She lived with Joseph and Catherine Kleckner in the 1860 Census and in 1880 with her mother Catherine, so they were clearly her parents.

Public Press in 1890’s mention Melissa Mertz of Rapidan, Virginia visits her daughter Mrs. Benfer of New Berlin and does other traveling. She was “superintending the household affairs of her brother-in-law’s plantation in Culpepper County.

In addition to the George Kleckner family (Radie Diehl's ancestors), here is another Kleckner of interest -- Melissa.

Her father Joseph was the son of Solomon who in turn was the son of Johann Anton -- our ancestor. Melissa, therefore, was a second cousin of our ancestor Rachel E Kleckner. Of course, during their lifetimes, even if they knew each other, they had no reason to know that Rachel’s granddaughter Rachel Diehl would marry John Oakley Mertz the grandson of Melissa’s second husband -- in 1910.

Melissa Kleckner of New Berlin married first Mr. Wolfe. She then married second George Peter Mertz on 21 Sep 1882. She and George Peter had a prenup, which I have.

I found her tombstone in the New Berlin Cemetery buried with her two sons, it says: Melissa Mertz 1841-1907, Thomas O Wolfe 1863-1882, J Lee Wolfe 1868-1914. She was buried near her parents.

An Internet Family Tree shows three wives for Thomas Newton Wolfe including first wife Melissa Kleckner and it shows the known children of Thomas N and Melissa.

The 1880 Census says that Melissa was a widow. But was she? Or did Melissa and Thomas divorce long before it was a common thing to do? I think the latter.

I have been in touch with Kathy Richter, a descendant of Thomas and Melissa and she referred me to a book: "History of Gift, Kern and Royer Families" found on Ancestry.com. It clearly shows Melissa as Thomas’ first wife, names their children, and documents his second and third wives and the children of his additional marriages. His second wife died in 1883. Kathy has verified the chronology. Divorce is the only possible explanation.

In addition to their two sons, Thomas and Melissa also had a daughter Mary Olive Wolfe who married Samuel Beaver and they had a son William Ernest Beaver who had a daughter Beatrice Olive Beaver. Beatrice married James Teahan and they had a daughter Kathleen who married Mr. Richter and Kathy Richter is my email cousin who has shared with me information about Thomas Wolfe, his marriages and descendants.

George Peter Mertz was my G-G-grandfather. He lived as an adult in Northumberland and was buried in Riverview Cemetery. His wife was from Hummels Wharf. All researchers agree on the fact that he was the son George named in the 1844 will of Peter Mertz of Freeburg. He was named, possibly, after his mother's father who was George Peter Motz.

George Peter's second marriage -- to Melissa Kleckner who married first Thomas Wolfe and was buried with their sons in New Berlin -- makes an interesting story from several aspects. First, there is the matter of her being Kleckner. My grandmother (Radie Diehl wife of John Oakley Mertz) was the granddaughter of Rachel Kleckner; Rachel and Melissa were second cousins.

Second, there is the matter of the pre-nup and its various codicils that Melissa and George Peter made prior to their marriage. The first version gave her only a minimal inheritance if he died first -- she got the use of their house unless and until she remarried and she got $1000. In the second version, she got the house regardless but only $500. And then in the final version, she got the house and $1600.

Third, there is the matter of her first husband Thomas Newton Wolfe. He apparently had two wives subsequent to his marriage to Melissa, the implication being that she was a divorcee in 1882 when she married George Peter.

George Peter was Peter’s youngest son and designated P4a4.

THE NORTHUMBERLAND MERTZES. Jack Mertz (the family genealogist before I came along) wrote this about him. "George Peter was a wheelwright but after marriage went into the mercantile and hotel business in Freeburg. Amelia's people owned Hummel's Wharf and were in the hotel business. He later moved to Point Township and farmed. After Amelia died, he married Melissa Kleckner Wolfe about 1882 and they moved to Queen Street. George P and Amelia had 14 children including 3 sets of twins. The house that George built for his family in the 1870's and inherited by Hoggy (Wm H) was left to Mabel Mertz Dixon who moved it from along the Old Milton Road to its present location up the hill where it is now the VFW and the lands around it went to the PA RR Yards."

Jack may not have known that within four years of his marriage, George had already moved to Point Township. In any event, George did not spend a lot of years pursuing the Hummel family businesses. Benjamin Hummel (Amelia's father), though, may have played a central role as to why George left his family in Freeburg to move to Northumberland. In 1853, Benjamin sold 20 acres of land to the trustees of what would become Riverview Cemetery, land he had purchased in 1852 at public auction -- but he possibly was active in land speculation in Northumberland County earlier than that.

In, Census, he can be accounted for in his father’s household in 1820-1840 and then he moved to Northumberland.

By 1850, Union County (including what would become Snyder County) had been split off from Northumberland County. The spelling of the name had become Martz for all of Hans Peter’s sons who settled in what then (in 1850) was Northumberland County. The Mertz spelling had only been retained in what then (in 1850) was Union County. So, by relocating from Union County to Northumberland County, George Peter introduced the Mertz spelling to Northumberland County.

George Peter’s will is quite a document, what with the pre-nup and codicils relating to his second marriage. Jack Mertz gave me a copy of the actual instrument. It was written 24 Dec 1885 and proved 22 Sep 1887. It refers to wife Melissa. In the will she gets use of his house so long as she is his widow, she gets $1000 and she gets all the household furniture except the “old Secretary which formerly belonged to the Hummel family”. Son William Henry gets the homestead farm in Point Township for which he owes cash to the estate and has the obligation to provide certain provisions for the younger daughters. Sons George Albert and Amos Allen get the Chillisquaque Farm. Son John Phillip gets the farm in Tuckahoe Valley. The wife and children of son Benjamin Franklin are included. Sons William Henry and Benjamin Franklin were named Executors.

According to Riverview burial records, he died of apoplexy.

George Peter is on find-a-grave. I put his memorial there.