Caspar was a key figure in the evolution of the Merkel line. He had 4 wives in Iffezheim

The first wife was Francisca Zoller who died 8 months after their marriage so death possible from child birth.

The second wife was Crescentia Fritz. Casper & Crescentia had one daughter by the name of Margaretha who died at the age of 6. Crescentia died two years earlier.

Caspar's third wife was Walburga Merkel. As far as I can tell at this point, Walburga was not directly related to our Merkels. Casper and Walburga were married 8 years and had four children. The last child was Ambrose who was born Dec. 7, 1842. Walburga died Dec. 8, 1842 most likely from complications after the birth of Ambrose. Ambrose died three days later.

Caspar's four wife was Barbara Pfetzer who managed to out live Casper by 2 years. They had eleven children including Jacob (my great grandfather) who came to America in 1867 and Anton who also made it to Rochester.

**** Casper's 4^th wife, Barbara Pfetzer, also descended from the Merkel line. Barbara and Casper are second cousins one generation removed. I guess after the death of his first three wives he decided he might as well marry someone from the family. It's a good thing he didn't give up on marriage since it was through his fourth marriage that got me here.