His mother’s tombstone says she had three sons. Two of them, Conrad and Richard, were baptized at Mertz Church. The third was Henry and his name is known from certain petitions filed on behalf of their brother Richard by Conrad and Henry after Richard died in 1811.

His mother, according to her tombstone, also had two daughters. The baptisms of two daughters and just two of her sons were listed in the records of Mertz Church. Why was Henry not listed?

Was he born before any of the others and Jost and Anna Maria had not yet found their way to Mertz Church? Anna Maria was born in 1733 so the possibility of a son being born in, say, 1755 or 1756, is not at all unreasonable.

I don’t know but I have begun to believe that may be the case. Henry is designated Y1.

Henry had a cousin Henry and it might have been hard to know which was which on any particular record except that Henry (Y1) was always near Richard while he was alive. In 1790, Richard can be found in Salisbury Township, Northampton County in 1790 (a part that would become part of Lehigh when it was late formed). Richard’s is a unique name in the Mertz family — he was the only one — so we can be sure the Rygert Mertz in Salisbury in 1790 was him. And therefore, it seems obvious that Henry Mertz, also living in Salisbury Township in 1790, was indeed this Henry, son of Jost.

In 1800, I think the two brothers, Henry and Richard, now found in Whitehall Township (yet another part of Northampton County soon to be subsumed into Lehigh County) became merged as if one person. The head of household was listed as Reinhardt Henry and the household had a male 26-45 and one 45+. Richard was 38, giving credence to my thesis that Henry may have been born about 1755 or so.

But Richard, at least, was back in Berks County when, in 1804, he baptized son Johannes at the Moselem Church in Richmond Township there. Henry may well have bee there too as in 1806, Henry and Richard Mertz sold land in (nearby) Windsor Township, Berks County that they had bought in 1804.

Richard then died just before the 1810 Census, so where was Henry? We know he was still alive as he was appointed guardian for Richard’s children and he and Conrad were administrators of Richard’s estate. So where was he?

There was a Henery Mertz age 45+ in Lower Saucon Township, Northampton County in 1810. I believe this was him. No Mertz was previously in Lower Saucon and it won’t be until 1860 when Mertzes again appear there but my reasoning that it is this Henry is as follows:

1. I think I can account for every other known Henry of eastern Pennsylvania.
2. Henry seemed to move around from one census to the next.
3. Richard ended up in Lower Nazareth Township, as far east in Northampton as any Mertzes ever got. It lies just north of Bethlehem which is just north of Salisbury which is just north of Lower Saucon. It is almost the absence of other Mertzes in those places that makes the case.
4. Henry and his wife had five young children in 1810 who could all be Richard’s minor children.

Then in 1820, I think the Hanery Martz in Bethlehem is also Henry (Y1). He again was where no Mertz had previously ventured. It would seem out of place except it is right in line with Lower Nazareth, Salisbury and Lower Saucon as stated above.

I do not know when Henry died. His last known mention that I have found was the 1820 Census. There is no burial record or cemetery listing, no estate or administration file or will that I have ever found.

I don’t know much about Henry’s children. Analysis of Census tick marks (persons by gender by age bracket) is difficult since his was a merged household with Richard’’s in 1800 and then, as guardian of Richard’s children, may well have had any number of them with him after that. But a case can be made that Henry may have had a small number of children of his own.

In particular, I think he may have had a daughter Maria who married Valentine Keim. There is record of their marriage in 1811 in Easton. Easton is yet another place where very few Mertzes can ever be found, it is still further east in Northampton County, so while I know of no Mertz family of that place I that time period, Henry was the closest.

And see my discussion of the many Mertz-Keim connections under the header “Known Daughters” in my written profile of Jost Mertz, Henrys father.

I also have no documented evidence of any sons of Henry. Maybe he had sons, maybe he didn’t. I just don’t know.

There is a Johann Peter Mertz, 1784-1855, buried at Solomons UCC Church in Macungie Township, Lehigh County. I have no idea who he was. I know of no one of that name missing from any of the early Mertz families of Berks, Lehigh or Northampton county.

Macungie is where Henry’s brother, Conrad, ends up and others of Conrad’s family are also buried at Solomons. But I know the names of all of Conrad’s sons and Peter was not one of them. I also know the names of all the sons of Conrad’s brother, Richard, and Peter was likewise not one of them.

Henry, by default, based on the geographic connection between Macungie Township and Jost’s family is the single best candidate to be Peter’s father. And I believe he was.

Maria Elisabeth Hoffman was named as a young single woman at Mertz Church at two baptisms, once with Conrad Mertz as co-sponsor and once with Heinrich Mertz as co-sponsor. Which Heinrich (Y1 or his cousin H4) I don’t know for sure, but it would seem a reasonable assumption it was Conrad’s brother.

Both Heinrich’s married a woman named Elizabeth. But in the case of Heinrich (Y1), we know that in at least one key instance, she was referred to as Marilissa, a nickname I’ve seen elsewhere for a woman named Maria Elizabeth. That was in 1806 when Henry and Marilissa his wife and Richard Mertz sold land in Windsor Township, Berks County. And in citations where we can be sure it was the other Henry, his wife was almost always “just” Elizabeth.

Then there were two mentions at Jerusalem Church in Salisbury Township: Heinrig and Maria El Martz sponsored the baptism of Jacob Klein 25 Apr 1790 and also Heinrich and M Elisabeth Mertz sponsored the baptism of Benjamin Dorney born 11 Jan 1818. Note that in one form or another, the wife was referred to by both names, M or Marie and El or Elisabeth.

Now these citations are worthy of consideration. This was the primary church of George Henry Mertz, son of John Henry and brother of Heinrich (H4). So wouldn’t a good guess be that it was George Henry’s older brother Henry being mentioned at this church? I certainly have to consider that possibility but H4 was otherwise always reported in Allen Township starting in 1786 and there continuously until he died there in the mid-1820’s.

I believe it was Y1 at those Jerusalem baptisms. Remember, especially in 1790, Salisbury Township is where Henry (Y1) was living. And I’ve noted elsewhere that especially after Jost died young, it is almost as if John Henry’s and Jost’s families “merged”.

So knowing that Henry (Y1)’s wife was indeed Maria Elizabeth and that it was most likely this Henry who was named as a sponsor with Maria Elizabeth Hoffman, and knowing that two single people named as co-sponsors at a baptism later marry — it is my belief therefore -- but by no means proven -- that Henry, son of Jost, married Maria Elisabeth Hoffman.

In his will, Jost Mertz referred to his brother-in-law Richard Hoffman. If that term meant then what it means now, you can’t always trust that it did, then either Richard Hoffman had married Jost’s sister or Anna Maria’s sister. I know from his own will that Richard Hoffman’s wife was named Catharina. (He named his wife Catharina and Jacob Mertz as his Executors, Jacob was certainly Jost’s cousin of that name). I suspect Catharina was Anna Maria’s sister.

Remember too that Anna Maria’s mother was maiden name Hoffman. So there are any number of Hoffman connections here. So was it Maria Elisabeth Hoffman that Henry married? Or some other Maria Elisabeth? And, if Hoffman, was she some kind of cousin? As happens often, I have more questions than answers.