John Blankenbaker's Germanna History Notes

Note 1301

At the half-century marks, I devote the note to some discussion of what the notes are all about. For my text today, I will use an email that I just received. It commented that the notes ran to "old letters" and "mining" which were interesting but the writer asked why didn't I write about families.

I do write about many of the families, to the extent that I know something new to say. I do not like to duplicate what is available in other places. When I learn something new about a family, or a corrective item, I do like to write about the family. Also, I tend not to come down too far in time because the audience that is interested in an event in the later times numbers only a few people.

In the end, I write more about general history, which pertains to a lot of people. A surprising amount of this history remains unknown and is yet to be uncovered. Or, the known history is lacking in accuracy.

As an example, here are some questions that are often asked. These questions require discussion of general history, rather than history of specific surnames/families .

Why did the people from Siegen end up in Virginia? It was NOT because they were hired or recruited to mine iron for Lt. Gov. Spotswood. Though this story is told far and wide, it is simply not true. I would think that descendants, or even students of history in general, would be interested in the real reasons.

Why did the Second Colony end up in Virginia? It was NOT because their ship was blown off course. To be blunt, they were hijacked.

Was there a third colony? You would have to stretch the definition of "colony" to answer this question in the affirmative.

You can see in part why I chose the things that I write about. Remember though that this "list" or "network" exists for all to use. You do not have to make an assertion; you can ask questions. You can let other people on the list know that you exist. Humor and oddities are not to be ignored. You can question what I say. If I can't reasonably defend what I say, then I should retract it. Friends Craig and Andreas pull me up short sometimes, but that is good. And we are still friends.

We have a rich history, a very rich history both in general, and in the family details. We do have a few kinks that need ironing out, and some holes that need patching, but that is one reason this list exists. So do your bit. Get out your needle and thread.
(09 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.