Dodson, biographer of Spotswood, mentions Graffenried, but without giving the history of Graffenried, who was to have a pronounced effect upon the activities of Spotswood. There was almost ten years of history behind Graffenried's arrival in America (at Virginia) in 1710. One of the consequences of Graffenried's presence in America was that the miners he was recruiting to work the projected silver mines, on the southwest branch of the Potomac River, were diverted instead to a proposed scheme to mine silver for Spotswood and his partners in today's Orange County. Apparently there we no silver in either place, and the German miners, who were chomping at the bit about their inactivity at Fort Germanna, noted there was iron down the river from Germanna and brought this to the attention of Spotswood. The development of these iron mines went very slowly, but by 1718, or perhaps 1719, when the Germans left, Spotswood had an assured supply of iron ore. He proceeded to bring in iron masters from England to build and operate his iron furnace (no Germans were known to be engaged in this activity). Iron, in the end, was an important element in Spotswood's private ventures, but it appears he was in the iron business because of the Germans who where there because of the recruiting by Graffenried and others to mine silver because they had heard the glowing reports of another person, Francis Michel. Since he is missing so much of this history, Dodson does not interpret the activity of Spotswood correctly.
Dodson thought there might be a silver mine in which Spotswood, Graffenried, and Orkney had an interest but he does not seem to be aware of the sale of a tract of land to several partners including the three men given here. There were other men also, all Virginians. (Later, Graffenried mentions this tract and the partnership, saying the Germans could work on the silver mine that he and Spotswood had.) Spotswood later denied having any land ownership prior to the Germanna tract, but he was a one-quarter owner in the 4020-acre tract that was thought to contain silver. This purchase, made of Larkin Chew in 1713, cost him fifty pounds. It is recorded at the Essex Courthouse. This tract was not too far from Fort Germanna, and it furnishes the best motive known for the settlement of the Germans at Fort Germanna. Spotswood did want to settle the Germans on the frontier, but, of all the places on the frontier, why not next to his silver mine?
Dodson, with others, falls into the trap of confusing Spotswood's public interest in iron mining with his private interest in silver mining. The two were quite different for many years, perhaps about seven. When Spotswood mentions mining or mines, it is not always clear which mineral, iron or silver, he is talking about. Furthermore, when Spotswood talks about iron, he sometimes is talking in a public sense and sometimes in a private sense. He did not talk about iron as a private endeavor until very late in the decade. It could be said that he was talking about iron for a private purpose when he took a patent on the iron mine tract in 1720(NS).
(19 Oct 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.