The main locations for our Ancestors were Switzerland (1) however our first know Metz ancestor, Lodowick Metz Sr, is said to have been born “near Metz” then in Alsace/Lorraine, France (3). There was much migration during the time period 1550 – 1750, due to wars and persecutions. Many Mennonites fled from Switzerland to the Palatinate, Germany (2) and Alsace, France (3) on pain of death in Switzerland.

The Netherlands (4) became another location where a number of Mennonites emigrated to. Even more traveled through the Netherlands to Rotterdam on their way to British Colonial America. The Dutch Mennonites became great supporters of their brethren in Switzerland and the Palatinate by sending funding for emigration to their persecuted brethren, along with food and clothing as they supported them on their journey to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (5) then in British Colonial America.

Although it seems without question that our ancestor Lodowick Metz was a Mennonite and was known in the Mennonite community in Pennsylvania, we so far have not been able to locate any Metz surnames in lists and records of Mennonites in the Palatinate, Switzerland, or France. It is possible his parents were not Mennonites and that he converted as an adult. It is also plausible that we have not identified his actual family name.

Lodowick’s father is said to have been Peter von Metz (or van Metz or perhaps in French, de Metz), which we understand to be a description (“from Metz”) rather than a surname. Deeper research is currently (2024) being conducted in records of most likely locations within those various countries within the relevant time frames to try to locate potential matches for one or more relatives.