After the 1717 group of Germans had found a ship to take them to Pennsylvania, the captain, Andrew Tarbett, was put in debtors’ prison. The Germans later complained that they were forced to consume much of their food while waiting for his release, which had an adverse effect on them during the subsequent voyage. They did take advantage of the time they had in London to attend services at the German Lutheran Churches in London, especially the German Lutheran Church, St. Mary’s in the Savoy. Here, some of their children were baptized. They participated in a Communion Service at which they were charged with maintaining their Lutheran faith. Their pressing need, though, was for a pastor, and they appealed to the German pastors in London for help in obtaining one. They believed that they had the promise for a pastor who would come when they settled, and had sent word to London that they were ready.
Not all of the Germans were taken on board the ship Scott, which may have been due to the limitations imposed by the size of the ship. It also may be due to the number of people that Spotswood said that he wanted. Several of these Germans did appear two years later, in 1719, in Virginia.
In Virginia, in 1717 (OS), the seventy-odd Germans became the servants of Spotswood and his partners. Spotswood, himself, paid for the transportation of 48 of these people, whose names have been preserved as Head Rights that he used in obtaining some of his land. The Germans were settled on the north side of the Rapidan River across from Fort Germanna, and upstream about two to eight miles, in a series of homes about one-half mile from each other. When these Germans were in place, they were the most western point of European civilization in the English colonies (previously the Fort Germanna residents had this distinction). After seven years, the period of service was ended and most of the Germans moved to new homes at the mountains in the Robinson River Valley. A few did not go so far but settled southeast of Mt. Pony.
The search for a pastor began with letters to the London Lutheran pastors saying they were ready to receive a pastor. None were forthcoming and the Germans decided to send two of their members, Cyriacus Fleshman and John Motz, to London in 1726 to present their case in person. (Part of their trip seems to have been paid by Gov. Drysdale, who had Fleshman and Motz care for an animal(s?) which was a present from Drysdale to the King.) The most that the two men could obtain from the German pastors was a promise to try and help them.
Back in Virginia, the Germans built a Chapel and held lay services with a Reader. In 1733 (16 years after they had left Germany), they persuaded a visitor to their community to become their pastor. This was Johann Caspar Stoever, who was a school teacher in North Carolina. They sent Stoever to Pennsylvania to be ordained.
(21 Nov 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.