In 2013, Grace White (gskwink@yahoo.com) found my website and contacted me, she the Grace of the message boards mentioned in my narrative about Christian’s wife Eva and her father Jacob.

She quite nicely listed out the children of Christian and Eva for me.

Per Grace:

The family of Eva Marts and Christian Fritts:
1. Jacob Fritts, b 30 Dec 1808 Livingston co., NY; married Amanda Coy Dec 1830 in Geneseo, Livingston co., NY. Jacob Fritts died 20 Apr 1869 in Erie co., PA. Amanda Coy Fritts died 03 Jun 1895 in Union City, Erie, PA. Jacob is buried in Wattsburg, Erie, PA. The burial info I got from a cousin “Secrist – Jones” and I have not yet checked to find the name of the cemetery.
2. Daniel Fritts, b 11 Nov 1810 Livingston co., NY; married Susanna Traxler 29 May 1831 in Dansville, Livingston Co., NY. Daniel died 07 Jul 1892 in Mina Corners, Chautauqua, NY. Susanna Traxler died 17 Mar 1870 probably in Mina. Daniel and Susanna are buried in Mina Corners cem., Chautauqua, NY.
3. Rebecca Fritts, b 1812. Rebecca married James Cutterback Teasdale Abt. 1829. Rebecca died 30 Mar 1899 in Conneautville, Crawford co., Pa. James Cutterback Teasdale died Apr 1882 in Conneautville, Crawford Co., Pa. Rebecca and James are buried Conneautville, Crawford co., PA cemetery A25.
4. Christian Fritts, b 17 Jul 1817 Livingston co., NY. Christian married Emily Jane Black on 16 Sep 1841 in Westfield, Chautauqua, NY. Christian died 21 Jul 1891 in Elgin, Erie, PA. Emily Jane Black Fritts died 21 May 1904. Both are buried in Elgin Cemetery, Elgin, Erie, PA.
5. Benjamin Franklin Fritts, b Jul 1820 Livingston co., NY. Benjamin married a woman named “Vashti”. Marriage date probably around 1844. Vashti in the 1900 census is listed as being born May 1822 in Canada; and their first child was born in 1847 in PA. Benjamin Fritts died Jul 1900 in Venango Twp., Erie co., PA. I do not have a death date for Vashti. Vashti was living in 1900 in Venango Twp., Erie co., PA.
6. Minerva Fritts, b 04 Jun 1822 Sparta twp, Livingston, NY. Minerva married Gardner C. Johnson about Abt. 1845. Gardner C Johnson was born 01 May 1817 in Ontario co., NY, but I have no evidence of a marriage previous to Minerva.  Minerva was probably living in Lowville, Venango twp, Erie co., PA with her parents before she married Gardner; and Gardner was probably living with his father, Elijah Johnson in Venango Twp., Erie Co., PA.
Minerva died 15 Sep 1901 in Mill Village, Erie co., PA. Gardner C Johnson had died 17 Jun 1864 in Mill Village, Erie, PA.
7. Jonathan Fritts, b 13 Apr 1824 Dansville, Livingston, NY. Jonathan Fritts married Martha Melissa Bowdish on 07 Sep 1850 in Kane co., IL. Jonathan died 25 May 1921 in Ellendale, Woodward co., Oklahoma. Martha Bowdish Fritts died 31 Mar 1904 in Cheney, Sedgwick Co., Kansas.

Jacob Mertz and unnamed wife baptized a daughter Maria Eva on 2 Jun 1782 at Longswamp Reformed. The key question is: since his wife was unnamed, was the father Jacob, son of Nicholas or Jacob, son of Peter?

I had always assumed the father was Jacob, son of Peter because he was the younger of the two Jacobs and this was almost the last baptism by either Jacob. I also believed that the infant was the namesake of the sponsor and that Eva Mertz was the wife of Philip. That pointed also to the younger Jacob as the father since Philip was his brother. I didn’t understand why Philip would not also have stood as sponsor but that seemed a minor concern.

But I have now reconsidered the whole thing. I found the find-a-grave record of Maria Eva (Marts) Fritts who we are quite sure was the daughter of the older Jacob. It says she was born 20 Apr 1782. A photo of her tombstone gives her date of death and her age at death and I can clearly make out 79 years and 3 months but I cannot read how many days. I assume someone else was able to read the number of days and computed her exact birth date based on that. But based only on what I can read, it clearly implies a birth date within a range of a month or two before her baptism.

I have also reconsidered the sponsor. The older Jacob had a sister Maria Eve who I believe married Frederic Braun and who I know had died by 1783. Had she been the sponsor, she would have been listed as Eva Braun. So I suspect that she had died before this baptism event and Eva Mertz, wife of Philip, sort of stood in for Eva Braun who was in fact the namesake of the infant.

Another piece of evidence about this whole family comes from a posting to the Livingston County, NY message board by a woman named Grace. Ordinarily I am a little skeptical as to the accuracy of such things -- when no sources are stated -- but in this case, most everything she said fit with my own analysis.

"Interested in comparing notes concerning Eva Marts and Christian Fritts or people researching the Welch surname. Eva Marts (born June 1782 in Berks Co, PA) daughter of Jacob Martz went to Northumberland Co, PA around 1786 with her parents and then in 1798 came to Dansville/Sparta NY area again with her parents. Jacob Welch (husband of her sister Catherine) and her Uncle Conrad Martz migrated to the Dansville area at the same time.

Eva married Christian Fritts about 1807 and they had 7 children. Christian Fritts and Eva lived in Sparta, Livingston, NY in 1810, 1820, and 1830. Sometime before the 1840 census they moved to Venango Twp, Erie Co, PA (near Eva's brother Jacob who moved to Wayne, Erie Co, PA in 1832).”

She clearly states -- with no real indication of how she knew it -- that Eva, sister of Catherine, had a brother named Jacob who ended up in Wayne Twp, Erie County. And I have tracked this Jacob through Census listings from Sparta, NY in 1820 and 1830 to Wayne Twp, Erie County in 1840. My only dispute with Grace is that I think Conrad too was Eva’s brother, not her uncle.