Johann Georg Müller and Maria Martha May

Notes about the Records for this Family

During a trip to Germany, members of my family and I were able to visit the Stadtarchiv Mainz. It was suggested that as Franz Meler came from Mainz, he should be in the archive's extracted index card catalog. Meler, Mehler, and other variations were searched but only one card could be found with a christening for someone whose name was close to Franz Meler of anywhere near an appropriate age (about 1747) (credit goes to my brother for suggesting that we search the Müller drawers). That card was for Franz Michael Müller, son of Georg and Maria, in the Sankt Emmeran parish of Mainz in 1748. I have since been able to view a copy of the original Kirchenbuch records on microfilm and to search through the index cards again (thanks to the addition of these cards as an Ancestry database) and confirm that there was indeed only one likely candidate for our Franz.

A search for Georg and Maria's marriage shows only one marriage within an appropriate time frame. This is for a Johann Georg Müller and Maria Martha May, which took place in Sankt Emmeran parish in 1733, the same parish as where Franz was christened. A search for christenings for children of this couple turned up only one positive identification, that of an Eva Margareta Müller, daughter of Johann Georg and Maria Marta, at Sankt Emmeran in 1734. This does leave a gap between the births of the two children of fourteen years. While concering, this is not a major obstacle, as there are a number of possible reasons for this gap, such as a series of miscarriages or stillbirths or other children who could not be positively identified as belonging to this couple. It should be noted that there are christenings for a Joseph Müller in 1750 and a Joseph Anton Leonhard Müller in 1752, both sons of a Georg and Maria Johanna, at Sankt Ignaz. No additional cards for the parents have been found. However, there is difficulty in the facts that this Georg was listed as "B. und Weinbrenner" (wine burner, distiller of alcohol), that a godparent of Joseph was a fellow Weinbrenner, that a godparent for Joseph Anton Leonhard was a "Schultheiss der Stadt Mainz" (a Schultheiss being a head of a municipality or other official). I find it difficult to believe that the son of skilled tradesman with connections to not only others in his trade in Mainz, but also such a high-ranking city official, would be tempted to leave Germany to settle a farm in Russia. Add to this the fact that this couple was living in another parish. While the couple could have moved to a new parish, this is one more strike against that couple being our Georg and Maria. The connection to Johann Georg Müller and Maria Martha May is more likely.

This leads to the question of Johann Georg Müller and Maria Martha May's origin. It is difficult to identify this for Johann George as there are three children of that name at the appropriate time frame in Sankt Emmeran alone (and this doesn't include other possible candidates in other parishes): Johann Georg Müller, illegitimate son of Johann Georg Müller, soldier, and Elisabetha -- (marked as "persona ameus"--I am uncertain of the meaning of this label) in 1704, Joh. Georg Müller, son of Franz Müller, soldier, and Anna Maria in 1698, and Joh. Georg Müller, son of Johann Müller (occupation given but the handwriting is difficult to read) and Gertrud in 1699.

Maria Martha May is easier to identify. There are no Maria Martha Mays in Sankt Emmeran but there are two candidates outside of this parish, both in Sankt Ignaz. The first, Maria Martha Maÿ, daughter of Matthaeus and Katharina, christened in 1699, while perhaps possible, is unlikely. She would have been about 49 at the time of Franz's birth. The second is a Maria Meÿ, daughter of Johannes Friedrich and Juliana Franziska, in 1706. This would make her about 42 at the birth of her youngest child. The Mays seem to have moved from Sankt Ignaz to Sankt Emmeran, as evidenced by the records of two additional daughters: 1) Maria Anna Maÿ, daughter of Johannes Friedrich and Juliana Regina Franziska was christened in 1712 at Sankt Ignaz (a woman of this name married at Sankt Emmeran in 1736), then 2) Maria Elisabetha May, daughter of Johannes Friedrich and Juliana Franziska Regina was christened in 1714 at Sankt Emmeran (a woman of this name married back in Sankt Ignaz in 1734). It is plausible that Maria Meÿ was Maria Martha May and that she moved as a child to Sankt Emmeran parish with her parents and sister Maria Anna, where she later married Johann Georg Müller.

Summary of Sources

1. Kirchenbuch, 1540-1875, Katholische Kirche Sankt Emmeran Mainz, Taufen 1723-1798, FHL Microfilm 957272.
   
2. Ancestry.com. Mainz, Germany, Church Index Cards, 1585-1807 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Original data: Mainz, Germany, Church Index Cards 1500–1797. Stadtarchiv Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
3. Boyd, Darryl et al. (trans.), Köhler Parish Records, 1803-1895, Concord, CA, 2021.

Source Materials

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Church Records

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Christening record in the Church Book (Kirchenbuch) of St. Emmeran, Mainz

Source: Kirchenbuch, 1540-1875, Katholische Kirche Sankt Emmeran Mainz, Taufen 1723-1798, FHL Microfilm 957272.

Index cards from Stadtarchiv Mainz with information extracted from Mainz church records

Source: Ancestry.com. Mainz, Germany, Church Index Cards, 1585-1807 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Original data: Mainz, Germany, Church Index Cards 1500–1797. Stadtarchiv Mainz, Mainz, Germany.

Köhler Church Records

Line number    Age               Death date    Name                         Village        Parish of record

9                       60                  1808  Dec 31   Franciscus Mehler    Leichtling    Semenovka

Source: Boyd, Darryl et al. (trans.), Köhler Parish Records, 1803-1895, Concord, CA, 2021.

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Author: Michelle A. Boyd
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Last updated 27 December 2021