George Washington Kern

Birth Name George Washington Kern
Gender male
Age at Death 80 years, 7 months, 25 days

Narrative

His middle name comes from the DAR application for Helene Kern Bole Nat'l #: 339020 Ancestor #: A065126 at http://services.dar.org/public/dar_research/search_descendants/?action=list&MyPrimary_Seqn=705674&MyLineageCount=1.

A biographical sketch of George W. Kern, is found in the History of Indiana County, Pennsylvania. Newark, Ohio: J.A. Caldwell, 1880, p. 424a. (Possibly on line at:
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~treasures/pa/indiana/caldwells/).

It reads: "George W. Kern, was born in York, York county, in 1800, and was a son of Joseph and Margaret Kern, nee Steinbaugh, both natives of Germany. The former died in Greensburg, Westmoreland county, where he located in 1807; his wife died in Johnstown. Our subject was married, in 1828, to Margaret Wakefield. Their children were: Joseph Benson; Mary M., m. to Abraham Koplin, d.; Elizabeth, d.; Martha m. to Major A. J. Bolar; William H., m. to Ella Hunter; James, m. to Mary Parker; Lucy, m. to K. W. Dick; and George. William H. was in company H, 12th Pa. R. C. over three years; he was wounded. Our subject was a merchant in Johnstown from 1829 to 1857, and for four of those years was postmaster of the town. In 1857, he located on the Wakefield farm, in East Wheatfield township."

Besides this, the following information is known.

On 27 Nov 1827 in Greensburg, George W. Kern gave an affidavit supporting the naturalization of his brother-in-law Henry Kiel. (Frank Wilson Kiel, Hendrik Gerrit Kiel, Dutch Immigrant to Pennsylvania, Comfort, Texas: Skyline Ranch Press, 2000, p. 37, 38.)

He and Margaret Wakefield married in 1828, and moved to Johnstown in 1829. (John E. Gable, History of Cambria County, Pennsylvania. Topeka, Kansas: Historical Publishing Co., 1926.)

George W. is listed on the census in Conemaugh Town in 1830. (1830 Census, PA, Cambria County, Conemaugh Town, Series M19 Roll 161 Page 179, transcribed by Brian L. Cartwright (at rootsweb.com/~pacambri).

In 1831 he became the first burgess of the borough of Conemaugh (Gable, History of Cambria Co.),

On June 18, 1834, George W. Kern was one of three men who bought nineteen acres of land in Johnstown from Shepley Priestly for $800. (Henry W. Storey, History of Cambria County, Chapter 13, "Land Titles", pages 290-310, as found at http://www.accessible.com/amcnty/PA/Cambria/Cambria13.htm .) George's father-in-law, Joseph Kern, bought out the other two men in 1840, but evidently George still held his interest when Joseph died. Whether George also sold his third to Joseph Haynes in 1847 when the estate of Joseph Kern sold their 2/3 is not known. See Joseph's information.

From 1836 to 1837 George W. Kern served as the burgess of Johnstown Borough. (Shantz and Johnstown: A Souvenir for the dedication of the Joseph Schantz Monument in connection with the fourteenth convention of the German-American Alliance of Pennsylvania, (Johnstown, Pa.: Shantz Memorial Committee, 1913, 174 pages.)

He was named by the state as a commissioner of various companies to build roads in Cambria County in 1834, 1835, 1837, and 1838. (Vi P. Limric, Laws of Pennsylvania Genealogical Data, contributed for use in the US Genweb Archives at ftp.rootsweb.com/ pub/usgenweb/pa/1pa/xmisc/*.*. Her source: The Statutes at Large of Pennsylvania (Harrisburg, 1911).

In 1841 he was postmaster of Johnstown, the office being in his drug store on Clinton St. (McLaurin, John J. The Story of Johnstown. Harrisburg, PA: J.M. Place, 1890.)

George W. was a school board director at sometime in the 1840's or 1850 's (History of the Centennial Celebration of Johnstown, PA, October 5, 6, and 7, 1900, Johnstown: by authority of the Centennial Executive Committee, page 61.

He also served as a justice of the peace for many years. (Henry Wilson Storey, History of Cambria County, p. 348, in a biographical sketch of G. W. Kern's son-in-law, Thomas W. Dick.)

In 1862, George was among those appointed to enroll the militia in Indiana County. (Transcription at the Indiana County Website of the Indiana Register, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Extracts, 24 June 1862-September, 1862: "THE ENROLLMENT."

In 1880 the census reported that he had retired from farming and was suffering from paralysis. ( 1880 Federal Census, Pennsylvania, Indiana Co ., E. Wheatfield Twp.
Series T9, Roll 1135, page 155 E.Dist 135, page 24, indexed at familysearch.org as "Geo. W. HERN.")

He died in 1881, and was probably buried in Sandyvale Cemetery with his wife, although no record of his burial has been found yet. Eleanor Wicks' research says that he was originally buried in Sandyvale Cemetery, then moved to Grandview Cemetery.

His obituary reads:
From the "Cambria Tribune," 31 May 1881: Died in Johnstown on the 28th, Mr. George W. Kern, in the 80th year of his age. He was born in York, Pennsylvania October 31, 1800 and moved when quite young to Greensburg. After his father died in 1829, he came to Johnstown. He is survived by his wife and seven of their eight children, Joseph being the oldest. (as transcribed by Susan Elliott, and posted on the Cambria County Message Board at rootsweb.com, 3 Jul 1999. She has no information on this family.)

In the Index to Wills in Cambria County there is a listing for Kern, George W., Vol 9, Page 27, File #2989.

Parents

Relation to main person Name Birth date Death date Relation within this family (if not by birth)
Father Joseph KernAugust 30, 1772May 23, 1846
Mother Margaret SteinbachOctober 1779April 16, 1856
         George Washington Kern October 3, 1800 May 28, 1881
    Brother     Jacob S. Kern about 1802 September 24, 1829
    Sister     Sarah Kern 1805 between 1864 and 1867
    Brother     Joseph Funk Kern October 14, 1806 May 15, 1884
    Sister     Sibilla Kern December 30, 1808 June 21, 1888
    Sister     Mary Ann Kern December 15, 1810 between 1870 and 1888
    Sister     Elizabeth Kern September 22, 1813 between 1880 and 1888
    Sister     Catharine Ann Kern April 22, 1815 May 26, 1856
    Brother     Henry Riley Kern January 26, 1817 May 26, 1872
    Sister     Eleanor Margaretta Kern February 10, 1819 May 20, 1902
    Brother     Samuel Mclane Kern January 16, 1823 October 14, 1888

Families

Family of George Washington Kern and Margaret Wakefield

Married Wife Margaret Wakefield ( b. December 1808 d. June 30, 1885 )
   
Event Date Place Description Sources
Marriage May 1, 1828     4a
General

From Mary Jane Mains, compiler, Newspaper Accounts of Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1808-1929 (not all inclusive), Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania (Greensburg: Westmoreland County Historical Society, 1994
KERN, George of this borough & Margaret WAKEFIELD of Indiana Co. m Thurs. 1st inst. by John Connelly (5-9-1828 RF)

  Children
Name Birth Date Death Date
Joseph Benson KernApril 24, 1829April 10, 1884
Mary Margaret KernMarch 16, 1831March 16, 1913
Elizabeth KernMarch 3, 1833June 10, 1834
Martha Sybilla KernNovember 7, 1834November 10, 1915
William Henry Harrison KernNovember 6, 1839July 9, 1898
Elizabeth Lucinda KernFebruary 8, 1843about January 26, 1918
James Wakefield KernApril 24, 1845December 12, 1899
George Washington KernMarch 24, 1848October 27, 1919