J L Floyd, Joseph A Meiser and Allen Tallman are in agreement on the names of David’s children and who they married except Meiser and Tallman both show an extra son John. Tallman says he was born in 1774. Meiser says he was born 22 Dec 1780.

I agree that there was a son John, it is proven by the probate files of David's known son, David, who died in 1851 in Ohio and whose will and later property division named five brothers including John, deceased.

However, he was not born in 1774 as David Mertz and Barbara Miller were both still single as late as 1779. Meiser may be exactly right that he was born 22 Dec 1780 but I have no idea what the basis is of knowing that. He would have been baptized at Longswamp Reformed but no record of such a baptism exists. Meiser listed him on a transcription of Blue Church burials with that birth date and said he died 22 Sep 1852. That is clearly wrong and contradicted in his own book where it says he died in about 1814.

Since the birth date actually fits all the known facts, I have used that as his birth date. It is not proven but it is in the ballpark. My only other thought is that David also baptized an unnamed son born 1 Jun 1782. I think that child was maybe named Jacob and he died young but I cannot rule out it was John.

The fact that John was not mentioned by Floyd as a son of David is not really a problem since we know that John died very young and perhaps was simply overlooked by Floyd.

John was David’s oldest son and is designated P2a.

THE SHAMOKIN TOWNSHIP/SNYDERTOWN MARTZES. A John Martz showed up in Shamokin Township in the 1810 Census, the earliest Martz in that specific place. In 1820, John was not listed in Census but Widow Martz was and in 1830 this same (I assume) woman was named Elizabeth Martz. Finally, in 1850 we learn that Elizabeth was then about 70 years old -- thus born about 1780.

Everything fits with all the known facts that this was John, son of David, whose wife was Elizabeth Arter.

A notice in the 12 May 1815 Sunbury Republicaner newspaper says: “Died, Sunday before last, John Merz of Shamokin Twp.” The date of death indicated was 30 Apr 1815.

There is a perfect and consistent fit between that death notice and what Census tells us about John of Shamokin Township, what Orphans Court records tell us about John, what we learn from his wife’s will and what we learn from his brother’s probate files.

John Martz is on find-a-grave. The initial memorial posted there was based on Joseph Meiser’s erroneous transcription 22 Dec 1780-22 Sep 1852. I convinced them to fix the date of death to conform to the newspaper notice. As of the summer of 2015, that is where things stand. Curiously, no mention of John was noted by Gearhart in his 1937 transcription of St Peter’s. I doubt there is a surviving tombstone.

At St. Peter’s (Blue) Church, Johannes and Elisabeth baptized Susan in 1813. There was a petition filed with the Orphans Court April Term 1827 in connection with John Mertz, deceased wherein Susan, minor daughter of John Mertz deceased, under the age of 14, petitioned that a guardian be appointed for her. She was not mentioned though in her mother’s will or her uncle’s property division, so she died before 1852, perhaps long before.

The will of Elizabeth Martz of Shamokin Township named two daughters: Maria wife of Samuel Raup and Elizabeth wife of Reuben Snyder. Maria and Elizabeth were also named in the property division of their Uncle David after he died.

Like his daughters, we know the names of John’s sons and even certain facts about them from a baptism record, petitions filed with the Orphans Court after John’s death, the property division of their uncle and from Elizabeth’s will.

DAVID. The will of Elizabeth Martz of Shamokin Township was written 27 Apr 1852 and proved 11 Nov 1852. She named four children: David, Maria wife of Samuel Raup, Elizabeth wife of Reuben Snyder and Jesse deceased left two daughters.

Turning to the property division for David who died in Ohio in 1851, it specifically stated that John was deceased and named David Martz and Maria Raup as John's heirs. It then separately named Elizabeth wife of (hard to read) and two daughters (Susannah and Elizabeth) of Jesse Martz, deceased. At first glance and from the way the heirs were listed, it might seem that Elizabeth and Jesse were David’s siblings but his deceased sister Elizabeth was already accounted for and the fact that Jesse (deceased) had two daughters is consistent with Elizabeth’s will. I believe the petition was including Elizabeth (Martz) Snyder, wife of Reuben, and Jesse’s daughters as John’s heirs.

In the 1810 Census, John had two sons under the age of 10. In the 1820 Census, Elizabeth, his widow, had 2 sons 10-15 and 1 under 10. We know from his tombstone that David was born in 1808. So Jesse must be the other son born before 1810 and clearly John Jr. was the youngest son. Of these three, I think David is the only one who was ever listed in Census and the only one who had male heirs. David is therefore the only son given a designation: P2a1.

JESSE. Jesse made a faint imprint on history. Allen Tallman lists him as a son of John and Elizabeth Arter. Meiser also shows him, citing Tallman as his source. Reference is made to estate papers in connection with both John’s and Elizabeth’s estate mentioning Jesse, as a minor when John died and himself deceased when his mother died.

Then there is the “abstract” I have of the Ohio Chancery Court records regarding the sale of the land of David Martz in Germantown after he died and how the proceeds were to be shared. Since John had died, his son David and daughter Maria were listed and since Jesse had also died, his children were also listed.

I believe from Census tick marks he was born before 1810, so about 1809. I think maybe he married about 1834 and died about 1837. He never was listed in Census. His daughters, known from his uncle’s property division, were Susanna and Elizabeth.

His Northumberland County will proved 23 Aug 1837 with Geo C Welker executor.

JOHN. Joseph A Meiser and Allen Tallman list John as the son of John (son of David and Barbara). They say he was born about 1807 and Tallman shows a marriage for this John to Sarah in about 1825. Tallman further says that Sarah was listed in the 1850 Census in Lower Augusta Township with two grandchildren -- William and Sarah -- children of Sarah's son John. Meiser also shows Sarah as John’s wife, shows four children for this couple, and also adds that Sarah was in the 1850 Census with those two grandchildren.

POPPYCOCK. That is quite simply totally wrong. Johannes and Elisabeth baptized son Johannes at St. Peter’s Lutheran (Blue) Church, he was born 7 Apr 1815.

This was the same John then who was the subject of a petition filed with the Orphans Court April Term 1827 wherein John Erter (the signature looks more like Arter) stated he was guardian for and had received some money on behalf of John Mertz, minor son of John Mertz, deceased and wished to pay a successor and then be discharged from his duties. And Elizabeth, the widow, petitioned for a guardian to be appointed for John, a minor under the age of 12, because his previous guardian John Erter (Arter) had been discharged.

John was born in 1815. I do not believe he married. I know he had no (surviving) children.

I do not know when exactly John died but I can’t find him in the 1840 Census. He was named in Bell’s History of Northumberland County: “In the 1830’s, Jesse, David and John Martz operated a blacksmith shop on Market Street in Sunbury.” I believe both John and Jesse died in the late 1830’s and that is about when David moved to Venango County.

At least Tallman and Meiser were aware that John had died before his mother’s will was written in 1852 naming her children not including John so he clearly pre-deceased her. But they ignore that neither his mother’s will nor the property division for John’s uncle named any heirs for John. No children, no grandchildren. Lastly, they ignore that the Census listing for the Sarah they are talking about in 1850 gives her age as 54, thus born in 1796, and that is not a typo. Sarah was not this John’s wife.

Her death record named her parents as John Arter and Anna Maria Diehl. She was born in Berks County 4 Dec 1777.

Everything else I know about her conforms to that. We know from Census that her name was Elizabeth and we know from Orphans Court records that John Arter was appointed guardian for John (Jr.) after the death of John. An 1810 deed (Deed Book Q) lists her as an heir of John Arter and wife of John Martz -- the heirs were giving the land for St Peter’s Church in Shamokin Township.

Elizabeth’s brother Abraham married John’s sister Maria Elizabeth.

Starting in 1820, after her husband died, she was variously listed as ether Widow or Elizabeth in Shamokin Township in 1820-1840. In 1850, Elizabeth Mertz age 70 lived in Shamokin Township with her daughter Elizabeth who had married Reuben Snyder and the three Snyder children: Ellen 7, David 6 and Sarah 4.

Her death record says she died 24 Sep 1852 and was buried at St Peter’s Blue Church. Joseph Meiser picked up her birth and death date and place probably from that death record and listed her in his transcription of burials at St Peter’s.

Elizabeth Martz is on find-a-grave, based I think on Meiser. Curiously, no mention of her was noted by Gearhart in his 1937 transcription of St Peter’s. I doubt there is a surviving tombstone. I could not find one when I walked that cemetery.

The will of Elizabeth Martz of Shamokin Township was written 27 Apr 1852 and proved 11 Nov 1852. She named her four children: David, Maria wife of Samuel Raup, Elizabeth wife of Reuben Snyder and Jesse deceased left two daughters. She mentioned some tract of land previously agreed to be sold to Reuben Snyder.