Fritz, Hans Ulrich

Notes:

Name: Hans George Fritz
Memo: Found on the Captain's List for the ship "Elizabeth". The ship arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania prior to 30 Oct 1738.
Name: Hans Uhllerick Fritz
Memo: This was an autograph duplicate of List that contained Hans Ulrich Fritz.
Found in a list that contained all the names of males above sixteen, who were required to repeat and subscribe to the Declaration of Allegiance with their own hand if they could do so and if they could not, their names were written by a clerk and they made their mark

Thought to be originally from the Rhine-Palatine area of Germany, the father, Hans Ulrich Fritz, aged 30 and his son Wooldrich (Frederick) Fritz, aged 7, arrived in Philadelphia abt 1738 on the ship "Elizabeth" from Holland. Moving to the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, Wooldrich married Janet and fathered at least 3 children. After 1763 the family relocated to the Lexington, NC area where 3 more children were born.
In 1781 Wooldrich served as Private in Major General Nathanael Greene's Army and fought his last battle at the Guilford Courthouse alongside his sons, George (1753) and John (1762), and his friend and neighbor, Valentine Leonard and his son Jacob. When this unit was partially disbanded, the friends returned home to their neighboring farms. On November 2, 1781, Valentine and Wooldrich were both attacked and shot at their homes by a band of Tories, Woodrich dying immediately and Valentine dying 11 days later. These 2 friends and battle comrades are buried in what was known as Leonhardt's Church Cemetery and is now Pilgrim Reformed Church Cemetery on Old Pilgrim Road.

The tall monument was erected 4 July 1896 for the 2 men who lost their lives so cruely after doing so much for their country and their community:
The inscription on the East Side reads: "This monument was erected by citizens A.D. 1896 out of veneration for our brave dead. These men are of those who fought for and gained our liberty. Unveiled with appropriate ceremonies July 4, 1896."
The West Side reads: "The heroes buried in this spot were cruelly assasinated in their own homes by Tories near the close of the Revolutionary War. They were Patriots and bravely fought for American independence."

The original soapstone marker for Wooldrich reads: "W. F. Wooldrick Frits, deceased November the second, 1781, age 50 yrs. Remember me as you pass by; As you are now, so once was I; As I am now, so must you be; Prepare therefore to follow me." On his footstone: "Lo, here doth lifeless Wooldrick lie, cut off by murder's cruelty."

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Fritz, Wooldrich Frederich died in 1782 in North Carolina, United States.