been worried about getting a fair trial. The lawsuits against them were filed in the court of the county named for the plaintiff. The plaintiff had appointed the justices, the sheriff, and the clerk of the court. Also, the juries would probably be composed of English people with no Germans.
The time from the Crigler lawsuit to the settlement of the last suit was more than two years. The majority of the cases were heard before a jury though some were dismissed. The amounts sought by Spotswood varied considerably, from thirty-five pounds against Nicholas Yager to three pounds against Michael Cook. Certainly there was a long period of uncertainty and tension in the German community.
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.