The Germanna Colonies were the first German settlements in Virginia. Two Germanna Colonies were established in the Piedmont region of Virginia, under the direction of Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spottswood. Governor Spottswood had claimed title to large tracts of land and needed to populate these lands in order to retain his land title.

     For a more detailed description of the Germanna Colonies read "Who is a Germanna Colonist," from Beyond Germanna, Volume 14, Number 2, (May 2002), reprinted with permissoin of John Blankerbarker.

     The Johann Michael Willheit family was possibly not aboard the ship that carried the original Second Germanna colonists to Virginia. But within two years of the founding of the Second Germanna Colony with Willheit family found was among the colonists and has been associated with the second colony since then.

     In 1728 Johann Michael Willheit claimed a land patent on 289 acres in what is now Madison County, Virginia, near the town of Madison (Land Patents Map).

     The original land patent/farm of Johann Michael Willheit is located just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains, near the town of Madison in Madison County, Virginia. This land remains undeveloped, fence lines still exist on the original property lines, a 19^th century home is located on the original home site.

Most Southwest Indiana Wilhites descend form Tobias Willheit, the oldest son of Johann Michael Willheit and Anna Maria Hengsteler. Tobias Willheit was born in 1708 in Germany, he died in 1762 in Culpeper County, Virginia. Other children from the Johann Michael Willheit family include daughter Eve, and sons Johannas, Adam, Mattheis, and Phillip.