| Notes |
- Sometime between 1702 and 1708 Franz Louis Michel (a native of Bern, Switzerland) had explored several colonies. In his travels he came upon the area of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. After returning to Europe in 1708 he met with Christoph Von Graffenried, a fellow Swiss native. Michael mentioned to Graffenreid that he thought he had found silver in the Shenandoah Valley. Together they petitioned Queen Anne to support a mining venture in the that region. Having sparked the interest of the Queen she instructed the (Lt.) Governor of Virginia, Col. Alexander Spotswood, to issue land on the Shenandoah River to the enterprise. Spotswood concerned himself with the legal and strategical issues of importing Germans to Virginia. While Graffenried hired Johann Justus Albrecht to procure the workmen and tools. In January, 1714, 42 Germans left London, England where they had been assembled and arrived in Virginia in April, 1714. A simple pentagon shaped fort had been built nestled in the horseshoe bend of the Rapidan River it was the western-most point of English civilization on the east coast of North America where they were vulnerable to indian attacks and all the other hardships of a frontier community.
The fort was named Germanna after the German Immigrants and Queen Anne.
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The some of the original 42 Immigrants are noted below;
1. Johann Justus Albrecht
2-5. Rev. Henry Hager, his wife Anna Catherine Friesenhagen, and their daughters, Agnes, b. 1697, and Anna Catherine, b. 1702. The two daughters were 16 and 11 while the parents were 69 and 50 when they arrived. This definitely made Rev. Hager the senior citizen in the group.
6-9. Jacob Holtzclaw, b. 1683, his wife Anna Margaret Utterback, b. 1686, and their two sons, John, b. 1709, and Henry, b. 1711. Besides the German spelling of Holtzclaw, the spelling of Holsclaw and other variants are used. Jacob Holtzclaw had been a teacher in Germany. While he did keep school in Virginia, he was also involved in farming and mining.
10. Melchoir Brumbach was a bachelor when he came, age ca. 28.
11-15. Joseph (Jost) Cuntze, b. 1674, and his wife Anna Gertrud Reinschmidt, son, John, b. 1706; daughter, Ann Elizabeth, b. 1708; daughter, Catherine, b. ca 1713/14. There is a
possibility that Catherine should not be counted in the 42 people. Two popular modern spellings are Coons and Koontz.
16-21. Philip Fischbach (now Fishback) was b. 1661 and came with his wife Elizabeth Heimbach (Hanback); son, John, b. 1691; son, Harmon, b.1693; daughter, Mary Elizabeth, b.1687; and daughter, Mary Elizabeth, b. 1696.
Much of this information comes from the church records in the Nassau-Siegen area. Many of the families took out proofs of importations at the Spotsylvania Courthouse in which they declared who came. And they bought land in the region that eventually became Fauquier Co.
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Looking at the First Colony, there were several bachelors: Melchoir Brumbach, John Hoffman, John Kemper, Joseph Martin, John Spilman. Two of the Fishback men could have qualified as bachelors but it would be unfair to count them since they came with their total family of six. The bachelors probably could rationalize their investment in the trip by saying they could always return if it didn't work out. When they left Germany, they were under no particular pressure to provide for a family. One has to feel a spirit of adventure contributed to their decision to go. That so many young single men were in the party may also say something about the economic conditions. Perhaps Albrecht, in his recruiting, may have attempted to maximize the return on the investmentby recruiting bachelors without any overhead in the form of wives and children. To the bachelors, who had probably accumulated little capital, it was a means to get to America cheaply. On balance, the desire for adventure surely played some part.
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Some of the members of the Second Germanna Colony were related to members of the First. Melchoir Brombach (Brumback) was the son of Johannes Brombach of Müsen and Anna Margarete Kemper who was an aunt of John Kemper, another 1714 immigrant. They arrived some time after 1742. They settled in the Shenandoah Valley. So Melchoir and John Kemper were cousins. Melchoir probably married Maria Elisabeth Fischbach. Phillip Fischbach (Fishback) was married to Elizabeth (Elsbeth) Heimbach. Their daughter, Anna Elisabeth, married Hans Jacob Richter (Rector) and all of these people moved to Virginia i n 1714. Another daughter of Phillip and Elizabeth was Maria Elizabeth who probably married Melchoir Brumback above. The sons John and Harmon Fishback were bachelors when they came. The daughter Maria Elisabeth (duplicated name) probably married John Spilman in Virginia.
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Hans Jacob Holzklau (Jacob Holtzclaw and other spellings) married Anna Margaretha Otterbach, daughter of the immigrants Hermann Otterbach and Elisabeth Heimbach.
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Johannes Kemper was a bachelor but related to Melchoir Brombach, above.
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Headrights are one source of immigrant names. These were used at the time a land patent was taken from the Crown. The immigrant went to court to prove his importation and thereby set in motion the process. For example, on June 3, 1724, the following First Colony members all went to the Spotsylvania Court and gave evidence as to their coming: John Spellman, Harmon Fitchback, John Huffman, Joseph Cuntz, John Fitzback, Jacob Rickart, Milchert Brumback, Dillman Weaver, Peter Hitt. Twelve Germanna colonists made affidavits in June, 1724, for the purpose of obtaining 1800 acres of land, as shown by the Spottsylvania Co. (Va.) records. Germanna was first in Stafford Co., later Prince William, and in Fauquier about 1720.
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"At a Court held per adjournment from yesterday the 2d day of June, 1724, for Spotsylvania County."
"Milcard Brumbach in order to prove his right to take up land according to the Royal Charter, made oath that he came into this country to dwell in the month of April, 1714, and that he brought with him Elizabeth his wife, and that this is the first time of proving their said importation, whereupon certificates is ordered to be granted them of right to take up one hundred acres of land."
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DEED FROM CHILDREN OF "MILCARD BRUMBACK", JULY 23, 1746
July 23, 1746, Stephen Huntzenbiller, Jacob Newswanger and Christopher Wingle of Frederick Co. , Virginia., conveyed for natural love and affection "which we bear to our beloved brother and sister Henry Otterback and Agnes Otterback his wife" 100 acres lying in Prince William Co., Virginia., "in the Germantown," it being part of the land taken up by John Fishback, Jacob Holtzclaw and John Henry Hoffman, by grand patent and by them conveyed by a lease for 99 years yet to come, to Milcard Brumbach, and by him conveyed to the grantors; the said lease to Brumbach being recorded in Stafford Co., Virginia. This land adjoins that of Elizabeth Rictor and John Fishback. The above appears in the deed book of Prince William Co., and in the same records also appears a deed of Feb. 21, 1738, by which Just Hite conveyed to Jacob Niswanger, in consideration of 5sh., 400 a. granted to Hite by patent June 12, 1734, lying "on ye west side of "Shenando River" [Shenandoah] bounded by North Branch of Crooked Run, to Walnut which divides this and Peter Stephen's land. -----
It is evident from the affidavit of June 2, 1724, by "Milcard [Melchior] Brumbach" that upon landing in 1714 there were no children; as, under the early Va. laws, an additional allowance of fifty acres was granted for each child. Mr. Willis M. Kemper reports that the records of Prince William Co., Virginia., are incomplete, owing to destruction during the Civil War, and that the existing records and those of Fauquier Co. show no further trace of Milcard or Melchior Brumbach.
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The Brumback name in America shows, rather nicely, how names evolved. In 1572, we have "Jost in der Braunbach." Only a generation or two earlier, in lieu of a last name, individuals are referred to as the son of another individual. Apparently, with the passage of time, the family members were identified by the name of the farm, Brombach or Brumbach, on which they lived. (A similar process occurs with the Blankenbakers whose name in Austria seems to have been taken from the name of the farm on which they lived.) It appears that some Brombachs who came to America adopted the spelling Brumbaugh. A daughter of Melchior Brumback married John Jacob Neuschwanger.
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The "Marriage and Baptismal Records of the Rev. John Waldschmidt, a Minister of the Reformed Church who served the Congregations of Cocalico, Seltenreich, Weissachenland and Muddy Creek in Lancaster Co., Pa. contains "Brumbach, Margaretta, daughter of Melchior and Christian Conrad, son of Lenhard Conrad, married March 6, 1770, at Riehmstown in Andrew Reihm's House." The Conrads lived in Tulpehocken Twp., Berks Co., Pa., and the Marriage Records of the Rev. John Casper Stoever, Jr., show that Christian Conrad was b June 19, 1745, and baptized July 6, 1 746.
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Davis Uriah I | Born 1707
1685 - 1746 (61 years)