Query: BELTZ of Jennings and Scott counties

BELTZ—I am looking for information about the parents of my great-great-great-grandmother, Malinda BELTZ (born 1818 in Ohio), pictured at left, who married Rev. William B. LEWIS on 19 March 1835 in Scott County, Indiana. The Lewis family was from nearby Jennings County, and Malinda and her husband lived there for the rest of their lives.

I have a theory I haven't been able to prove yet. I suspect that Malinda's father was Andrew Beltz. According to Bureau of Land Management records, an Andrew Beltz who lived in Hamilton County, Ohio purchased land in Scott County, Indiana in 1835. I can’t find anyone with the Beltz surname in the 1830 census for Scott County, and Andrew Beltz doesn’t appear in the 1840 census, but in the 1840 census for Jennings County there is a Jane Beltz listed as a head of household—she is on the same page as William B. Lewis. In the 1850 census Jane Beltz has remarried to a DUNCAN and moved back to Hamilton County, Ohio. She has a son, Andrew Beltz (born about 1836) and a daughter, Mary Beltz (born about 1838).

My theory is that Andrew Beltz married the much younger Jane in Hamilton County, Ohio. He purchased land and moved to Scott County, Indiana in or before 1835, when he was in his 60's. I suspect this is how my great-great-great-grandmother Malinda came to Scott County. I think Andrew fathered two children by Jane, Andrew and Mary, and died between 1838 and 1840. I hope someone can help me prove or disprove this theory.

Contact: Susan Loertscher (sploertscher@yahoo.com)