THE KERN FAMILY OF NORTHERN LEHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA HEIDELBERG AND WASHINGTON TOWNSHIPS SLATINGTON AND VICINITY

Kern is a very common family name and there were at least 35 male persons named Kern that came to Pennsylvania before the Revolutionary War. In Lehigh County, alone, there are three distinct Kern families - one in Upper Saucon, one in Whitehall township and one in Slatington. There was also a large Kern family in Bucks County. At Heidelberg Church there is buried an Adam Kern, b. April 11, 1759 and died July 23, 1837. He seems to be one of the Bucks County Group.

The Kern family with which we are concerned are all decedents of Nicholas Kern. Some historians claim that he came to Pennsylvania on the ship "Adventurer" on October 2, 1727. This is doubtful. They probably got this idea from Rupp's book, "Thirty Thousand Immigrants", which lists Nicholas Kern on this ship. The book, "Pennsylvania German Pioneers" contains facsimiles of the actual signatures of the persons who came on this ship. It shows that there was no Nicholas Kern on this ship. However, there was a Nicholas Kern, age 39, on the ship "Plaisance" which arrived in Philadelphia on September 21, 1732.

The first mention of Nicholas Kern in the Lehigh Valley is on September 23, 1734, when he and his wife, Maria Margaretha, appeared as sponsors for a child of Peter Troxell at Egypt Church. Nicholas acquired three tracts of land in 1735 and 1737, which lay in the vicinity of what is now Guthsville. On February 27, 1739, he sold this land to Lorenz Guth, and thereafter lived in the vicinity of Slatington, where the family acquired land extending from the present borough all the way to Lehigh Gap. Nicholas Kern erected a dam on Trout Creek and erected a saw mill and grist mill in what is now the borough of Slatington in 1742. Eight of the family members remained at this place until the youngest children had arrived at maturity. Wilhelm and Johannes remained at the homestead, and took care of the farm and mills which had been erected on Trout Creek.

Nicholas Kern was naturalized at Philadelphia in a session of court which opened on April 10, 1742. He made a will which was dated December 28, 1748 and probated on May 4, 1749, which fixes his death between these two dates. The will is copied into Will Book "I", page 120, Philadelphia. He named his widow, Maria Margaretha and Jacob Farber as executors, and mentions the names of nine children, eight of whom were to share alike in the estate, after the widow's one-third, and the ninth child, Maria Barbara, was to receive only 10 pounds of Pennsylvania currency and a cow, because she had left home and lived in Philadelphia, and had contributed nothing to the estate that he had accumulated. The nine children were:

1. Heinrich
2. Friedrich
3. Cornelia
4. Wilhelm
5. Nicholas
6. Johannes
7. Maria Barbara
8. Georg
9. Lorentz

1. HEINRICH KERN was on the Heidelberg tax list of 1762, but not on any later list. What became of him is not known. There was a Heinrich Kern living in Maxatawney Township, Berks County, a little later and some of his family historians claim he was one of this family.

2. FRIEDRICH KERN was born in 1719 and died on January 27, 1790. He was listed on the Heidelberg tax list of 1772 as a farmer, but he was not enrolled in the militia during the Revolutionary War, neither does his name appear on any of the printed Heidelberg tax lists thereafter. In the U.S. census of 1790 there is listed a Catharina Kern who evidently was his widow. Friedrich and Catharina had a number of children, but there is definite record of only three: 1. Nicholas Kern, born about 1760, appears on the Heidelberg tax list as single in 1785. In 1788 he is on the tax list as married. His wife was Anna and they had a daughter, Barbara, born September 3, 1806. 2. Johannes Kern, born May 21, 1772, baptized at Unionville May 25, 1772. There is no definite information, but he seems to be the Johannes Kern who lived on a farm near Emerald, where the Hazel Dell slate quarry was located. Johannes Kern died in 1839 or 1840 and was buried in the small family burial plot on the farm, which is now obliterated. His wife's name is said to have been Meyer or Moyer. They had a number of children, but a complete list is not known. 1. Daniel Kern, b. March 17, 1809, married Catharina Schneider of Towamensing Township November 6, 1836. He was a farmer near Emerald, and they are both buried at Friedens Church. 2. Magdalena Kern (called Molly), married Peter Kuehner (Keener) who was born November 3, 1811, died March 27, 1880. They were buried at Friedens. 3. Susanna Kern, married John Hains who went "West". 4. Elisabeth Kern, married Samuel Everett 5. Johanas Kern, wife's name was Catharina. They lived near Emerald. They had two children: Deborah, b. September 11, 1814 and Maricha (Maria), born November 29, 1824. 6. William Kern, a farmer - lived near Slatedale

3. CORNELIA KERN acted as a sponsor at Egypt Church in 1744, which means that she was already confirmed, and was therefore born a few years before 1730. She married Martin Sigling and in 1762 lived in Lehigh Township. On the Lehigh Township tax list for 1785 she is listed as a widow. Nothing further is known about her family.

4. WILHELM KERN was born in 1725 and died on August 18, 1800. He owned the grist mill and saw mill along Trout Creek in Slatington which he and his father erected in 1742. Here he sawed the lumber used by Benjamin Franklin in building Fort Allen at Weissport during the French and Indian War. Benjamin Franklin, in his report to Governor Morris, in January 1756, refers to the mill as "Trucker's Mill". Many papers, letters, or reports from the militia officers who were stationed in the region from 1756 to 1764 refer to "Kern's" or "Trucker's" mill. "Trucker" was a name given to Wilhelm Kern to distinguish him from others of the same name, and he was reported to be "of a jovial turn of mind, much given to joking". "Trockner", in German, signifies a joker, a wit, and that was doubtless the term originally applied to the miller, which in time was corrupted to "Trucker". In the Revolutionary War he was a member of the "Committee of Observation" representing Heidelberg Township at the meetings of that committee at Easton on December 21, 1774 and again on May 30, 1776. He was enrolled in the militia in the 5th Class, 5th Company in the General Muster of 1778, 1780, and 1782, although he seems to have been over military age. He is buried at the Unionville Church, but his marble gravestone is now only faintly legible. His will was probated at Easton on June 26, 1801, and his widow, Salome, and his son, Christopher, were named executors. The other children are not named in the will. Lehigh County history says he was married twice, but there is no evidence to prove this. His wife and mother of his children was Maria Salome Baer, a daughter of Christopher Baer who lived near what is now Neffs. They are said to have had 10 children - 7 of them are listed in the German Reformed baptismal record at Unionville Church. 1. Wilhelm Kern, Jr. was born January 16, 1751 and died January 21, 1841. His wife's name was Maria. He was a farmer in what is now Washington Township. He was enrolled in the 2nd Class, 5th Company, Northampton County militia from Heidelberg Township in 1778, 1780, and 1782. He was listed on active duty in Captain Meyer's Company in 1781 and again on April 18, 1782. A complete list of children is not known. 2. Salome Kern, b. September 13, 1779, bapt. at Unionville. 3. Julianna Kern, b. March 15, 1781, bapt. at Unionville. 4. Elisabeth Catharina Kern, b. October 3, 1775, bapt. at Unionville, married someone named Snyder and lived at Millport. 5. Jacob Kern, believed to have born about 1772, there is no further information. 6. Christopher Kern, b. October 27, 1768, died March 28, 1842, buried at Unionville. He married Susana Barbara Bauman, b. October 4, 1778, died March 8, 1869, buried at Friedens. The gravestone says there were nine children. 7. George William Kern, b. May 15, 1772, bapt. at Unionville. There is no further information. 8. J. Nicholas Kern, b. September 29, 1773, bapt. Unionville (gravestone says October 2), died April 28, 1849. Married in 1800 to Hanna Best, b. January 1, 1781, died September 25, 1860, both are buried at Friedens. 9. John Kern, b. November 2, 1777 (gravestone says November 29), died June 11, 1851, married Anna Magdalena Peter, b. January 22, 1787, d. April 29, 1855, both are buried at Friedens. He succeeded his father, Wilhelm, in the ownership and operation of the grist and saw mill at Slatington. They were married 18 years and according to the gravestone had 6 sons and 7 daughters. 10. Daniel Kern, born December 16, 1783, baptized at Unionville. There is no further information.

5. NICHOLAS KERN, son of Nicholas, the immigrant. He was married twice. The name of his first wife is not known. His second wife was Eva Elisabeth Klein, widow of John Dieter Bauman, who died in 1762. In 1762 he was taxed in Towamensing Township, where he later owned a grist mill and 75 acres of land. Nothing is known about the date of birth and time of death, but he was probably born about 1730. In the Revolutionary War he was a Colonel of the 4th Battalion of the Northamption County militia in 1778. Before that he was a Captain of a company of the "Flying Camp" mustered at Amboy, August 6, 1776. Very little is known about his family. In the U.S. census of 1790 he was listed as 1-0-1. There are names of two children: Wilhelm Kern, of which there is no information, and Nicholas Kern Jr., b. April 10, 1760, died July 15, 1829. Nicholas Kern Jr. was married to Barbara Olewein, b. October 2, 1761, died March 29, 1836, both are buried at Stone Church at Kreidersville. He had a grist mill in Towamensing Township. In the Revolutionary War he was a Lieutenant in the 4th Company, 3rd Battalion of the Northampton County militia in 1782. In the U.S. census of 1790, his family was listed as 2-1-2, that is having one male over 16 beside himself, one male under 16, and two females. Who all this family was is unknown. There is a record of one son, Jacob Kern, b. February 14, 1790 and married to Mary Palmer. They had two children: George Palmer Kern, b. December 17, 1817 and Rachel Kern, b. December 23, 1818.

6. JOHANNES KERN (5th son of Nicholas, the immigrant, and the one from which we derive our lineage) was probably born in Europe. He died in 1804. His will is dated October 5, 1804 and was probated November 14, 1804. An account of the estate was filed April 22, 1807. In the Revolutionary War he was enrolled in the 7th Class, 5th Company of Northampton County militia from Heidelberg Township. In 1780 he was on active duty in Captain Roeder's Company. On the 4th of January 1770, Wilhelm and Johannes bought most of the land left to the other heirs. At that time Wilhelm was reported to own 140 acres and Johannes as owning 276 acres. On the Hedelberg tax list of 1785 Johannes was listed as owning a saw mill and 275 acres of land. It is not known whether this was the "Trucker's" saw mill or a saw mill at some other location. In the U.S. census of 1790, Johannes' family was listed as 1-3-3. He was married to Anna Margaretha Arner, a daughter of Felix Arner. The baptism of 4 children is recorded at Unionville. They are Anna Catharina, Susan Margaret, Jacob, and Daniel. The will mentions 9 children and the widow Margaretha. Susanna and Margaret are listed individually in the will. We now believe they were twins. 1. Anna Catharina Kern, b. January 22, 1771, bapt. at Unionville. 2. Susanna Kern, b. February 28, 1773, bapt. at Unionville (twin) 3. Margaret Kern, b. February 28, 1773, bapt. at Unionville (twin) 4. J. George Kern, b. June 6, 1774, d. April 27, 1850, buried at Friedens. Married on June 6, 1802 to Maria Elisabeth Sensinger, b. September 3, 1783, d. January 22, 1865, buried at Friedens. 5. Jacob Kern, b. April 28, 1782, bapt. at Unionville, married to Maria Neff. It is believed that they had five children. 6. Daniel Kern, b. August 2, 1784, bapt. at Unionville, married to Margaret Neff. They had six children. 7. Maria Kern 8. Elisabeth Kern, married John Rehrig. She had died before 1804 when her father made his will. 9. Johannes Kern, b. October 3, 1795, died November 2, 1871, buried at Friedens. Married to Hannah Kunkel, b. October 5, 1796, d. November 18, 1870, buried at Friedens. They had eleven children.
   Our lineage came from J, Georg Kern and Maria Elisabeth Sensinger who had four children: 1. Elisabeth Kern, the baptismal record at Unionville lists the date of birth as November 1, 1800. It is believed that this is an error because the parents were married in 1802. 2. Johan Georg Kern b. March 7, 1806, d. April 6, 1861, buried at Friedens. Married Anna Margaretha Werth, daughter of Christian Wirth, b. June 18, 1801, d. January 20, 1880, buried at Friedens. 3. Conrad Kern, b. June 2, 1808, d. August 6, 1839, married in 1836 to Magdalena (Polly) Snyder, b. December 4, 1808, d. October 23, 1836. Both are buried at Heidelberg. 4. Daniel Kern, moved to Indiana in 1839. He had five children.
   Our lineage comes from Johan Georg Kern and Anna Werth. They had five children: 1. Mary Kern, m. John Kreitz. 2. Elias Kern, b. May 23, 1831, d. December 12, 1888, buried at Friedens. Married on November 13, 1853 to Hanna Best. They had seven children. 3. Thomas Kern, b. October 26, 1839, died January 12, 1914. Married to Rebecca Miller. We have no information about Rebecca's father or mother. 4. Lucy Kern, died young. 5. Rufina Kern, b. November 3, 1841, died September 30, 1868. Married to Jacob Farber.
   Our lineage here comes from Thomas Kern and Rebecca Miller. Thomas was a lumberman and operated a plaining mill in Slatington. He was president of the National Bank of Slatington, was in the Civil War, Company G, 128th Pennsylvania. He had six sons and three daughters: 1. Clarissa (Clara) Kern, married Amandus P. Neff (my mother's mother and father). They had seven children: Oscar, Frank, George, Lillian, Joel, Marguerite, and Frances. 2. Robert S. Kern, b. April 15, 1863, married in 1879 to Susan E. Lentz. 3. Alvin J. Kern, b. March 28, 1865, married June 13, 1893 to Emma J. Schaeffer. She died November 10, 1907. He was a physician in Slatington. They had one daughter, Marion S. Kern, b. 1894. 4. William H. Kern, b. September 19, 1866, d. February 24, 1896. Married Mary Alice Clay of Chester County - no children. 5. Franklin Kern, m. Nellie Moore. He was a druggist in Philadelphia. He had one son, Franklin Kern Jr. 6. Richard E. Kern, b. May 1, 1869, married Sallie Caskie May 10, 1893. They had nine children: David, Thomas, Ella, Ara, Ruth, W. Wallace, Amanda, Frederick, and Samuel. 7. Ella J. Kern, m. W. Wallace Morgan. 8. Lillian Kern, m. C.H. Hodges. 9. George Kern, b. January 16, 1878. He never married.

7. MARIA BARBARA KERN. She is mentioned last in her father's will, but she was not the youngest. She was born in Europe according to the wording of the will, which reads: "my daughter now living in Philadelphia never did contribute and assist us in the least about which I and the rest of the family earned by hard labor, but on the contrary has spent the time she lived in this country for her own advantage, nevertheless, notwithstanding to withdraw my affection as a father from her or to exclude her totally from her portion, I therefore bequeath unto her 10 pounds of lawful Pennsylvania current money, which shall be paid unto her at the time of the reparation, to be made amongst my other children". She further was to receive a cow. It is doubtful whether this daughter ever lived in Heidelberg. A history of Lehigh County published by Everts & Richards, Philadelphia in 1884 makes no mention of her. Nothing further is known about her.

8. GEORG KERN, son of Nicholas, the immigrant. He was still single in 1764 and was probably one of the youngest children. During the Revolution he was enrolled in the 5th Class, 5th Company of Northampton County militia from Heidelberg. He was also on active duty, since he received depreciation pay. In the U.S. census of 1790 he was listed 1-0-4. It seems, therefore, he left no male descendants. He had four children baptized at Unionville: 1. Susanna Kern, b. April 16, 1786. 2. M. Elisabeth Kern, b. February 23, 1790. 3. Christina Kern, b. June 29, 1792. 4. Catharina Kern, b. May 31, 1795. In 1785 he was on the Heidelberg tax list as owning 260 acres, but there is no further information about his family.

9. LORENTZ KERN, the youngest son of Nicholas, the immigrant, and the only one for whom there is a baptismal record. He was baptized at Jordan Lutheran Church, near Guthsville on May 17, 1741 - born on March 5, 1741. He was still single in 1764. The Lehigh County history says his wife's name was Elisabeth Baer, but in the Reformed baptismal record at Unionville her name is given as Eva. Lorentz had one daughter baptized at Unionville: Eva Elisabeth Kern, b. May 27, 1794. She later married John Jacoby. Lorentz Kern's name does not appear on the Heidelberg tax lists, neither is he in the U.S. census of 1790. However, in 1790 a Lorentz Kern lived in Macungie Township and was listed in the census as 2-1-7. In the Revolution, Lorentz Kern of Macungie was enrolled in the 6th Class, 2nd Company, 2nd Battalion of the Northampton County militia from Macungie Township on May 14 1778. The baptismal records of Zionsville Church list six children having the parents of Lorentz Kern and wife, Elisabeth (Eva) Cathar. They are: 1. Johann Heinrich, b. July 6, 1772. 2. Anna Margaret Kern, b. October 16, 1774. 3. Elisabeth, b. August 31, 1780. 4. Maria Susanna, b. January 5, 1783. 5. Magdalena, b. February 7, 1786. 6. Anna Maria, b. November 4, 1791.

Our lineage is as follows:

Nicholas Kern, the immigrant, d. 1749
1. Johannes Kern, probably born in Europe, d. 1804.
2. J. Georg Kern, b. June 6, 1774, d. April 27, 1850.
3. John Georg Kern, b. March 7, 1806, d. January 20, 1880.
4. Thomas Kern, b. October 26, 1839, d. January 12, 1914.
5. Clarisa Kern, b. January 6, 1860, d. March 31, 1931, married Amandus P. Neff.