HEINRICH RENZ, eldest son of Ulrich Renz II and Anna Euphrosine MOEGENHARD
T, was born in Weinsberg on August 10, 1529.

As the first of the family that joined the evangelical church, he studi
ed theology in Wuerzburg. He had a prospect of an inheritance from the Can
on Moegenhardt, a relative of his mother's side. But in Wuerzburg, whe
re he had already been presented to the Bishop by his father, he turn
ed to the Lutheran faith, whereupon his father first sent him into the col
lege near Stuttgart and in 1547 to Tuebingen. Because of this faith-changi
ng, his mother was disinherited by the Canon Moegenhardt. Georgii wro
te in the Wuerttembergischen Dienerbuch concerning this, "by reason of th
is zealous Ulrich Renz and his sons lost several thousand Gulden that w
as left to an ordinary priest." Heinrich Renz received a cholarship from D
uke Ulrich of Wuerttemberg, a Bachelor of Arts in Feb. 1548, became a Mast
er of Arts on February 4, 1551, was appointed inspector of scholars at t
he seminary of United Theological Studies in 1554, deacon in Brackenhe
im in 1556, pastor in Lustnau in 1559, in Winnenden in 1556-1596, prela
te and abbot of the St. Georgen Monastry in the Black Forest with the tit
le "Princely Counselor". As such he corrected much of the abuse and justif
ications "left from the popish time and cleansed the monatery of popish le
aven" and had through his zeal much success. In the year 1599, after 32 ye
ars of activity, he retired to Nuertingen to be with his daugther Eleano
re Wolfhardt and her husband, Alexander Wolfhardt, where he died at age 7
2.

He married in Stuttgart, Maria Graeter, born 1532, daughter of Casper Grae
ter (born abt. 1500 in Gundelsheim, died 1552), who was court chaplain a
nd a member of the consistorial court. Heinrich Renz died September 2, 160
1. His wife died after him in Alpirsbach, June 3, 1620. His daughter, Elea
nore, married Alexander Wolfhardt, and was the great-grandmother of Anna K
atharina Wolfhardt, wife of Jost Schwab.