A Mertz Church record documents the marriage of Lorentz Rarick to Maria Catharina Mertz -- in Germany -- in 1752. Lorentz came to America in 1753.

I’m not sure her name was Maria Catharina, it seems more likely it was Maria Elizabeth.

And once in America, Lorentz and Maria Elizabeth find their way to Mertz Church and of the various families there, seem especially connected to Jost and his sons. For example, when Lorentz died in 1788, Maria Elizabeth, his widow, renounced as Administrator on account of her old age and instead requested that Henry Mertz of Rockalnd Township be appointed and Conrad Mertz did the inventory.

There are a few problems with this whole situation. If they were the parents of Conrad Rarich, which I think they were, he was born well before 1752. Was she a second wife for Lorentz?

The German family records I have show a daughter A Cath born 1714. They do not show this Maria Catherine who I suspect was closer in age to Jost.

So who was this woman? Jost’s sister or a somewhat more distant relation?