There is an Iowa marriage record giving her name as Mary Badger and several marriage records of their children confirm that as well she is Mary Badger on find-a-grave and linked there to her parents Ephraim and Margaret Ann (Holmes) Badger.

Two-year old Jacob Martz lived with his father William in the 1850 Census. Then like his older brothers and sisters, he seems to have been “farmed out” in 1860 and 1870. I know that William had two wives. I also know from his death certificate that the mother of Amos Martz born in 1847 was Lena Pannebaker. And I know that by 1850, William was living with his second wife, so the question is: was Jacob who was born in 1848 Lena’s son or Mary’s? It is my theory that the children “farmed out” by 1860 were William’s by his first wife Lena and so I believe Jacob was Lena’s son. She died soon after his birth and William remarried Mary Specht by 1850.

After that, it is not obvious what happened to him. But I think I have found him. I think he is the man who as a married adult called himself L J or Levi Jacob Martz and who moved to Union County, Iowa where several of his older brothers were living and is buried in the Chariton Cemetery in Chariton, Iowa where his brother William Henry is also buried.

Levi Jacob’s age is always consistent with the fact that he was age 2 in 1850 and he consistently said in Census he was born in Pennsylvania.

And one final comment. Since the Mærtz Hierarchical Project attempts to track everyone named Mertz or Martz, the fact that I otherwise have no idea who Levi Jacob is adds to my conviction that I have correctly identified him.

Levi Jacob is designated H1d1e.

In 1860, he lived with his Uncle Daniel and in 1870 with “random” people. I cannot find him in 1880, I don’t think he had yet married nor do I think he was yet in Iowa.

In 1900, he was Lee J Martz, age 48, born PA, living in Chariton with wife Mary and several children. They said they had married in 1889.

In 1910, he was Jacob Martz, age 59, born PA, living in Chariton with wife Mary and several children.

In 1920, he was Jacob Martz, age 70, born PA, living in Lucas County, Iowa with wife Mary and several children.

And finally in 1930, he was L Jake Marty, age 82, born PA, back in Chariton with wife Mary and several children.

In 1900-1930, despite the slight variation in his name, the name of his wife and certain children who track from one Census to the next confirm it is all the same man.

There is a 1925 Iowa State Census record for L J Martz who lived in Chariton, Iowa. The summary transcription of this record by Ancestry says that L J’s father was born Iowa and his name was Martz and his mother was Edith Barlow who had been also born in Iowa and that his parents married in Osceola, Iowa. When I found that death record, I thought the implication must be that L J was not Jacob from Dauphin County.

The problem I later concluded by actually looking at the underlying Iowa Census form is that all of those “facts” apply to the children of Harry Martz (L J’s son) whose wife was Edith Barlow and whose family was listed immediately before L J and his family. The Census taker merely used ditto marks for those same questions for each successive of Harry’s children.

In fact for Jacob, the only question he answered was his father was named Martz (no given name) and otherwise all those answers were left blank, the ditto marks did not get to L J but the transcriber thought they did.

A different discrepancy relates to where Jacob did in fact say his parents were from. In 1900, he said his father had been born in PA, his mother in England. In 1910, he said both parents PA, 1920 NJ and France and finally in 1930 PA and PA. Someone could use any one of those erroneous answers and suggest I have not accurately determined who Levi Jacob was.

I would argue it’s the totality of the evidence and the total inconsistency of those answers decade to decade that give my theory credibility.