Mertz Genealogy - Person Sheet
Mertz Genealogy - Person Sheet
Parent-Proof notes for Magdalena Benfer
The will of Henry Benfer mentions his deceased daughter Mary.
My Comments notes for Magdalena Benfer
For a long time, I had a mistake in my family tree. I had observed the similarity among the tombstones of Henry Yerger and his wife Magdalena and the two immediately next to theirs of Henry Benfer and his wife Eve.
I came to the theory that Henry’s wife was therefore Magdalena Benfer, called Mary always in Census, and that they named a son Henry B after her father. When I learned that Henry Benfer had mentioned in his will that his daughter Mary had pre-deceased him and that fit with their respective death dates on their tombstones, I felt this theory was substantially locked in.
But with everything I do I am always on the lookout for “discordant notes” and I found a big one when, later, I actually found Henry’s will and saw that he had written it in 1860 and did indeed refer to his deceased daughter Mary. The discordant note was that Magdalena was still quite alive in 1860.
I then did more work and learned that Henry Yerger’s wife was named Mary Magdalena Boyer.
I came to the theory that Henry’s wife was therefore Magdalena Benfer, called Mary always in Census, and that they named a son Henry B after her father. When I learned that Henry Benfer had mentioned in his will that his daughter Mary had pre-deceased him and that fit with their respective death dates on their tombstones, I felt this theory was substantially locked in.
But with everything I do I am always on the lookout for “discordant notes” and I found a big one when, later, I actually found Henry’s will and saw that he had written it in 1860 and did indeed refer to his deceased daughter Mary. The discordant note was that Magdalena was still quite alive in 1860.
I then did more work and learned that Henry Yerger’s wife was named Mary Magdalena Boyer.