One of the main purposes in Cappon's account of the Tubal furnace was to present the proposed lease of the furnace, which was made by Spotswood in July of 1939. In October and November, he was advertising in the " Virginia Gazette " that the Germanna Plantation was for lease ,and that he would sell his personal property, because the family intended to leave Virginia in the year following. Beyond this reason he was not explicit, but the guesses are that life at Germanna was too lonely and the children were coming to the age where they needed better educational advantages.
Before the property was leased, an opportunity arose for him to serve the empire again as a soldier. In October, war broke out with Spain. Spotswood proposed that a Colonial Regiment be raised and the idea was accepted. In return, he accepted a commission as a Major General. Then, in March 1740, he received his orders. He was busy recruiting in Williamsburg from April 16 to 18, and on April 19 he wrote his will. The Iron Mine Tract was set aside to support the iron furnace along with eighty slaves. It continued for two generations as a source of income to the estate. The other land went to the oldest son, John, who had to make payments to his brother and sisters.
Toward the first of May, General Spotswood journeyed to Annapolis to make final preparations before sailing to Cartagena. He became ill and died on June 7 in Annapolis. His family continued to reside in Virginia, where their assets were located.
A facsimile of the handwritten terms of the proposed lease follows in Cappon's book. It runs for several pages, and is not the easiest thing to read, but it is a good copy. The last requirement in the lease was for ten thousand pounds security. Taken with his other land holdings and his home, it is clear that the Spotswood family had prospered since the arrival of the new Governor thirty years earlier.
This is a good point to reflect upon the man Spotswood. He was intelligent and incisive. Arguably, he was one of the best Governors that Virginia has had. He came as a very strong supporter of the Crown, but the strength of this conviction was weakened as he paid increasing attention as to how he was going to support himself. In character, he was imperial, which weakened his effectiveness as a governor, and soured his relationships with others.
With respect to the Germans, his treatment and attitude toward them was poor. His first public comment about them was that they could serve as a barrier to protect the English citizens. I believe that he connived with Capt. Tarbett to highjack a ship load of Germans. His lawsuits against the Germans were so atrocious that even his appointed officials could only weakly support him.
(15 Jul 00)
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.