Christian Frantz III was active in the German Baptist Brethren community of Botetourt County. In 1799, he signed a petition, along with forty-one other Botetourt Brethren, that was sent to the Virginia legislature seeking exemption from fines for not attending muster in the militia. His son-in-law, David Sollenberger, also signed the petition, as did close relatives of all four of his Botetourt County daughters-in-law: Elizabeth Moyer (wife of Michael Frantz), Magdalena Houtz (wife of Christian Frantz IV), Mary Kinsey (wife of Henry Frantz), and Esther Stover (wife of John Frantz).[47] Other Botetourt Brethren who signed the 1799 petition with prior connections to the Little Swatara Brethren included Christian Gish, George Gish, and David Gish (who were sons of Sophia Houk/Hock Gish), Paul Ziegler (son of Philip Ziegler), Christian Houtz, his son Leonard Houtz, and his son-in-law John Meyer/Moyer/Myers (all of whom were from the Tulpehocken/Bethel area), Jacob Garst and Abraham Garst (who were sons of Nicholas Garst), and Michael Minnich (son of Simon Minnich).[48] When the 1810 Botetourt County census was enumerated, Christian Frantz III was living at his Tinker Creek homestead with the assistance of his daughter Magdalin and her husband, Isaac Gaiby, son of Elder Martin Gaby from the Oley German Baptist Congregation of Berks County, Pennsylvania. The Isaac Gaiby family would continue to live with and care for Christian Frantz III during his dotage. On 23 June 1821, Christian Frantz III wrote his Last Will and Testament.[49] It was probated at Botetourt February Court 1824, suggesting that he probably died in the Winter of 1823-4. No wife was named in his will, only his children, which he listed in birth order:
Michael France
Christian France[50]
Mathias France
Barbara [France] Basehoar
Henry France
Magdalin Gaiby
Elizabeth [France] [Sollenbarger] Harshbarger [51]
Anna [France] Wertz
John France
Susanna France
The settlement of the estate of Christian Frantz III was a long and drawn-out affair. Two of the deceased’s sons—Christian Frantz IV and John Frantz—predeceased him, and his remaining three sons—Michael Frantz (of Botetourt County, Virginia), Matthias Frantz (who had stayed behind in Berks County, Pennsylvania), and Henry Frantz (who moved to Montgomery County, Ohio)—died before the estate could be settled. Each death in the family made it increasingly difficult to settle Christian’s estate. The estates of some of the deceased children had to be settled prior to settling the estate of the father. Christian Frantz III’s estate was finally settled, twenty years after his death, in Botetourt November Court 1844. [52] The only child of Christian Frantz III for whom a family genealogy has been published was Matthias Frantz.[53] Matthias was a fourth-generation Frantz who chose to stay behind in 1795 and live on the old family farm on Little Swatara Creek. The Matthias Frantz genealogy book covers his descendants from the fifth generation to the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth. Some of his descendants moved away, and some stayed on. They married Bashores, Brightbills, Gibbles, Keeneys, Kings, Meyers, Reinholds, Wengers, Zieglers, and others from the Little Swatara area. Some of the more-recent Frantz descendants are current members of the Little Swatara Church of the Brethren.
http://www.frenchfamilyassoc.com/FFA/CHARTS/Chart195/Bibliography.htm
