Hello Jim,
One of the most confusing aspects of figuring out the close relationship between the Zeller and Batdorf families in New York is the disparate geography of their supposed home villages in Europe.
The Zöller family originates from the areas in and around Etzbach, on the Sieg River. This includes nearby Hamm and Wissen. This is not 100% proven, but there is both direct and indirect sourcing that strongly supports the idea.
By striking contrast, the Batdorf family is said by Jones and Klaus Petry to have originated in Helmerhausen, Thuringia—located more than 250 km away. This lineage is supported by primary sources found in church records. Any hypothesis that claims that Anna Battorfin (widow of Peter Batdorf) is a blood relative of the Zellers has to explain how Anna “Zeller” could have married a widower with family living so far away from her home village in/near Etzbach.
One other important bit of information is found on the Rotterdam Departure Lists to London, where on 3 July 1709, Peter Petturf, his wife and 5 children are recorded on Francis Warren’s ship in Holland. Obviously, Peter Batdorf was still alive when the Batdorf family reached Rotterdam, with 5 children in tow (only 2 survived the voyage to New York). If one proposes a hypothesis that the Zellers and Batdorfs met during their travels, this did not occur until after Rotterdam departure. But remember also that many of the Palatines spent almost a year in London before departing for New York. I don’t think any Zellers appear on the surviving Rotterdam Lists or London Lists.
The other info noted by HZ Jones is that the Batdorfs are listed on the Rotterdam Lists near other families who originated in or near Darmstadt. This led Jones to speculate in his 1986 book that perhaps the Batdorfs were also from Darmstadt. However, if the Batdorf family is actually from Darmstadt instead of Helmerhausen, the geographic problem remains because Darmstadt is only slightly closer to Etzback/Wissen/Hamm than is Helmerhuasen.
Based on Jones’ suggestion of Darmstadt as the origin of the Batdorfs, there is indeed a different lineage from Darmstadt that is sometimes connected to a professor Jacob Peter Batdorf—a man educated in religious scholarship. This Batdorf family originates in Wesphalia, but the grandfather moved to Switzerland—then later immigrated to the Palatinate (perhaps a Swiss Anabaptist?). Whenever you encounter the family name Anspach associated with the Batdorf ancestry, that is because the Anspachs were also from Darmstadt and the Darmstadt Peter Batdorf married an Anspach daughter. I don’t think this is a favored hypothesis for Batdorfs, but perhaps it should be revisited. I don’t know the exact primary origin of this information. I found it in “The Batdorf Family” (1984) by Maxine B. Bennett.
To fix the geographic problem, we somehow need to somehow place an Anna “Zeller” in Helmerhausen or Darmstadt. Alternatively, we might assume that the Batdorfs from Helmerhausen and Batdorfs from Darmstadt are BOTH different from the 1709er lineage—and that the Batdorfs we are looking originate from a location very near Etzbach. That location might be Betzdorf, located just upstream of Etzbach on the Sieg. This would nicely solve the geographic problem (which must be explained if Anna Battorfin’s family name is Zeller). Problem is, nobody every found marriage or baptismal records to support this model. By contrast, The Helmerhausen Batdorfs are well documented with primary sources.
As for the arguments you make about the Hunter subsistence lists, You can play the subsistence list game different ways to suit you hypothesis. Everybody agrees that both Zeller families and the Batdorfin family were somehow connected by the time they reach New York. But the Hunter Lists are not 100% internally consistent. Some entries support certain hypotheses, while other entries fit better to others. We don’t know why the 2 oldest Zeller entries on the list account only for Johann Henry Zeller and one child under 10. As you point out, a Maria Catherina Zoller born in 1695 would be “over 10” in 1710, so that presumed child of Johann Henry cannot be her. Then, on the 24 July 1711 entry Anna Battofin appears with 5 people over 10 in the family unit. After accounting for Anna and her two Batdorf children (or step-children)—you still have to account for 2 more people over 10. That could be other Batdorf children who survived the trip but died soon thereafter. Or, it could be Zeller family members—including Maria Catherina born 1695. Or, it might include the “father” Johann “George” Zeller who died soon thereafter. Also, Johannes and his children if he had any. The basic data in those lists is incredibly informative, but—as Jones and Vallentine agreed—the Zellers and Batdorfs get the “confusing award.”
According to the 1716 Simmendinger register Maria Catherina Zoller (not Anna Catherina) from Etzbach had an illegitimate daughter named Anna Maria with Jan, a negro from Martinique. This is not a made up story, it is sourced data. Furthermore, birth records in Etzabach record a daughter, Maria Catherina, born 1695 to Henrich Zeller and his wife Anna Maria. I am surprised that there is no Wikitree profile for Maria Catherina, and I wonder what happened to her mulatto daughter Anna Maria.