The Karnes Crowbar

Karnes was launched 7 November 1944 by Oregon Shipbuilding Corp., Portland OR, for the Maritime Commission; sponsored by Miss Nora Clancy; acquired and commissioned by the Navy 3 December 1944, Captain R. B. Miller in command.

After shakedown along the California coast, Karnes arrived Pearl harbor 13 February 1945 with passengers and cargo from the West Coast. Six days later she sailed in convoy to land troops at Saipan and other staging areas in the Pacific. At Saipan, she embarked 406 Marines wounded in the Iwo Jima campaign and returned Pearl Harbor 17 March.

With the Okinawa invasion well underway, Karnes departed Pearl Harbor 7 April with troops and supplies to reinforce Americans fighting on that bitterly contested island. She arrived Okinawa 3 May and unloaded troops and equipment while under heavy kamikaze attack. She departed the battle zone 8 May with 866 survivors of ships damaged by kamikazes. Karnes discharged some survivors at Saipan and arrived San Francisco 27 May with the remaining group.

She returned to the embattled Pacific islands, arriving Manila 1 July with troop replacements and cargo. Following this mission, the transport returned Pearl Harbor 23 July to begin training for the anticipated invasion of the Japanese home islands and maneuvers.

Upon the cessation of hostilities 14 August, Karnes began preparing for the occupation of Japan, arriving Sasebo 22 September. She was then assigned to "Magic-Carpet" duty returning men eligible for discharge, and arrived San Francisco 11 November with her first group of veterans. Karnes ended a second "Magic-Carpet" cruise 12 January 1946, returning American fighting men from China. On 13 February, she departed San Francisco and arrived Norfolk 2 March where she decommissioned 11 April 1946. Karnes was returned to the WSA 24 April 1946. She entered the National Defense Reserve Fleet and is berthed in James river, VA. Karnes received one battle star for World War II service.

From http://206.76.136.3/mainst/chouse/usskar/karnes.html:

During World War II, there was a transport ship named U.S.S. Karnes. Many people really don't realize that it was named after Karnes County. On October 19, 1994, servicemen who served on the U.S.S. Karnes visited Karnes City and were honored guests at the Karnes County Courthouse Centennial Tribute.

The U.S.S. Karnes went into commission at Astoria, Oregon, December 3,1944 with a complement of 440 officers and men. This complement was later down to 375 on V.J. Day, and finally down to 250 prior to decommissioning. As part of working with the crew was the Ship's Beach Party, consisting of a "Beach Master," 1 assistant, 1 Medical Officer, and 47 men. Their duties were to make the initial landing with the invading forces, direct and secure the activities on the beach, and then finally to evacuate the wounded from the beach to the ship. The ship would act as a hospital evacuate vessel and transport the casualties to the nearest available base hospital.

The ship was divided into the following Departments: Medical, Navigating , Supply, Engineering, Repair, and Gunnery. From these Departments were divided into these Divisions: H, R, S, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, N, A, B, E, and M.

The U.S.S. Karnes participated in several major activities. Her first was the evacuation of Iwo Jima casualties from Saipan to Pearl Harbor on March 8, 1945. She next tranported replacement troops to Okinawa, arriving there in May 3 and remaining until May 8, during which time the operational area was subjested to 72 separate air attack from the enemy. Then she evacuated casualties from Okinawa to the United States. She spent a part a period of maneuvers in the Hawaiian Islands ,and then to be a part of the Occupation Day activites of Sasebo, Knushu, Japan, on September 22,1945. She left Sasebo to make a trip to the Philippine Islands to pick up more troops and return to Sasebo on October 14.The U.S.S. Karnes returned to the United States on November 11 to undergo repairs at Hunter's Point. During her trip she spotted and sank 3 floating Japanese mines. In a return trip to the Pacific, the U.S.S. Karnes experienced a 50 knot hurricane and a 32 degree roll. For what was supposed to be her last trip on December 16, 1925 she took Occupation troops to Tientsin, China and returned to the U.S. on January 12, 1926.

Places the U.S.S. Karnes has been:
Astoria, Ore.
Long Beach, Calif.
Hilo, Hawaii
Subic Bay, Philippines Is.
Bremerton, Wash.
San Diego, Calif.
Maalaea Bay, Maui
Lingayen Gulf, P.I.
Seattle, Wash.
Norfolk, VA
Eniwetokatol, Marshall Is.
Sasebo Kyushu, Japan
San Francisco, Calif.
Oakland, Calif.
Saipan Island, Marianas Is.
Tientsin, China
Richmond, Calif.
Pearl Harbor, Oahu
Guam, Marianas Is.
Panama Canal Zone
Pittsburg, Calif.
Honolulu, Oahu
Ulithi, Caroline Is.
San Pedro, Calif.
Niwiliwili, Kauai
Okinawa, Nansei Shoto

Information for this report was taken from "The USS Karnes" published in The Karnes Citation on October 19, 1994. Navigator and compiler was R. D. Weakley, Lt. (jg) USNR. The article was submitted to the newspaper by Sam Berry.

According to the Department of the Navy, this ship is also known as the "Mighty K."

The following information was submitted by Robert Karnes (maybob@ix.netcom.com). Each segment is a description of the information that he has available in his personal files. I thought that it was a wonderful bit of information that separated out some of the main branches and hopefully it will help you to be able to piece together exactly which branch is yours. Below is the section index which is another listing of the information that he has in his personal files.

1

Extended Karnes Family of Michael Sr. & George, Sr. Kerns (1730-1898) Who they were descended from has not been proven. It is known that their mother remarried to the widower Matthew Schaup and raised in Augusta Co. They bought land in Bedford County, VA in 1760 and 1765. (100 pages)

2

Extended Karnes Family of Michael and Polly (Bales) Kern/Karns, Jr. Michael Jr. was the son of Michael Sr. (abt 1730 - 1807). Left Bedford Co. and settled in Missouri. (71 pages)

3

Extended Family of George and Elizabeth Kerns, Sr. who came to this country from Western Germany. They settled in Hawkins Co., Tennessee and later into Arkansas and the Texas. They are the family of the famous Texas Ranger Col. Henry Wax Karnes (1812 - 1840). (23 pages)

4

Extended Karnes Family of Madison and Nancy (Dunn) Kerns (1813 - 1885). Madison was the son of Moses and Aggie (Thompson) Kerns. Moses settled in Monroe and Mercer Co's, Virginia (later W. VA). (16 pages)

5

Descendants of John and Cynthia (Sanford) Karnes Family in Pennsylvania (abt 1840 - unknown). (6 pages)

6

Extended Karnes Descendants of Peter and Lara Karnes (1825 - 1868). Peter was born in Illinois. Fought in the Civil War. took his family "west" and settled in Kansas. He was killed by Indians in 1868. The Karnes' soon left Kansas and resettled in the State of Washington. (59 pages)

7

Descendants of Wm. Clay and Emma Robinson (Karnes) Karnes (1857 - 1929). Wm. Clay was a son of Sampson and Charlotte (Smith) Karnes. The Karnes and Gray Families are intertwined for over 150 years. Their families are mostly in Virginia and Valdosta, Georgia. (106 pages)

8

Descendants of Henry and Rebecca (Kincaid) Karnes (1817 - unknown). Henry is another son of Moses and Aggie (Thompson) Karnes. Moses settled in Mercer County, Virginia (later W. VA) and has many descendants still living there. Moses later went to Tazewell Co., VA. (21 pages)

9

Descendants of John and Elizabeth Karnes (1791 - 1873). John settled in and around Peterstown, Mercer Co., VA. Somewhat of a mystery, John is believed to be the son of Moses Karnes, a brother of Jacob Karnes of Low Moor and Clifton Forge, Botetourt Co./Alleghany Co., VA. (9 pages)

10

Descendants of Michael & Catherine (Shaver) Kerns of Botetourt Co. It is believed that this Michael Kerns may be the father of Jacob and George Kerns, twin brother (abt. 1760 - 1840) buried side by side in the Karnes Cemetery high on a hill at Low Moor, VA. (18 pages)

11

Descendants of Patrick Henry and Mary Jane (Sindlinoer) Karnes (1863 - 1917). Patrick Henry was another son of Sampson and Charlotte (Smith) Karnes. His descendants mostly stayed in Virginia. Some are known to live in Culpepper, VA. (12 pages)

12

Descendants of Leonard Karnes, Jr. came from So. Carolina and descendants known to live in Indiana. (5 pages)

Sections Index

#1

Nicholas & Marie Margaret Kerns, Sr. Bucks, Berks and Lehigh Co's. Vol. 2. (100 pages)

#1A

Michael & Susannah Kerns, the Elder. Monongalie Co. Vol. 2 (65 pages)

#1Ab

Johan Jacob & Susannah Weatherholt. Bucks, Berks and Lehigh Co's. Vol. 2. (10 pages)

#2

Nicholas & Elizabeth Kern. Bucks, Berks and Lehigh Co's. Vol. 2. (15 pages)

#3

George & Catherine Elizabeth Kern, Sr. Bucks, Berks and Lehigh Co's. Vol. 2. (75 pages)

#3A

George & Elizabeth Karnes, Sr. Tennessee, Arkansas & Texas Vol. 2. (30 pages)

#4

Frederick & (Anna) Margaret Kern. Bucks, Berks and Lehigh Co's. Vol. 2. (6 pages)

#5

Henry Kern. Bucks, Berks and Lehigh Co's. Vol. 2. (30 pages)

#6

Moses & Aggie & Jane Kerns/Karnes. Virginia and West Virginia Vol. 2. (20 pages)

#7

Isiah & Martha Kerns. West Virginia Vol. 2. (15 pages)

I updated this page. There were some bad links that I removed. Also, there were several pages in which no surname or person listing was available. This made it very difficult to find the ancestor with the Karnes/Carnes name. If your site has been removed from this list and you would like to have it put back on, please e-mail me the URL in which the Karnes/Carnes ancestor is located so that others can find it easier. I will gladly put it back on. I also tried to organize it a little better by the earliest Karnes/Carnes ancestors located on the sites.

Jacob Carnes - Born 1750-1777
TreeCrazyD's Main Genealogy Page - http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/t/h/o/Dana-G-Thomas/index.html
Ancestors of Edward Lee Gilpin - http://www.inetone.net/carver/gilpin.html

George Karnes - Born before 1780
Kimm's Family Tree - http://chariott.com/~schmidt/index.html
Seagle Family Tree - http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/s/e/a/Emily-K-Seagle/index.html

Lance A. Karnes - 1875 - 1958
The Huggins/Tate Home Page - http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/h/u/g/Tracy--Huggins/index.html

Ella Cornelia Carnes
The William Forehand Family Home Page - http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/f/o/r/William-E-Forehand/index.html

George W. Karnes 1800s
Whistler Family Home Page - http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/g/a/r/Cheryl-W-Garrison/index.html

Mary L. Karnes - 1854 - 1942
Ancestors of Darren Jones & Carol Melton - http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/j/o/n/Carol-Ann-Jones/index.html

Mary Karnes
The Rugito-Kirkland Family Tree - http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/k/i/r/Gina-M-Kirkland/index.html
Gina and Joe's Genealogy and Family Page - http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/8908/main.html

Isaac Karn - 1768 - 1849
Descendants of Francis Sprague & Other Related Families - http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/s/p/r/Charles-H-Sprague-jr/index.html

Asa Randall Carns - 1883 - 1961
The McComb Family Home Page - http://northlink.com/~rmccomb/mdex.html

Sarah "Sallie" Karnes - 1780 - 1830
Madam X - http://www.trellis.net/users/madamx/

Samuel N. Karnes
Deschamps Family History - http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/j/o/h/Jeffrey-E-Johnson/index.html

Margaret Karnes
Turpin Home Page - http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/8839/index.htm

Charlie Andrew Karnes - 1883 - 1967
My Genealogy Page-Shipman - https://www.angelfire.com/tx/shirlrun/index.html
Charlie Page - http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Flats/5643/charlie.html

Lonnis Karnes
Index of Surnames - http://genealogy.org/~czech/SURNAMES.html

Gilbert Karnes - 1906 - 1986
Denton Genealogy Home Page - http://www.acun.com/dentons/html/surnames.html

Miscellaneous Karnes
The Brown-White & Mullens Families of the Virginias - http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/m/u/l/Mitchell-D-Mullens/index.html
The Rose Marie Plunk Family Home Page - http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/p/l/u/Rose-M-Plunk/index.html
History of the Stephens Family - http://home1.gte.net/cobbwebb/TitlePage.htm
The Ferren/Farrell Family Homepage - http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/f/a/r/Robert-L-Farrell-ii/index.html
My Genealogy Database - http://www.voicenet.com/~koates/html/index.htm
Laster Family - http://fly.hiwaay.net/~bjacobs/genealogy/laster/html/persons.html
Surnames of Interest - http://www.fred.net/stull/surnames.html

Miscellaneous Karns
Wheeler / Newman / Wainscott/Winscott / Family Home Page - http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/w/h/e/Roy-W-Wheeler/index.html
Brazoria County Museum Home Page - http://www.bchm.org/Genealogy/surnames.html

Miscellaneous Kearns
Kearns Family Genealogy Forum - http://www.genforum.com/kearns/

If you would like to have your web page included in this list, please let me know.

Karnes: I am still looking for information on William F. Karnes born PA about 1816, moved to Quincy, IL and died there in 1849. Also Nicholas Karnes and wife Mary. Probably born in PA in 1780's. They had several children. One was Sarah Jane Karnes born in PA in 1810. They moved to Cincinnati, OH and died there. Thanks again, Dottie Carque; carque@csinet.net

I am seeking info on the marriage of Trish Carnes and Davis Sterling Vaughan b. 1794 m abt 1818. Davis married several times and I am in need of dates to prove the mother of my ancestor Judson Henry Vaughan b 1829. There is some question to Judson belonging to this family group at all. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Also, Davis had a brother that married a Carnes. Since it was common to find brothers that married sisters I would like to mention their marriage too. James Vaughan b. 1800 married Catherine Carnes. Davis' family migrated from NC>GA>AL>TX. Any help would be appreciated. Please e- mail me at: TreeCrazyD@aol.com or write to Dana Thomas RR 2 Box 193-A Hughes Springs, Texas 75656

My Abraham Carnes, Carns, Kearnes, Cairnes, was originally from Scotland and then moved to North Ireland for awhile before coming to U.S. I suppose they had to leave Scotland, like many others, because they were on the wrong side of the political fence, and many leaving in the "dark of the night". In any event, my ancestor arrived in the U.S. at the age of 19 in 1789. He came to Augusta County, Virginia and land records substantiate him purchasing land in 1794 from Andrew Thompson, and then in 1975 he married Elizabeth Thompson, daughter of Andrew. I have searched for over 30 years for the birthplace of Abraham in N. Ireland and the names of his parents, without any luck. My Gr. Aunt worked on this a long time before I started, even making a trip to N. Ireland, but to no avail. Jim Carns jcarns@pearl.mhtc.net

I am researching "Booker" family tree and have a connection to Carnes (Ontario Canada early 1800's). I know that there are Carnes connected to this branch living in Texas. The family line in Canada is Mathew Carnes /Hannah Fathers, their son Walter Mathew Carnes /Mary Ann Barry, their daughter Nancy Ann Carnes /William Booker. All were born in Ontario or Quebec and I know Walter Mathew Carnes died in 1891, Mary Ann Barry died 1894. In an Obit for a Descendant of Walter Mathew Carnes, it listed children living in Texas. (I don't know where.) --- Helen Fortney at helfor@istar.ca

I am working on my family line and have hit a stump. My gfather Sewell Bates Norris was born in Fayette Co, Tx 12.9.1897 and had several siblings: Jeff, Charles Bryan, Mary Margaret, Jim; also listed in Mom's bible are John Karnes and Clarence Karnes, and half-brothers Boyce, Troyce and Ewell. I will be glad to share. Also researching Calhoun, Mayfield, Robertson, Leigh, Taylor, Crockett, Townley, Drisdale, Royal, Blanton and Burnet - all of Tx. Thank you. dnorris at dnorris@pics.net

Instructions regarding queries: If you are interested in submitting a query, please use the following format:

Your Name

Address

City, State, Zip

Country (if not US)

Surname

Query

E-mail

Family Tree Web Page

There is no limit to queries. However, please try to keep them brief and to the point. Only put the essential places and dates. (i.e.: birth, marriage, death) If someone thinks that there is a link, they will contact you for more information. If you don't have an e-mail or family tree web site (not just a personal), then please put n/a.

Please send all queries to be submitted in this newsletter to schmidt@chariott.com or, in lieu of e-mail, Kimm Antell, 910 Cypress Station #1503, Houston, TX 77090. E-mail is preferred. Subject: Karnes Crowbar

I hope that this newsletter has been of a help to you or at least been interesting and informative. Please let me know if you have any ideas or requests to be added to the newsletter. Cheers!

Dear Santa:

Don't bring me new dishes; I don't need a new kind of game. Genealogists have peculiar wishes; for Christmas I just want a surname. A new washing machine would be great, but it isn't the desire of my life. I've just found an ancestor's birth date, now I need the name of his wife. My heart doesn't yearn for a ring that would put a real diamond to shame. What I want is a much cheaper thing: please give me Martha's last name. To see my heart singing with joy, don't bring me a red leather suitcase. Bring me a genealogist's toy: a surname, with dates and a place.

== Author Unknown