Mertz Genealogy - Person Sheet
Mertz Genealogy - Person Sheet
NameChristena Myers 
Birth17 February 1790, Tulpehocken Twp, Berks Co, PA
Death6 April 1879, Arcadia, Hamilton Co, IN
BurialBrethren Cemetery, Arcadia, IN
Spouses
Birth20 February 1789
Memo(find-a-grave)
Death10 May 1872, Arcadia, Hamilton Co, IN
Memo(find-a-grave)
BurialBrethren Cemetery, Arcadia, IN
FatherNicholas Mertz (P5) (1748-1801)
MotherCatharina Cleaver (1754-1825)
Marriage30 November 1809, Pickaway Co, OH
Parent-Proof notes for Christena Myers
On 30 Nov 1809 when Peter was 20, he married Christena Myers in Pickaway Co, OH. She was the daughter of Johannes Heinrich Meyer and Anna Magdalena Emmerich.
Birth, Parent-Proof, Designation notes for Peter (Spouse 1)
Peter, I believe, was Nicholas’ youngest son. In several Orphans Court documents, the males appear to have been listed in chronological order and Peter was consistently last and consistently after Samuel who was next to last. I do not have an exact birth year for Samuel but from Census it was approximately 1787. Samuel and Peter filed a petition in 1804 as part of their father’s Orphans Court proceedings saying they were both minors above the age of 14. This implies a birth date for both of 1788 -1790 or so.
Peter’s tombstone tells us he was born in 1789. Peter is designated P5e.
Peter’s tombstone tells us he was born in 1789. Peter is designated P5e.
Find-a-Grave notes for Peter (Spouse 1)
Relocated and Census Tracking notes for Peter (Spouse 1)
THE ARCADIA, IN MARTS FAMILY. In 2006, I was contacted by some descendants of a Peter Marts who died and was buried in Arcadia, IN. Their family tradition was that he was the son of Nicholas born 1762 in Lancaster County. They knew from his tombstone that Peter was born in 1789. I pointed out to them that there is no evidence that a Nicholas Mertz ever lived in Lancaster County or that there was a Nicholas Mertz born in 1762 and that what they knew about their Peter might well fit the facts I knew about Peter Mertz, son of 1748 Nicholas.
Working with them, several other facts emerged. The names Indiana Peter gave his children were in many cases the same names as other children of Nicholas. Moreover, Indiana Peter had married in 1809 in Fairfield County, Ohio before moving on to Indiana and in the 1820 Census, an Abraham Mertz was living in that place in Ohio, age 50-60. Moreover, Ohio cemetery records show that Abraham’s birth date matched exactly that of Abraham, known son of Nicholas. And there was no other Abraham that I can account for back in PA that might have been Nicholas’ son. And Peter’s birth date, from his tombstone, said he was born in 1789, fitting exactly the narrow window that bracketed Nicholas’ son Peter’s birth.
So I conjectured, on the basis of these facts, that Peter, son of Nicholas 1748 was Indiana Peter. No member of this research group had any evidence that would even hint at this not being the case and they have come around, after some time, to accepting my point of view.
The final lynchpin proving (in my opinion) my theories, though, was when I found in Snyder County Annals that local lore was that Nicholas of Middleburg was a huge man, weighing in at 395 pounds. The family histories this group have say that Nicholas of Lancaster County was a huge man, weighing 400 pounds. Close enough for me. I found their Nicholas.
Peter first showed up in Census in 1830 in Wayne County, Indiana. Then in 1840 and 1850 he was in Fayette County. Since he was buried in Hamilton County, I wasn’t sure how I could know it was him in these other places. His age was right, but was that enough?.
A family history on Peter and his family says he moved to Indiana about 1818 and settled in Dublin — which is Wayne County. It says he retired in 1868 and moved to Arcadia. It offers no information as to why he was listed in Fayette County, however a check of a map shows that Dublin is in the far southwestern corner of Wayne County and very close to the Fayette/Wayne border. Since his age in 1850 was right and his wife was Christena, I am sure it was him.
In 1850, I think the woman listed as Magdalena Marts, age 88, living with Peter and Christena was really Christena’s mother, Magdalen Myers.
I found a database of persons who were identified as qualified (Indiana) Pioneer Ancestors. It included this entry:
Peter Martz (Marts); b. Pennsylvania, 1787; To Fayette Co. from Ohio, 1818 {In War of 1812}
Working with them, several other facts emerged. The names Indiana Peter gave his children were in many cases the same names as other children of Nicholas. Moreover, Indiana Peter had married in 1809 in Fairfield County, Ohio before moving on to Indiana and in the 1820 Census, an Abraham Mertz was living in that place in Ohio, age 50-60. Moreover, Ohio cemetery records show that Abraham’s birth date matched exactly that of Abraham, known son of Nicholas. And there was no other Abraham that I can account for back in PA that might have been Nicholas’ son. And Peter’s birth date, from his tombstone, said he was born in 1789, fitting exactly the narrow window that bracketed Nicholas’ son Peter’s birth.
So I conjectured, on the basis of these facts, that Peter, son of Nicholas 1748 was Indiana Peter. No member of this research group had any evidence that would even hint at this not being the case and they have come around, after some time, to accepting my point of view.
The final lynchpin proving (in my opinion) my theories, though, was when I found in Snyder County Annals that local lore was that Nicholas of Middleburg was a huge man, weighing in at 395 pounds. The family histories this group have say that Nicholas of Lancaster County was a huge man, weighing 400 pounds. Close enough for me. I found their Nicholas.
Peter first showed up in Census in 1830 in Wayne County, Indiana. Then in 1840 and 1850 he was in Fayette County. Since he was buried in Hamilton County, I wasn’t sure how I could know it was him in these other places. His age was right, but was that enough?.
A family history on Peter and his family says he moved to Indiana about 1818 and settled in Dublin — which is Wayne County. It says he retired in 1868 and moved to Arcadia. It offers no information as to why he was listed in Fayette County, however a check of a map shows that Dublin is in the far southwestern corner of Wayne County and very close to the Fayette/Wayne border. Since his age in 1850 was right and his wife was Christena, I am sure it was him.
In 1850, I think the woman listed as Magdalena Marts, age 88, living with Peter and Christena was really Christena’s mother, Magdalen Myers.
I found a database of persons who were identified as qualified (Indiana) Pioneer Ancestors. It included this entry:
Peter Martz (Marts); b. Pennsylvania, 1787; To Fayette Co. from Ohio, 1818 {In War of 1812}
Death and Find-a-Grave notes for Peter (Spouse 1)
He is on find-a-grave. His name is spelled Martz on his memorial and also on the Hamilton County memorials of his wife and several sons. But, in fact, in most Indiana records the family name was spelled Marts.
There is a photo of Peter’s tombstone on find-a-grave but it is a little blurry and it is not totally clear if the spelling is Marts or Martz on his tombstone. In any event, I have gone with the Martz spelling for Peter and his sons who stayed in Indiana and am using the Marts spelling for his son Charles who moved away and in whose line the Marts spelling continues to the present day.
There is a photo of Peter’s tombstone on find-a-grave but it is a little blurry and it is not totally clear if the spelling is Marts or Martz on his tombstone. In any event, I have gone with the Martz spelling for Peter and his sons who stayed in Indiana and am using the Marts spelling for his son Charles who moved away and in whose line the Marts spelling continues to the present day.