Revised 7/9/2017. Copyright @2017; The following Documentary Timeline has been compiled and created by Paul Rhetts. It may be copied for research purposes; but it may not be reproduced for inclusion in any printed or electronic distribution of any kind without the express written permission of the author. Any requests to use this information should be sent to Paul Rhetts, LPDPress@q.com.
Phillip Heinrich RATZ 1714-1775 m. Anna Catarina GEORG 1721-1775
s/o Johann Heinrich RATZ (1663-1717) and Maria Catharina RUEFFER (1695-1768)
d/o Johan Conrad GEORG (1684-1771) and Anna Margaretha MAIER (1687-1725)
p/o Godfred RATZ (1743-1804)
1714 Philip Heinrich RATZ born in Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany [Old German word ROT (red). As a Jewish surname it was adopted for the same reason. The name has numerous variant spellings that include ROTHEFOS, ROTH, ROTHER and ROTHFUSE. One source suggests that original family name was originally Ratzenhaus. It was changed to Ratz/Rattz about 1600 in Germany and changed to Ratts in North Carolina about 1790 and then to Rhetts in the 1880s.
Dec 1719 Anna Catharina GEORG born in Trauben, Ravensburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany [one source says 1721] [Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1519-1969 (doc)]
20 Dec 1719 Anna Catharina GEORG baptized [taufe] at Berlin, Brandenburg, Preußen, Evangelische Kirche. Marienkirche Berlin, p. # 873; 874, FHL Film # 70043 [lists her father as Johan GEORG] [doc]
SOME SOURCES LIST THE FOLLOWING CHILDREN, BUT NO DOCUMENTATION HAS BEEN FOUND TO SUPPORT THAT:
1736 son Andrew RATZ born in Germany; died 1742
1736-63 son Francis RATZ born in Germany; died in Germany abt 1742-1843
1736-63 day Elizabeth RATZ born in Germany; died in Germany abt 1742-1846
abt 1736 son Adam RATZ born in Germany; died in Germany abt 1742
abt 1738 day Frances RATZ born in Germany; died in Germany bef 175
abt 1740 day Polly RATZ born in Germany; died in Germany bef 1750
11 Feb 1741 Philip Heinrich RATZ and Anna Catharina GEORG married in Wiesbaden, Hessen, Germany [one source says 1743] [Philip’s occupation listed as Tailor] (Source: SHS News, Mar 1999, Vol 5, No. 4, p. 5)
22 Apr 1743 son Godfrey RATZ born in Nassau, Deggendorf, Bayern, Germany; immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1751 (age 8); married Maria Margaretha Elizabetha SCHWEISSGUT in 1780 in York, PA (she also immigrated to PA 1751 on the Edinburgh); died in Tyro, Davidson, NC on 18 Apr 1804 [retained the RATZ name and migrated to Rowan Co, NC
5 Mar 1745 son Johann Peter RATZ born in Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden, Hessen, Germany; immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1751 (age 6); married Maria Elizabeth GECKLER on 16 Oct 1764 in Hanover, Beaver, PA; died 1848 in Lurgan, Franklin, PA [John Peter adopted the name as ROTZ and stayed in the Franklin, Fulton, and York counties] [Western Pa. Genealogical Society Quarterly, winter 1991 vol.17 #3 pg.52 "The Rotz Family" 1989, compiled by Richard L. Miller & Richard L. Arnold ..."all persons with the surname Rotz who now lives in Cumberland, Franklin, Fulton & York Co. of Pa. can trace their ancestry to Peter Rotz/Ratz b. c1744 d. c1812" Peter Rotz served in the Pa. Militia...He married Maria Elizabeth Geckler 16 Oct 1764...Peter immigrated with his father Philip Henry Ratz about the year 1751. His father was a tailor & a farmer. The son Peter purchased a 115 acre tract in Lurgan Twp. Franklin Co. 2 June 1783. Other surnames..." not my family]
29 Jul 1748 Georg Philip RATZ born [weiblich] [birth record lists Philipp Henrich RATZ and Anna Catharina as parents] [Baptism record lists parents as Philip Heinrich RATZ and Anna Catharina]
16 Sep 1751 Philip Heinrich RATZ and Anna Catharina GEORG immigrated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from Rotterdam, Germany, on the “Edinburgh” James Russell, Master [also on same ship were their two sons Godfrey and John Peter and Lorentz Schweissguth and Lewis Winkler and their families (ship log-doc) [At some point, he changed the spelling of his middle name to the English Henry. This is known from a record of land sale recorded in York County, Pennsylvania.] [took the required oath of Allegiance to King George II, at the Court House in Philadelphia, before the worshipful the Major, on Sept. 16, 1751 Reference-Research York County, Penn. Historical Society-Vol. XXV, Evidence of the Ratz Families of York County prior to the year 1850] [Hinke, W.M. Pennsylvania German Pioneers-Vol. A, 450] [(Pennsylvania German Pioneers, Volume I)]
1755 Philip Heinrich RATZ hd 125 1/2 acres surveyed (Glattfelder and their Neighbors)
12 Apr 1761 Philip Ratz, tailor, sold land to Henry Merckle, in Strewsbury Township, York County, Pennsylvania (York County Deed Book, Volume 2)
16 Apr 1761 Philip Heinrich RATZ and Anna Catharina GEORG had taken up residence in Shrewsbury township, York Co., Pennsylvania. There are several land records to bear out this fact, it has been said that Phillip was a tailor by trade, however, I have found no proof of that at this time. [records at York, Pa., deed book page 409, show were Philip Henry Ratz sold his improvement April 16, 1761]
31 May 1762 Philip Henry Ratz was granted a Land Warrant for 50 acres in Strewsbury Township, York Co., Pennsylvania
28 May 1763 Philip Henry Radtz was granted a land Warrant for 50 acres in Paradise Township, York Co., Pennsylvania
12 Feb 1764 son John Jacob RATZ born in York, York, PA; died in Shippensburg, Cumberland, Pennsylvania on 21 Jul 1820; married Mary (unknown); [John Jacob adopted the name as ROTZ and stayed in the Franklin, Fulton, and York counties]; buried at God’s Acre Cemetery in Shippensburg, PA; Rev War soldier in the Philadelphia Militia from 1784 to 1790.
1769 Henry Ratz on tax list for Paradise Township, York Co., Pennsylvania
nd Heinrich Ratz listed as baptism sponsor at Jacob Lischy’s church, York
nd Heinrich Ratz listed as baptism sponsor at Jacob Lischy’s church, York
nd Heinrich Ratz listed as baptism father at Jacob Lischy’s church, York
nd Anna Catharina GEORG listed as baptism sponsor at Jacob Lischy’s church, York
nd Anna Catharina GEORG listed as baptism mother at Jacob Lischy’s church, York
15 Feb 1775 the Administration Bond of the Estate of Henry Ratz was filed in York Co., Pennsylvania.
7 Mar 1775 the Inventory of the Estate of Henry Ratz was filed in York Co., Pennsylvania
1775 Philip Heinrich RATZ died (age 61) in York, York, Pennsylvania, possibly in Paradise Township, York Co. [one source says 1773] [Philip Henry Ratts was murdered in the Cumberland Gap in 1773 with a friend, Conrad Moul ... This happened about the same time Daniel Boone tried to go through the Cumberland Gap and his son was killed by indians.”] [cod Murder]
1775 Anna Catharina GEORG died (age 54) in York, York, Pennsylvania
Source: The Rotz family / compiled by Richard L. Miller and Richard L. Arnold, esp. pp 1-52