I’ve been aware of this John for a long time, but never before had any idea where to place him. I call him my mystery John. This John is important to me because he may well be the very first non-Longswamp Mertz to arrive in Northumberland, Union or Snyder county. I think he first appeared there in time for the 1830 Census. This mystery John was born 19 Nov 1791 and we know from his death certificate that he was born in Kutztown, Berks County and that his parents were John and Margaret. Kutztown is in Maxatawny Township. John died 5 Feb 1853 in Hartley Township, Union County. His wife was Elizabeth.

A daughter of theirs was Catherine and she married Peter Bingaman. A genealogy friend who descends from this same Bingaman family -- though not from Peter and Catherine -- is the one who first brought John to my attention.

So who was this John? To start to answer this question I think one thing is clear. His father was the John Mertz, age 26-44, reported in Maxatawny Township in 1790 with a presumed wife the same age and no children yet and then in 1800 lived in the same place now with four males age 0-9.

After much consideration, I think the John in the 1790 and 1800 Census was the John who I know existed from his 1757 birth. To believe anything else would be to believe in someone I would be inventing and giving the name John, but 1757 John is known. I don’t know he survived but I also don’t know what happened to him if he did. So the immigrant Johannes (J) was John I, his known son John (J1) born in 1757 John II and I believe he then had this son John III born in 1791. John III is designated J1a.

I might be able to better solve this whole mystery if I could find this John in 1820 and know it was him. His father was last seen in 1810 in Maxatawny, then where does this family go?

Consider this. In the Briar Creek Church in Columbia County, where we find mention of William (H1a) and Elizabeth, typically spelled Marz, there is this citation: Johannes Merz and Maria baptized Sarah born 24 Jan 1814. Who was this John? William did have a son named John -- but we was born in 1796 so I doubt he would have been baptizing a daughter in 1814. Could the John found in Maxatawny in the 1790-1810 Census be this mystery John (or maybe his father?) mentioned in the Briar Creek Church records? Was he William’s brother? But wasn’t the wife of John of Maxatawny named Margaret? And wasn’t his son John married to Elizabeth? Did one or the other have two wives? When I have this many questions, it definitely means more information needs to be found. And I’m still looking.

But now consider this. In 1820 there was a John Jr. (age 26-45) and John Sr. (age 45+) in Derry Township, Columbia County. Who were they? Could they have been this John and his father now moved to Derry Township?

In fact, I think it was them and I can make the case that John Jr. was the John who then would move to Hartley Township in 1830.

1. John Jr. in 1820 in Derry Township has two sons 0-9 and two daughters 0-9.
2. John who died in Hartley Township in 1853 had one known daughter born before 1820 and two sons. [It should be noted that the Sarah mentioned above baptized at Briar Creek would be a second daughter born before 1820.]
3. I have checked as many death certificates as I could find for grandchildren of John who died in 1853. The key field I was interested in was the birthplace of the parent of the deceased grandchild — the parent that was John’s son or daughter. The question was could I document any of John’s children who had been born in Derry Township? The most typical answer for the birthplace of the parent of interest was Pennsylvania. [No help.] The second most popular answer was Union County, PA but I consider that the throw-away answer.
4. But one grandchild, Margaret Walter daughter of Peter and Catherine (Martz) Bingaman, said Catherine was born in Montour County. That’s really quite interesting since Derry Township became part of Montour County when it was carved from Columbia County in 1850. It would have been Columbia County when Catharine was born but it was Montour County during almost all of Margaret’s lifetime.
5. And one more point I’m adding in 2019. I now know that the wife of John Sr. of Derry Township was named Margaret.

So in 1830, I also have to explain where and who I think John was because the man I think was him was indexed by Ancestry has Ino Monty. I think what was transcribed Ino was clearly Jno, an oft-used abbreviation of John. And I sure can see that what was transcribed Monty looks a lot like Martz if you know that is likely who you’re looking at. The key is this: We know for sure of nine children for John, two sons and seven daughters and Ino in 1830 had two sons and seven daughters.

After that, John clearly lived in Hartley Township in 1840 and 1850.

On 30 Nov 1869, in Union County, Pennsylvania, the children of John Mertz — and, in the case of his daughters, their spouses — were listed in a document at the end of the probate of John's estate:

Lydia Mertz release to Abraham Mertz: Know all men by these presents that we, Lydia Mertz, Peter Bingman intermarried with Catharine Mertz, Harrison Bingman intermarried with Sarah Mertz, Daniel Horner intermarried with Elizabeth Mertz, Samuel Wolf intermarried with Margaret Mertz, John Dennis intermarried with Julyan Mertz, Michael Boob intermarried with Mary Ann Mertz, daughters, heirs and legal representatives of John Mertz, late of Hartley Township...

John and Elizabeth are on find-a-grave in Laurelton.

There were seven daughters named in his estate document: Lydia who never married, Catherine, Sarah, Elizabeth, Margaret, Julyan and Mary Ann.

Catherine was the one of interest to me because of her Bingaman connection. Plus she had a son Samuel I Bingaman who married Harriet Alice Klose and she descended from Mary Magdalena Mertz of Nicholas’ line. So there are any number of these kind of connections I have with my friend Richard Aurand Sherer, with whom I correspond from time to time, but so far we have not established any common ancestor -- so we are not cousins in any way, so far as we know.

There were several marriages in Union and Snyder Counties of an Aurand to a Mertz (including Mary Magdalena’s brother, for example) which is one way we find ourselves tracking the same families.  And Richard has Yost (of York County) ancestors and Yost is a name you will find in my Mother’s family tree.  Then there is this line.  Richard is descended from an ancestor of Peter Bingaman.  He has been asking me about this Mertz line ever since I have known him.  Catherine’s father was John Mertz.  But we have not been able to prove absolutely from which of the early Mertz lines of Berks County this John descends.

A note on Sarah. The Sarah, daughter of John, named in the release was born in about 1824. She was far too young to be the Sarah mentioned earlier, the daughter of Johannes and Maria, baptized at Briar Creek Church in Columbia County in 1814.

But I do not think it can be ruled out that Johannes of that church record was in fact this John, with first wife Maria, and whose daughter Sarah died and then he named a later daughter Sarah. I don’t know it for a fact but I can’t rule it out.

John had two sons, known from Census and/or the release. John the younger age 34 was said to be an “idiot” in the 1850 Census. He is obviously the Johann Martz, died 1 Feb 1852, aged 35 years, 6 mos, 12 days, son of J. & C., buried in Laurelton, the same cemetery as John Sr. and Elizabeth. It seems apparent that John the younger didn't reproduce.

The other son was Abraham and I have tried to track him.