Page:Mennonite Handbook of Information 1925.djvu/53

 were of Dutch nationality, the place was plundered and the colonists deported to English settlements in other states, and thus meeting the same fate as the Acadians, when households were broken up and members of families scattered to regions unknown to each other.

Plockhoy and his wife were the only survivors of this settlement that were definitely heard from. After some years of wanderings, in 1694, after both had become old and dependent, they reached the community at Germantown, Pa., where they were provided for and rendered comfortable during the remainder of their lives.

The fact that people of Dutch nationality settled in Virginia as early as the year 1669 suggests the strong probability that these were members of the original colony in the state of Delaware. Further evidence in proof of this being the case appears in some maps issued as early as 1687, while correspondence in possession of Dr. Julius F. Sachse of Philadelphia indicates that German settlements were located on the headwaters of the Rappahannock river and that the place is marked on the map as "Teutsche Staat."

It is shown also that this place was visited occasionally by Mennonites from Pennsylvania and that the settlement was augmented in number by families from that state who came here to secure land claims for permanent residence.

Robert Beverly, one of the early Virginian historians, relates that this settlement was located in full view of "The Blue Mountains," and that the people who resided there were thrifty and happy,