Andreas asked earlier if there was a silver mine in Virginia. In the sense that I believe no one ever took enough silver out of the ground to mint a dollar, there never was a silver mine. But Spotswood, Graffenried, Robertson, Clowder, Buckner, and Corbin had enough belief that a particular, identifiable piece of ground would yield silver that they invested in a partnership to explore or develop it more. (I doubt that Orkney "invested" any money; he was probably given his share so the Virginian partners would have a friendly partner in England who would do things like deliver petitions to the queen.) So, based on hope or belief , there was a silver mine. It was a silver mine that just happened to yield zero silver.
The belief in silver mines on the upper Potomac watershed was strong enough that Michel, Graffenried, and their associates (in some variable proportions) sent Johann Justus Albrecht to Siegen in 1710 to recruit miners. At the time that Albrecht went to Siegen, Alexander Spotswood was probably not yet in Virginia. This recruitment had nothing to do with any use that Spotswood might have for the miners.
Within a few years, attention was directed to the mine which I described here recently. Who was responsible for originating the belief that this land in present day Orange County would yield silver is unknown. This is the land that the partners invested in. Whereas Graffenried and Michel had been led to invest, based on a belief in the Potomac mines, the partners directed their interest to a site that was closer. Silver fever was contagious, and perhaps the partners who had caught it had been infected by Graffenried.
Ironically, within a few miles of the silver mine that has been identified in Orange County, there were gold mines which were run profitably in the nineteenth century. Had people been looking for gold in this area in the eighteenth century, they could have found it. Probably our German ancestors were more familiar with iron ores than with gold ores, and they did not spot the gold ores. They were certainly exploring the ground where the gold did exist.
Whether Michel had spotted gold is unknown. He used the word "minerals" to describe his find. Other individuals used the words "gold and silver", though most commonly only the word silver is used. There may have been some basis to Michel's discoveries. And, the silver mine close to Germanna might have been the result of some confusion as to the true nature of the ore.
(08 Nov 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.