The sixth annual reunion meeting of the Society of Germanna Colonies, in conjunction with the Society of Golden Horseshoes was held 29 Aug 1954. Not only was this the last meeting for which a Journal was issued, but it was also the last meeting of the Society of Germanna Colonies. The nominating committee had put up the name of Dr. C. H. Huffman, of James Madison University, for president, and Brawdus Martin for chairman. Though the "Germanna Journal" (as it was now called) fails to say so, it is presumed that both were elected. The issue of the Journal for the year was dedicated to Willis Kemper, the author whose ideas had been leading Martin astray in his research.
Martin had not found it easy to convince people there were two Germannas. He needed more evidence, so on 23 May 1954, with Edward Embrey and Noah Brooks, he made a physical tour and found the site of the Spotswood Fort, which is where he said the miners were first settled in Virginia. He said the fort was on the north hill parallel to the furnace stream below the furnaces on the Rappahannock River. Martin claimed this was where John Fontaine, in 1715, visited and described by the palisade fence, blockhouse, and nine houses. Also, the trans-mountain expedition of 1716 left from this site. This was thirteen miles away from where the sixth reunion was being held at the other Germanna.
Martin drew a picture showing Spotswood Fort and assigned a location to each major feature which had been mentioned in the histories. This map included an outline of the Germanna tract which was issued in 1716. I have plotted the tract (a description of this tract is readily available in Richmond) and know that it fits the Rapidan River in the area of Spotswood's home. But Martin drew quite a different plot and said it was located on the Rappahannock River (though the patent itself says the Rapidan River). His version was published in the Journal. His archaeological research, of one day, also claimed to have located nine piles of stones to correspond to the nine houses in the fort.
Dr. Huffman could not stomach the blatant assertions of Martin, which were at variance with the facts. It is said, and at least one individual still lives who remembers the situation, that Huffman and Martin would not talk to each other. Had Martin attempted what he did in the academic environment of Dr. Huffman, he would have been dismissed.
Martin may have deluded himself into believing the situation even though he had to manufacture evidence. He failed to convince others that his views were correct. The net result was that he withdrew from any further activities of the Society of Germanna Colonists. The organization failed to meet again after this sixth reunion in 1954. Probably the Journal issue that he prepared after the reunion was his last bow.
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.