*[Welche Farbe gefaellt dir am besten?]
We have another source for clues as to whom the members of the Second Colony were. From 1723 to 1726, Alexander Spotswood (or his lawyers, since he had gone to England for most of this period) were involved in a series of lawsuits against a number of Germans. Several of these are identified as leaving Germany in 1717 and appear on the Headright List of Alexander Spotswood. It seems reasonable to assume that all of the people who were sued were Second Colony members. (If they had come later, then the end of their servitude would not have been reached.) The converse is not true; not all Second Colony members were sued by Spotswood. This is because Spotswood had partners who paid the transportation costs of some members, namely the difference between the 48 on the Headright List and the seventy-odd mentioned by Spotswood and the Second Colony historians.
The lawsuits against Jacob Crigler, Andreas Bellenger, Michael Holt, George Utz, Michael Clore, and Cyriacus Fleshman were dismissed. The following went to trial: Phillip Paulitz, Conrad Amberger, Nicholas Yager, Balthasar Blankenbaker, Henry Snyder, George Moyer, Michael Cook, John Broyles, Michael Smith, Michael Kaefer, Matthias Blankenbaker, Nicholas Blankenbaker, and George Scheible (modern spellings).
Individuals sued but not on the Headright List include Jacob Crigler, Andreas Bellenger, Michael Holt, Philip Paulitz, Conrad Amberger, Nicholas Yager, George Moyer, John Broyles, and Michael Kaefer. From a detailed analysis of the court case of George Moyer, it appears his transportation had been paid by Robert Beverley, but that Spotswood acquired his contract when he bought out the younger Beverley. (This suggests that the Headright List had been prepared when Spotswood paid the transportation for the 48 names and that he did not add the names which he acquired by buying out his partners.)
In the last Note we saw that several people, in their application for Headrights, said they came in 1717. In fact, if we add up all of the people who are now candidates for inclusion in the Second Colony, we have too many if we are to believe the number of seventy to eighty. In the documents that we have, there is no evidence for John Thomas and Michael Willheit. It might be argued that the reason John Thomas and Joseph Weaver were not sued is that they had died before the commencement of the lawsuits. Joseph Weaver was on the Headright List but he was not sued. John Thomas appears on no List, but he definitely appears to have two children born in Virginia.
*[What is your favorite color?] (Literally: Which color appeals to you the best?)
(09 Feb 07)
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.