This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Fitzgerald/Custer Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/5UC.2ACE/1270 Message Board Post: Mathias Fitzgerald Mathias Fitzgerald was the 3rd son and the 4th child of John 1740-5-1810 Fitzgerald and Rosanna Wentz 1755-18??. They lived in the Worcester area of Philadelphia/Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Mathias was born July 9, 1786. On Feb.13, 1806, Mathias married Sarah 1787 Custer. Mathias was 20 years of age and Sarah was 19. A Custer family and the Wentz family are shown living in the same general area of the 1790 Montgomery Co. census. Mathias and Sarah are listed in the census of 1810 in Charlestown, Chester County, Pa. Charlestown is south of Worcester. . They have been married 4 years and have 2 sons and 1 daughter. Elizabeth 1807 is believed to be the daughter’s name. John was born in 1809. The other son is an unknown at this writing. James 1811 and Mary Ann 1813 were also born here. Preston 1815, Sarah 1817 and Nancy 1820 were born were born in Fermanagh twp., Mifflin Co., Pa. Fermanagh is in the south central area of Pennsylvania. It is stated on the census, that Mathias in engaged in some form of manufacturing not farming. Between the census of 1810 and 1820 a son dies. Because of the way the censuses were recorded, the names of the wife and children are not listed. In 1823, Mathias and Sarah journey across Pennsylvania to the Scotch Hill area of Farmington, Venango/Clarion County. This county is in the Western part of Pennsylvania. we do not know why they moved. Farming is his occupation in the 1830 census. Two children: William 1824 and Phoebe 1825 are born. This is the end of the children listed for Mathias, age 44 and Sarah, age 43. Two children have moved out of Mathias and Sarah’s home in 1830. John, age 21, has married Susannah 1812 Dunkle and lives next door to his dad. Elizabeth, age 23, is believed to have married Henry Dunkle. Sarah, at age 18, married Elihu McMichael in 1835. Mary Ann married Peter Dunkle and it is believed, her sister Nancy married him after Mary Ann died or was divorced. Preston married Rachael Alsback/baugh. Mathias and Sarah in the 1840 census still have James, William and Phoebe at home. James married the widow Esther Brenneman Elliott in about 1845. John has lost his wife and has married Mary 1824 Beer/s. Mathias is 44 and Sarah is 43. Mathias is farming. The 1850 census shows Mathias and Sarah with William, age 26 and Phoebe, age 25, still at home. William is farming with his dad and listed as a laborer. Preston and two of his daughters have died in 1858. The cause is unknown. The 1860 census shows Sarah is still alive, but Sarah is believed to have died in 1861. The 1870 census shows she is gone. It also indicates Mathias, age 74 and William, age 36 are living with James and Esther. Mathias is still listed as a farmer and William as a laborer. Phoebe is not listed in this census. At this writing she is considered dead or married. It is believed that Mathias died in 1871. He was raised in the German Reform Church and was considered Methodist-Episcopalian at some point in his life. His son-in-law Elihu McMichael was a minister in the M.E. church. We do not know his politics. He and Sarah are buried in the Scotch Hill cemetery. There are head stones, but no dates.* *I have census records for the years 1790 and 1810 through 1870. There are some obituaries that confirm some of this information, maps, and the book, The Early History of Western Pennsylvania. There are bits and pieces of information from other genealogists that are members of this extended Fitzgerald family. Additions and corrections are always welcomed. I do believe this is as accurate an account as I can make at this time, January 30, 2005. Additions and corrections are always welcomed. Ethel Blanche Fitzgerald Stark. Please email me at ethel.b.stark@verizon.net.