Germans in Jamestown: Part II - Murder Mystery
- Patrick Young
- Feb 8
- 5 min read
Updated: Feb 9
This article is part of our series “German Immigrants.” Click here for a full listing of all articles in the series.
October 1609: Jamestown’s leader, Captain John Smith, is badly injured in a gunpowder explosion. He sails for England, never to return to the colony.
But when he arrives home, he faces a shocking accusation: the Virginia Company suspects he murdered several German artisans, men who—according to our previous article—were the first officially documented German immigrants in North America.
Smith, however, has a different story. He claims that he didn’t kill the Germans—Powhatan did. According to Smith, the Native American leader ordered his warriors to “beat out their brains” [1].
But was Smith telling the truth?
What we know for certain is this: Some of the first German immigrants in America were murdered—but by whom? Powhatan is unable to defend himself, and the only witness is John Smith himself. So what really happened?
The Victims and the Witnesses
The Victims: Among the first Germans in America were several glassmakers and at least three carpenters: Samuel, Franz, and Adam. These artisans were brought over by the Virginia Company to help establish the struggling Jamestown colony.
The Witness: John Smith, the colony’s leader, was under constant pressure to find food and maintain control. He relied on both trade and violence to get supplies from Native Americans.
The Deception Begins
The German carpenters arrive in Jamestown and begin their work, helping construct the glassworks and other essential buildings (the glassworks is visible in the top left corner of the image above). Then, John Smith makes a strange deal with Powhatan:
👉 Smith promises to send the German carpenters to build Powhatan a European-style house.
👉 But this is a trick! Smith doesn’t actually intend to give Powhatan the house. He wants the structure to be a trap, a “castle” where he can lure Powhatan inside and kill him.
👉 But there’s a twist: One of the German carpenters, Samuel, is secretly working against Smith [2]. Smith claims that Samuel spies for Powhatan, leaking inside information about the colony’s weaknesses.
If Smith is telling the truth, the German artisans weren’t just innocent settlers—they were potential traitors plotting against the English.
But how reliable is Smith’s account?
A Grand Conspiracy? Or a Cover-Up?
As the Germans build Powhatan's house, Smith ventures out of Jamestown and tries to secure food. While Smith is absent, Franz and Adam slip away from Powhatan’s village and return to the colony.
Smith accuses them of organizing a massive theft operation:
He claims that Franz and Adam convinced six or seven Englishmen to smuggle weapons and supplies out of Jamestown.
The stolen goods—swords, pikes, muskets, gunpowder—were allegedly carried off by Native allies and delivered to Powhatan [3].
But does this story make sense?
🕵️ Smith himself constantly refused to trade weapons for food, fearing that Powhatan would use them against the English [4].
🕵️ If Smith forbade trading weapons, why would his English settlers willingly arm the Natives—especially if they got nothing in return?
A more likely explanation? The English may have actually traded weapons for food but couldn’t admit it to the Virginia Company. Instead, Smith needed a scapegoat—and the foreign Germans made for an easy target.
The Murder Plot! - Against Smith?
As tensions rise, Smith becomes convinced that a German-led rebellion is underway. He claims that:
Weapons are disappearing.
Franz disguises himself as a Native American and leads 40 of Powhatan's warriors to the glasshouse to ambush Smith.
Smith fights off the attackers and captures one of the Natives alive [5].
But is this an assassination attempt… or is Smith fabricating a dramatic tale to justify cracking down on the Germans?
Smith’s paranoia continues to grow. He wants to bring Franz, Adam, and Samuel back to Jamestown, so he sends a Swiss man named William Volday to retrieve them.
🚨 But then—another double-cross! 🚨
According to Smith, Volday himself is also a traitor, secretly helping the Germans and Native Americans plot against the English. He allegedly supplies them with everything they need to launch an attack.
Smith uncovers the plot through two English informants, who claim that the Germans and their Native allies are planning to seize Jamestown and hand it over to the Spanish [6].
🛑 Wait—The Spanish?
There were no Spaniards nearby—Spain had no settlements in Virginia.
So why, and better yet how, could the Germans, who spoke no Spanish and little English, be plotting with them?
Could this be another exaggeration from Smith to make the Germans seem like a bigger threat?
Powhatan's or Smith's Revenge?
With rumors swirling, people in Jamestown demand the immediate execution of the Germans. Yet—nothing happens.
Adam and Franz actually return to Jamestown—and they’re pardoned.
No one is punished for this treachery—not the English conspirators, not the Germans.
🛑 If this conspiracy was so dangerous, why would Smith just let them go, and hold nobody accountable at all?
Smith later praises the German glassmakers, saying that they (and the Poles) were the only ones in Jamestown who actually worked hard [7]. Could it be that he respected their skills too much to punish them?
🥨 Then—one final twist.
Smith claims that after Adam and Franz return to Jamestown, they flee back to Powhatan. But when they get there, Powhatan doesn’t trust them anymore.
👉 Powhatan remembers how they once betrayed Smith to him.
👉 He now fears that they will betray him to the new English governor, Lord De La Warr.
👉 So he orders their execution—his men “beat out their brains” [8].
But does this make sense?
❓ If the Germans were loyal to Powhatan, why would Powhatan suddenly murder them?
❓ Was this Smith’s way of covering up his own crime?
Who Killed the First German Immigrants?
🚨 Did John Smith murder Adam, Franz, and Samuel? Possibly. He was accused of it when he returned to England, but no real investigation ever took place.
🚨 Did Powhatan kill them? It seems highly unlikely—why kill men who had been his allies?
🚨 Did they simply disappear? Maybe. Records were poor, and in the chaos of early Jamestown, people vanished all the time.
What we do know is this:
John Smith’s version of events is filled with inconsistencies and exaggerations.
He was under immense pressure to defend his leadership, and blaming foreigners was a convenient solution.
The German artisans were among the first documented German immigrants in America—but their fate remains a mystery.
❓ What do you think? Was this a brutal Native execution, an unsolved disappearance, or a story invented by Smith to protect his own reputation? Let us know in the comments section below!
One thing is certain—Jamestown’s first Germans met a violent end. And someone wanted their story buried.
Sources & Remarks
This article is based largely on John Smith's book The General Historie of Virginia, New England and The Summer Isles (Vol. I). The volume is accessible at Project Gutenberg. Since Project Gutenberg does not have page numbers, I have provided the chapter number and subsection heading in John Smith's work for each footnote below.
Chapter XII - The ends of the Dutch-men.
Chapter VII - Apamatuck discovered.
Chapter IX - The Dutch men deceive Cap. Winne. The Dutch men furnish the Salvages with Armes.
Chapter XIII - Cap. Smiths discourse to Powhatan.
Chapter X - The Dutch-men plot to murther Cap. Smith. Smith taketh the King of Paspahegh prisoner.
Chapter XI -The Dutch mens projects. Two Gentlemen sent to the Germans.
Chapter XII - The causes why Smith left the Countrey and his Commission.
Chapter XII - The ends of the Dutch-men.
The twists and turns in this we're great. John Smith's story is too wild to be true in all areas.
I realize this is simplistic, but starvation can lead to madness. If the Germans and the other colonists were facing certain death from starvation, would it make sense that they would have traded anything to obtain food, even if it meant treason?