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The Montz Family of Louisiana 1721 - Present |
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by Monty Montz |
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Page 27 |
ON PAGE 65 OF DEILER'S WORK, HE INDICATES THAT ONE OF THE first records of St. John The Baptist Church (now
St. Peter's), started with the marriage of Anton Manz of the diocese of Strassburg (Europe), the son
of Jos. M. and Anna Maria Laufer, who married Sibylla Bischof, daughter of Joseph Bischof and Anna
Maria Raesar, of St. John's Parish. The Raesar family came to Louisiana in 1721.
(41)
THE YEAR MENTIONED IN THE PASSAGE WAS 1772. HOWEVER, IT DOES give a clue as to the original area in Europe in which
we could speculate where Johann Baptist Manz came from. This was Strassburg, Germany. Today, it is known as
Strasburg, France.
THE REASON FOR THIS IS THE FACT THAT PERHAPS JOHANN ORIGINALLY came in 1721, and settled on the German Coast, and
then sent word back to his family members to his original town of disembarking, indicated the
conditions to which he was experiencing, and so perhaps other brothers or other relatives ventured to America. The
time span from 1721 to 1772 is only 51 years. Therefore, other persons named "Manz" came to Louisiana and
settled in the approximately of the German Coast after 1721. At one time, this author remembers through
tradition that folklore had it seven brothers ventured to Louisiana named Manz.
This may or may not be true, but it is evident that all brothers possibly did not
venture together at the same time.
THE FACT SHOULD BE STATED THAT IF A LARGE GROUP OF PEOPLE
from Europe came to Louisiana by the name of "Manz," more than likely the name would not have changed
for reasons mentioned later, and also the population today would probably have been much larger than a mere
maximum of four-hundred families.
TRADITION KNOWN BY THIS AUTHOR STATES THAT THE MONTZ FAMILY originally descended from Alsace-Lorraine, in Germany.
This could very well be fact, for all purposes, since Andre Mance, as Deiler indicated, came from
Strassburg, a city in the province of Alsace.
41 Deiler, page 65