Daniel Charles Mertz was baptized 11 Sep 1838 at St John’s Lutheran Church in Easton by his parents Wm and Susan Mertz. Daniel had been born 3 May 1838. For a long time, I wasn’t sure what happened to him until I was researching a different Daniel Mertz and stumbled upon this Daniel’s obituary. He is designated H4a1a.

When tracking Daniel Charles, using “suggested records” from Ancestry.com, it leads to a man who seemed to go by Charles then Charles W later in life, lived in Allegheny County, was buried at a Catholic Church in Pittsburgh with dates 1837-1910 and who said his father was born in Switzerland.

But that is not the same man. The death certificate of that Charles says he was born in Pittsburgh in 1837 to J W Mertz who it says was born in Canton, OH. It’s all inconsistent but in any event this is not Daniel.

In 1850, Daniel was living with Charles and Martha Legreaves and not his parents. Charles, I think, was Daniel’s mother’s uncle. Then in 1860, he was reunited with his family.

There is no sign of him in 1870 or 1880. His obituary in 1913 said he had been in Washington thirty years suggesting he moved there in about 1883. His second wife, Mary, who he married in about 1882, was from Allentown and they baptized son William Walter there in 1883. So I would think he was in the Allentown area in both 1870 and 1880 and not yet Washington — but I looked in both places.

His obituary was published in the Allentown Morning Call Monday 17 Sep 1900, here are the salient facts: “Daniel Mertz, of Washington DC, died Friday…he was 61…was a son of William Mertz, deceased, who was a tanner in Allentown and he was a brother to Harry and Theodore of Allentown. His first wife is dead. With her he had four children. His surviving wife is a daughter of ex-City Controller Walter C Smith. They have a son William Walter aged 17. Mr. Mertz was a wood worker. He moved to Washington thirty years ago. The funeral will be held there today.”