This is the start of another half-century of notes and it is customary to review their purpose. There were, in Virginia, to the east of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Germans who arrived as a consequence of unusual events. Reviewing their history and the individuals who were a part of the immigration is a major purpose of these notes.
These Germans came directly to Virginia by intention and by deceit. Some came indirectly from other American colonies. Starting to come in 1714, they continued to come until during and after the Revolutionary War when Germans, who were in the armies hired out to the British, elected to stay in America (including Canada) after the war.
The Piedmont Germans were not isolated; they were in contact with other Germans up and down the Atlantic seaboard. Though the geographical region of the Germanna people is very limited, they were involved in a much larger area and the events common to all of the English colonies are a part of the story. The Moravians, based in Pennsylvania and North Carolina, passed through Virginia and left detailed descriptions. The wars were common to all of the colonies.
As a consequence of these considerations, I take a liberal view toward these Germanna people and write, on occasion, about the larger scene including Germany. At the same time, I devote a large fraction of these notes to a detailed study of the people properly called Germanna citizens. Recently, many of these notes have been devoted to the history of the earliest Germanna people. There are lessons to be learned from this which are specific to Germanna or which may be generalized to all people.
In spite of the large quantity of Germanna history, much of it has been told incorrectly. Tracing these errors is instructive toward correcting history and to getting a more accurate view of what actually happened. The study is also instructive as it informs us of how views of history can be mistaken.
I appreciate the efforts of George Durman who maintains the list service which makes these notes possible and who keeps them in archival storage. We both appreciate the comments that some of you send through. Perhaps it would be better if you sent more questions or counterpoints. Also, you might send suggestions for discussion. I wish that I could discuss the families in more detail but that task is beyond me. But, please remember that the list is open to all for just that reason.
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.