Mertz Genealogy - Person Sheet
Mertz Genealogy - Person Sheet
NameEva Hoch 
Birth10 May 1793
Memo(find-a-grave)
Death5 October 1850
Memo(find-a-grave)
BurialSt Paul’s Church, Fleetwood, Berks Co, PA
Spouses
Birth11 February 17912679
Memo(tombstone per find-a-grave matches baptism at Oley)
Death15 April 1882
Memo(find-a-grave)
BurialSt Paul’s Church, Fleetwood, Berks Co, PA
FatherMelchior Mertz (J2) (1765-<1792)
MotherAnna Maria Keller (1765-1849)
Parent-Proof notes for Eva Hoch
Eva Mertz is buried in the same cemetery as Abraham. The Pennsylvania death certificate of Maria Van Buskirk (1829-1916) says she was the daughter of Abraham Mertz and Eva Hoch. I believe she was the Mary age 21 living in Abraham and Eva’s household in 1850 and gives us the evidence for Eva’s maiden name.
Birth, Parent-Proof, Designation notes for Abraham (Spouse 1)
At Oley: Abraham Mertz son of Melchior and wife born 11 Feb (1791 assumed) baptized 13 Jun 1791 sponsor Abr Keller.
Abraham is designated J2a.
Abraham is designated J2a.
Relocated and Census Tracking notes for Abraham (Spouse 1)
Abraham is clearly the Abraham Mertz who lived in Maidencreek Township, Berks County in 1840-1880. The question is where was he in the years prior to that? And how to not confuse him with other Abrahams? A good candidate is the Abraham Martz that lived in Ruscombmanor 1800-1830 though there seem to be some extraneous (older) people living with him, one of course being probably his mother.
But the key to the puzzle is knowing that Maria’s brother was Abraham Keller and I think he looked out for her and her infant son after her husband died and then, in a way, the tables later reversed and the uncle lived with the nephew.
1800. Abraham Keller was in Ruscombmanor with a young male 0-9 (Abraham Mertz?), himself 26-45 and a female 26-45 (his sister Maria?).
1810. Abraham Keller was in Ruscombmanor. He was no doubt the male 45+. There was a female present age 26-44. Maria Mertz was exactly 45 so let’s say that was her. There was a younger male present, possibly Abraham Mertz but if so his age was totally misreported as 26-45 when in fact he was 19. And there was a female 10-15 present. I have no idea who that would be but I still would bet that Maria and Abraham Mertz are present in his household.
1820. I cannot find Abraham Keller. Abraham Martz was now present in Ruscombmanor with 2 males under 10, 1 16-26, 1 26-44 and 1 45+. And females 1 under 10, 1 26-44 and 1 45+. I believe Abraham and Eva, his wife, were 29 and 27 respectively so the older folks might have been Maria Mertz and Abraham Keller. The very young children might be Abraham’s children, leaving the extra male 16-26 unexplained.
1830. Abm Mertz lived in Ruscombmanor. There was a male 5-9, 10-14, 15-19, 20-29 and 50-59. Then 2 females under 5, 1 5-9, 1 10-14, 1 20-29 and 1 40-49. Abraham and Eva should be 39 and 37 so is this really bad reporting? Abraham Keller lived adjacent, age 60-69. Maria was still alive age 65, where was she? The male 20-29 seems out of place too.
1840. Abraham Mots (Motz?) was in Maidencreek. He and his wife were 40-49, which is right. The ages of the younger people are reasonable, but again Maria seems to have gone elsewhere to live.
I have scanned all men with given name Abraham in Berks County in 1840, no other name looks like a corrupted version of Mertz.
1850 Census. I would not have found him in Census had I not known where to look (from his 1860 Census listing) and not known the full details of who I was looking for. He and his family were indexed by Ancestry.com as Martin. But Abraham Martin (Martz really), age 59, lived in Maidencreek Township with Eve 57, Daniel 30, Amos 27, Isaac 26, Mary 21 and Abraham 12.
But the key to the puzzle is knowing that Maria’s brother was Abraham Keller and I think he looked out for her and her infant son after her husband died and then, in a way, the tables later reversed and the uncle lived with the nephew.
1800. Abraham Keller was in Ruscombmanor with a young male 0-9 (Abraham Mertz?), himself 26-45 and a female 26-45 (his sister Maria?).
1810. Abraham Keller was in Ruscombmanor. He was no doubt the male 45+. There was a female present age 26-44. Maria Mertz was exactly 45 so let’s say that was her. There was a younger male present, possibly Abraham Mertz but if so his age was totally misreported as 26-45 when in fact he was 19. And there was a female 10-15 present. I have no idea who that would be but I still would bet that Maria and Abraham Mertz are present in his household.
1820. I cannot find Abraham Keller. Abraham Martz was now present in Ruscombmanor with 2 males under 10, 1 16-26, 1 26-44 and 1 45+. And females 1 under 10, 1 26-44 and 1 45+. I believe Abraham and Eva, his wife, were 29 and 27 respectively so the older folks might have been Maria Mertz and Abraham Keller. The very young children might be Abraham’s children, leaving the extra male 16-26 unexplained.
1830. Abm Mertz lived in Ruscombmanor. There was a male 5-9, 10-14, 15-19, 20-29 and 50-59. Then 2 females under 5, 1 5-9, 1 10-14, 1 20-29 and 1 40-49. Abraham and Eva should be 39 and 37 so is this really bad reporting? Abraham Keller lived adjacent, age 60-69. Maria was still alive age 65, where was she? The male 20-29 seems out of place too.
1840. Abraham Mots (Motz?) was in Maidencreek. He and his wife were 40-49, which is right. The ages of the younger people are reasonable, but again Maria seems to have gone elsewhere to live.
I have scanned all men with given name Abraham in Berks County in 1840, no other name looks like a corrupted version of Mertz.
1850 Census. I would not have found him in Census had I not known where to look (from his 1860 Census listing) and not known the full details of who I was looking for. He and his family were indexed by Ancestry.com as Martin. But Abraham Martin (Martz really), age 59, lived in Maidencreek Township with Eve 57, Daniel 30, Amos 27, Isaac 26, Mary 21 and Abraham 12.
Death and Find-a-Grave notes for Abraham (Spouse 1)
Abraham is buried in Fleetwood Cemetery in Berks County with his mother Maria, wife Eve and son Amos and maybe other children too. Fleetwood is just east of the point where Maidencreek Township and Ruscombmanor Township abut. I think all the evidence, despite a few little tick mark issues, is that I have found Abraham in every Census.
His tombstone as listed on find-a-grave in Fleetwood has a birth date matching his known birth date. The names of other Mertzes buried at Fleetwood fit well with what is known about the names of Abraham’s mother and wife.
It is the sum of the individual pieces of evidence that make the case here, the birth at Oley, the burials at Fleetwood, the connection to Abraham Keller, the death certificate of a daughter which names his wife and the 1850 Census. Everything I posit is in a way unproven but each piece of evidence strengthens the theory.
His tombstone as listed on find-a-grave in Fleetwood has a birth date matching his known birth date. The names of other Mertzes buried at Fleetwood fit well with what is known about the names of Abraham’s mother and wife.
It is the sum of the individual pieces of evidence that make the case here, the birth at Oley, the burials at Fleetwood, the connection to Abraham Keller, the death certificate of a daughter which names his wife and the 1850 Census. Everything I posit is in a way unproven but each piece of evidence strengthens the theory.