In cases when multiply marriages take place with two distinct families, the normal reason has been discovered that these were planned marriages by the parents of these two families. This common in the 1700's and into the 1900's.as well. SP. Von Gunten Toledo, OH stevevg@buckeye-express.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dwayne Wrightsman" <dwayne55@comcast.net> To: <brethren@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, March 23, 2008 8:03 PM Subject: [BRE] Explaining the Frantz-Garst Marriages > > Explaining the Frantz-Garst Marriages: > > Five children of Michael Frantz II (b.1725), son of early Conestoga > Brethren > elder, Michael Frantz I, married five children of John Nicholas Garst, son > of devout Reformed Church member, Theobald Gerst. John Nicholas Garst's > children were not baptized Reformed as John Nicholas was an early member > of > the Little Swatara Brethren in the Bethel-Tulpehocken area of northern > Lancaster County. John Nicholas Garst (b.1727) was the only one of his > siblings to leave the Reformed faith for the Brethren faith, suggesting > that > he may have married into a Brethren family after settling in Bethel > Township > about 1750. This Bethel Township is now located in Lebanon County, > Pennsylvania, next to the Bethel Township in Berks County. > > Michael Frantz II settled in Cocalico Township in Lancaster County and was > an early member in the Cocalico Society of the Conestoga Brethren > Congregation. Four of his sons and his only daughter married four of the > daughters and one of the sons of John Nicholas Garst. It is not common > for > five siblings from one family to marry five siblings from another family, > especially is they did not live close by when they were growing up. > Bethel > Township, Lebanon County, was not very close to Cocalico Township, > Lancaster > County. One wonders how it was possible that these Frantz-Garst marriages > happened. > > One possible explanation is that the Frantz siblings of Cocalico and the > Garst siblings of Little Swatara may have met at "love feasts." Both > Cocalico and Little Swatara were preaching points in the Conestoga > Congregation which covered an area that included Lancaster, Dauphin, > Lebanon, Berks, and one other county whose name I forget. Both families > were Brethren and would have had opportunities to participate in love > feasts > held by the entire (and very large) congregation. > > Another possible explanation is that the Frantz siblings and the Garst > siblings were blood related. Although there were no relatives of John > Nicholas Garst living in the Cocalico Creek area, there were a number of > first cousins of Michael Frantz II living in the Little Swatara Creek > area. > Michael Frantz (b.1726) of Bethel Township was a first cousin of Michael > Frantz II (b.1725), and he lived on Little Swatara Creek just two farms > upstream from John Nicholas Garst. Michael Frantz of Little Swatara Creek > had a younger sister, Elizabeth Frantz (b.1729), who was two years younger > than John Nicholas Garst. She would have been a prime candidate to have > been married to John Nicholas Garst. She could have been the reason why > John Nicholas Garst became Brethren. She would have been a first-cousin > blood link to Michael Frantz II of Cocalico, so that the children of both > families would have known one another as second cousins as well as being > Brethren. Could it be that five children of John Nicholas Garst married > five children of Michael Frantz II simply because they fell in love with > their second cousins? > > Choosing between the two explanations above, which one makes the most > sense? > If neither, what other possible explanations could there be? > > Please put on your thinking caps. > > Dwayne Wrightsman > Lee, NH > > > ------------------------ > Search the Archives at http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/BRETHREN > ------------------------ > Support Our Sponsoring Agency > The Fellowship Of Brethren Genealogists (FOBG) > For further information contact Ron McAdams mailto:McAdamsr@hotmail.com > ------------------------ > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > BRETHREN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Okay, maybe they didn't exactly fall in love, but that still begs the question. Let's assume that the marriages were "arranged" as you suggest. How and why would John Nicholas Garst of Lebanon County and Michael Frantz II of Lancaster County arrange these five marriages if there was no connection (neighbors, blood relations, etc.) between the two families? Do you think that the marriages were arranged at a Brethren love feast attended by the parents? My own grandmother and grandfather met at Annual Meeting and were married at the next, but their marriage in the 1800s was not arranged. They were in love. But neither had siblings that joined in. My query has to do with five marriages between two distant families. That's a lot! Dwayne Wrightsman ----- Original Message ----- From: "Steve Von Gunten" <stevevg@buckeye-express.com> To: <brethren@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, March 23, 2008 8:58 PM Subject: Re: [BRE] Explaining the Frantz-Garst Marriages > In cases when multiply marriages take place with two distinct families, > the > normal reason has been discovered that these were planned marriages by the > parents of these two families. This common in the 1700's and into the > 1900's.as well. > > SP. Von Gunten > Toledo, OH > stevevg@buckeye-express.com

This may be my simple mind but; I thought that as Brethren married Brethren or other Anabaptist, and on the far west of PA settlements were on 150 to 400 acres in the late 1700's to 1800's, courting had to be difficult as most families had only one wagon and a couple of horses. They normally walked to the meeting houses. Their homes were on farms, not lots with roads. Seemed normal for families to marry families. Mary Ann R, ----- Original Message ----- From: "Steve Von Gunten" <stevevg@buckeye-express.com> To: <brethren@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, March 23, 2008 8:58 PM Subject: Re: [BRE] Explaining the Frantz-Garst Marriages > In cases when multiply marriages take place with two distinct families, > the > normal reason has been discovered that these were planned marriages by the > parents of these two families. This common in the 1700's and into the > 1900's.as well. > > SP. Von Gunten > Toledo, OH > stevevg@buckeye-express.com