Calling all Genea-Musings Fans:

It’s Saturday Night again –

Time for some more Genealogy Fun!!

Here is your assignment, should you decide to accept it (you ARE reading this, so I assume that you really want to play along – cue the Mission Impossible music!):

1)  Who is one of your most elusive ancestors?  What research have you done to identify him or her?  What research do you need to do?

When I first read this prompt, I immediately thought of my ancestor, James Crawford. However, I cannot consider him ‘elusive’. And his parents are unknown, not elusive.

So, I started thinking about other branches of my tree and thought of Phillip Andre Mentzer. I have solid research from my Mentzer grandmother back to my 3rd great grandfather, Phillip Andrew Mentzer. In addition, I have researched his descendants and have DNA matches on several lines descending form Phillip Andrew Mentzer and his wife Orinda Miles.

I believe Phillip Andrew Mentzer {LHKS-DYD] (1793-1845) is the son of Phillip Andre Mentzer [MKC7-8NV] and his wife Isabella. Unfortunately, about the only information I have on the older Phillip Mentzer is his marriage in 1792 in Boston’s Hollis Street Church.

Even though I administer four different DNA tests with MENTZER ancestry, the ThruLines results only show lines thru Phillip and Orinda. No additional matches are shown for Phillipa and Isabella on ThruLines. Nor do any of the tests suggest a potential ancestor.

Since most of my research regarding Phillip and Isabella was done prior to the digitization of the county records, I haven’t tried to find any deeds or probate records. However, while pondering this post and quickly searching to see what else I could find, I did locate a record that indicates Isabella was a widow when she married Phillip Mentzer.

Thus, I have a new surname for Isabella along with a first husband to research.

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Phillip Andre Mentzer [1] was born about 1751. [2–3]

He married Isabella Penniman on 8 Jul 1792 at Hollis Street Church in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts. [1,4–8]

He died in 1801 at the age of 50 in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts. [2–3]

He was buried in Westford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. [1]

ENDNOTES:

1. Mentzer Family E-Mail, online dfmentzer@coastalnet.com, (Mentzer.MA.005). Hereinafter cited as Mentzer Family E-mail.

2. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records 1620-1988, Phillip A. Menser, February 1801; database of Vital Record volumes, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online 14 March 2022).

3. U.S., Newspaper Extractions from the Northeast, 1704-1930, Philip A Menser, 1801; database with images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online November 2019).

4. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records 1620-1988, Philip Andre Mantzer / Isabella Motes, 21 June 1792; digitl image, Ancestry http://www.ancestry.com : viewed online September 2016).

5. Boston Marriages from 1752-1809, Phillip Andre Mentzer / Isabella Motes, 1792; digital copy, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : viewed online November 2019). Original Source: Boston Marriages from 1752 to 1809 c1903.

6. “Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., Marriages, 1700-1809,” Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : Boston, Massachusetts, viewed online (14 March 2022), Phillip Andre Mentzer.

7. Inhabitants and Estates of the Town of Boston, 1630-1822 (Thwing Collection), Mentzer, Philip Andre, 8 July 1792; database with images, American Ancestors (americanancestors.org : viewed online 2 September 2023).

8. Boston, MA: Church Records, 1630-1895, Mentzer, Phillip Andrew, and Isabella Motes, 8 July 1792; database with images, American Ancestors (americanancestors.org : viewed online 2 September 2023).