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

Was there a central school that the kids would have attended? A central place to get supplies? A "New" congregation that opened between the various families? Jeff Dwayne Wrightsman wrote: > 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 > > -- Jeffery G. Scism, IBSSG ~~ "Proponents of each side are vying with determination to prove their ignorance is greater than the other." President Andrew Jackson, discussing a bill going through the US Congress. Visit http://ibssg.org/ For The Blacksheep website, Montgomery County, Putnam County, and Fountain County USGenWeb sites. MORE... Putnam County Indiana Biographies and Obituaries http://ibssg.org/putnam/bios/ Montgomery County Indiana Biographies and Obituaries http://ibssg.org/montgomery/bios/ Fountain County Indiana Biographies and Obituaries http://ibssg.org/fountain/vitals/bios/