Albrecht seems to have gone to Siegen very promptly but he encountered some difficulty in recruiting the miners. As a promotional tool, he signed an agreement with the Protestant pastors in Siegen, in which they were to receive monies from the mines. Presumably, in return he expected their help in finding and encouraging people to go.
Within the year, Albrecht was back in London, where he wrote a Charter for a mining company to find and produce silver and gold in America. Apparently, he was trying to sell shares in this venture even, though it is not identified as associated with George Ritter and Company. Communication with Graffenried, who was in North Carolina, was probably slow and erratic, and perhaps less than clear. Either late in 1712 or early in 1713, Albrecht went back to Siegen and suggested it was time to go to America. The forty-odd Germans that he assembled paid their own way to London, but they understood that funds would be available there to finance the rest of the trip.
In the late summer, or perhaps the early fall of 1713, the Germans were in London, but Graffenried, who was to have the funds to pay for the rest of the trip, was not there. In the face of his uncertain arrival, the Germans sought work to support themselves. Perhaps about October, Graffenried did arrive in London. There was a mutual surprise by each of the parties, Graffenried and the Germans. Graffenried wrote that he had not asked them to come to London. The Germans were sorely disappointed that Graffenried was not able to live up to his word.
Graffenried's initial reaction, in his own words, was that he advised them to go home. The Germans saw it differently, because from their standpoint they had no homes to which they could return. In their minds, they had to go on, as they saw no future in England. With just their own money, they did not have the necessary funds to pay their transportation to America. But they did volunteer that they would work for four years to pay the part of their transportation that they could not afford.
With this as a bargaining tool, Graffenried visited people in London, including Nathaniel Blakiston, who, as the agent for Virginia in London, was well acquainted the Lt. Gov. in Virginia, Alexander Spotswood. He knew that Spotswood had a fractional interest in a mine that was thought to contain silver. Spotswood had not proceeded with this mine because the share that was to go to Queen Anne had never been specified. Blakiston, on the assumption that this question would be resolved shortly, decided to commit Spotswood to paying the 150 pounds sterling that would be required, in addition to what the Germans would contribute, for their transportation costs to America.
(21 Mar 01)
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.