Metz or from Metz in Rhineland Palatinate

[CreativeRaven]

My search concerns the year or period:late 1600's to early 1700's in the Palatinate. I am searching for a Peter van Metz who had a son named Ludwig (Lodowick) Metz who was born in 1705 near Metz. Ludwig emigrated to America in 1726. He was a Swiss Mennonite and church records have been difficult for me to locate.

So far I have conducted research in a number of databases including Mennonite databases in Pennsylvania USA, along with Swiss online archives, and a truly large number of books. I located two possible Peter Metz's here in https://forum.ahnenforschung.net/showthread.php? t=38954 however I do not know how to follow those for additional information.

Might any of you be able to assist me with suggestions, links, and/or references providing guidance on how I could continue my research on my Swiss-German family?

Thank you in advance, and I apologize for posting in English but my German is not so good for writing.

[staarman]

Corrected link

https://forum.ahnenforschung.net/showthread.php?t=38954 (extra blank removed)

There is a
Metz Peter, B, 26.04.1703

Is that the name/person you are refering to?

Regards

Gerd

[Gastonian]

Hi:


The record you found in this forum is for a Peter Metz, who was admitted as a Bürger (burgher or citizen - someone who had full civil rights in the city and was correspondingly expected to pay full taxes) in the city of Zweibrücken on 26 April 1703. Generally people were admitted as Bürger when they had completed their training as journeymen in a handicraft and were about to become a master artisan, and also about to marry. Thus, this particular Peter Metz was likely about to settle in Zweibrücken and thus is unlikely to have had a son in or near Metz in Lorraine two years later (possible, but unlikely).


The obvious next step would be to check the churchbooks of Zweibrücken to see whether he indeed married and had children there in the time period from 1703 on. However, it appears that the Protestant (Reformed and Lutheran) churchbooks at Archion.de (the main [pay]site for German Protestant churchbooks) for Zweibrücken are incomplete. The Mormons appear to have filmed the churchbooks as well, but they are not at all digitized, and the indexes provided by familysearch are notoriously inaccurate.


On another note: according to what you posted at Wikitree (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Van_Metz-20), the only source for Peter Metz as the father of Ludwig Metz appears to be the statement "Der Großvater Lodowick Ludwig Metz, war in der nahe Metz, Deutschland, zu Peter Van Metz, im Yahre 1705 geboren", which is supposed to be in personal documentation in the hands of Metz descendants. Because of the reference to "Großvater", I presume this is from the letter written by Ludwig's grandson Dr. John Lewis Metz (1785-1874) - about when was this letter written (early 19th century? after the Civil War?)? If this is to be taken literally, Ludwig was born in an area that had become French de facto in 1552 and de jure in 1648; after the Edict of Fontainebleau in 1685 it is unlikely that Protestants would have been tolerated there. Thus, it seems likely that in the family tradition recorded by John Lewis Metz 100 or 150 years after the fact the place (and possibly also the name) had become confused.



Has there been any luck in finding Ludwig in the 18th century Philadelphia ship lists, so that one might know at least with what bunch of Palatines he came over?


Regards


--Carl-Henry

[CreativeRaven]

Corrected link

https://forum.ahnenforschung.net/showthread.php?t=38954 (extra blank removed)

There is a
Metz Peter, B, 26.04.1703

Is that the name/person you are refering to?

Regards

Gerd

Yes I would like to find if there is more information about this person. How might I do that? And Thank You for repairing the link.

[Anna Sara Weingart]

Hello CreativeRaven

The family name Metz is not uncommon in Germany.
It's the short form of Metzger. The meaning of the word Metzger (or Metz) is "butcher".
Therefore, maybe, You can find as many Peter Metz in Germany, as You can find Peter Butcher in England.

[CreativeRaven]

Yes I would like to find if there is more information about this person. How might I do that? And Thank You for repairing the link.

I am actually more interested in tracking down "Peter von Metz" as there was much migration in the Palatinate after the 30-years war ended. I came across this resource in a recent search for Peter von Metz: Mauer, W. (1977). Der Weg der Familien Allmann durch die Geschichte. Allman-Chronik.

one line in this book (page 72)


Der Zustrom von Welschen setzt sich auch nach dem 30 jährigen Kriege fort, so u. a.

then a list of names is provided some of of which include "von Metz". I need to know, because I am not a native German speaker, does Welschen refer to Welsh as we commonly know, or something else.



I also noted in the Sources that Kirchenbücher von Zweibrücken is mentioned, for the above information as it is placed in the Palatinate.

Thank you!

[CreativeRaven]

Hello CreativeRaven

The family name Metz is not uncommon in Germany.
It's the short form of Metzger. The meaning of the word Metzger (or Metz) is "butcher".
Therefore, maybe, You can find as many Peter Metz in Germany, as You can find Peter Butcher in England.

Thank you.

[CreativeRaven]

Corrected link

https://forum.ahnenforschung.net/showthread.php?t=38954 (extra blank removed)

There is a
Metz Peter, B, 26.04.1703

Is that the name/person you are refering to?

Regards

Gerd

I am actually more interested in tracking down "Peter von Metz" as there was much migration in the Palatinate after the 30-years war ended. I came across this resource in a recent search for Peter von Metz: Mauer, W. (1977). Der Weg der Familien Allmann durch die Geschichte. Allman-Chronik.

one line in this book (page 72)


Der Zustrom von Welschen setzt sich auch nach dem 30 jährigen Kriege fort, so u. a.

then a list of names is provided some of of which include "von Metz". I need to know, because I am not a native German speaker, does Welschen refer to Welsh as we commonly know, or something else.



I also noted in the Sources that Kirchenbücher von Zweibrücken is mentioned, for the above information as it is placed in the Palatinate.

Thank you!

[Gastonian]

Hello CreativeRaven:


"Welsch" in this context has nothing to do with Wales, but rather refers to people from France.


What this page in general is referring to is that there was a French reformed (i.e., Huguenot) parish in Zweibrücken, supported by the local duke, which received many refugees from France (primarily Alsace and Lorraine) both before and after the 30-years war. In the following list there are 6 refuges who came from Metz or nearby in the years after 1648. None of them had the last name "Metz" (note that "von" in German simply means "from", as in a place of origin).


And yes, this information comes from the churchbooks of Zweibrücken - which the author probably investigated directly in the local archives (by far not all German churchbooks have been filmed or digitized, and a lot of German genealogical research still involves going to the local archives and fighting not just with the old-fashioned language, but also the old-fashioned script).



Regards


--Carl-Henry