The Shenandoah Valley was ceded to the English by treaties with the Indians. This made it possible for the settlers to come. Among them were a few Virginians who come across the Blue Ridge and also a large number of German and Scotch-Irish most of whom had lived in Pa. The Germans had come to America because their rulers had been unjust to them and many had lost their homes in wars with the French. They first moved into Pa. then south into Va. They tried to make their new homes look like their farms and villages in Germany and continued to speak German and use their German Bibles. They decorated cabinets and chest with Bible verse, birds, and tulips. The Mennonite and Dunkard families wore extremely plain clothes very different from the usual dress of the day. The English settlers thought them very strange. The Germans were better farmers than the English as they used deep plowing, used fertilizer, and rotated crops. The Germans were skilled potters, tanners, cabin and wagon makers, tinsmiths, and brought an improved type of log cabin by cutting all sides of the logs flat instead of being left rounded. From Pa. they brought with them a better gun than the English had. It was a long rifle much better suited to the frontier. The Germans brought with them a love of music, and brought hymns from the Lutheran Church. From that love of music grew the school at Singers Glen near Harrisonburg run by the Joseph Funk Family. At Singers Glen many hymn books were published and used by many thousands over a period of many years. The Scotch-Irish came about the same time as the Germans, but out numbered then 4 to 1. They were of Scottish blood and Presbyterian faith. About the time Jamestown was founded they had been sent to Northern Ireland by the English gov. Because of taxes and rent and payments to the Established Church being unfair they moved to the new world and settled in Pa. long before Gov.Gooch of Va. invited them to the Shenandoah Valley. Gooch was gov. from 1727-1749 and he was Scottish. Settlements would help form a defense against the French and Indians and make it possile for the English to control the Ohio Valley.The Scotch-Irish pushed south, then west steadily. The Winchester region was occupied around 1730, and Stauton was made in 1736, Lexington in 1739, and Big Lick, ( now Roanoke) in 1740. In 1745 a settlement was made at Draper's Meadows ( now Blacksburg) by John Drapper, William Ingles, and others. This place was west of the Allegheny Divide in a frontier region where Indians were a deadly threat. What the Scotch-Irish brought: Presbyterian Faith, good hunting and farming methods, a great desire for schools, religious freedom, experience in Gov. and experience in fighting Indians gained from their time in Pa. More later Thank you all for the nice comments. There have been so many I can not reply personally. I am just happy I have found a small way to repay everyones goodness to me. P.S. I have another cyber cousin tonight found because of list members. This is a wonderful thing I am grateful for the List. Good Night.