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Ancestors of ELMER MEARKLE KARNS "Under Construction"

Generation No. 2

      2. ALVA [ALVAH] HIXON KARNS, born June 25, 1854 in , Bedford Co., PA; died March 13, 1939 in Bellingham, WA ¹. He was the son of 4. JOHN HEFT KARNS and 5. RACHEL HIXSON. He married 3. SALOME MEARKLE Abt 1878 in , Bedford Co., PA.

      3. SALOME MEARKLE, born November 28, 1859 in Monroe, Bedford Co., PA; died September 16, 1896 in Bedford Co., PA ². She was the daughter of 6. GEORGE MEARKLE and 7. NANCY SHAFFER.

Notes for ALVA [ALVAH] HIXON KARNS:
Alva Hixon KARNS was born in a small, picturesque mountain valley in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, south of the town of Everett, on June 25, 1854. He was the fifth child of eight born into the John Heft Karns family. Alva's middle name, Hixon, which was his mother's surname, carried on the custom of giving a family name to the children. His mother was Rachel Hixon, daughter of John Hixson and Mary Forney. He was usually known by his first name, Alva, which was sometimes spelled as Alvah.

While there is no firm proof, family stories indicate that the Karns family from several generations earlier came to America as Hussian Soldiers from Germany. The family probably crossed the Delaware River in New York, and following the Revolutionary War remained in the American frontier land.

The schools in the small valley of Pennsylvania where the Karns lived usually had only one room, ordinarily heated with a potbellied wood or coal stove. Many of the children in a school would have been related to each other since there were several other families in that area who intermarried frequently.

Their world was quite isolated. The Wright Brothers made their first historic airplane flight in 1903. The radio a new and mysterious machine that connected them with the outside world. Alexander Graham Bell exhibited his telephone in 1876, but phones were not available immediately to everyone--especially to small rural areas in the mountains of Pennsylvania. As they heard of this wonderful talking machine, they no doubt rigged their own tin cans with string and pretended that they, too, were using a telephone. By 1880, many cities had telephone service, but they certainly did not look or perform like the touch-tone phones of the end of the 20th century.

Between 1850 and 1900, fifteen more states joined the union, including most of the western and Great Plains states. As they heard the news, the formation of the new states was exciting both to residents of their valley as well as to people in the rest of the country. Expansion in the West soon prompted the need for a transcontinental railroad. In 1869, the first such railroad was completed and there was a great celebration surrounding the event. More railroads followed.

About 1878, Alva married Salome Mearkle in that small valley area in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. Living conditions were very primitive. Their first child, Nancy, was born about 1880 but died soon after and was buried in the Rockhill Cemetery at Clearville, Pennsylvania. Other children were born, including John, Bessie, Osa, and Harry. But the family was saddened again when the next child, Oliver, died when very small. There was another burial in the same cemetery. Arthur, Elmer, and Carl came into the family, but pneumonia took the life of their mother, Salome, on Sept. 16, 1896, the same day her father, George Mearkle, died. Carl was about one year old at that time. Salome was laid to rest in the Rockhill Cemetery, south of Clearville, Pennsylvania, beside her two other children. Alva faced the future alone with seven children to care for.

Life was busy with tending to the simple necessities of life in that rural area. Finally, the two smaller boys were placed in foster homes in the area. Elmer lived for a few years with the Grubb family, believed to be relatives of the Karns, and Carl was placed with the Ferguson family. Mrs. Ferguson was a sister of Salome. Elmer remembered Mrs. Grubb as "Mother Grubb" and a picture of her still remains in his family, along with a small New Testament with the words, "from Miss Olive Grubb, Dec. 1902."

Alva was a shoe cobbler by trade, and no doubt spent time in the growing of crops as well to help feed his family. Since two of his older brothers, Simon and Albert, had already migrated to the West, in 1904 Alva gathered up his children and prepared for a trip by train to eastern Kansas where his brothers had settled in the Englevale, Kansas area. Alva, now a widower with seven children, believed the Allegheny mountain area and its coal mining was no place to raise a bunch of little boys and their sister. As he looked at the future ahead for his children, he dreamed of a better life for them.

Remaining in Pennsylvania were the two eldest children, John M. and Bessie. John, a teacher, was married to Anna Bussard, and in 1911 they and their four children came to Kansas. Bessie, also a teacher by training, later married Scott Jay and they had four children. When their home burned to the ground she, Scott, and the small children followed her father to Kansas for a new start in 1913. That was the year the grasshoppers ate the hoe handles if the tools were left outside. This was pioneering!

Traveling on the train with five children for several days, taking all the possessions they had, being sure there was enough food to last during the trip, etc., must have taken a lot of courage for this young widower. The children, as well as Alva, must have sensed a great amount of curiosity, adventure, and no doubt some apprehension about the future. We can only guess what they felt as the train chugged along the rails through the mountains of Pennsylvania across the states to the west, and then into the flat lands of Kansas. They settled first near the brothers in Englevale.

After a few years, Alva and the family moved further west into the plains areas of Kansas, including Plains, Dodge City, Greensburg, and Ford. They finally settled north of the Arkansas River at the bend of the road as it turns northwest leading to Dodge City. One of many critical times during these years was the great flu epidemic of 1917. In contrast to many families of that time, all of Alva's family survived. The younger boys lived there with Alva until they were grown.

During that time, Grace Geary came into the home to help with the housework. Later, about 1917, Alva and Grace were married. Several years later they moved to the Bellingham, Washington area where Alva died of apoplexy (a stroke) on March 13, 1939. He was cremated.

Though the miles between the families were not so great, the fact that they were in different schools, attended different churches, and had many responsibilities caused some of the families to have very little personal contact most of the year. There was, however, one event that seemed to bond the family together. In 1915 Alva's family started holding their annual family reunion. Their eastern Kansas cousins sometimes came west to attend and through the next 65 years the reunions continued. In July or August every year the Karns Family Reunion was held. Most of the aunts, uncles, cousins, and sometimes relatives from the Hiram Karns family groups, and occasionally cousins Cromwell and Rachel Snyder, met together for the reunion. It was a happy time when everyone tried to catch up on the news of family activities for the past year.

The families have grown and prospered. Those who are past the middle of their life span now and have known the pioneer fathers know that the younger ones are going to have to do well to outdo the accomplishments of their pioneer grandfathers who believed in work, education, and God.

      Written by Jean Ladd, daughter of Elmer Karns, in 1997.

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ABOUT TWENTY YEARS EARLIER . . . before Alva came to Kansas

Other brothers of Alvah pioneered in Kansas. Hiram H. KARNS pioneered in Crawford County near Pittsburg, Kansas in 1882 after leaving Bedford County, Pennsylvania. This area was in the heart of the world's largest soft coal mining area near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania., which was about 100 miles west of his home. Coming west he located near Pittsburg, Kansas in the coal mine area there. Hiram brought with him his wife and their four children. In this new country, he sunk a coal shaft, farmed and became a businessman in the town of Englevale, Kansas. Here his family increased to a number of ten. Two of his children, Mrs. A. C. Stwalley, the oldest child and born while the family still lived in Pennsylvania, and Mrs. Hattie Carlin, the youngest, reared their families in the Ford, Kansas community.

About the same time that Hiram arrived, another of Alva's brothers, Albert, came to Crawford County to settle. Most of the children of Albert's family later moved to the Kansas City, Missouri vicinity.

-- as reported in THE BUCKLIN BANNER, August, 1957

_______

A LETTER CONCERNING ALVA KARNS FROM HIS DAUGHTER-IN-LAW VERNA KARNS

                                          Thurs. eve -- [In 1953 or 1954]
Dear Folk--
I am making a carbon copy to the John Karns & A.M. [Arthur] Karns -- save a little time --
John -- we tried to call you this morning before we left but were unable to get you -- we left home about 8:30 & got here -- (Jean's in Lawrence) at four o'clock -- we plan to go on Northeast [to Pennsylvania] as soon as Colleen [daughter of Elmer and Verna] gets off work tomorrow. Jean [daughter of Elmer and Verna Karns] had some news we have all been interested in so am writing this letter tonight. -- After we got our birth certificates Jean got interested in trying to get information on Grandpa Karns [Alva] -- we gave her all we could & today when we got here she gave us a copy of the certificate of his death from the state of Washington. -- He died March 13, 1939 in County Hospital in Whatcom County, Washington, city of Bellingham -- His death was caused by Apoplexy after 6 days illness; he had worked the day before he became ill. The certificate states that the informant was his wife Grace A. Karns of Bellingham. We thought you would be glad to know this before the family are together.
      We ran out of the rain soon after leaving Pratt -- Hutchinson had a shower this morning. It is dry all the way then.
      Will drop you a line once in a while.
      Love -- Verna

NOTE: The brackets contain explanatory material added by Jean Ladd; they were not part of the original document.

More About ALVA [ALVAH] HIXON KARNS:
ADDR: PA, KS, Bellingham, WA
Burial: Cremation
Cause of Death: Stroke
OCC: Shoe cobbler

Notes for SALOME MEARKLE:
Salome Mearkle KARNS lived all of her short life in the Bedford County, PA area. She died of pneumonia at age 36. Two of her children, Nancy and Oliver, had died earlier. She left her husband, Alva, and seven other children, the youngest being about a year old. Salome was laid to rest in the Rockhill Cemetery, south of Clearville, PA in Bedford Co. beside her two children.

More About SALOME MEARKLE:
Burial: Rockhill Cemetery, Bedford Co, Clearville, PA
Cause of Death: Pneumonia

Children of ALVA KARNS and SALOME MEARKLE are:

NANCY KARNS, born Abt 1880 in Bedford Co., PA; died Abt 1881 in Bedford Co., PA³

Notes for NANCY KARNS:
Nancy KARNS died before she was two years old.

More About NANCY KARNS:
Burial: Rockhill Cemetery, Clearville, PA
Cause of Death: Pneumonia

ii.

JOHN MEARKLE KARNS, born July 11, 1881 in Bedford Co., PA; died July 17, 1967 in Bucklin District Hospital, Ford Co., Bucklin, KS⁴; married ANNA MATILDA BUSSARD October 22, 1903 in Bedford Co., PA; born September 13, 1883 in Bedford Co., PA; died February 5, 1965 in Bucklin District Hospital, Bucklin, KS⁴.

Notes for JOHN MEARKLE KARNS:
John Mearkle KARNS was born July 11, 1881 in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, where he grew to young manhood. He entered the teaching profession and taught for several years, obtaining a Life Certificate in the State of Pennsylvania.

In 1903 he married Anna Bussard at Clearville, Pennsylvania. They lived in Everett, Pennsylvania until 1911 when they moved to Mullinville, Kansas. After teaching there one year, John entered the farming profession and continued to farm and raise livestock until the time of his death. John and Anna believed in education as evidenced by the number of their children who completed college degrees at a time when many did not pursue education beyond high school.

John was a charter member of the Bucklin Co-op and served as its president for twenty years. Throughout his life he was active in community affairs, serving on school and township boards, the ASC Office committee on wheat allotment, and various civic organizations.

John died at the age of 86. Memorial services were held for him on July 19, 1967 in the Christian Church in Bucklin, Kansas.

More About JOHN MEARKLE KARNS:
ADDR: PA and around Bucklin, KS
Burial: Bucklin, KS Cemetery
EDU: Pennsylvania Life Certificate - teacher
INTERESTS: Home and Family
Medical Information: Heart disease, Cancer, Diabetes, Other
OCC: Teacher; Farmer and Stockman
REL PREF: Christian Church

Notes for ANNA MATILDA BUSSARD:
Anna and John M. Karns celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on October 22, 1963 with a quiet day at home, surrounded by their family. Since the fall of 1956 they had resided in Bucklin, Kansas.

Anna passed from this life at age 81.

More About ANNA MATILDA BUSSARD:
ADDR: PA and Bucklin, KS.
Burial: Bucklin KS Cemetery
EDU: PA Schools
INTERESTS: Family and Home
Medical Information: Heart disease, High blood pressure, Stroke
OCC: Teacher in PA; Homemaker
REL PREF: Christian Church

iii.

BESSIE BELLE KARNS, born November 7, 1883 in Bedford Co., PA; died July 18, 1962 in Leoti, KS; married SCOTT JAY December 26, 1905 in Bedford Co., PA; born April 17, 1887 in Clearville, PA; died May 25, 1961 in Fowler, KS.

Notes for BESSIE BELLE KARNS:
Bessie Belle KARNS married Scott JAY on December 25, 1905 in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. She was a homemaker and a member of the Methodist Church. She and Scott lived in the area of Ford and Kingsdown, Kansas until her death on July 18, 1962.

More About BESSIE BELLE KARNS:
ADDR: Ford/Kingsdown, KS area
Burial: Bucklin KS Cemetery
OCC: Homemaker
REL PREF: Methodist

Notes for SCOTT JAY:
Scott JAY married Bessie KARNS on December 26, 1905.

More About SCOTT JAY:
ADDR: PA, KS
Burial: Bucklin KS Cemetery
OCC: Farmer
REL PREF: Protestant

iv.

OSA ELLEN KARNS, born November 9, 1885 in Bedford Co., PA; died March 5, 1970 in Middleton, ID; married PAUL DIXON PAXTON August 18, 1912 in Kiowa Co., KS; born February 1, 1893 in Wright Co., MO; died November 22, 1989 in Nampa, ID.

Notes for OSA ELLEN KARNS:
Osa KARNS PAXTON came with her father, Alva Mearkle KARNS, to Kansas on a train from their home in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. She had a great amount of responsibility in caring for their home on the prairie and helping care for the younger brothers. She married Paul Paxton. She was a homemaker, living in Pennsylvania, Kansas, and Idaho. She died at age 84.

More About OSA ELLEN KARNS:
ADDR: PA, KS, OK, ID
Burial: Middleton ID Cemetery
OCC: Homemaker

Notes for PAUL DIXON PAXTON:
In 1903, with his parents, Paul moved to Kiowa County, Kansas. He married Osa Karns, and in 1918 they moved to Cimarron County, Oklahoma, where they lived until 1924. At that time, they moved back to Kiowa County, Kansas, and engaged in agriculture. In 1943, Paul and Osa moved to Middleton, Idaho, where he worked as a carpenter. In Paul's later years he moved to Nampa, Idaho, where he lived until age 96. Burial was in the Middleton, Idaho cemetery beside his wife.

More About PAUL DIXON PAXTON:
ADDR: KS, OK, ID
Burial: Middleton ID Cemetery [age 96]
OCC: Agriculture; Carpentry

HARRY M. KARNS, born October 15, 1887 in Clearville, Bedford Co., PA; died September 10, 1964 in Greensburg, Kiowa Co., KS; married JENNIE MAY BROWN December 25, 1911 in Greensburg, KS; born January 1, 1894 in Otis, KS; died September 6, 1972 in Greensburg, Kiowa Co., KS.

Notes for HARRY M. KARNS:
Born October 15, 1887 in Clearville, Pennsylvania, he came to Kiowa County in 1911. On Christmas day of 1911, he married Jenny Brown in Kiowa County. Eleven children were born to them. From 1911 to 1939 they lived in Mullinville, Kansas and in 1939 they moved to Greensburg, Kansas, where he and his wife lived until his death in 1964. He worked for the Kansas Highway Department.

HARRY died suddenly in his home at Greensburg, Kansas. Returning from a visit to Dodge City in the afternoon, he shared in a family dinner at his home and died shortly afterward. Services were held at the Fleener Chapel, Greensburg, Kansas, with burial in the Greensburg, Kansas Cemetery.

More About HARRY M. KARNS:
ADDR: Lived PA, Mullinville and Greensburg, KS
Burial: Greensburg KS Cemetery [age 76]
OCC: Kansas State Highway Department

Notes for JENNIE MAY BROWN:
Jennie May BROWN KARNS was a very busy homemaker, the loving mother of eleven children and grandmother to their families. She was born and raised in Kansas and following her death at age 78, Jennie was buried beside her husband, Harry M. Karns in the cemetery at Greensburg, Kansas.

More About JENNIE MAY BROWN:
ADDR: Lived in KS
Burial: Greensburg KS Cemetery [age 78]
OCC: Homemaker

vi.

OLIVER M. KARNS, born Abt 1889 in Bedford Co., PA; died Abt 1891 in Bedford Co., PA⁵

Notes for OLIVER M. KARNS:
Oliver KARNS died at age two in Clearville, Pennsylvania. He was buried beside his mother and sister, Nancy.

More About OLIVER M. KARNS:
Burial: Clearville, PA in the Rock Hill Cemetery
Cause of Death: Pneumonia

vii.

ARTHUR MARTIN KARNS, born August 9, 1891 in Bedford Co., PA; died March 7, 1972 in Pratt, KS; married (1) EDITH EDNA DAWSON April 13, 1916 in Ford, KS; born April 1, 1897 in Sarcoxie, MO; died March 14, 1953 in Wichita, KS; married (2) ELIZABETH METZ June 2, 1954 in Wichita, KS; died Abt 1986 in Wichita KS Cemetery.

Notes for ARTHUR MARTIN KARNS:
Arthur Martin KARNS was born in Bedford County, Pennsylvania on August 9, 1891. He married Edith Edna Dawson on April 13, 1916 in Ford, Kansas. They had two children, Glenn Elmer Karns and Verna Bethene Karns. He was a farmer and cattleman. He and Edith moved to Pratt, Kansas for retirement, where he became an active member of the Church of the Nazarene. After Edith's death, he married Elizabeth Metz on June 2, 1954 in Wichita, Kansas. Arthur died of a stroke on March 7, 1972 in Pratt, Kansas. Burial was in the Ford, Kansas cemetery.

More About ARTHUR MARTIN KARNS:
ADDR: Ford, KS and retired at Pratt, KS
Burial: Ford KS Cemetery [age 80]
Cause of Death: Stroke
OCC: Farming and Cattleman
REL PREF: Church of the Nazarene

Notes for EDITH EDNA DAWSON:
Edith Edna DAWSON KARNS was a homemaker for her husband Arthur Karns and their two children, Glenn and Bethene. She lived with her husband in the Ford, Kansas area during their working years, and with him in Pratt, Kansas at retirement. She was an active member of the Church of the Nazarene. She was instrumental in organizing the teenage girls' quartet whose members were Bethene Karns, Dorothy and Berniece Dawson, and Roberta Pearsall.

More About EDITH EDNA DAWSON:
ADDR: Lived in Ford, KS area; later, Pratt, KS
Burial: Ford KS Cemetery
Cause of Death: Cancer
OCC: Homemaker
REL PREF: Church of the Nazarene

	1	viii.		ELMER MEARKLE KARNS, born July 14, 1893 in Everett, Bedford Co., PA; died July 20, 1977 in Bethany, OK; married VERNA MABEL DAWSON August 14, 1921 in Hutchinson, KS.
		ix.		CARL MEARKLE KARNS, born September 26, 1895 in Bedford Co., PA; died March 9, 1977 in Colorado Springs, CO; married NANCY MAE HATFIELD August 20, 1919 in Dodge City, KS; born May 4, 1899 in Ford Co., Ford, KS; died August 30, 1995 in Colorado Springs, CO.

Notes for CARL MEARKLE KARNS:
Carl Mearkle KARNS lived in Kansas for 40 years before moving to Colorado. In Kansas, he was a farmer, taught school and sold insurance. He also owned a dime store, a grocery store and butcher shop. After moving to Colorado Springs, he opened his own real estate company.

First among his interests were his family and his church. He was a member of the Methodist Church.

Carl died at age 81. His funeral services were delayed from Saturday until Monday because of a blizzard that swept through eastern Colorado. The service was conducted by Rev. Allan Nesbitt of East United Methodist Church. He was buried in Evergreen Park Mausoleum, Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was a member of the Methodist church.

[FIND A COPY OF THE POEM READ AT HIS FUNERAL]

More About CARL MEARKLE KARNS:
ADDR: Lived in Kansas and Colorado
Burial: Evergreen Park Mausoleum, Colo Spgs, CO
INTERESTS: Family, Church & Home
OCC: Teacher; Farmer; Insurance & Real Estate
REL PREF: Methodist

Notes for NANCY MAE HATFIELD:
Nancy Mae HATFIELD KARNS was educated in the public schools of Ford, Kansas, where she graduated from high school. She was a homemaker, loving mother and grandmother. Her interests were her family and her church. She was a member of the Methodist church.

She died at age 96 in Colorado Springs, Colorado and was buried in the Evergreen Park Mausoleum, Colorado Springs, Colorado.

[ADD NOTES FROM HER TAPED MESSAGE]

More About NANCY MAE HATFIELD:
ADDR: KS and CO
Burial: Evergreen Park Mausoleum, Colorado Springs, CO
INTERESTS: Family and church
OCC: Homemaker; Loving mother and grandmother
REL PREF: Methodist

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