Recently I have mentioned the use of the Colonial Records in the State Library of Virginia. Survey Reports have been prepared and typed up, and are stored as images in the Library's computers. One can call these from home, though the process has some frustrations in it. I thought we would spend some time and look at the Minute Book for the Board of Trade (and Plantations). The minute book is a summary of actions and relevant documents the Board took, while the survey report, made by Virginia researchers, is their summary. The latter is to be likened to a card index with a short summary.
Let's just start at 11 Jul 1709, which is about a year before Spotswood was appointed Lt. Governor of Virginia. The Board was concerned with all of the colonies, but we will be looking at only Virginia. The Board received a letter, dated 28 June 1709, from the Earl of Sunderland, Secretary of State, referring to the Commissioners (the members of the Board). The letter contained a petition by George Ritter and Frances Lewis Michel, relating to a proposed settlement of Switzers on the Potomac River in Virginia. Mr. Michel and Christopher de Graffenried attended the meeting and put forward a new proposal, and asked permission to withdraw the former scheme. It was arranged that Mr. Stanyan, H. M. [Her Majesty's] Envoy in Switzerland, should attend a later meeting, for discussion of the matter.
[There are several typical elements in this summary. All people were very much inclined to get a second opinion before committing themselves. Even the Queen would ask for a report from her advisors before she made her decisions. Everyone asked other officials for their opinions, just to make sure that they would not be isolated when they made a decision. Another point is that much time was often consumed before a point was decided, especially when communications overseas was involved. In the summary above, Ritter and Michel had put forth their original proposal about three years earlier, but no decision had been reached. This original proposal had been presented through Stanyan who was in Switzerland. The matters that underlie the summary above are the basis for their being a Germanna.]
13 July 1709: Mr. Stanyan, H.M.'s Envoy to Switzerland, Mr. Christopher de Graffenried, and Mr. Lewis Michel submitted a new memorial relating to the proposed settlement of a colony of Switzers in Virginia, asking that the colonists should enjoy "the same privileges as the rest of Her Majesty's subjects in those parts". The Commissioners agreed to consider the matter.
[The original proposal had not involved Graffenried, but he joined Ritter and Michel, and, perhaps at his suggestion, a new proposal, which did not have so many special requests in it, was substituted; however, this was not the end of the memorials (memorial = a petition or letter, a formal statement of position).]
15 July 1709: Received a third memorial from Mr. de Graffenried and Mr. Louis Michel ...
[Notice how Graffenried is coming to the front.]
(14 Aug 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.