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The story presented here was written in 1997. Since that time, the myth and legend of Elvis Presley has continued to grow. The interest in his life and family history, and the popularity of his music grows ever greater. The information presented here regarding his lineage has now been available to the public for some time, and it has been studied by various people in the United States and Germany with general agreement about the major conclusions.

While nothing of major importance in the opinion of the authors regarding the story or the basic genealogy has been found to need altering, there may be minor revisions indicated in some areas which are necessary to update the work and to reflect more recent research. However, no such revisions have been made to the text in this online edition. The authors welcome any correspondence or new information on specific facts presented here.

We have decided to present this text online not just for the enjoyment of Elvis fans, but more importantly, in our opinion, for the understanding and appreciation of all those descendants of Johannes Valentin Pressler who are researching their family history. It is our hope that it will provide them with a better understanding of the difficulties and horrors which their ancestors faced in the country of their origin, of the desperation and courage they showed in migrating to an unknown New World, and of the struggles and hardships which they endured and overcame in settling the frontier regions of North America.

This family quietly devoted their lives to hopefully improving the welfare of each succeeding generation. In the process they contributed each in their own way to the development of the United States, just as so many other families have done. They were among the mass of the poor, the middle class, the unknown, and the historically unrecognized. Only with the extraordinary life of Elvis Presley did the surname become a household word known throughout the country. However, the real heroes of this story were those individuals whose names have been almost lost to history. Their lives are remembered only in a distressingly few dusty records in various and sundry courthouses and archives. Only placed in the context of a local and a broader historical record can we begin to grasp some small understanding of what the real facts of their lives must have been.

Edwin C. Dunn: 10 November 2002

: © 1997 Donald W. Presley. Reproduction of this material for commercial purposes is prohibited without written permission of Donald W. Presley. No claim is made to previously copyrighted material. Elvis, Elvis Presley, and Graceland are registered trademarks of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc.

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