David Mertz was baptized 2 Oct 1774 at Longswamp Reformed by Jacob and wife. I believe the father was the man I call NOT Jacob Jr. and his wife Margaretha. The sponsors were: David Mertz and Barbara Muller -- Jacob's brother and his soon-to-be-wife, Barbara, Margaretha’s sister.

This David, baptized 2 Oct 1774, is no doubt the same David who was buried in Penns Cemetery in Sunbury with date of birth on his tombstone of 13 Sep 1774. He is designated P6a.

There are multiple David Martz to keep track of in Census in Northumberland County. This David had an Uncle David, born about 1745, and a cousin, David, born 1784 and then several still younger Davids in the next generation.

But their birth years do make it possible to distinguish them. In 1800, this David was age bracket 16-26, living in or near Sunbury. In 1810, though he was called David Jr., he was age bracket 26-45 (the youngest David would have been 25, arguably pretty close). In 1820, this one was 45+ (the youngest David 36). In 1830, this David was age 50-60 and in 1840 age 60-70 -- always consistent with his birth year of 1774 and inconsistent with the birth year of the youngest David.

Other than the 1800 instance where he lived in Sunbury, he otherwise lived always in Augusta Township.

A death notice in the “Sunbury American” newspaper said David died 26 May 1843 at age about 70 years.

I have a copy of the Registrar’s transcription of David’s will written 16 May 1842. It proved 16 Jun 1843. He left everything to his wife Magdalena and then after her death (or remarriage) it was to pass on equally to all his children. He named only two of his children, leaving some specific pieces of furniture to his daughter Ann Eliza and his son David was named Executor. Witnesses were FP Schwartz, Jacob Martz and Joseph Martz.

The only Joseph Martz I know of who could possibly have been a witness was Joseph, son of Jacob of Catawissa, Columbia County. Joseph was born in 1807, thus old enough to be a witness. I believe the other witness, Jacob, was his father. This whole realization adds evidence to my belief that David’s family visited back and forth with Jacob’s and that Jacob of Catawissa was none other than David’s brother.

There is much more information about five of David’s daughters in my database. Catherine, Sarah, Mary, Susan and Charity. I should note that I am basing the fact of their existence as daughters of David all on the work of Joseph Meiser.

Charity is especially noteworthy as she married Peter Helwig — from Columbia County. Her name will come up in my discussion of her Uncle Jacob as she is part of my argument too that Jacob was David’s brother and the two families visited back and forth.

There were two additional daughters that I don’t know much about: Hester and Ann Eliza. Ann Eliza was the only daughter actually named in her father’s will. She was given specific pieces of furniture. I would think based on that his other daughters were already married by 1842 when David wrote his will. But that explanation leaves out Hester who appears not to have married either and died after 1842.

David and Magdalena had a large family and their children were well covered by Meiser and Tallman and I have no reason to disagree with what is said in those sources. His sons for sure were: David, Jacob and Charles. Meiser adds a note that Gearhart suggests another son may have been John. I think that makes sense and I treat John too as a son of David.

But there is one other early Martz who just “pops up” in the 1820 Census in Shamokin Township named William Martz who, from his age as given in the 1850 and 1860 Census, if correct, was born in 1792 or 1793. William died and was buried in Peoria County, Illinois in 1861 where he had gone to live near two of his married daughters who had moved there with their husbands. No birth date nor age at death was stated on his tombstone but I’m quite sure it is the grave of William born about 1792.

William is a mystery man. I do not know who his father was. He is of special interest to me because, according to Dorothy (Shuck) Amerman, he apparently was the ancestor of her husband George Amerman and I have always been fascinated by the fact that their son Yank, a friend of my sister’s, shares my Mertz, Hummel and Hilbish ancestry.

Dorothy believed that George descended from William’s son Samuel and she said William was born in 1792 and was the son of David and Magdalena (Shissler) Martz. The problem is that Magdalena would only have been 14 years old and David 18. It just doesn’t make sense. But it is interesting that David had one son, under 10, reported in 1800. Of the sons of David’s we know of for sure, the oldest was born in 1802. So I have placed William as David’s son in my database until better information comes along to clarify things and I truly have no better idea. I should note, though, there was no son of the right age to be William in David’s 1810 household.

We know his wife was named Magdalena and all sources say she was Magdalena Shissler. Meiser calls her Mary M Shissler in his transcription of Penns Cemetery in Sunbury.

Two children of this couple, John and Catherine, married Elizabeth and Henry Richstine who were brother and sister and children of John Richstine and Susan Mertz. Susan was the daughter of David Mertz and Barbara Miller. Could anything be more interwoven? The two married couples -- John Mertz and Elizabeth Richstine on the one hand and Catherine Mertz and Henry Richstine on the other -- were second cousins in two different ways. All were grandchildren of Hans Peter Mertz, father of Jacob Mertz and David Mertz and all were also grandchildren of Jacob Miller, since Jacob and David Mertz each married a daughter of Jacob Miller’s. It is confusing.