The Descendants of Wilhelm Wurtz
Log In | Register for a User Account
Welcome to the family genealogical site dedicated to the descendants of Wilhelm Wurtz who was born about 1703 in the Tauberbischofsheim, Baden area of Germany. He arrived in America September 23, 1753 on the ship Neptune to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with his wife Anna Catharina, sons, Wilhelm Wurtz, Jr., Philip Peter Virtzs, Conrad Wirtz and daughter Maria Elisabeth Wurtz. He was naturalized on April 10, 1761 in Philadelphia and was living in Lancaster, Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania. His journey took him to Frederick County Maryland and Loudoun County Virginia where he settle around 1767 near Lovettsville. His descendants migrated from Frederick and Loudoun counties to the Roanoke area of Virginia, Ohio, Illinois and Missouri. Over the years the spelling of the last name has take on many variations such as Verts, Vertz, Virts, Virtz, Werts, Wertz, Wirtz and Wirts. Wilhelm, his wife, Anna Catharina, sons: Wilhelm Jr., Peter Philip, Conrad, and daughter Maria Elisabeth arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on the boat Neptune on September23, 1753. Wilhelms journey appears to have originated in Tauberbischofsheim, Landkreis,Baden, Koenigsreich (Herzogsreich) Wuerttemberg (Deutschland). They would have taken a boat down The Tauber, The Main, and Rhine rivers to Rotterdam, where the ship Neptune would have set sail for Philadelphia. Both Wilhelm and Peter Wurtz names appear on the Captains list and Wilhelm and Wilhelm Wurtz, Jr. appear on the Signers of the Oath of Abjuration list. It appears that Wilhelm may have spent the first few years in America in the Lancaster, Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania and/or Maryland, because he does not appear in the Loudoun County, Virginia tax list until 1767, along with his son Conrad, and he was shown living in Lancaster when he was naturalized on April 10, 1761 in Philadelphia. Also Wilhelm and Wilhelm Jr. appear in the 1754 Pennsylvania Census as living in Philadelphia. By 1767 there was no trace of Wilhelm Wurtz, Jr.. His daughter Maria had married Michael (Laufer) Runner and was living in the Frederick, Maryland area. Son, Peter, who was naturalized in 1775 in New Jersey, appears to have spent a couple years in the Middletown, Maryland area for he does not appear in the Loudoun County tax list until 1788 and his son Jacob, born in 1760, was baptized in Middletown. In 1772 Wilhelm leased 100 acres from Lord George William Fairfax in Loudoun County. Wilhelm and his children would remain in Loudoun County until their death were many of Wilhelms descendants still live today. Some of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren did move to southern Virginia, Maryland, Missouri and Ohio and other points West.Contact Us
If you have any questions or comments about the information on this site, please contact us. We look forward to hearing from you.