Mertz Genealogy - Person Sheet
Mertz Genealogy - Person Sheet
Birth, Parent-Proof, Designation notes for Johannes Mertz (J1)
Here are some facts pertaining to one or more men named John Mertz who had some association with Maxatawny Township, Berks County.
A. Johannes Mertz son of Johannes and Rosina Mertz was born 17 Jul 1757 and baptized at Mertz Church 31 Jul 1757. I have no idea what happened to John, the infant. There is no way to exactly find another later record of a John Mertz and say, absolutely, that’s him. Johannes, the father, died in 1773 and his estate file said he was of Maxatawny Township.
B. The only John Mertz or Martz listed in the 1790 Census — anywhere — was John Mertz who lived in Maxatawny Township, Berks County. The household consisted of one male over 16 and one female. In 1800, John Mertz was again listed in Maxatawny Township, now age 26-44 as was his presumed wife and they had 4 sons under the age of 10. In the 1800 Census there was only one other John Mertz anywhere and he lived in Longswamp Township. John of Longswamp was a known member of the Longswamp Mertz family.
C. There must have been a John Mertz living in or near Kutztown in 1791 whose wife was Margaret because a John Martz died in 1853 in Union County, PA in that brief period when death certificates were being filed and his said he had been born in Kutztown, PA in 1791 and his parents were John and Margaret Martz. Kutztown is in Maxatawny Township.
The obvious question is: are A, B and C the same man? I believe they are. I believe it most certainly must be that B and C were the same person, so the question really pertains to A.
Was A still alive in 1790? I don’t know. There is no record of his death but there is nothing known about B or C that would prove they were A.
Was there any other candidate John who could have been B, the man reported in the 1790 Census? The answer is there is one slim possibility that has to at least be considered.
A pattern I have observed is that even as the Mertz families of Berks County slowly began to expand geographically in the late 1700’s and thereafter, one thing is clear — as they spread to different townships in and beyond Berks County, they still tended to stay in clusters of closely related people. When you find multiple people named Mertz or Martz in one specific township in 1790 and even up to the 1840 or 1850 Census, it was either father and son(s) or brothers or perhaps first cousins. This family went to this township, this other family went to a different township but if you tell me the township, I can tell you the family. There are a very few exceptions but not many.
The sons and grandsons of Jost Mertz, for example, moved to Macungie Township, (now) Lehigh County and all the Mertzes of that place well into the early 1800’s were that line. The sons and grandsons of Hans Peter Mertz moved to several different townships in Northumberland County before 1800 and up until 1830, all the Mertzes of Northumberland (including Union and Snyder) counties were of the Hans Peter line.
So it is in Maxatawny Township. Except possibly for John (B) in 1790 and 1800, all the other Mertzes of Maxatawny to at least 1850 were sons or grandsons of John Philip Mertz (H1). Philip himself is the only other Mertz in Maxatawny in 1790 and 1800, and then was joined by his son Daniel in 1810. There were no Mertzes in that place in 1820 and 1830 and then several of Philip’s grandsons showed up in 1840 and 1850.
So it has to be considered that Maxatawny was Philip’s township and John of the 1790 Census was Philip’s son. Philip had two sons whose baptisms were recorded at Mertz Church and two more who I have concluded were his sons even though no baptisms were recorded.
The main argument in favor of John being Philip’s son is geography, Maxatawny. There is though a problem of timing. Philip married in 1764, had Catharina in 1765, Maria Elisabeth in 1766, William in 1767, Anna Maria in 1769, Jacob in 1770, Philip in 1772, Christina and Ester in about 1776, Daniel in 1779 and Hana in 1783. If he had a son John who was age 45+ in 1810 and who had his own son in 1791, he must have been born in that one gap year 1768. Even so he would only have been 42 in 1810 but that is a possible discrepancy that sometimes happened in Census.
The counter argument — to support the proposition that A=B=C — is that Johannes the immigrant was at least at times associated with Maxatawny Township too. Yes, he was named at times in the records of the Moselem Church, at times Oley and at times at Mertz Church. (The Moselem Church is quite near Kutztown.) When Johannes died, though, it was explicitly said he was of Maxatawny Township. His wife’s sureties were from Maxatawny in one case, Oley in one case and Reading.
Johannes may have had interests in both Oley and Maxatawny. Johannes’s son Melchior, who with such a unique name can be easily tracked, was reported in Oley Township in 1790 and then he died and his sons later showed up in Ruscombmanor then Maidencreek Townships. So it is not a slam dunk to say Johannes was of Maxatawny, but it is one place he was associated with and the one statement in the estate document is a key indicator.
But there is one additional point. Clearly, John born 1757 existed. I can’t say for sure he survived but he was born so he existed. John, possible son of John Philip, is merely postulated. There may have been such a man but his existence is only suggested by the fact that a John Mertz lived near Philip in 1790 and 1800.
My best guess is that Johannes born 1757, son of Johannes the immigrant, did survive and was reported in Maxatawny Township in 1790 and 1800 and married a Margaret and had a son John in 1791 in Kutztown.
Johannes born 1757 is designated J1.
A. Johannes Mertz son of Johannes and Rosina Mertz was born 17 Jul 1757 and baptized at Mertz Church 31 Jul 1757. I have no idea what happened to John, the infant. There is no way to exactly find another later record of a John Mertz and say, absolutely, that’s him. Johannes, the father, died in 1773 and his estate file said he was of Maxatawny Township.
B. The only John Mertz or Martz listed in the 1790 Census — anywhere — was John Mertz who lived in Maxatawny Township, Berks County. The household consisted of one male over 16 and one female. In 1800, John Mertz was again listed in Maxatawny Township, now age 26-44 as was his presumed wife and they had 4 sons under the age of 10. In the 1800 Census there was only one other John Mertz anywhere and he lived in Longswamp Township. John of Longswamp was a known member of the Longswamp Mertz family.
C. There must have been a John Mertz living in or near Kutztown in 1791 whose wife was Margaret because a John Martz died in 1853 in Union County, PA in that brief period when death certificates were being filed and his said he had been born in Kutztown, PA in 1791 and his parents were John and Margaret Martz. Kutztown is in Maxatawny Township.
The obvious question is: are A, B and C the same man? I believe they are. I believe it most certainly must be that B and C were the same person, so the question really pertains to A.
Was A still alive in 1790? I don’t know. There is no record of his death but there is nothing known about B or C that would prove they were A.
Was there any other candidate John who could have been B, the man reported in the 1790 Census? The answer is there is one slim possibility that has to at least be considered.
A pattern I have observed is that even as the Mertz families of Berks County slowly began to expand geographically in the late 1700’s and thereafter, one thing is clear — as they spread to different townships in and beyond Berks County, they still tended to stay in clusters of closely related people. When you find multiple people named Mertz or Martz in one specific township in 1790 and even up to the 1840 or 1850 Census, it was either father and son(s) or brothers or perhaps first cousins. This family went to this township, this other family went to a different township but if you tell me the township, I can tell you the family. There are a very few exceptions but not many.
The sons and grandsons of Jost Mertz, for example, moved to Macungie Township, (now) Lehigh County and all the Mertzes of that place well into the early 1800’s were that line. The sons and grandsons of Hans Peter Mertz moved to several different townships in Northumberland County before 1800 and up until 1830, all the Mertzes of Northumberland (including Union and Snyder) counties were of the Hans Peter line.
So it is in Maxatawny Township. Except possibly for John (B) in 1790 and 1800, all the other Mertzes of Maxatawny to at least 1850 were sons or grandsons of John Philip Mertz (H1). Philip himself is the only other Mertz in Maxatawny in 1790 and 1800, and then was joined by his son Daniel in 1810. There were no Mertzes in that place in 1820 and 1830 and then several of Philip’s grandsons showed up in 1840 and 1850.
So it has to be considered that Maxatawny was Philip’s township and John of the 1790 Census was Philip’s son. Philip had two sons whose baptisms were recorded at Mertz Church and two more who I have concluded were his sons even though no baptisms were recorded.
The main argument in favor of John being Philip’s son is geography, Maxatawny. There is though a problem of timing. Philip married in 1764, had Catharina in 1765, Maria Elisabeth in 1766, William in 1767, Anna Maria in 1769, Jacob in 1770, Philip in 1772, Christina and Ester in about 1776, Daniel in 1779 and Hana in 1783. If he had a son John who was age 45+ in 1810 and who had his own son in 1791, he must have been born in that one gap year 1768. Even so he would only have been 42 in 1810 but that is a possible discrepancy that sometimes happened in Census.
The counter argument — to support the proposition that A=B=C — is that Johannes the immigrant was at least at times associated with Maxatawny Township too. Yes, he was named at times in the records of the Moselem Church, at times Oley and at times at Mertz Church. (The Moselem Church is quite near Kutztown.) When Johannes died, though, it was explicitly said he was of Maxatawny Township. His wife’s sureties were from Maxatawny in one case, Oley in one case and Reading.
Johannes may have had interests in both Oley and Maxatawny. Johannes’s son Melchior, who with such a unique name can be easily tracked, was reported in Oley Township in 1790 and then he died and his sons later showed up in Ruscombmanor then Maidencreek Townships. So it is not a slam dunk to say Johannes was of Maxatawny, but it is one place he was associated with and the one statement in the estate document is a key indicator.
But there is one additional point. Clearly, John born 1757 existed. I can’t say for sure he survived but he was born so he existed. John, possible son of John Philip, is merely postulated. There may have been such a man but his existence is only suggested by the fact that a John Mertz lived near Philip in 1790 and 1800.
My best guess is that Johannes born 1757, son of Johannes the immigrant, did survive and was reported in Maxatawny Township in 1790 and 1800 and married a Margaret and had a son John in 1791 in Kutztown.
Johannes born 1757 is designated J1.
Relocated and Census Tracking notes for Johannes Mertz (J1)
So it is my contention that John Mertz of Maxatawny Township in the 1790, 1800 and 1810 Census was John (J1). But then what happened to him? Let’s take a more comprehensive look at all the John Mertz or Martz, decade by decade.
There was only one John Mertz (all spellings) in all of America in 1790. Well, I’m not counting a man indexed as John Morits in Whitehall Township, Northampton County that someone has annotated to say he was John Martz. The name really does look like Morits and, in fact, there were four other men of that name in Northampton County. But that name appeared nowhere else and then even disappeared from Northampton in 1800. But I think it was not Mertz.
In 1790, John’s household had just one male (himself) and 1 female, probably his recent bride.
In 1800, there was another John Mertz (P3a) in Census in Longswamp but I am totally clear on who he was. John and his wife in Maxatawny were 26-45 and they had four sons under 10 and one daughter.
In 1810, the number of John Mertz and Martz in Census explodes. There was this one in Maxatawny plus:
• In Shamokin Township, David’s son John, P2a.
• In Salisberry Township, a John Mertz I’m not sure of but perhaps was George Heinrich’s son H6b.
• In Allen Township, Heinrich’s son John. H4c.
• In Macungie Township, a man indexed as John Martz but it is very hard to read and clearly sorted together with names beginning with W.
• In Bern Township, there was John Merts Sr. and John Merts Jr. in Bern Township. I have no idea who these two were but I’ve studied their names as written and I believe the name was Werts. You have to examine the way the Census taker wrote his M’s in, for example, Michael, versus how he wrote his W’s in, for example, William.
• Finally, in Upper Mahanoy Township, there was a John Marle. He was actually John Martz, P3a, who had moved from Longswamp to Mahanoy in the early 1800’s.
But this John, whoever he was, was still in Maxatawny and then he and any remnant family of his seem to just disappear from Census.
In 1820, there were 11 men named John Mertz or Martz. For the most part I can identify them except there are two I can’t identify who greatly pique my curiosity: John Sr. and John Jr. in Derry Township, Columbia County. When I was studying these Census listings, I formed a theory that John Sr. and Jr. of Derry were none other than this John and now his son John (the one born 1791) — but that’s all it was then, a theory with no corroborating evidence.
That all changed in 2019 when I was studying land records of Columbia County. In 1813, John Mertz of Derry Township (recently removed from Northumberland County and made part of the newly formed Columbia County) bought land in Derry Township which he then, in 1819, sold — with wife Margaret. Margaret is the corroborating evidence. It was John (J1) and his son John (J1a) who were present in Derry Township in the 1820 Census.
There was only one John Mertz (all spellings) in all of America in 1790. Well, I’m not counting a man indexed as John Morits in Whitehall Township, Northampton County that someone has annotated to say he was John Martz. The name really does look like Morits and, in fact, there were four other men of that name in Northampton County. But that name appeared nowhere else and then even disappeared from Northampton in 1800. But I think it was not Mertz.
In 1790, John’s household had just one male (himself) and 1 female, probably his recent bride.
In 1800, there was another John Mertz (P3a) in Census in Longswamp but I am totally clear on who he was. John and his wife in Maxatawny were 26-45 and they had four sons under 10 and one daughter.
In 1810, the number of John Mertz and Martz in Census explodes. There was this one in Maxatawny plus:
• In Shamokin Township, David’s son John, P2a.
• In Salisberry Township, a John Mertz I’m not sure of but perhaps was George Heinrich’s son H6b.
• In Allen Township, Heinrich’s son John. H4c.
• In Macungie Township, a man indexed as John Martz but it is very hard to read and clearly sorted together with names beginning with W.
• In Bern Township, there was John Merts Sr. and John Merts Jr. in Bern Township. I have no idea who these two were but I’ve studied their names as written and I believe the name was Werts. You have to examine the way the Census taker wrote his M’s in, for example, Michael, versus how he wrote his W’s in, for example, William.
• Finally, in Upper Mahanoy Township, there was a John Marle. He was actually John Martz, P3a, who had moved from Longswamp to Mahanoy in the early 1800’s.
But this John, whoever he was, was still in Maxatawny and then he and any remnant family of his seem to just disappear from Census.
In 1820, there were 11 men named John Mertz or Martz. For the most part I can identify them except there are two I can’t identify who greatly pique my curiosity: John Sr. and John Jr. in Derry Township, Columbia County. When I was studying these Census listings, I formed a theory that John Sr. and Jr. of Derry were none other than this John and now his son John (the one born 1791) — but that’s all it was then, a theory with no corroborating evidence.
That all changed in 2019 when I was studying land records of Columbia County. In 1813, John Mertz of Derry Township (recently removed from Northumberland County and made part of the newly formed Columbia County) bought land in Derry Township which he then, in 1819, sold — with wife Margaret. Margaret is the corroborating evidence. It was John (J1) and his son John (J1a) who were present in Derry Township in the 1820 Census.
Death and Find-a-Grave notes for Johannes Mertz (J1)
I don’t know where John last lived, I do not know where he died.
Known Sons notes for Johannes Mertz (J1)
I am doing a lot of guessing here. I have guessed that John of Maxatawny Township in Census was the son of Johannes born in 1757 and moreover that he, with wife Margaret, had a son John in Kutztown in 1791. I am guessing that both John II and John III moved to Derry Township by 1820. But whoever his father was, John III — meaning John born 1791 in Kutztown who died in 1853 in Hartley Township, Union County existed. I pick up his story next.
There is also record of a Samuel Martz who died in Columbia County in 1822, likely the one living in Liberty Township, then Columbia, later Montour County and his widow Eva (?) renounced in favor of her father John Hummel. Is he related to these John’s?
There is also record of a Samuel Martz who died in Columbia County in 1822, likely the one living in Liberty Township, then Columbia, later Montour County and his widow Eva (?) renounced in favor of her father John Hummel. Is he related to these John’s?