Prince/Printz Family History

Welcome to the website dedicated to sharing the history of the Printz / Prince family that is descended from the family of Johann Philipp Brentz. Johann was born in 1709 in Germany, came to America in 1751 and settled in the Shenandoah Valley (Page County), Virginia, where he died in 1794.

Information on the family comes from the book Into the Valley: A History of the Printz / Prince Family of the Shenandoah, written by Charles Francis Printz, Sr.. and Hugh Ellison Voress. The book was the result of more than 20 years of painstaking research on the genealogy of the Printz / Prince family.  This website was result of collaboration between Charles Printz and Victor Prince, distant cousins who met each other through Victor's research on his family tree. 

The 600+ page book details the generations that descended from Johann Philipp Brentz. The book also includes over 60 photographs of family members and key historical documents -- all of these are now included in the photo album of this site (with a link in the Site Map).

The book has 200+ years of interesting family facts about Johann Philipp Brentz and his descendants, including:

• the family roots in the town of Duehren, Germany
• how the family name evolved from Brentz to the current Printz and Prince spellings
• how the family settled west, including to Champaign County, Ohio and then all across the United States
• how Captain George Printz was commissioned as an officer in the Virginia Militia in the American Revolutionary War by Governor Thomas Jefferson and reportedly served on General George Washington's staff at the Battle of Yorktown
• how Printz / Prince descendants served on both sides of the Civil War
• anecdotes about where the Printz / Prince family members had interesting links with US Presidents, including George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and James Garfield
• information on the ancestors of these Brentz's in Germany dating back to circa 1375.

This site is dedicated to Charles Francis Printz, Sr., who, along with Hugh E. Voress, compiled the book Into the Valley: A History of the Printz / Prince Family of the Shenandoah as a lasting memory to our family history. Charles passed away on September 30, 2011 at the age of 96.  

Thanks for visiting, and good luck in your research on our family.  Please sign the Guestbook (even if just with a "Hello from ...") if you found this site to be useful.

 Visitors To Date