[One of the better explanatory letters written by Alexander Spotswood was after he left the office of Lt. Gov. His land titles were in dispute, including the amount of the fees which he would have to pay. The Deputy Auditor of His Majesty's Revenue, Col. Nathaniel Harrison, asked Spotswood for an explanation of how he came to be in possession of the land which he claimed. Shortly thereafter, Spotswood was writing to the Board of Trade and he enclosed a copy of the letter he had written to Harrison. Major parts of this letter to Harrison are reproduced here.]
To Col. Nathl. Harrison, Deputy Auditor of H.M. [His Majesty's] Revenue; Germanna, 28 March 1724.
Your letter of 15th Feb. relating to the lands in the two new counties, is of such concern as ought to receive no slight answer from me, who have good reason to apprehend that aim has been taken at my possessions, by those who have first broached the notion that a restriction of lands, peculiar to these two counties, would be most for H. M. interest [etc., Spotswood claims to have abided by the laws]. My primary views in taking up land have not been to raise in this part of the world a mighty landed estate for my own profit or pleasure; but that I have been first lead into the possession thereof, either by motives of charity, or by notions of securing the frontiers, or by a publick spirit in promoting Naval Stores, or else I have been drawn in by some incidents or cogent circumstances to engage myself farther in those matters, than I ever intended at my first setting out [etc., with more disclaimers]. The first tract that I became possessed of was that of 3229 acres called the Germanna tract from my seating thereon several families of German Protestants, to the number of 40 odd men, women and children, who came over in 1714, bringing with them a Minister and Schoolmaster in order to be provided for and settled upon land in these parts by Barron Graffenriede pursuant to an agreement he had made with them in Germany. But before their arrival the Baron being nonplussed in his affairs here, and forced to return to Switzerland, those poor people would have been sadly distressed, and must have been sold for servants, had I not taken care of them, and paid down (pounds)150 sterling which remained due for their passage: and ye Council Journals of 28th April, 1714 will shew that to my charity for these strangers I joyned my care for the security of the country against Indian incursions, by choosing to seat them on land 12 miles beyond the then usual course of our rangers, and making them serve for a barrier to the most naked part of our frontiers: and so far from my thoughts was it, to take up the land for my own use, that during the six years they remained on the land I never offered to plant one foot on ground thereon.
[to be continued]
[Perhaps the six years referred to was part of 1714, the whole of 1715, 1716, 1717, 1718, and part of 1719, though other evidence suggests that the Germans were there less than five years from beginning to end. It is hard to understand the claim that Spotswood was never on the land during this time because he was clearly there during the trip over the mountains in 1716.]
(13 Dec 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.