We used the name "Germanna", which comes in part from the name of our Gracious Sovereign Queen Anne. By the time Germanna was named in 1710, Queen Anne had had a full life. She had given birth to seventeen potential heirs, but none of them outlived her.
On the first of August, 1714, Queen Anne died in her sleep at Kensington Palace. The news reached Williamsburg on October 18. [Ten weeks was about the time it took a ship to cross the ocean.] Lt. Governor Spotswood instructed the Virginia clergy to conduct memorial services with sermons on the "justice, piety and other Royal virtues of our late excellent Queen". He then proclaimed the new sovereign, His Majesty, King George. [As the first George, no numeral was necessary to distinguish him.] George was the son of a granddaughter of James I, and he was a Protestant. He spoke no English, only German. His knowledge of his new far-flung dominions was nonexistent.
In Virginia, his accession was marked by the booming of cannons, the trooping of colors, and the drinking of toasts in public and private houses. On the day after the news of the new monarch reached Virginia, Spotswood gathered the principal gentlemen and their ladies around him. They drank health to the king and watched fireworks arch over Market Square, while the cannons fired salvo after salvo. The phrase "The Queen is dead, long live the King" was uttered by all. It was after midnight before the ball was over.
Of Queen Anne's children, the longest life of any of the seventeen was given to the Duke of Gloucester, who gave his name to the major thoroughfare in Williamsburg. A year later, he was dead at the age of ten years.
Spotswood's efforts to obtain a division of the output of gold and silver mines were set back by the death of Queen Anne. Orkney had made a plea to her on behalf of Spotswood for a division of the gold and silver. With her death, the appeal would have to be reinitiated with the new king. However, George was new to the job and had many other things on his mind. Spotswood did suggest to Col. Blakiston that he try the argument that the king would be helping his fellow countrymen if he reached a decision on the gold and silver mines. Then the miners at Germanna could go to work.
The decision on the silver and gold mines was never made. Before long, probably in the fall of 1716, when Fontaine and Spotswood were at Germanna, it was decided that the silver mine had no silver. Not long thereafter, the miners were on a more general search, especially for iron. Spotswood said that this search began in February of 1718 (new style), but probably the Germans had been exploring before this time with some positive results.
(21 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.