Mertz Genealogy - Person Sheet
Mertz Genealogy - Person Sheet
NameSusan Seagreaves 
Birth15 October 1815
Memo(find-a-grave)
Death3 January 1890
Memo(find-a-grave)
BurialUnion-West End Cemetery, Allentown, PA
Spouses
Birth18 September 1812
Memo(find-a-grave)
Death12 February 1887
Memo(find-a-grave)
BurialUnion-West End Cemetery, Allentown, PA
FatherDaniel Mertz (H4a) (1784-1858)
MotherSarah McWhorter (1787-1840)
ChildrenDaniel Charles (1838-1900)
Charles M (1839-1895)
Henry (Harry H S) (1841-1917)
Theodore (1843-1913)
John (1850-1922)
Sara (1856-1928)
Parent-Proof notes for Susan Seagreaves
Susan Seagreaves was baptized at the First Reformed Church of Easton 24 Nov 1817 by her parents Henry and Eva. She was born 22 Oct 1815. Henry married Eva Schuk in that church 31 Oct 1802.
Several death certificates of her children confirm her name was Seagreaves.
Easton is not all that close (by 1830 standards) so it is a little curious how Daniel of Allen Township met Susan of Easton and I have considered that Susan Seagreaves of Easton was a different Susan. It is also curious that when William and Susan baptized son Daniel Charles in 1838, they went to a church in Easton to do so. I would have expected that Susan’s parents might have stood as sponsor but the record says the mother (meaning Susan I think) stood as sponsor.
But for now I have no reason to think it was not Susan, wife of William, on that birth record nor is there reason to doubt it was this William and Susan Mertz who went back to Easton to baptize their first (?) child.
The Seagreaves family enters the picture again when, in 1850, Susan’s son Daniel seems not to be living with his parents but instead with Charles and Martha Seagreaves. Charles and Martha are buried in Allentown. He was born in 1798. My first guess was that he was Susan’s father, but the dates seem to preclude that. Was he her brother? If so, his father must have had a wife previous to Eva.
Then I found the will of James Seagreaves who stated his son Charles was excluded by his own choice since Charles was already wealthy (which I had surmised from Charles’ own will) and that James also had a son Henry. So Charles Seagreaves, I believe, was Susan’s uncle.
After Charles’ first wife Martha died, he married the much younger Lydia Weaver 24 Jun 1857 and they had five children when Charles was in his sixties.
Several death certificates of her children confirm her name was Seagreaves.
Easton is not all that close (by 1830 standards) so it is a little curious how Daniel of Allen Township met Susan of Easton and I have considered that Susan Seagreaves of Easton was a different Susan. It is also curious that when William and Susan baptized son Daniel Charles in 1838, they went to a church in Easton to do so. I would have expected that Susan’s parents might have stood as sponsor but the record says the mother (meaning Susan I think) stood as sponsor.
But for now I have no reason to think it was not Susan, wife of William, on that birth record nor is there reason to doubt it was this William and Susan Mertz who went back to Easton to baptize their first (?) child.
The Seagreaves family enters the picture again when, in 1850, Susan’s son Daniel seems not to be living with his parents but instead with Charles and Martha Seagreaves. Charles and Martha are buried in Allentown. He was born in 1798. My first guess was that he was Susan’s father, but the dates seem to preclude that. Was he her brother? If so, his father must have had a wife previous to Eva.
Then I found the will of James Seagreaves who stated his son Charles was excluded by his own choice since Charles was already wealthy (which I had surmised from Charles’ own will) and that James also had a son Henry. So Charles Seagreaves, I believe, was Susan’s uncle.
After Charles’ first wife Martha died, he married the much younger Lydia Weaver 24 Jun 1857 and they had five children when Charles was in his sixties.
Birth, Parent-Proof, Designation notes for William H (Spouse 1)
W H Mertz challenged the will of Daniel Mertz who died in 1858 and in his petition said he was one of the sons of Daniel. I believe he is the William Mertz found in Allentown in 1840 and 1850, elsewhere in Pennsylvania in 1860-1880 and buried in Allentown. He is designated H4a1.
Relocated and Census Tracking notes for William H (Spouse 1)
William lived in Allentown in 1840 and 1850, then Longswamp Township, Berks County in 1860, Perry County, PA in 1870 and back to Longswamp in 1880.
His daughter Sara lived as a married adult in Perry County and is buried there. So I think that period of time William lived there is explained. But his presence in Longswamp really caught my attention.
There were two boys named Henry Mertz born in Berks County in the 1740’s. One of them was of the Longswamp family, the other, the one I believe was the grandfather of William H, of the Mertz Church family. So why did William H as an adult go to Longswamp to live? Was it just a random event or did he seek out his ancestral home? For now, I believe it had nothing to do with any ancestral roots.
His daughter Sara lived as a married adult in Perry County and is buried there. So I think that period of time William lived there is explained. But his presence in Longswamp really caught my attention.
There were two boys named Henry Mertz born in Berks County in the 1740’s. One of them was of the Longswamp family, the other, the one I believe was the grandfather of William H, of the Mertz Church family. So why did William H as an adult go to Longswamp to live? Was it just a random event or did he seek out his ancestral home? For now, I believe it had nothing to do with any ancestral roots.