In 1770, Jacob stood as sponsor with Susanna Marg Quierin when his brother Philip baptized their son Jacob. He was probably single at the time and later married Catharina. Patty Mertz says Catharina was either Schoelkopf or Schaldaen. The Mertz Church record of her death says her name was Schaller. Schaldaen comes from old cemetery records.

It is surprising Jacob has been confused with the Jacobs of Longswamp Township who moved to Northumberland County before the 1790 Census since this Jacob was always in Rockland Township in tax records and in Census in 1790, 1800 and 1810.

After John Jacob died, his two sons then appeared in Census in Rockland Township.

This is the man that others say was the Jacob Mertz who appeared in Northumberland County in about 1785. The birth date of John Henry’s son Jacob is known and I have found that date at times listed as the birth date of Jacob of Northumberland County. But I believe there is no evidence for that. It is because it was assumed that Northumberland Jacob was Rockland Jacob that the birth date was erroneously misappropriated.

But there were several men named Jacob Mertz in Berks County in, say, the 1770’s and I have substantially proven -- by the names of their wives and by the other Mertzes they associated with -- that it was the Jacobs of Longswamp who moved to Northumberland County while this Jacob stayed in Berks County, died and was buried there.

A lot of people suggest that many of John Henry’s family may have been buried at Mertz Church. Some say that because they have mistakenly thought the cenotaph placed there to honor this family long after they all had died implies that they were all buried there (it doesn’t, it’s a cenotaph not a tombstone).

Some point to some vague references to old unreadable stones in the front row of the cemetery and suggest they are this family. I’ve looked at those stones and indeed they are un-decipherable. So, maybe, maybe not, who knows?

But this is fact -- there really is a tombstone in that cemetery for H3 John Jacob. He is buried there. John Henry and the rest of his family wandered somewhat distant in their lives from their home church, but Jacob never did. He never lived away from Rockland Township, where he was born and buried. In fact, I believe he may be the only Mertz actually buried at Mertz Church.

Jacob is on find-a-grave. The memorial had a long biography for him that listed multiple wives and about 17 children — the person who wrote it had merged information about all three of the different original Jacobs of Berks County. I worked with the find-a-grave managers to replace what was there with a biography I wrote.

Jacob died intestate but his estate file states quite specifically that he left wife Catharina and five children: Jacob, the older son, Benjamin, Elizabeth (unmarried), Hannah wife of Daniel Weiser and Ester wife of Ernst Fuchs.

All five of these children are buried at New Jerusalem.