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.
Events
Event | Date | Place | Description | Sources |
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Birth | October 3, 1800 | York, Pennsylvania, United States | 1 | |
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Death | May 28, 1881 | Johnstown, Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States | 2 | |
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Residence | April 30, 1827 | Greensburg, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States | 3a | |
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Occupation | April 30, 1827 | Greensburg, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States | hatter | 3 |
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Occupation | merchant and farmer | |||
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Parents
Relation to main person | Name | Birth date | Death date | Relation within this family (if not by birth) |
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Father | Joseph Kern | August 30, 1772 | May 23, 1846 | |
Mother | Margaret Steinbach | October 1779 | April 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 |
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Married | Wife | Margaret Wakefield ( b. December 1808 d. June 30, 1885 ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Children |
Name | Birth Date | Death Date |
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Joseph Benson Kern | April 24, 1829 | April 10, 1884 |
Mary Margaret Kern | March 16, 1831 | March 16, 1913 |
Elizabeth Kern | March 3, 1833 | June 10, 1834 |
Martha Sybilla Kern | November 7, 1834 | November 10, 1915 |
William Henry Harrison Kern | November 6, 1839 | July 9, 1898 |
Elizabeth Lucinda Kern | February 8, 1843 | about January 26, 1918 |
James Wakefield Kern | April 24, 1845 | December 12, 1899 |
George Washington Kern | March 24, 1848 | October 27, 1919 |
Pedigree
Source References
- John T. Humphrey: Pennsylvania births, York County, 1730-1800
- Susan Elliot, posting to Rootsweb Cambria County Message Board, 3 Jul 1999, of his obituary in the Cambria Tribune dated 31 May 1881.
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Indenture Papers, Patrick McQuaid to JS and GW Kern, 1827, Greensburg, PA
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- Date: June 7, 2014
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Mary Jane Mains, compiler: Newspaper accounts of births, marriages & deaths, 1808-1929 (not all inclusive)
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- Page: citing Westmoreland Republican and Farmers' Chronicle May 9, 1828
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