Most of the published lists for the Germans who came with the First Germanna Colony fail to list Johann Justus Albrecht, who arrived with the people from Nassau-Siegen. The origin in Germany for Albrecht is unknown, but there can be little doubt that he was German. Graffenried called him "chief miner", and says that he was present in London with the Nassau-Siegen people when Graffenried returned to London in 1713. There are two pieces of evidence that Albrecht was later in Virginia. First, a document, that he wrote in London, is in the Spotsylvania courthouse in Virginia. Second, a statement signed by him is on file in the Essex County, Virginia courthouse. This later document shows that he was working along side the Nassau-Siegen people when they were at Fort Germanna. His presence in London with the people from Nassau-Siegen, plus the Virginia evidence, leads only to the conclusion that he came with the First Colony, and lived at Germanna. Most published lists err in failing to include his name as coming in 1713. For example, he is not included on the names in the Germanna Foundation’s web page as coming in 1713.
Several writers have claimed the mention of "silver" by Spotswood was a cover up for "iron"; however, when one reads all of Spotswood’s letters, and Graffenried’s memoirs, which specifically name the objective as silver, and one reads the petitions to Queen Anne herself, one can only conclude that the word silver meant "silver".
The origins of the Second Germanna Colony are said to be the Alsace, the Palatinate, and Hesse, by the writer of the family history that I have referred to recently. The error as to their origins originates with Rev. Stöver, who should have known better. But it is now known that a much better statement would be Württemberg, Baden, and the Palatinate. The same family writer also says that the Second Colony traveled UP the Rhine River, which is just the opposite of the correct statement. The writer also says that the First Colony traveled EAST to the Rhine River, which again is the opposite to the correct direction. Both errors originated in " Germanna ", a publication of the Germanna Foundation, which was issued in the summer of 1997.
The writer also refers to Capt. Scott, who brought the Second Colony. According to the colonial records there is no appropriate Capt. Scott, but there is a ship named the
Scott
. The record in Virginia which refers to Scott says "
in
Capt. Scott", which is a very questionable statement. The error of the Germanna Foundation has been in publishing the statement as reading "
with
Capt. Scott". When combined with the colonial records, the more appropriate statement is that the ship was the
Scott
whose captain was
Andrew Tarbett
. The cause of their landing in Virginia, and not in Pennsylvania (which is where they wanted to go), can very reasonably be stated as a case of highjacking or kidnaping by Tarbett.
(13 Nov 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.