The Schantz family (also spelled von Schantz) is a
noble family of
German origin in the
Swedish and
Finnish Houses of Nobility. They are listed as Family Number 1255 by the Swedish House of Nobility, and as Number 95 by the Finnish House of Nobility. The family was knighted in Sweden in 1693 and was immatriculated in to the Finnish nobility in 1818.
[1]
Members
Johan Eberhard Schantz (1614–1665) who was descended from
Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Germany, moved to Sweden in the 1630s, becoming secretary to
King Charles X Gustav. Four of his sons by his second marriage in 1662 with
Elisabeth Pfeiff (May 21, 1643 - February 10, 1729) were also in the king's service as secretary and similar positions, and all were knighted.
2.
Ludwig von Schantz (1650 - 1702), knighted as von Schantz January 4, 1693, Secretary of the National Archives (1701–1702). He married
Kristina Fineman c. 1680.
Of this branch, notable was
Karl Ludwig von Schantz (15 May 1681, Stockholm - 25 March 1734), archaeologist and Assessor of Antiquities Archives from 1709, and who created a
genealogy in 1731. The direct line became extinct in 1798.
3.
Fredrik von Schantz (1651–1697), knighted as von Schantz January 4, 1693. He married
Anna Ursula Scheffer and his descendants continue to live in Sweden.
Of this branch, notable was
Johan Fredrik von Schantz (July 9, 1680 - 24 April 1743), secretary of the National Archives (1719-1728), Deputy Director (1728), and then Director of Posts (1737).
4.
Kristian von Schantz (March 14, 1655 - 2 July 1702 in Kurland or Courland, Latvia), knighted as von Schantz January 4, 1693. He was the Royal Recorder and Secretary. In 1680 he married
Adriana Fineman (1661 - 17 December 1725). Amongst their offspring were;
Ludwig von Schantze (August 25, 1692 - 23 May 1730), married (1721)
Eva Maria Petré (June 22, 1703 - 16 March 1798) and whose descendants still live in Sweden.
The
Schantz Islands, a
coral reef on the
Marshall Islands, also known as Wotho was discovered by Johan Eberhard von Schantz on his circumnavigation of the globe on the Imperial Russian ship America.