Willis Kemper gave one list of names for the Germans who came in 1714. It was soon recognized that it was not correct. Then his kinsman, Charles E. Kemper, gave another list, which was incomplete. A better estimate was made by B. C. Holtzclaw, though he omitted one name. This was Johann Justus Albrecht, the head miner.
Willis Kemper had thought that Albrecht should be omitted because he thought there was no evidence for him in America. That is not correct. There are two good pieces of evidence that he came across, but ignored. One is the note in the Essex County Deed and Will Book, v. 16, of an affidavit signed by Albrecht and Jacob Holtzclaw, in 1720. [Why this statement is on file has never been made clear, but I suspect that Albrecht and Holtzclaw wanted to establish that the Germans had been working for Spotswood.] This document stated that eleven laboring men had been put to work under Albrecht, and continued until 1718. With the thirteen men of B. C. Holtzclaw, Albrecht would make the fourteenth man. [Who were the eleven men? One man is missing.]
The other piece of evidence is the “ Shareholder’s Book ”, which Albrecht had prepared in London. This was written in German script. (A translation was made by Elke Hall.) This is at the Spotsylvania Courthouse in Virginia.
The Germanna Foundation could update their original list of settlers, to follow B. C. Holtzclaw, with Albrecht’s name added.
The Foundation says that the first land that Spotswood acquired in Virginia was the Germanna tract, which he obtained in his own name in November of 1716. Spotswood is on record as having bought a one-quarter interest in the silver mine tract in May of 1713. Some quibbling might occur as to whether this should count since it was a partnership in a land holding. By the same token, the claim that the Germanna tract was his "first land" should probably have a modifier connected with it in view of the “silver mine”.
In discussing the origins of the Second Germanna Colony, the Foundation says they were from Alsace and the Palatinate regions of Germany. This desperately needs modification, since none of these Germans were known to have come from Alsace, and only a small number from the Palatinate. The home villages for a majority of the Second Colony members have been found, and Baden and Württemberg would be the best descriptions. It is true that some of them came from political jurisdictions that defy an easy classification. For example, the Blankenbakers, Schlucters, Fleischmanns, and Scheibles came from Neuenbürg, which was on the lands of the Catholic Church. If you were to tell someone that today, it would not ring any bells with them. Eventually the area fell into Baden's jurisdiction, and that is the description that we use today.
(11 Jan 02)
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.