How many Germanna Colonies were there, and who was in each one? This is a tough question to answer, and we will see that it is almost impossible to say who were in the different colonies.
A few notes ago, I presented my views on when Peter Heide left Germany. It was 1709 to my way of thinking. What happened to him in the next few years is uncertain. He may have gone back to Germany, or he may have been placed at one of the localities the English were using, such as Ireland, England, North Carolina, New York, or Bermuda. (Many of the people from Nassau ended up in New York along with Joh. Fridrich Haeger.)
There is another man, with a family, who appears to have left Germany in 1709 who eventually became a Germanna colonist. This was Urban Danner, wife, and four children who were in the Third Party which left Rotterdam in early June of 1709. Is this the Robert Tanner of the Robinson River Valley? Andreas Mielke says the name Urban is so rare that it becomes almost a certainty. Then, too, Danner and Tanner are equivalents as one goes from German to English. That Robert Tanner in the Robinson River Valley was known as Urban comes from the "Hebron" Church account (see Beyond Germanna page 331ff), where Urban Tanner is paid twelve shillings for going to Williamsburg on church business. In the church records, the family is referred to as Dan, Danner, Tanna, etc. besides Tanner. So our Robinson River Valley man certainly has the right name, which seems to be very unusual.
When the 1717 group started on their way and made it to London, it was found that there was not enough room on the ship (the Scott, see page 521 of Beyond Germanna ) to take everyone. Some of the people had to be left behind. We know the names of three of the men, who were Christopher Uhl, Frederick Kapler, and George Lang (incidentally, they were all from Sulzfeld, the home of Christopher Zimmerman). These people had intended to come in 1717, but found no transportation, so they were held back (see Beyond Germanna page 914). Should these people be called members of the Second Colony? They left Germany with others who are members of the Second Colony. There may have been more than these three whose names appear on a petition asking for funds so they could return.
So it appears that there may have been a "Zeroth" Germanna Colony, namely those who started in 1709 and may have made it to America, if not necessarily Virginia. And perhaps several who are sometimes said to be the fictitious Third Colony really should be counted in the Second Colony. Or should they?
The story is more complicated than we usually tell it.
(02 Apr 04)
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.