Gottfried (Godfrey) Prince formerly Brentz aka Printz
Born 17 Mar 1754 in York, Pennsylvaniamap
Son of Johann Philipp Brentz and Anna Maria (Schwenzers) Brentz
Brother of Johan Philip Brentz [half]
Husband of Hannah (Lezenia) Prince — married 1780 in Hawksbill Creek, Shenandoah, Virginiamap
Descendants descendants
Father of John Prince, Magdalena (Prince) Carleton, Elilzabeth (Prince) Monical, Susana (Prince) Woltz, Jacob Prince, David L. Prince and Dianah Prince
Died 1 Nov 1840 in Washington County, Indiana USA
Gottfried (Godfrey) Brentz was born to Philip and Anna Maria Brentz on March 17, 1754. He was christened on April 14, 1754 at the Christ Lutheran Church in York, Pennsylvania.[1]
Early Years in Pennsylvania
Godfrey's family immigrated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from Germany in 1751.[2]
All evidence points to the fact that Philipp Brentz and his family were signed on as "redemptioners"[3] to Gottlieb Gunckel of York, Pennsylvania and they stayed in York for about seven years with two of their children being baptized in the Lutheran Church there. Gottlieb was baptized on November 5, 1752[4] and Godfrey in 1754.[1]
From Jacob Prince, A Biographical Sketch, by Russell E. Bidlack, July 1991: Gottfried Brentz, or Godfrey Prince as he came to be known by his English speaking neighbors, was six years old when his parents and siblings settled on the Ryan survey on the Hawksbill (Creek in then Frederick County, Virginia). There he grew to manhood and doubtless attended the Lutheran and Reformed Hawksbill Church organized in 1765 by a visiting minister named Johann Schwarbach. (The German name for Hawksbill was Hoxbuehl or Hoxbiehl.)
Godfrey, his father Philip and his brothers appear on the Virginia Heads of Family for Page County in 1783 and 1785.[5]
Mount Calvary Lutheran Church.
The predominance of German immigrants and the relative isolation of Page County allowed German culture to thrive in the area. German was the first language and in many cases the only language of the community until the early nineteenth century. This cultural environment also allowed the retention of traditional German crafts including painted interiors, painted furniture, and fraktur. In addition, German was the language of worship and music in the community until the mid-nineteenth century. At Mount Calvary, the records of the congregation were kept in German until the 1860s. The oldest English-language hymnals discovered in the sanctuary bear the date 1860.[6]
In Page County, Virginia, the Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church (Hawksbill Church) records reveal that the family name, Brentz, evolved to Prentz and then Printz, and some chose the English spelling Prince.[7]
As the Prince family (often spelled Printz) multiplied, the area where they lived came to be called "Printz Town," although it was never actually a town. An authority on the history of the area, Ruth Ann Moore of Manassas, Virginia, has written: "It is a local name for the village of Ida" which is where all the Printz's lived and ran the country store. The Page News & Courier, which is the newspaper for the Page County and Luray area (Luray is the county seat of Page County), has a column with excerpts from 100 years ago, and there are frequent references to 'Printz Town'." (Letter to REB dated 24 Jun 1988).
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Brentz-6
