The Karnes Crowbar

There were at least four couples with these names. Of course, there were many men named George and women named Elizabeth during the Colonial Times. Those names seemed to be the most popular, probably because of the King's name being George, for the boys. It also seems that almost every family that had a girl or girls, one of them would certainly be named Elizabeth. So it would seem the chance of many opportunities for two people with those names would marry. So begins our tale. We have four couples that had the most impact on the Kerns/Karnes/Karns, etc. etc. etc. on the History of Families.

(1) George and Catherine Elizabeth (maiden name unknown) Kern, Whitehall Twp., Bucks Co. (later Lehigh Co.), Pennsylvania. As we have estimated, George and Catherine Elizabeth were born circa 1707 and were, reputedly, from Switzerland. They arrived in America aboard the ship St. Andrew from Rotterdam, Holland, and later from Cowes, England (on the Irish coast). They arrived on September 26, 1737. (See The History of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania and a Genealogical and Biographical Record of it's Families by Chas. Rhoads Roberts, Rev. John Bear Stoudt, Rev. Thomas H. Kirch and Wm. J. Dietrick, Vol. 3.) Their recorded descendants number will over 300 in seven generations unto the year 1913.

(2) George, Sr. and Elizabeth Kerns in Bedford Co., Virginia. This George, Sr. was the brother of Michael Kerns. He was born circa 1733. It is not known for sure who their father was and when he came to America. The records show six or seven possibilities, but we can find no connection with any of them. (See Rupp's Thirty Thousand Names of Immigrants in Pennsylvania.)

George's father died sometime after they were born and his (unnamed) widow married a widower, Matthew Shaup, with six children of his own. There was a Mathias Shaaup who arrived on the ship Pink Plaisance on September 21, 1732. This is the same ship that two or three Kerns arrived on. (See Rupp's above.) George and Michael were mentioned in Mathias' will in 1750 as (step) sons in Augusta Co., Virginia (now Rockingham Co., Virginia.)

The brothers went to newly formed Bedford Co. (1754) out of Lunenberg Co. Considered to be frontierland by 1760 where Michael is recorded to have purchased land in 1760. George married Elizabeth in 1763/64 and purchased land in 1764. He fathered a son, George, Jr., and died about the same time George was born. It is estimated that George, Jr. was born in 1765. He married his Uncle Michael's daughter, Barbara, on January 22, 1787. (Permission note and marriage bond on record in Bedford Co., Virginia Court House.)

Shortly after George, Sr.'s death, his widow, Elizabeth, remarried to a neighbor, Henry Yocum. Elizabeth's death was not recorded.

(3) George and Elizabeth (Hutsel) Karnes/Kerns. George was born in Southwestern Germany, probably in the Palatine near either Wurtumberg or Baden-Baden. Elizabeth was reportedly born in Virginia. This George and Elizabeth are recognized to be the progenitors of the Karnes family in Texas.

When George arrived in America is not known at this time. There are recorded at least six George who came to America between 1732 and 1752. Some were men and some were listed as children. There could have been many others that were not listed as children. George probably came through Philadelphia and traveled through Pennsylvania to Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania before going to Virginia where her married Elizabeth. They first settled in Hawkins Co., Tennessee where George, Sr. died in 1816. (Will recorded in Hawkins Co., Tennessee.) The Karnes Family, except for John and Jacob, moved on to Mulberry, Arkansas. From thence they moved to Bell Co., Texas before it became a state. This is the family of the famous Texas Ranger Henry Wax Karnes. A city and county have been named for Henry. A ship, the USS Karnes (APA175), was named for Karnes County in WWII.

(4) George and Elizabeth (Betsy) Karnes of Low Moor, Alleghany Co., Virginia. George was one of twins born in 1768/69 to Michael and Catherine (Shaver) Karnes. Jacob was the other twin. Their father, Michael, is believed to have come from Augusta Co. about the time Botetourt Co. was formed. Michael Karnes has contracts with his sons in 1804 giving the land in and around Low Moor in return for their agreement not to claim any share in any of the rest of his estate. He had moved to Bedford Co. then on to Knox Co, Tennessee in 1804. Michael, Sr. died "intestate" in Knox Co. in 1813 leaving nine heirs to share in his estate.

Jacob, believed to be the older of the twins, and George remained at Low Moor for the rest of their lives. They are buried side by side on a high hill, in Karnes cemetery, overlooking Low Moor. Many of their family's descendants lived well into the 1800's and some were in the Civil War. Many headstones are there in this well kept cemetery.

Footnote: There were other Kerns/Karnes in the Botetourt and Alleghany Counties in the late 1700's and early 1800's. Whether they were related or just passing through is unclear at this time.

Timeline for Michael Kerns/Karnes
Timeline for Michael Kerns/Karnes of Bedford County, Virginia
(Includes dates of Geo., Sr., Geo., Jr. and Barbara Kerns/Karnes) by Robert Karnes



Success!

I received this note from Robert Karnes and I have permission to share it with all of you. This is what makes it all worth while!

"Today I am happy to tell you that through my efforts of researching the Karnes Family's name I have connected the descendants of two of the four sons of Peter & Lear/Lara Karnes and their "lost" descendants and cousins.

I want to go back some years to bring you up to speed about what happened. A year or so before, I had the pleasure of meeting, through letters, Allen and Florence of Washington and California. Al and his mother, Mrs. Germaine (Labreque) Karnes were kind enough to send to me their Family's Genealogy. They had worked very hard on their Family's History and had accomplished a great deal. Germaine and Al sent me the names and dates (with a FTM graph) of about 100 descendants related to the story of his ancestors Peter (b. 1825/6 - d. 1868) and Lear/Lara (Yockey) Karnes (cr;1826/27- ????) .

He knew that his Forefather, Peter, had fought in the Civil War, but could not find where he came from before that fateful era, except to know he was born in Illinois abt. 1825 or 26. He knew Peter had married Lear/Lara but did not know her maiden name, at that time. He, also, knew Peter and Lear/Lara had four sons, George W. (b. 1850), William A. (b. 1851), John A. (b. 1853) and James (b. 1861), all born in Ohio.

It was his information that Peter Karnes had fought with the Union side and volunteered while in Ohio. Peter served and returned home after the War then moved his family West to the County of Ottawa in the State of Kansas, sometime between 1866 and 1867. There, he bought and settled his family on 160 acres of Bounty Land.

Then, as I have read in a History of Ottawa County, Peter and two other men were killed by Indians. (I think they were on a rescue mission to retrieve some people who had been captured by Indians. The whole story can and will, probably, be told later by Pam, one of the descendants of George W. Karnes ).

One of the sons, John Allen, left by covered wagon train to the State of Washington. Some time after that another son, James, left by a covered wagon train, to join his brother John A. in Washington. That covered wagon train never reached Washington, and, was never heard from again.

Another son, George W. was married and moved to another area of Kansas until his death in 1884. After a time, some of his descendants went farther South into Oklahoma and on into Texas where they settled near Amarillo.

The fourth son, as I understand it, went to Texas and was not heard from again. Nothing more is known of him at this time.

I only want to state the facts as I understand them. I do not want to infringe on the stories of Al and Pam. I believe they have a more interesting story to tell us and hope that we can hear it from them personally sometime, with names and dates, in the future. I, for one, can hardly wait. It sounds like a story out of the "Old West" except we know it is and will be true.

Now to go on with my story. About four months I had heard of a small newspaper in Texas by Kimm Antell about the Karnes Family called "The Crowbar". I wrote to her and mentioned a couple of things, one of which was about the USS Karnes (APA175) Attack Transport in WW2. She asked for additional information which I sent. I also sent her some other items, one was my "Index Pages" from my "Big White Books" which describes my files of about 26 other Kerns/Karnes Families. They published the "Pages" and Pam of Amarillo, TX wrote to me telling she was a Descendant of Peter and Lara Karnes and would I please give her more information. This I did and after a number of communications, I told her I knew an Allen in California and would contact him and get his approval before giving out his name. Al, enthusiastically, gave his approval to give his "E" mail address to Pam so she could contact him. She contacted Al and they compared histories and knew they had found a missing branch of their Karnes Family.

About 130 years ago (abt. 1868), after their Ancestors were separated they have become in communication again.

Now, with the information I have given, by Pam, with renewed vigor, we are going to try to find the Ancestors of Peter and Lear/Lara Karnes, and where they came from.

On a final note. One of the amazing things about this "Reunion Story" is that both Descendants Al and Pam have copies of factual documents concerning their ancestry covering the same basic facts except they are all different copies from different places. Yet, they mesh together like when you put your two hands together in prayer with each finger holding the other hand tightly together. Really amazing.

I believe we are on the verge of discovering the answers to their Progenitors.

I believe that, with your help and knowledge and ability to gather and analyze all the information, we can glean from the facts we are now aware of, we can find their Forefathers.

Respectfully yours, Bob Karnes. 2/6/99"

Queries

I am trying to trace my family and have come to a dead end. I am not sure where J.A. Carnes came from (my great-great grandfather) but was told by older family members that they thought he came from Georgia. J.A. Carnes b. Dec 8, 1859 in Georgia d. Jan 7, 1931 in Atoka, Ok. married Fannie Sims b. Oct 21, 1861 d. Jan 10, 1916 son 1: J.Y. Carnes b. Jan 14, 1884 married Fronnie Ann Smith b. Nov 6, 1880 d. Oct 17, 1969 (Parker Cem. Houston County Texas). My email address is dwightf@sat.net Thank You

I have been stuck for years on my research for the Kerns/Karnes connection. I have a Moses Karnes (born abt 1783 Bedford County, Virginia) who married Sarah Craig January 14, 1806 in Bedford County, Virginia,(marriage listed as "Moses Karnes or Kerns, s Michel & Sarah Craigg, dt William, William Craig, Surety) as the son of Michael (previous family research). This Moses migrated to Russell County Kentucky where he died about 1851. My husband's line is Charles T Karnes (son of Moses) who is on the 1850 Census of Russell County, KY (page 211B) with his family. Now the interesting part is a previous researcher in the family located a document in Jamestown Kentucky where Charles T. Karnes and his wife Mary sold his interest in land in Russell County, KY. This would seem to me to prove that this Moses Karnes is the son of Moses and grandson of Michael. This is not the same Moses Karnes referred to in the recent newsletter article. Just as information, also in Russell County, KY in 1850 were Job Karnes Sr and Job Karnes, Jr. (Page 237) Job Sr is a brother to Moses. No one seems to have this family or made the connection. Do you have any clues? Paula Sellman dpsmel@msn.com

I am currently working on the families of two of George Karnes, SR's sons (Geo,JR's brothers) John and Jacob who took their families to Illinois from Tennessee about 1818. Nellie Karnes, e-mail: nellieK@juno.com snail-mail: 717 Egyptian Way, Grand Prairie, TX 75050-6305

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

Please e-mail queries to be included in future newsletters to: schmidt@chariott.com

Gravestone Research Poem via Nora Borts Subject: Cemetery Hint rec'd 2/17/99. I received the following little "poem" from a friend who types this on a 3x5 card then puts her name, relationship, snail-mail address and e-mail address on the back, then laminates it, punches a hole in it and ties it to a single stem artificial flower and puts it on her ancestor's graves when she is visiting cemeteries whether those close by or in different states. That way the next person who might be researching may get in touch with her.

I thought this was a neat idea, no matter if you use the poem or just note who you are.

Dear Ancestor:
Your tombstone stands among the rest;
Neglected and alone
The name and date are chiseled out
On polished, marbled stone.
It reaches out to all who care
It is too late to mourn.
You did not know that I exist
You died and I was born.
Yet each of us are cells of you
In flesh, in blood, in bone.
Our blood contracts and beats a pulse
Entirely not our own.
Dear Ancestor, the place you filled
So many years ago
Spreads out among the ones you left
Who would have loved you so.
I wonder if you lived and loved,
I wonder if you knew
That someday I would find this spot,
And come to visit you.