Michael Frantz Sr. (1687 - 1748)

Born 1 Sep 1687 in St. Jakob, Basel, Basel, Switzerland

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 25 Sep 1748 at age 61 in Conestoga Township, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

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Biography

Michael Frantz was born on 1 September 1687 in St. Jakob, near Basel, Switzerland,^[1][2] the only known child of Matheus Frantz.

He married Anna Unknown. She bore him one known child, a son whom they named Michael.

Sometime prior to 1717, he moved from Switzerland to Hassloch, Germany], in the Palatinate. Moved from there to Krefeld, Germany] in 1720.

On 30 September 1727, when he had recently turned forty, Michael Frantz, Sr., age 41(?), arrived in Philadelphia on the ship "Molly" with son Michael Frantz Jr., age 2.

"Michael Frantz ... settled, according to tradition, in Lancaster county, Pa., on the Cocalico creek ... This seems at this time to be without satisfactory proof. On the authority of Alexander Mack, Jr., he, his wife and a daughter were members of the [Schwarzenau Brethren?] church in the old country, but that these did not come to America with him seems to be a certainty ... (Frantz et al 1996, vol i, p 10, quoting "The Dore Frantz Manuscript"). (His wife may have died en route to America.)

"Then on Sept. 29, 1734, history becomes more clear. On that day Conestoga was organized as a [German Baptist Brethren] church by Elder Becker, and Michael Frantz was baptized and chosen leader of the new congregation. ... The next year, 1735, hands were laid on him and he was ordained Elder. Assuming charge of the new congregation, he gave himself to his task so ably, so wholeheartedly, and with such deep consecration, that ... one can but honor him as one of [the] great ministers of his time. ... From a group of twenty members, the church at Conestoga grew to about two hundred under his ministry." (ibid, pp 10-11).

On 25 Sep 1748, just a few weeks after his sixty-first birthday, Michael died of unknown causes]. in Conestoga, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. {Alternate death date: On 29 Sep 1734, when he was in his later forties, he died of unknown causes in Conestoga, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.^[3])

Buried in Cocalico Church of the Brethren Cemetery, Denver, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, but the headstone is missing.

Citations

1. ↑ Wrightsman, Dwayne <dwayne55 AT comcast DOT net>, Daughters of Christian Frantz II (BRETHREN-L Archives Archiver > BRETHREN > 2007-07 > 1183511625. Date: Tue, 3 Jul 2007. Archiver. rootsweb.ancestry.com, URL: http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/BRETHREN/2007-07/1183511625. The Frantzes (Frances) who married Gishes and moved from Botetourt, VA, to Muhlenberg, KY, were of the Michael Frantz III line. Thornton Perry Frantz was of the Christian Frantz III line. Michael III and Christian III were second cousins. The descendants of Michael Frantz I (b.1687) are much better known than the descendants of his older brother Christian Frantz I (b.1685).
2. ↑ Wrightsman, Dwayne <caandrew AT vci DOT net> “ANDREWS and related lines of Virginia Tennessee Pennsylvania Ohio,” © 1997 URL: http://www.oocities.org/heartland/plains/5971/
3. ↑ Wrightsman, Dwayne <caandrew AT vci DOT net> “ANDREWS and related lines of Virginia Tennessee Pennsylvania Ohio,” © 1997 URL: http://www.oocities.org/heartland/plains/5971/

Acknowledgments

• Patricia Prickett Hickin created Michael Frantz I. (Imported data from GEDCOM upload #122809, Person I3851) on 17 Aug 2018.

Sources

• https://tpettit.verio.com/family/grisso/fg01/fg01_130.htm

• "Frantz Families -- Kith & Kin," compiled by Dore M. Frantz, Sr., Lowell H. Beadhler, Hazel Frantz Turner, Lorraine Frantz Turner, et al.; edited by Lorraine Frantz Turner; copyright © 1996 Lorraine Frantz Turner.

• Emerson, Eddy L. <elemerson AT pldi DOT net>, “Mary Frantz McConnell DOB and DOD,” (Frantz Family GenForum # 402, 18 Apr 2001. Genforum.genealogy.com, URL: http://genforum.genealogy.com/frantz/messages/402.html.

• Hartman, Don & Jeanine <FamilyHart AT aol DOT com>, “FamilyHart (Hartman Family) Pennsylvania Dutch Genealogy Family Pages and Database.” Copyright FamilyHart 2007 URL: http://midatlantic.rootsweb.ancestry.com/familyhart/.

• Wrightsman, Dwayne <caandrew AT vci DOT net> “ANDREWS and related lines of Virginia Tennessee Pennsylvania Ohio,” © 1997 URL: http://www.oocities.org/heartland/plains/5971/.

• Wrightsman, Dwayne <dwayne55 AT comcast DOT net>, Daughters of Christian Frantz II (BRETHREN-L Archives Archiver > BRETHREN > 2007-07 > 1183511625. Date: Tue, 3 Jul 2007. Archiver. rootsweb.ancestry.com, URL: http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/BRETHREN/2007-07/1183511625.

• Memorial for Elder Michael Frantz, buried in Cocalico Church of the Brethren Cemetery, Denver, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA.