Schutze Surname History

Origins Available:
Germany

The bountiful region surrounding the Rhine river is the birthplace of the name Schutze. A single name was, at one time, all that people needed. However, increasing ease of travel and the burgeoning populations forced people to adopt a hereditary surname to set themselves apart from others. A common form of surname created in the Rhineland was the local name. Originally denoting the proprietorship of the village or estate, the German preposition von, which means from or of, was used with local names. The surname Schutze was given to someone who lived in the region of Schuetz in various areas of Germany.

Early Origins of the Schutze family

The surname Schutze was first found in the Rhineland valley, where this old family name became a prominent contributor to the development of the district from ancient times. Numerous family members bearing this name were prominent in social affairs. The family, as it spread throughout Germany, played a fundamental role in many regions as they emerged to form alliances with other families within the Feudal System. Chronicles first mention Johann Scuette of Luebeck in 1319 and Woelfel Schuetze of Eger in 1320.

Early History of the Schutze family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Schutze research. Another 250 words (18 lines of text) covering the years 1497, 1539, 1540, 1562, 1565, 1585, 1594, 1640, 1672, 1690, 1756, 1776 and 1847 are included under the topic Early Schutze History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Schutze Spelling Variations

In the medieval era, many different cultural groups lived in the German states. There are thus many regional variations of German surnames from that era. Westphalians spoke Low German, which is similar to modern Dutch. Many German names carry suffixes that identify where they came from. Others have phrases attached that identify something about the original bearer. Other variations in German names resulted from the fact that medieval scribes worked without the aid of any spelling rules. The spelling variations of the name Schutze include Schuetze, Schuett, Schuette, Schuetzmann and others.

Early Notables of the Schutze family

Notables with the name Schutze during this period were Katharina Zell née Schütz (1497-1562), German Protestant writer during the Reformation; Caspar Schütz (c. 1540-1594), German historian, Professor of Poetry at the University of Königsberg from 1562 to 1565; Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672), the outstanding German composer of the 17th century, who wrote...
Another 50 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Schutze Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Schutze migration to the United States +

The great European flow of migration to North America, which began in the middle of the 17th century and continued into the 20th century, was particularly attractive to those from the Rhineland who wished to escape either poverty or religious persecution. Many of those who left the Rhineland to seek their fortunes in the prosperous and free New World settled in the major urban centers of the United States and Canada. In the United States, the settlers from the Rhineland passed through immigration centers like that of Ellis Island, most of them moving on to Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Illinois, California, and New York. In Canada, the majority of Rhinelanders settled in Ontario and the prairie provinces. An examination of passenger and immigration lists has revealed many important settlers to North America bearing the name Schutze, or one of its variants above:

Schutze Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Johann Michael Schutze, who landed in New York in 1715 1
Anna D Schutze, who arrived in New York, NY in 1743 1
Anna Dorothea Schutze, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1743 1
Christian Schutze, who landed in New York, NY in 1743 1

Schutze Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

G Schutze, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 1
Louis Schutze, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1861 1

Citations +

Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)