According to Johni Cerny and Gary J. Zimmrman, authors of Before Germanna, there have been few unanswered questions about the First Germanna Colony in the New World. However, at least in 1990 when this book first came out, surprising little was know about the Second Germanna Colony. This second colony faced hardships and misfortune from the beginning.
First, their ship was held fore weeks in London while their captain sat in prison. Then, their captain by passed their intended port in Pennsylvania, and made for Virginia, where the group was sold into indentured servitude to “pay for their passage.” In addition, their belongings were confiscated.
Ultimately, the Second colony ended up settled near the First. However, the exact location is not know, and few inter-marriages took place between the two, at least during the early years. Previous works regarding the Second colony were presumptive and “hopeful” but lacked definitive source materials. Using German parish records has allowed the authors of this book to reconstruct a more definitive view of the Second Germanna Colony of 1717.
“Each of the Second Colony families is treated separately in Before Germanna, a series of monographs discussing individual and groups of Second Colony families.” The first book in the series, the introduction from which this brief outline has come from, is entitled Before Germanna: The Ancestry of Johann Michael Willheit and Anna Maria Hengsteler.
The historical information alone is interesting. Not to mention, there are many who are sure to find their German ancestry tied in some way to this previously under appreciated early German colony.
Contents
The Second Germanna Colony of Virginia
The Ancestry of Johann Michael Willheit, Virginia Immigrant
Ancestry of the Willheit Wives
The Ancestry of Anna Maria Hengsteler – Immigrant to Virginia – Wife of Johann Michael Willheit
Revised Constituency of the Second Germanna Colony
Copies of Before Germanna: The Ancestry of Johann Michael Willheit and Anna Maria Hengstelerare available at Family Roots Publishing; Price: