"They [the Colony of 1717] began with divine services by reading the divine word, singing and praying, in particular asking with tears and sighs for a pastor who could refresh and revive their starving and thirsting souls in this wilderness with the divine word and the holy sacraments as the most dearest nourishment of the soul; while at the same time reporting in letters to the above mentioned Reverend Preachers their hungry souls and desire for a preacher, but received no response due to incorrect delivery of the letters.
"The great desire and hope that God would send them help, inspired the Congregation eight years ago [1726], as hard as it came to them, to raise the expenses to send two deputies named Cyriax Fleischman and Johann Mutz [Motz] to London to the S[alvo] T[itulo] Reverend Clergy, and to petition the same to assist them in the misery of their souls. They did so in particular because they had been promised by the aforementioned Governor Spotswood that, provided they find a parson within ten years, they would then be exempt forever from the contribution to the maintenance of the English Church, called Parish Taxes, and such period was nearly over. But these deputies brought back only various books for the Congregation and a verbal consolation that someone would send, as soon as possible, a preacher after them and care for their needs.
"In such hope, the Congregation endeavored to take up their own lands, so that they could live together and all benefit from the divine service. They moved 40 English miles farther into the wilderness to the foot of the high mountains on the River Rappehannak in Spotsilvania (because all land in between had been taken up by greater people, albeit not inhabited). On this place they found, to be sure, their physical nourishment through God's blessing but because of the far distance from all commerce they could not turn anything to money.
"Also here, at this new place, they immediately built a meeting house in the midst among them, as well as they could, and again continued their service as mentioned on Sundays and Holidays and Apostle days, and also ordered each first Friday of every month to be a day of repentance and prayer, and seriously implored the Master Shepherd Jesus to give their souls' needs a divine hearing both in public and private, with tears and sighs, as this testimony can give them with truth."
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.