Mertz Genealogy - Person Sheet
Mertz Genealogy - Person Sheet
NameSusanna Martz 
3728
3728Birth5 March 1839
Memo(age at death 59y, 5m, 13d per find-a-grave)
Death18 August 1898
Memo(find-a-grave)
BurialFairhaven Cemetery, Mulberry, IN
FatherJohn Martz (H1b3) (1810-1888)
MotherLeah Merkel (1812-1846)
Spouses
Birth12 August 1836
Memo(age at death 37y, 6m, 21d per find-a-grave)
Death5 March 1874
Memo(find-a-grave)
BurialFairhaven Cemetery, Mulberry, IN
FatherWilliam L Mertz (H1b1) (1807-1883)
MotherMaria Clouser (1816-1904)
Marriage1 January 1862
Marr Memo(Indiana Marriage Index 1800-1941 on Ancestry.com)
Parent-Proof notes for Susanna Martz
Susanna came to my attention first as the wife of Benjamin. I didn’t at first realize that she was not only his wife, she was also his cousin.
Since I knew from her tombstone she lived to 1898, I got curious as to her whereabouts in 1880, her husband having died in 1874. I found a Susanna of the right age — and with son George of the right age — in the household of Jonas Kressel and his wife Fiana (age 44) in Madison Township, so in the right place.
Also present in that household was Elizabeth Martz, age 66, said to be an Aunt. I immediately recognized her as Jacob’s unmarried daughter. She previously had lived with Jacob’s son John but now was with John’s married daughter Fiana.
And also present was Susanna Martz, age 42, said to be the sister-in-law of Jonas Kressel and George Martz, age 11, said to be a nephew. (All three Martzes were actually indexed by Ancestry as Marty.) I only understood the relationship of Susanna to Jonas that she was the widow of his wife’s cousin and I thought that was simply too complex to express so they simplified it to sister-in-law.
And then I realized that Fianna actually did have a sister Susan who was the same age as Susanna but if that were her unmarried sister, who was George? And then I decided to check Indiana Marriage records for all Martz married in Clinton County and I found Benjamin Martz and Susanna Martz married 1 Jan 1862. Benjamin married his cousin. Susanna was indeed Fianna’s sister, Jonas’s sister-in-law and George indeed their nephew.
Since I knew from her tombstone she lived to 1898, I got curious as to her whereabouts in 1880, her husband having died in 1874. I found a Susanna of the right age — and with son George of the right age — in the household of Jonas Kressel and his wife Fiana (age 44) in Madison Township, so in the right place.
Also present in that household was Elizabeth Martz, age 66, said to be an Aunt. I immediately recognized her as Jacob’s unmarried daughter. She previously had lived with Jacob’s son John but now was with John’s married daughter Fiana.
And also present was Susanna Martz, age 42, said to be the sister-in-law of Jonas Kressel and George Martz, age 11, said to be a nephew. (All three Martzes were actually indexed by Ancestry as Marty.) I only understood the relationship of Susanna to Jonas that she was the widow of his wife’s cousin and I thought that was simply too complex to express so they simplified it to sister-in-law.
And then I realized that Fianna actually did have a sister Susan who was the same age as Susanna but if that were her unmarried sister, who was George? And then I decided to check Indiana Marriage records for all Martz married in Clinton County and I found Benjamin Martz and Susanna Martz married 1 Jan 1862. Benjamin married his cousin. Susanna was indeed Fianna’s sister, Jonas’s sister-in-law and George indeed their nephew.
Birth, Parent-Proof, Designation notes for Benjamin (Spouse 1)
We know Benjamin from his presence in his father’s household in 1850 and 1860. He is designated H1b1a.
Relocated and Census Tracking notes for Benjamin (Spouse 1)
When I was unable to find him in 1870 or 1880, and was about to give up on being able to track him, I tried a long shot of doing a nationwide search for him in find-a-grave (with also the Martz spelling just in case) and there he was — buried in the same cemetery as his grandparents in Indiana. He died in 1874 explaining his absence from the 1880 Census. And then I did find him in 1870, his name indexed as Marty, living right there in Madison Township, Clinton County, IN with all his relatives. His wife was Susanna and they had a 1-year old son, George.
Death and Find-a-Grave notes for Benjamin (Spouse 1)
Benjamin is on find-a-grave. His name on his tombstone is spelled Martz.