Craig, My understanding of the 1714 group is that they were never involved with iron-making at Germanna.  There is some mention in one document that I am aware of that they were involved in quarrying.  I take this to mean working with stone, rocks, etc., not iron ore. I think Spotswood's initial interest was in silver but he had a difficult time getting an answer from London regarding his "take" from any silver found.  I think he wanted to know the profit possibility before he invested time, money and people in the venture.  Lt. Governor Spotswood was a prolific writer of letters to the London Board of Trade.  These letters provide interesting insights into a very complicated man. Suzanne Collins Matson   ________________________________ From: Craig Kilby <persisto@earthlink.net>   "The Spotswood Iron Empire" by Col. Robert D. Burhans,  in the 1971 issue of the magazine. The first sentence of the 4th paragraph reads "The Spotswood story of  iron development is closely interwined with the early German  immigrants to Virginia..." and continued much of our well known  story.  It could almost have been written by our own John  Blankenbaker, as it correctly sums up the "many sided Spotswood" and  his claims to his superiors in London that he was seeking silver,  when in fact he was establishing an iron-making community at  Germanna.  If anyone would like copies of this article please contact  me off list. Craig Kilby ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to GERMANNA_COLONIES-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message