Sarah Fretz

ID # 8459, (1791-1871)
BirthSarah Fretz was born on 9 March 1791 at Pennsylvania. 
MarriageShe married Jacob Rittenhouse, son of Michael Rittenhouse and Barbara Hunsberger
DeathShe died on 25 July 1871 at Louth Township, Lincoln Co., Ontario, at age 80. 
BurialShe was buried at Campden Mennonite Cemetery, Clinton Twp., Clinton Twp.. 
NoteThat Sarah's maiden name was Fretz seems reasonably safe to say. Her husband Jacob left a will, of which she was the prime beneficiary. Jacob, however, also remembered his brothers and sisters in the will as well as his brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law. Jacob's will may be found at the Archives of Ontario on microfilm reel GS1-652. It is also available to subscribing members of the Niagara Peninsula branch of Ontario Ancestors and downloadable from their website.

The Niagara branch shows the will on images 400 thru 406 of the reel.

As said, Jacob remembered his brothers and sisters and this agrees with the list of siblings to be found in Vol. 7 of the Annals of the Forty. His sister Margaret is deceased and so he has remembered his brother-in-law, Joseph Fretz. The other in-laws are obviously those of his wife. Brothers-in-law that he remembers include Abraham and Henry Fretz as well as Elizabeth Moyer, wife of Henry Moyer; Agnes Moyer, wife of John Moyer; and Ann Banner, wife of Genet Banner (Ann Benner, wife of Garret Benner.)

In sorting out Sarah's brothers and sisters, the correct names for Anne and Garret Benner were found in Rev. A. J. Fretz's work, A Genealogical Record of the Descendants of Christian and Hans Myer, page 467. They appear near the bottom of the page. Also, page 466 shows a clear listing Sarah Fretz and her husband Jacob Rittenhouse. It's tempting to wonder if Sarah was a widow when she married Jacob, but, for the moment, there is no such evidence. Certainly, Fretz's work offers no such suggestion.

It may be said that the parents of Sarah and her Fretz siblings were Henry Fretz, 1763 - 1820, and Anna Krout, 1784-1806. This information appears on page 465 of the above work.

Death reg. 012422-71 Louth Twp., Lincoln Co.
Sarah Rittenhouse died 25 July, 1871. Age 80. Mennonite. Born Pennsylvania, U.S.
Physician Dr. Comfort. Informant H. Fretz, farmer, Louth. 
Last Edited24 Jan 2021