A William Mertz surfaces in Census in 1860 in Selinsgrove and is buried there. The obvious guess is that he was a descendant of Nicholas, progenitor of the Mertz family in Middleburg, or Philip, progenitor of the Mertz family of Freeburg. All the other Snyder County Mertzes were of one or the other of those two lines. (By 1880, Jeremiah Martz of the Dauphin County Martz line, moved to Selinsgrove but I think that is irrelevant to this discussion of who William was.)

For awhile I thought William was the son of Samuel (P5a1) but eventually I was able to track down his son William who moved to Illinois by 1850.

So who was this William? Searching the 1850 Census for a William of the right age who I otherwise hadn’t already been able to track further, the only candidate was William, living with Sarah, and who I now presume was her son.

So William of Selinsgrove existed. Whether for sure he was Sarah’s son and not related to her some other way is not totally proven, but it is my strong theory she had a son William by her husband Peter (P1d) and that is now my best theory on who William of Selinsgrove was.

He is designated P1d3.

There are several problems with believing William Mertz of Selinsgrove was the son of Peter of Sunbury and Augusta Township.

The main one is the spelling of his name. By the time Sarah’s son William was born, their surname had been long spelled Martz. The spelling had solidified for that line.

Now it is true that on the west side of the Susquehanna River, only the Mertz spelling was known. No Martz had ever moved there before.

And it is also true that when George Peter Mertz of Freeburg moved by 1850 to Northumberland, where only the Martz spelling was theretofore known, his name was first written Martz in the 1850 Census. But then, I think because George Peter could read and write and therefore knew how he thought his name should be spelled — it was corrected in all future recordings.

So, did William not know his name was Martz to cause a similar correction? Or did he figure out Mertz was the original spelling and went with it? Or does the Mertz spelling provide a clue William was not who I now say he was?

Another question is how did he meet his wife, Catherine Millhoff, who was living in Penns Township, near Selinsgrove and definitely across the river. Did he come to Selinsgrove first and meet her there?

Having said that, there is one small detail in support of the William Martz becomes William Mertz theory. Several of William’s children found their way to Sunbury as adults. Now it wasn’t that far, yet I can’t think of other Snyder County folks finding their way there. What was the draw? In the case of William’s children, could it be that his father was a true Sunburian? It was in their blood.

We find him in 1860-1880 in Selinsgrove.

William is not on find-a-grave, Nor was he on Wagenseller’s listing of Snyder County cemeteries done around the year 1900. He should have been if he died in 1892. But a listing of Snyder County burials by Joseph A Meiser shows him at Union Cemetery near Selinsgrove with dates 1833-1892.

We know from her death certificate and her obituary that that is where his wife Catherine was to be buried when she later died. She is not on find-a-grave either.

We know his daughters from Census.

We know his sons from Census: Clement, Isaac Wentzel and Hathaway. Where did those names come from?

I have not designated any of them as they were born after 1850 but I have tracked all of them further in my database hoping it might provide some clues. It didn’t.

The PA death certificate of Isaac Wentzel Mertz gives his parents’ names as William Mertz and Catherine Millhuff. The PA DC of Sarah Rebecca Harper gives her parents’ names as William Mertz and Catherine Milhoff. The PA DC of Carrie Hall Warner gives her parents’ names as William Mertz and Catherine Meilhoff.

Catherine Millhoff was the daughter of John Millhoff Jr and his wife Margaret.

Catherine is reported twice in the 1900 Census, with son Isaac in Sunbury and also with daughter Sarah.

Her obituary appeared in the Middleburg Newspaper 6 Oct 1910. Mrs. Katheryne Mertz of Sunbury died at the home of her granddaughter Mrs. Hinkle in Selinsgrove 28 Sep 1910 age 77y, 7m, 11 d [17 Feb 1833]. She was married in 1853 to William Mertz who preceded her in death. She was the mother of 9 children, only four of whom survive: Isaac and Clement and Carrie and Sallie.