Spotswood, and his proposed partners in the western land enterprise, needed settlers for the large tract that they had their eyes on. The Germans at Germanna had served admirably as peace keepers, and Spotswood wanted more of these people. But Germans were not coming to Virginia. The emphasis of the Germans was on Pennsylvania. I would bet that Spotswood asked the Germans at Germanna if they could recruit many more people.
In his official duties at Williamsburg, Spotswood was in a good position to talk to the captains of ships. Some of his official duties required him to talk to the captains. On one occasion, early in the spring of 1717, he was investigating an act of piracy that had occurred not far off the coast of Virginia. He took a disposition from the Captain, Andrew Tarbett, of the ship Agnis, which the pirates had captured, plundered, and then burned.
I believe that, after the official disposition was taken, Spotswood and Tarbett talked, and the Lt. Gov. asked Tarbett about Germans. There is no reason to believe that Tarbett had any good information about them, since his speciality was taking tobacco back to Great Britain and bringing goods out for the Virginians. He certainly could not promise to bring any Germans, as there were so few who had come prior to 1717, and these had gone to Pennsylvania.
Back in England, Tarbett obtained another ship, the Scott. At least in a few years he was the captain of the ship Scott, and involved in bribing customs officials to let some of his tobacco pass by without paying the customary fees. He had the right credentials. A ship of the right name. A man of low morals. Someone who had talked to Spotswood. Barely had Tarbett obtained a ship than a group of Germans appeared, wanting to go to Pennsylvania. Tarbett had no hesitancy in promising to take them there.
When he landed the Germans, they were surprised that they were in Virginia, and not in Pennsylvania. But Tarbett said the storms had forced him south. Tarbett sought out Spotswood and made a bargain for the whole ship load of the Germans. With this one effort, Spotswood and his partners had the settlers for their land. The land where they were to be settled was already specified, but not yet patented. It was even to the west of Beverley's contribution to the partnership. With this one effort, a land rush was opened for bits and pieces around the partnership's land. Again, the Germans were living beyond what would normally be considered the frontier of Virginia.
[I am going on a week's vacation and explore the land where Eleanor's German ancestors were first settled. Actually, it is not a genealogical trip, but just a measure of relaxation. After all of the grammatical errors I made in the last note, I need some rest.]
(09 Jun 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.