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KERCHNER ANCESTRY -- Page 2

When researching this name expect to find it misspelled phonetically many ways in early ship lists, church records, census records, land records, tax records, and newspaper accounts, etc. It is also often confused with other similar sounding or similar spelled names.

Some examples I have found in my research are: Kercher, Kerger, Kergher, Kergner, Karchner, Kaerchner, Kershner, Kerschner, Kerscher, Kelchner, Kirchner, Kirchmer, Kircher, Kirkner, Kurchner, Carrickner, Carricker, and Carchner. Some of these misspellings occasionally results in confusion of our family surname with other similar sounding surnames. Also it is often found misspelled in public records with an 's' in it. In addition, I have found some records with (at first glance) very far off misspellings such as "Keiser(?)" and "Churchner". Sounds way off, but if one says the names Kerchner, Kerschner, Kercher, Kerscher, and Keiser over and over in one's mind, with various accented variations of the Pennsylvania German dialect, one can easily imagine how the Keiser misspelling came about. In the specific example where Keiser was recorded instead of Kerchner, even the transcriber was not sure of the name when he wrote down Keiser which is why he put the question mark after the entry. When the original script was carefully double checked by myself it was clear that the name written down was Kercher and not Keiser. With regard to the Churchner entry, interestingly, Churchner is the half English and half German translation of our name since, as I said before, "kirche" means church in German. The compound noun literal English translation of our name would be "Churchman."

The Pennsylvania German dialect, which evolved in Pennsylvania, is rich with the mixture of English and German words. In fact it should be noted that the English language evolved from German many, many centuries ago. One can see how the person (scribe) who recorded or translated that record of our name got the name Churchner out of Kerchner by mentally translating a name said in German to one written in its English meaning. One must really have an open mind when researching this family name, and any Pennsylvania German family name. As to the theory of the English registrars misspelling our root name from "Kirchner," virtually all tombstone inscriptions, and most legal records of the family found to date in the United States, have consistently been spelled "Kerchner." All personal family records found in the Lehigh County branch of Kerchner descendants, after the 1768 Will and estate file of our progenitor Adam spelled the name as Kerchner, continued to spell the surname as Kerchner. Therefore, I am not 100% convinced of the misspelling explanation, especially since allegedly another clan exists in Germany spelled our way. I will report on this further in subsequent pages.

KERCHNER ANCESTRY -- Page 3

A brief comment is in order regarding the similarly spelled and sounding, but different, family names such as Kershner, Kerschner, and Kirschner. In all my research so far, in general, except for the occasional misspellings mentioned above, I find that the Kerchner / Kirchner clan is not related to the Kershner / Kerschner / Kirschner clan. Their names appear to be derived from the German word "Kirsche" which means cherry as in the word Kirschbaum which means cherry tree. In German, our family's root name "Kirch" is pronounced "Kirk" or "Kirc" with the 'c' on the end sounding like the 'c' in the word can. In German, the root name Kirsch is pronounced "Kirss" with the 'ss' sound at the end pronounced 'sh', as in the word she. Unfortunately, many English-speaking people in the USA over the centuries eventually began pronouncing both names the same way; that is with the 'sh' sound. Apparently the 'sh' sound is easier on the American English tongue to pronounce. Being raised with very little Pennsylvania German language spoken in our home, and being under the influence of an English only education, I have been guilty of this mispronunciation and thus frequently have to correct people in the way they spell our name, i.e., telling them there is no 's' in our name. If I pronounce it correctly, with the hard German sounding of the 'ch' in our name, saying are name rhyming with 'church', they usually ask me how to spell it. This confusion in the correct pronunciation of our name could explain the occasional misspelling of our family name (with an 's' in it) by recorders in the past. Therefore, in doing research on our family name, one must use extra care if one finds a record which spelled our name with an 's' in it. If you find different recorders spelling that target person's name different ways but basically our way without the 's', and find other records of the same person occasionally spelling it with an 's', then that person could be part of our clan. However, if the person being researched personally spelled their name with an 's' in their own signature and if various recorders predominantly used the 's' in the name, they are probably not of our clan.

Now having stated the above general rule, I have found one Kerchner group who descend from an Isaac Harry Kerchner who changed the spelling of their last name to Kershner in the late 1800s. Isaac Harry Kerchner moved west to Ohio sometime after the Civil War. For whatever reasons his descendants changed the spelling of their surname as Kershner, with an 's'. I was contacted by a descendant and researcher from this family group who knew about their surname spelling being changed. We checked his research and historial records and verified their family's oral history information.

Then in very early 2001 a new tool came on the scene to scientifically aid genealogy research. Y chromosome Y-DNA genetic genealogy tests were conducted by me between 2001 and 2004 for my family, this Isaac Hary Kerchner family, and also for descendants of the large Kershner/Kerschner clan in the USA. Incidentally, the newly started in March 2001 Kerchner Surname YDNA Genetic Genealogy was one of the first 10 such YDNA projects in the world using these newly economically available and practical scientific tools for family name genealogists. It became a widely known early example in the new field of genetic genealogy as to what could be accomplished with the new tool. Comparisons were done between a direct male line descendant of this "Kershner" clan with the Y-DNA YSTR markers of the other Kershner/Kerschners and with various members of our known Kerchner clan in the USA. The results showed a 36/37 nearly exact match to me of the Isaac Harry Kerchner branch and very close matches to other known Kerchner cousins of mine who agreed to be tested. And the tests showed the Issac Harry Kershner line did not match at all the Kershner/Kerschner clan males tested. Thus the Y-DNA testing confirmed the Isaac Harry Kershner family's oral history that their family indeed originally was a Kerchner descendant branch and they are not genetically related at all to the Kershners. The YDNA YSTR Haplotype were not even close. Thus the story of the permanent surname spelling change of their branch as that branch of our Kerchner extended family moved west is true. This spelling change by this Kerchner branch will undoubtedly confuse future inexperienced Adam Kerchner descendants family researchers in the USA who repeatedly at first think that the Kerchner and Kershner families are the same family. But we are not the same Germanic family. The onomastics tells us they are different rooted Germanic family names, the traditional research proves the main Kerchner and Kershner families are different families, and now the new scientific Y-DNA testing also proves they are different families too. Thus we now know this one small group of Kershners are really Kerchners, as their personal family oral history had stated all along. So in this case the exception breaks the rule. See the Kerchner Surname Y-DNA Project for more details about genetict genealogy: Kerchner Surname Y-DNA Genetic Genealogy Project

Another point I wish to mention regarding the surname spelled Kershner is that their is a group of Kershners who lived in the Windsor Township and Lenhartsville area of Berks County, Pa., who intermarried with the Kerchners. These Windsor Township Kerchners descend from, Johan Jacob Kerchner, the son of an immigrant named Johan Andreas Kerchner. Johan Andreas Kerchner arrived in Philadelphia on the ship Edinburgh on 15 Sep 1749. Johan Andreas Kerchner settled in Rockland Township, Berks County, Pa. His occupation was listed as a shoemaker in the 1767/1768 proprietary tax records. His descendants later settled in the Richmond, Perry, Greenwich, and Windsor Townships region of Berks County. To this date I have found no relationship between our Kerchner clan and the Windsor Township and environs Kerchner clan, at least not on this side of the ocean. It is possible that our progenitor, Adam Kerchner, who I will discuss more later in this report, and Johan Andreas Kerchner could have had common ancestry in Germany. So we could be very distant cousins. Research note: Only a singular YDNA test has been done on a Kerchner descendant of Andreas. More direct male line descendants of Andreas need to be tested to verify their YDNA YSTR Haplotype and the non-match observed in the first and only YDNA done in this line thus far.

Here is the link to a six generation Descendant Chart for Johan Andreas Kerchner.

As I said before, some of Johan Andreas Kerchner's descendants in Windsor Township intermarried with the Kershner family of that same area. The Kershners of Windsor Township were the descendants of Johannes Kirschner / Kershner, the son of Conrad Kirschner/Kershner I. This makes research into our clan all the more complicated. The confusion caused by the intermarrying of this Windsor Township Kerchner clan and the Conrad Kershner/Kerschner/Kirschner descendants has led some earlier researchers to confuse the Kerchner and Kershner families in the USA altogether, thinking that they have common lineage in Germany. They do not have a common lineage. The Kerchner and Kershner families are two completely different German family surnames. For more information on the Kershner/Kerschner family, consult the report "The Kershner Families of Maryland 1731-1977" by Mary Kershner Maxwell or contact the Kershner Family Association, c/o William E. Kershner, Jr., 1449 Fox Run Drive, Charlotte NC 28212.

KERCHNER ANCESTRY -- Page 4

Another family group, with a name spelled similar to ours, is the Kelchner family. Though similarly spelled, they are a completely different family from ours. The root of their family name appears to be from the German word Kelch which means cup, goblet, or chalice. Therefore, their name possibly means cup maker or chalice maker. Again, the Kelchners are not related to us.

Another family group, with a name spelled similar to ours, is the Karcher family. Occasionally one will find our Kerchner name misspelled in records as Karchner or Karcher. Even more confusing is that in one case, some descendants of an immigrant name Johan Andreas Kerchner who lived in Berks County, Pa., later moved to Luzerne County, Pa., where they locally adopted the spelling / misspelling of their name as Karchner in subsequent generations. The family members who remained in Berks County retained the Kerchner spelling. Though similarly spelled and sounding, the German family name of Karcher is a completely different family from ours, at least in this country. The name Karcher is occupation based and means freight hauler, as in a cart or wagon, a carter. Research note: Interestingly, as mentioned earlier, some believe that the Kerchner surname could have been derived in Germany from the German name for a carter, i.e., wagon or cart puller or driver.

Another family group, with a name which sounds, and is spelled, similar to ours, is the Kurschner or Kursener family. Though similar in sound and spelling, this family is completely different from ours. Their name is occupation based and means furrier.

The Kerchners, according to family tradition, emigrated in the mid 1700's from the region of the former Reich State of Palatinate in Southwest Germany. However, it is not certain our family came specifically from the Reich State of Palatinate. Early immigrants from the southwest region of Germany were known as "Palatines" even though many did not come specifically from the Reich State of Palatinate.

A Map of Southwest Germany c1711

As an example of another province of Germany our ancestors were thought to possibly have originated from, I had found a later clan of Kerchners, with their surname spelled exactly like ours, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1832. The surname of this immigrant was Michael Anthony Kerchner. He was a shoemaker. He first settled in Philadelphia. Later he moved to Wilmington, Delaware. Finally he re-located and settled in Baltimore, Maryland. Michael Kerchner emigrated in 1832 from the village of Freudenberg, a village along the Main River near present day Wertheim, Reich State of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany. With traditional paper trail research I could not tie our clan into this clan although some German family names found in their ancestry were the same as those found near our ancestor in PA. And since the Palatinate and Baden-Wuerttemberg border each other along the Rhine River I thought possibly there could be a connection. But there was one major and noteworthy difference. This later arriving clan was of the Catholic religion for many generatons while our clan was German Reformed and/or Lutheran. Despite the difference in religions, it was possible I thought that we came from the same area. Therefore, I thought, it was possible that our family did not originate from the Palatinate specifically but instead may have come from Baden-Wuerttemberg. If so, we could also be very distant relatives of Michael Kerchner's clan. But the YNDA testing project proved that thought wrong. Y-DNA testing in 2004 and 2005 proved that our Kerchner clan in the USA is not related to the Michael Kerchner clan of Baltimore MD and/or Freudenberg Germany. See the following linked chart for more details about the Kerchner family of Freudenberg, Baden, Germany.

Some Descendants of Kerchner clan of Freudenberg, Baden, Germany.

I also have subsequently found via the internet a group of Kerchners in Germany which spell with the surname spelled exactly as we do. Their family is from the town of Spesbach which is near the city of Kaiserslautern in the southern part of Rheinland-Palatinate, Germany. Unfortunately, they did not know anything of their ancestry nor was the contact very interested in genealogy. Research follow-up note: After re-contacting them a few years later he had since married and I then able to convince him to do the YDNA test in order to help me. I had to pay for the test of course. The Y-DNA testing in 2004 and 2005 proved that our Kerchner clan in the USA is not related to the Kerchner clan of Spesbach, Rheinland-Palatinate, Germany. It turned out that he was however related to the Kerchner clan of Freudenberg, Germany.

Another possiblity was brought to my attention by another Kerchner researcher via a Fraktur for a granddaughter of Adam Kerchner named Anna Maria Truckenmiller, born 7 Oct 1787 in or near Upper Milford in what is now Lehigh County PA. The Fraktur was prepared by a minister who was writing in a lowlands Old Dutch/Deutsch language type per the language and genealogy experts in Germany that I consulted about this Fraktur. The Fraktur has the phrase "Adam Kerchner in Dessen" written at the end. If this means "of Dessen" then it could be a reference to a village or town of origin in Germany. I searched for a village named Dessen but found none. But I did find a small village named Deesen, in Westerwald, Rheinland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz), Germany. With the help of some individuals in Westerwald, Germany, who I found via the Internet, I pursued this "in Dessen" lead. No records of any Kerchner or Kirchner families were found in or near the village of Deesen, Westerwald, Germany, showing any connection to our Adam Kerchner. I then emailed a scan of the Fraktur image to several German genealogy researchers who live in Germany. After examining the Fraktur image they said that in their opinion the "in Dessen" absolutely does not refer to a village or place but that it is an early lowland Dutch, i.e., Holland Dutch, language formal grammatical and legal type phrase meaning "in this case". According to these correspondents, one of whom was an expert in early Dutch writing and language, the "in Dessen" is not referring to a village but is a formal, legal grammatical phrase being used in this formal Fraktur baptism document. The official who prepared this Fraktur in Pennsylvania was probably Dutch, i.e., Holland Dutch, or was from the low Deutsch areas of Germany near Holland. Several early ministers in Pennsylvania were from the Dutch Reformed Church of Holland which was sending ministers to Pennsylvania to minister to their German Reformed brethen. Thus the "in Dessen" lead turned into another dead end as to finding a village of origin in Germany for our immigrant ancestor, Adam Kerchner.

In November 2005 it was learned that the person registered next to our immigrant ancestor in the 1741 ship list, Jacob Fortineux, was from the town of Otterberg, Rheinland-Palatinate, Germany. This Jacob Fortineux also had a cousin who married to a Kirchner. This was an exciting new discovery as finding the home village of other passengers on the same ship is one way to sometimes find the home village of one's own ancestor. However, research of the microfilmed church records yielded no specific information familiar to me and/or no information related to our Kerchner line. Actually there were very few Kirchner or Kircher entries in the church record. Thus the Kirchner family mentioned in the marriage to the Fortineux family must have been from another area.

In February 2006 a friend and fellow researcher and friend named Ann Thompson, by pure serendipity while looking at some microfilmed church records for the Auenstein, Baden-Wuerttemberg area, noticed that there were quite a few Kirchner and Kircher records at that church and nearby churches. She then checked the Auenstein records to see if there was an Adam Kirchner/Kircher baptized in the records, circa 1704. And to much excitement she did find a 'Hans Adam Kircher' baptized on 4 Aug 1704, a son of a Georg and Barbara Kirchner. After very much initial excitement, subsequent research research indicated this Adam Kircher was a descendant of the Kircher family with earlir connections to the towns of Ziegelbronn and Geisselhardt, Baden-Wuettermberg, Germany. With the help of a Kircher contact I made in that area, I was able to get 4 male Kirchers to do the YDNA test at my expense. We got two sets of YDNA haplotype profiles. Two males matched each other. And the two others matched each other. And neither one matched our YDNA haplotype profile. The testing thus lead to another dead end for our Kerchner male line origins. But the tests did help local genealogists in Germany with my help to sort out the various Kircher male branches intermixed over generations in that area.

Kerchner Surname Y-DNA Genetic Genealogy Project

KERCHNER ANCESTRY -- Page 5

Many early immigrants came to America because of religious persecution, political tyranny, poor economic conditions, and frequent wars, all of which were the rule rather than the exception in this area during the 1600's and 1700's. Catholic monarchs and electors fought Protestant princes and electors to gain control of the south and western areas of Germany and in particular the Palatinate.

The "Thirty Year War" (1618-1648) destroyed most of this area and much of Europe. Over 70% of the population of the Palatinate was lost in this struggle. The Thirty Year War ended in 1648 with the Treaty of Westphalia. The treaty guaranteed peaceful co-existence between all religious denominations. However peace did not prevail. Many territorial politically motivated religious wars occurred in this area of Germany in the late 1600's and early 1700's. During the last decade of the 1600's, King Louis XIV, the ruthless Catholic monarch of France, succeeded in the destruction of the Palatinate. He wiped out it's military power and installed Roman Catholic control in the area. This, plus the unexpected conversion to Roman Catholicism (for political reasons) of Frederick Augustus I, Elector of Saxony, had reduced German Protestant political and military power to a low point.

Another war, the "War of Spanish Succession" (1701-1714), saw armies marching back and forth across this region. The "War of Polish Succession" (1733-1738), resulted in French armies again overrunning and occupying this area. Catholic French officers were forcibly quartered in Protestant homes. Protestant cities and churches were destroyed and the persecution and economic hardships became unbearable. This, plus the economic opportunities of the New World, set the stage for what was to become a massive emigration from the region.

Another interesting side note I learned very early on in my research into why they came to Pennsylvania was that William Penn's mother, Margaret Jasper of Rotterdam, Holland, had German cousins. This may have also played a part in why Pennsylvania in 1682 was offered as a haven for the religiously persecuted of Germany. Once it started, what started as a trickle ultimately lead to 10's of thousands of Palatine Germans traveled down the Rhine River to the ports of Holland such as Rotterdam, where they boarded ships for immigration to Pennsylvania. Some stayed in Rotterdam for awhile until they could earn enough money for their passage to America. Some traveled to England temporarily until transportation to the New World could be arranged. Upon arrival in Philadelphia they had to sign an oath of allegiance to the British Crown. Then they probably walked the six miles to Germantown, now part of Philadelphia, to be with their own kind. From here they settled in the inland counties now known as Lancaster, Berks, Lehigh, Bucks, and Northampton. These Pennsylvania Germans eventually became known as the "Pennsylvania Dutch" possibly from a rendering of the German word "Deutsch" which means German. See the following linked report for more details on that.

To learn more about how this Pennsylvania Dutch misnomer came about read, the report I have written on the subject. The Pennsylvania Germans also didn't discourage the confusion of their true nationality during the two World Wars with Germany when a public backlash against people of German sympathy and/or ultimage nationality occurred in this country. However it is clear we of the PA Deutsch ethnic group are mostly of German or German speakers heritage such as Swiss, not Dutch. And we've been in America since before the Revolutionary War that founded the USA and many of us are Sons and Daugthers of the men and women who served their new country in the Revolutionary War.

KERCHNER ANCESTRY -- Page 6

Over the years I have had two candidates for the patriarch of our family in America:

Candidate No. 1: Philip Kerchner who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1744

The first early candidate I will write about has since been proven to definitely NOT to be our family's progenitor but the information on this individual is provided herein for research evolution continuity purposes and to correct prior published information claiming this individual as the progenitor of Kerchner our family which may still be circulating or may turn up as a suggestion in the future. Johan Philip aka Philip Kerchner, was incorrectly assumed, according to brief information collected by George F. Kerchner, Sr. in 1909 and presented at a Kerchner family reunion held in the summer of that year, to be the progenitor of our family. I have a copy of his hand-written report. In it he reports the speculation that Philip Kerchner was the progenitor of our family but he admits in the same report he can't prove it. He offers no circumstantial or anecdotal evidence. However, the late E. Jesse Kerchner, my cousin once removed (SAR#99810), who gave me a copy of the report, believed that at the time of the report, George F. Kerchner, Sr. (1868-1929), who was his father, could possibly have had personal recollections of conversations with John F. Kerchner (1804-1888), and other Kerchner's from the 1800's, who would have personally known Frederick Kerchner (1750-1828). Thus he believed it entirely conceivable that the theory could be true. But it appears from the 1909 report that the real reason George F. Kerchner, Sr., speculated that Johan Philip aka Philip Kerchner was the progenitor of our family was that he was the only immigrant ancestor with the surname spelled as Kerchner which was listed in a reference book available in 1909, "Thirty Thousand Names of Immigrants in Pennsylvania", second edition, by Professor Daniel Rupp, published in 1876 and frequently used in the very early 1900s. The three volume set of books "Pennsylvania German Pioneers", by Strassburger and Hinke were not published until 1934 so that work was not available to George F. Kerchner, Sr., in 1909. Also, it appears that George F. Kerchner, Sr., never checked Berks County PA courthouse records for early wills and estates or he probably would have found the will of Adam Kerchner there in, with his name spelled exactly that way, in which it mentions his son named Frederick Kerchner. There are no mentions of any son named Frederick in the church, or any other records, of Johan Philip Kerchner, aka Philip Kerchner. George Kerchner in his otherwise very useful report listing numberous Kerchner family relatives in 1909 never mentioned doing any courthouse estate file or early church original records research in his 1909 report and subsequent letters to cousins. Of course we cannot be too critical. Today we have many more powerful research tools available to us for our use such as microfilmed and indexed early church records, census records, and easier access to courthouse records than George did in 1909. Two other significant errors made in that 1909 Kerchner Family reunion report were incorrectly giving our Rev. War Patriot Frederick Kerchner (1750-1828) a middle name of Wilhelm that the Patriot never had. And, the son of the Patriot named Frederick Wilhelm Kerchner (1776-1841) was listed in the 1909 report with the given names reversed, i.e., he was listed as Wilhelm Frederick in that report. But it was Frederick Wilhelm Kerchner which is confirmed via his tombstone inscription at Solomon's UCC Church in Macungie which is inscribed with his name as F. Wilhelm Kerchner. Why George F. Kerchner, Sr., did not know that or comment about that in 1909 is not explainable to me.

Candidate 2: Adam Kerchner who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1741

Upon finding the immigrant Adam Kerchner's Last Will and Testament, I was convinced he was our ancestor since he had a son named Frederick, and I knew our Revolutionary War ancestor was named Frederick. In order to prove conclusively to myself and others that Adam Kerchner was our ancestor and Philip Kerchner was not, I did an exhaustive research over several years of the historical records of both male lines in any and all records available to me or that I could dig up somehow.

The following is what I have compiled on Johan Philip Kerchner. Some of it I obtained from the 1909 report which was a very good starting resource for many names of distant cousins, some was obtained verbally from E. Jesse Kerchner, and some was obtained from my own research in an attempt to conclusively prove or disprove the 1909 theory of George F. Kerchner, Sr., as to who was our immigrant ancestor.

The immigrant to Pennsylvania named Johan Philip Kerchner is recorded to have emigrated from the Palatinate, Germany, to Pennsylvania in the year 1744. He sailed from the port of Rotterdam, Holland, on the ship Phoenix. He landed in Philadelphia. The following is an excerpt from the book, "A Collection of Upwards of Thirty Thousand Names of German, Swiss, Dutch, French, and Other Immigrants to Pennsylvania from 1727 to 1776", Rupp, 2nd Edition, published 1876, page 169: "October 20, 1744: Foreigners imported in the ship Phoenix, William Wilson, Captain, from Rotterdam, last of Cowes." Appearing in the list of 104 immigrants on page 170 is Johan Philip Kerchner. A facsimile of his original signature attesting his oath of allegiance and abjuration is found in Pennsylvania German Pioneers, Strassburger and Hinke, (3 volume 1992 reprint of 1934 edition), Vol. 2, published 1934, p.374. I have a copy of the reprint. Because the immigrant Philip's surname is spelled in the 1876 Rupp book exactly as ours is now, I believe this was the reason why in 1909 George F. Kerchner, Sr. incorrectly picked this immigrant as the likely candidate to be our progenitor. The Strassburger and Hinke work, which is today generally believed to be more accurate, was not completed until 1934, so it was not available to George F. Kerchner, Sr. In Strassburger and Hinke's work Johan Philip Kerchner's name is translated, transcribed, and spelled as Johan Phillib Kercher (sic), not Kerchner. But name spelling in a single record is never a deciding factor in genealogy work. We must at all sources and look at other facts.

I have found records of a Johan Philip Kerchner/Kercher/Kerger and wife named Catharina Eisenmen(in) (Note: The 'in' on the end of the name denotes feminine gender in the German language) baptizing their children circa 1755-1761. The children were: "Andreas", born 5 Dec 1755 at home, per the records of the Rev. Daniel Schumacher, "Ana Cath. Kerchner," born about 30 Apr 1757, baptized 29 May 1757, Moselem Zion Lutheran Church, Richmond Township, Berks County, Pa.; "Catharina Kercher," born 25 Mar 1759, baptized 29 May 1759, Old Goshenhoppen Lutheran Church, Salford Township, Montgomery Co., Pa.; and "Henricus Kerger," born 1 Jan 1761, baptized about Apr 1761, Old Goshenhoppen Lutheran Church.

I have found no records to support the 1909 speculation that Philip Kerchner was the father of the Frederick Kerchner from whom we have descended, or even that Philip Kerchner ever had a child at all named Frederick. Research note: Even though George got it wrong per my research, his 1909 report is still a very useful tool in that it provided dozens of names and relationship to the various Kerchner branches in existence that George Kerchner was able to track down that time without the aid of modern communications technology such as the internet. For that I am forever grateful to George and also to Jesse who saved the copy and gave me a copy of that 1909 report.

KERCHNER ANCESTRY -- Page 7

More on Candidate No. 2: Adam Kerchner who arrive in Pennsylvania in 1741

Adam Kerchner (c1704-1768), according to my research to date, as I write this report, is conclusively to me to be the most likely candidate for progenitor of our family. I have found very strong evidence pointing to him as the immigrant ancestor and progenitor of our family in early Pennsylvania and that he is the father of Frederick Kerchner (1750-1828), the Revolutionary War militiaman.

That evidence is herein listed:

(a) Adam Kerchner's will, recorded in the Berks County Courthouse in 1768, lists a son, Friedrich Kerchner.

(b) One of Adam Kerchner's daughters, Eva Elizabeth Kerchner, married Johan George Wetzel. The Wetzel's owned land next to our Frederick Kerchner's farm when it was sold in 1830.

(c) When Anna Barbara (nee Fetterman) Kerchner, wife of Frederick Kerchner, died in 1841, her death notice stated she was living in the home of Peter Wetzel. Peter Wetzel was the son of Johan George and Eva Elizabeth (nee Kerchner) Wetzel. Eva Elizabeth Kerchner was the daughter of Adam Kerchner. Thus, Peter Wetzel was the grandson of Adam Kerchner. Anna Barbara (nee Fetterman) Kerchner, widow of Frederick Kerchner, was Peter Wetzel's aunt-in-law. Peter Wetzel lived very near the farm formerly owned by his deceased uncle, Frederick Kerchner, which was located north of Seisholtzville, Pa. Frederick Kerchner was the brother of Eva Elizabeth Kerchner.

(d) When Adam died, his wife, who was named Anna Barbara, remarried Conrad Schaub/Shoup (his best friend according to Adam's will). Conrad Shoup's 1806 will lists a Frederick Kerchner as a debtor to him. It is easily conceivable for him to have loaned money to a step-son.

(e) Adam Kerchner and the Fetterman family were apparently members of the "Schoolhouse Near the Old Spring" congregation, the predecessor to the Upper Milford Lutheran Congregation, which then became the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Old Zionsville, Pa. Adam was listed as a sponsor at the baptism of Anna Barbara Fetterman, daughter of Balthaser Fetterman. This same Anna Barbara Fetterman later became the wife of Frederick Kerchner, the only son of Adam.

(f) A sister of our known and proven Frederick Kerchner baptized a daughter in which record she named her father as being named Adam.

For the above reasons and having found no other historical evidence linking any other colonial times immigrant to our Frederick Kerchner, born 1750, I have concluded with certainty to my mind beyond any reasonable doubt that Adam Kerchner is the father of our Frederick Kerchner, and thus the progenitor of our Kerchner family in America.

KERCHNER ANCESTRY -- Page 8

KERCHNER ANCESTRY -- Page 9

Which Adam became our Berks County PA Adam? One very significant point is that in our Adam Kerchner's recorded Will, which was signed in August 1768 and recorded in the Berks County Courthouse in October, 1768, it shows his signature with an (A) mark. This is a very, very strong link of our Adam Kerchner to the 1741 ship list immigrant prospect I discussed earlier who also made his mark with an (A) in the ship/snow Thane of Fife list. No other immigrant named Adam with any surname remotely similar to our surname made his mark with an (A).

Other tidbits of information suggest slightly confusing and possibly contradicting theories. An Adam Kerchner in Berks County was the sponsor at the baptism for Anna Barbara Kurchner, daughter of Friederich Kurchner, at the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church on Oct 7, 1764. What do we know about this Frederick Kerchner.

A Friederich (O) Kirchner arrived in Philadelphia on the Ship Brothers on Sept 16, 1751 embarking in Rotterdam. If related to our Adam, possibly brothers, uncle and nephew, or cousins, it would seem likely that they both would have embarked from the same port, i.e., from Rotterdam. Also the 'ner' in the surname at registration could be significant. This could suggest a link of this Frederick Kerchner with the later arriving Adam (X) Kirchner, the one who made his mark with an (X). His surname was recorded with the 'ner' suffix in the surname. While our Adam was recorded with an 'er' suffix in his surname, this is all weak circumstantial evidence. Also, it should be noted, that another group of Kirchners claim the 1748 Adam Kirchner immigrant who signed his mark with an (X) as being their progenitor.

Also, we must consider that the person who wrote these names could have used the "er" or the "ner" suffix based on their German province spelling of this occupational surname rather than the way the immigrant would have wrote it if they were literate in writing their own name, which these immigrants were not since they made their mark and someone else wrote their names. Thus the suffix could be the scribe's spelling and not the immigrant's correct name spelling.

At this time, I am convinced that the immigrant Adam who arrived in 1741 is our immigrant ancestor. The use of the "A" mark by him when he signed the ship list and when he signed his 1768 Will is very, very strong piece of evidence that this is the correct immigrant ancestor for our Kerchner line. That and he had a son mentioned in his Will named Frederick And in addition, while someone else claims the 1748 Adam, no one besides us claims the 1741 Adam. He is our guy.

That our Adam and the later arriving Frederick in 1751 are related somehow is also suggested by the fact that the immigrant Adam Kerchner had a son named Frederick and the immigrant Frederick Kerchner apparently had a son named Adam. This younger Adam Kerchner may have been the one likely killed at the Battle of Long Island in the Revolutionary War, where an Adam Kerchner was reported as missing after the battle and never returned per any records to be found in history. This Adam who was lost to war may have been the one married to an Elizabeth. The connection or the two Kerchner immigrant lines, Adam 1741 and Frederick 1751, was only a theory early on by myself and others. But as was shown in my later YDNA genetic genealogy project, the YDNA tesing proves these two immigrant lines are related on the direct male line somehow and somewhere back in Germany.

Another point to be noted is the age factor. Our Adam appears to have been significantly older than the immigrant Frederick.

A connection to midwest families with the CARRIER family name.

Research also indicates that the 1751 immigrant is the Frederick Kerchner who later moved to Bedford County, Pennsylvania, where the surname was misspelled as Karriger and Kariger. Some of his descendants then moved to Ohio where the name was further misspelled phonetically as Carriher. Later descendants moved to Indiana where the surname became misspelled again as Carrier. An interesting evolution of the surname. Starting with the surname Carrier, it would at first glance be a real leap to surmise that this surname evolved from Kerchner. But the evidence seems to indicate this is true.

And then science move dramatically forward and comes to help us sort things out. In 2001 and 2002 Y chromosome DNA testing of direct male descendants of Frederick Kerchner, the only known son of our Adam Kerchner, the immigrant, and the the descendants of the immigrant Frederick Kerchner family who went west to Bedford Co PA and then who subsequently changed their surname spelling to Karriger, showed a very close match in their YDNA YSTR haplotypes. This indicated that the immigrants Adam Kerchner and Frederick Kerchner were indeed related. See the Kerchner Surname Y-DNA website for more details.

Review the Results of the Kerchner Surname Y-DNA Genetic Genealogy Project

Some Descendants of the 1751 Frederick Kerchner immigrant

Our Berks County Adam Kerchner was still siring children in years 1750-1763. If it was the first immigrant prospect, who was age 37 in 1741 when he arrived, then he would have been about 59 in 1763 when his youngest proven daughter, Anna Maria, was born. Adam's wife is surmised to have been significantly younger than him since she remarried a friend of Adam Kerchner, Conrad Schaub/Shoup, a year or two after Adam's death. She also lived until sometime after 1790. It certainly is possible for a much younger wife to be bearing children with an older husband. Sometimes I also have speculated to myself that maybe Adam may have been married twice with an unknown earlier family remaining back in his German home village or dying on the ship voyage over. All things considered, one must pick a preference. At this time, based on the similar signature mark (A) recorded at his arrival and the (A) in his Will, I have strongly decided the 1741 Adam prospect, the one who arrived in Philadelphia in 1741, is the correct immigrant candidate for our progenitor. Since he sort of disappears between 1741 and the early 1750's, I have assumed he was sold as an indenture servant to someone and was lost to history for awhile until he worked off his ship passage debt. Since he had is only known son in 1750, location unknown. Thus he likely married circa 1749 after completing his indentured servitude. Indentured servants were not allowed to marry until they had served out their contract. I have sometime mused with the thought that Adam met his wife Anna Barbara (maiden name unknown) where he was working as an indentured servant.

Nothing is known as to the exact date or location of his marriage in PA, but we do know the names of his wife and children from his August 1768 Will and other records. His wife's full given name appears to be Anna Barbara (maiden name unknown). She was mentioned in Adam's recorded Will simply as Barbara. However, when she served as a witness at the baptism of Anna Barbara Fetterman in 1753, her given name was recorded as Anna Barbara. Per 18th Century PA German Naming Customs she was likely going by her middle name, her call name of Barbara, in most secular records.

According to The Journals and Papers of David Shultze, a Surveyor, Adam died on 26 Aug 1768, "on old Seiler's place." His Will was signed and witnessed the same day he died. Something very sudden or accidental must have happened, in my opinion. His five known children who grew to adulthood were: a son Friederich, (1750-1828), married c1773 Anna Barbara Fetterman, died in Longswamp Twsp., Berks Co., Pa.; and the daughters Eva Elizabeth, (c1753- c1829), married c1773 George Wetzel, Sr.; Anna Barbara, (1758-1829), married c1782 Johannes Schaub, died in Hereford Twsp., Berks Co, Pa.; Anna Margaret, (c1760- ), she may have died young as nothing is known as to what happened to her nor has any marriage record been found; and Anna Maria, (1763-1843), married c1782 Jacob Truckenmiller, died in Delaware Twsp., Northumberland Co., PA. Another very possible daughter, but not yet conclusively proven, is Elisabetha Barbara Kirchner (sic), (May 1767-....), baptized at Upper Milford Zion Lutheran Church, Upper Milford Township, Lehigh Co., PA. The uncertainty in assuming that she is a child of our Adam and Anna Barbara is that the mother of this child was recorded as Elisabetha Barbara while the earlier records indicate the wife of Adam Kerchner was named Anna Barbara. Also there was no child, Elisabetha Barbara, listed in Adam's will dated 1768, only one year later. This child could have died soon after birth, or she could be from a different Adam Kerchner/Kirchner family such as the Adam who was lost at the Battle of Long Island. There was more than one Adam Kerchner/Kirchner in Eastern Pennsylvania at this time. As per the example there was an Adam Kerchner reported missing and presumed killed at the Battle of Long Island in 1776 in the Revolutionary War. Another possibility is that the Anna Barbara's full given name could have been Elisabetha Anna Barbara which would explain the various name variations. Further research is needed into this May 1767 birth and the who historically really are the parents and what happened to this child. But my instincts at this time point to this Elisabetha Barbara Kirchner, born May 1767, being the daughter of the Adam lost at the Battle of Long Island.

KERCHNER ANCESTRY -- Page 10

KERCHNER ANCESTRY -- Page 11

Frederick Kerchner (1750-1828), my 4th great-grandfather, was born March 15, 1750 per his gravestone. The exact birth location is unknown but it was probably near the area of what is now Hereford Township, Berks County, Pa., since his probable father, Adam, was taxed on a 200 acre farm there, near the Berks County and Lehigh (then Northampton) County line, until 1768 when Adam died. Frederick married, c1773, Anna Barbara Fetterman a/k/a Barbara Fetterman), the daughter of Balthaser and Catharina Margaretha (nee Hufft) Fetterman. She was born 7 Jun 1753 in Upper Milford Township, then part of Northampton County, but now part of Lehigh County, Pa. She was baptized 1 July 1753 by the Schoolhouse Near the Old Spring congregation, the predecessor of the Upper Milford Zion's Church.

The Schoolhouse Near The Old Spring

In 1772, Frederick Kerchner is recorded on the tax rolls for Upper Milford Township as being a laborer in the township. My theory is that he left his home in Hereford Township to find work nearby in Upper Milford Township. He possibly could even have been working for Balthaser Fetterman since Balthaser and Adam Kerchner knew each other and Adam Kerchner was a sponsor for Anna Barbara's baptism. Frederick and Anna Barbara probably grew up knowing each other and probably went to the same church, Upper Milford Zion's Church. The Reformed and Lutherans shared a church building at that time. Thus, while working in Upper Milford Township in 1772, Frederick probably courted Anna Barbara resulting in their marriage in c1773 with their first child, Johan George, being born in 1774. It was a fruitful marriage. According to Barbara's death notice published in the May 4, 1841, issue of the Reading Adler, they had a total of 8 children. However, to date I have only found records of 6 who grew to adulthood: Johan George, a/k/a George, (1774-1835), married Elizabeth Keiser c1800, died in Snyder County Pa.; Frederick Wilhelm, a/k/a William, (1776-1841), baptized at Longswamp Reformed Church, married Salome Egner circa Jul 1800, died in Macungie Twsp, Lehigh County Pa.; Philip Peter, a/k/a Peter, (1778-1822), baptized at Longswamp Reformed Church, married Catharina c1799, died in Longswamp Twsp, Berks County Pa.; Elizabeth, (1783-1833), baptized at Lehigh Zion Lutheran Church, married Abraham Griesemer on Jun 7, 1801, died in Hereford, Berks County Pa.; Jacob, (1787-1836), baptized at Longswamp Reformed Church, married Catharine Koser on Jan 26, 1808, died in Towamensing Twsp, Carbon County Pa.; and Maria, (1796-1873), married Jacob Miller in 1816, died in Hereford Twsp, Berks County Pa. Barbara's death notice indicated they had 52 grandchildren and 57 great-grandchildren.

Frederick Kerchner owned a 123 acre 98 perch farm divided in 3 tracts. He undoubtedly farmed his land but his main occupation, which was listed in his 1796 land purchase deed and in the 1779, 1780, 1784 tax lists for Longswamp Township published in the Pa. Archives Vol. 18, was that of a turner (wood lathe worker). His farm was in Longswamp Township straddling the Maxatawny to Philadelphia road just north of the village of Seisholtzville, Hereford Township, Berks County, Pa. The farm is on or very near the border of the two townships. The home and and wood turning shop were on the 10 acres on the east side of the road. The barn and the rest of the tract were on the west side of the road. I have traced the prior ownership and later ownership of the largest parcel on the west side of the road as follows: Peter Fetterolf (c1752), Christopher Bittenbender (1777), Frederick Kerchner (1796), John Reiter (1833), Jacob Moll (1855), Franklin Moll (1881), Angeline Moll (1892), Sylvester Schmoyer (1905), George Fisher (1907), Willis F. Walker (1907), Willis B. Walker, and recently to Donald Nielson (c1968) who built the Mountain Village Mobile Home Park on the property. The 10 acre tract on the east side of the road on which the home was situated apparently went to the brothers William and Jacob Kerchner who then sold it in 1831 to John & George Moll. The barn on the west side of the road was torn down when the mobile home park was built. The residence became unoccupied and was allowed to deteriorate and eventually it was set afire to a couple times by local vandals.

Location of Frederick Kerchner's Farm per Deed Meets and Bounds. Plot of Land Purchased in 1796 in Longswamp Twsp, Berks Co PA

c1942 Aerial View of Frederick Kerchner Farm Land He Owned in 1796

I have photographed the tracts as they appear today, including the burned out home. I have also obtained photos from the Walker family of the home that shows the home when the Walkers owned it. The photo, taken in the early 1900's, shows the home with what looks like an addition on the southern most end apparently added in the mid-1900's. You can see the shop building in the rear. Frederick Kerchner was a wood turner and that was likely the purpose of that out building and shop. There also was a bake oven out building on this property south of the main residence at one time which was used for baking and cooking during the hot summer months. From the size of the building I have at times speculated that there may have once been a tavern in this building. It would have been an ideal spot since it along a reasonably flat area of the top of the mountain where you can imagine that teams of horses pulling wagons could have stopped to rest the horses and the owner or teamster stopping to wet his whistle before making the journey down the other side of the mountain. The tavern thought is only speculation at this time on my part. No evidence have I found to indicate such other than the size of this building and the strategic location at the top of the mountain along one of the King's highways. This highway ran between the fertile land of Maxatawny Township, Berks County, PA, and larger towns of the southern part of Montgomery and Philadelphia counties PA and of course, the city of Philadelphia PA.

A three generation Descendant's Chart for Balthaser Fetterman, father and immigrant ancestor of Anna Barbara Fetterman, is provided on a separate page.

KERCHNER ANCESTRY -- Page 12

Frederick Kerchner (1750-1828), 4th great-grandfather continued:

Frederick served in the Revolutionary War. According to the Pennsylvania Archives, 5th Series, Vol. 5, he served in various Berks County militia companies from 1780-1781. In 1781 he received pay as a private in Captain Jacob Ladich's Company of the Berks County Militia. His battalion commander was Colonel Samuel Ely. His name appears on the payroll record listed in the Pennsylvania Archives, 5th Series, Vol. 5, Pg. 280. His name also appears with spelling variations on pages 221, 223, and 235 of the same reference.

Frederick Kerchner is listed in the Pennsylvania Septennial Census 1779 of Berks County. He is recorded as a married taxable inhabitant of Longswamp Township in this census. His name appears on page 20 of the 1989 reprint of this census published by the Berks County Genealogical Society. Frederick's family is listed in the first U.S. census in 1790. It recorded 3 males age 16 and over, 2 males under 16, and 2 females. At the time of completion of the census Maria had not been born. One must remember that ages were often recorded incorrectly or were deliberately misstated to census takers for various reasons. Therefore, it is this researcher's best estimate, that the 3 recorded males over 16 would have been Frederick and his sons Johan George and Frederick Wilhelm. His second son's (Frederick Wilhelm) age was probably recorded wrong as being 16, when he was only 14 at the time. The males under age 16 would have been sons Philip Peter and Jacob. The 2 females would have been his wife and their first daughter Elizabeth.

Frederick died Aug 10, 1828. His death notice was published in German in the September 2, 1828, issue of the Reading Adler. A copy of the paper is on file at the Historical Society of Berks County, Reading, Pa. Frederick and his wife are buried at Huff's Church Cemetery located in the village of Huffs Church, Berks County, PA. His grave (#M22) is in the 13th row of the "old cemetery" on the left side of the church. It has a soldier's marker beside it. He is listed in the historical records of the church. His wife Barbara died April 26, 1841, and is buried in grave #M18 which is located in the same row about twenty feet to the right of Frederick's grave. Frederick's tombstone is barely readable. Barbara's is still in good shape. However, both tombstone inscriptions are recorded for posterity in a book entitled, Tombstone Inscriptions, by Raymond E. Kiebach, Reading, Pa. I have a copy of the inscriptions. I have also photographed the gravestones. A copy of Longswamp Reformed Church and Lehigh Zion Lutheran Church records are on file at the Lehigh County Historical Society, Allentown, Pa. His will, written in old German script, was recorded in 1828 in the Berks County Courthouse, Volume 6, Page 223. I have had his will translated into English. It lists his wife and children's names and the husbands of his daughters. It is very interesting reading in the detailed instructions he provided for the disposal of his assets and the care of his wife.

Frederick Kerchner's FindaGrave Record

KERCHNER ANCESTRY -- Page 13

Johan George Kerchner, aka George Kerchner, (1774-1835), first known child and son of Frederick Kerchner, and my 3rd great-granduncle, was born March 3, 1774, in Berks County, Pa. He was baptized Johan George but chose to use his middle name as his legal name. This was a common custom with early Germans. He signed all his documents George Kerchner, but on his tombstone it is engraved, "John G. Kerchner," according to Snyder County Tombstone Inscriptions by George W. Wagenseller. To date I have found no record of his baptism although his brothers were baptized at Longswamp Reformed Church in Longswamp Township, Berks Co., Pa. About 1800, he married Elizabeth Keiser, born January 30, 1783, the daughter of Peter and Gertraut Keiser. She was also baptized in April 1783 at Longswamp Reformed Church. They settled in Longswamp Township where four of eight of their known children were born: Johan George Jr. (Dec 15, 1802 - Nov 21, 1889), died in Keokuk County, IA; Lydia Kerchner (Dec 22, 1804 - Sep 11, 1883), died in Perry Twsp, Snyder Co PA; Judith Kerchner (Jan 2 1807), and Elizabeth (Jun 12, 1809), allegedly died in Liverpool, Perry Co PA. These four children were all baptized at Longswamp Reformed Church. His family is listed in the 1800 and 1810 censuses of Longswamp Township, Berks County, Pa. About 1811 he moved with his family to Beaver Township, Union County, Pa., where he was listed in the 1820 census. He later was located in Perry Township, Union County, Pa., later Snyder County. His family was listed in the 1830 census of Union County. In this area he had the last four of his eight known children, all boys, the water must have been different in that area . The boys were: Solomon (Feb 20, 1812 - Feb 7, 1883), probably died in Perry County, PA; Augustus (Feb 19, 1815 - Jan 18, 1855), died in Wheatfield Township, Perry County, PA; Reuben (Apr 7, 1818 - Sep 12, 1883), died in Delaware Township, Juniata County, PA; and Benjamin (Oct 19, 1820 - Aug 18, 1898), died Walker Township, Juniata County, PA. His last known son, Benjamin, was baptized at Grubb's Church (Botschaft) Lutheran Church, Chapman Township, Snyder County, Pa. Johan George, Sr., died November 10, 1835. His wife died November 25, 1849. They are both buried at Grubb's Church Cemetery. A baptismal record, an old German Taufschein, has been found for Augustus Kerchner on which his mother's maiden name is recorded as Kayser which is a slightly different spelling but phonetically the same name. I still believe Keiser is the correct spelling of her maiden name. The Taufschein was purchased for the sum of about $800 and was donated to the collection of the Perry Historians, New Castle, PA. I have a photographic copy of it.

While researching this branch of descendants I have located two 3rd great-grandsons of Johan George Kerchner who have also done research into this branch of descendants of Frederick Kerchner. The first individual is a direct male descendant of Benjamin Kerchner, the youngest son of Johan George Kerchner. His name is Jerome E. Kerchner, Jr. He resides in Stevensville, MD. The second individual is a descendant of Augustus Kerchner, the 3rd son of Johan George Kerchner. His name is Clifton P. Hyatt. He resides in Newville, PA.

KERCHNER ANCESTRY -- Page 14

Frederick Wilhelm Kerchner, aka William Kerchner, (1776-1841), second known child and son of Frederick Kerchner, and my 3rd great-grandfather, was born March 12, 1776, in Berks County, Pa. He was baptized "Frederick Wilhelm Kerchner" but chose to use his middle name as his legal name as was the custom of those times. He signed all is documents, "William Kerchner" but on his tombstone it is clearly engraved "F. Wilhelm Kerchner." I have photographed the tombstone. The record of his baptism at the Longswamp Reformed Church is on microfilm with a facsimile copy on file at the Lehigh County Historical Society, Allentown, Pa. He also may have chosen to use his middle name to distinguish himself from his father. He was a farmer. In July 1800, he married Salome Egner (aka Saloma Egener), born November 12, 1779, the daughter of Henry Egner and Susanna Romig.

For more about the Egner family visit my Egner web page.

This Kerchner family moved to what is now the Lower Macungie Township area of Lehigh (then Northampton) County, PA, where they owned a large farm. They had 4 children who were: Henry (Apr 29, 1802, died age 18), never married; John Frederick (Feb 12, 1804 - Jul 25,1888), married Maria Christman; died in Lower Macungie Twsp, Lehigh Co PA, Hanna (Feb 5, 1806 - May 6, 1844), married Thomas Eisenhart, died in Lower Macungie Twsp, Lehigh Co PA; and Susanna (Sep 19, 1811 - Apr 18, 1894), married Daniel Christman, died near Macungie, Lehigh Co PA. Daniel Christman and Maria Christman were brother and sister and were the children of Johan Henry and Anna Maria (nee Roeder) Christman. Wilhelm, or William as he was known in English, built the home located about one mile north of Macungie on the right hand side of the road, immediately after the entrance to the Mack Truck assembly plant. It was later owned by the Faust family who are related to the Kerchners. You can easily see the large "WK" with the year "1835" in the apex of the north wall. I have a photograph of it. This house and other small buildings on the property were torn down circa 2005 during development of the land for residential units in the interior portion and commerical properties along Route 100. Today a McDonald's Restaurant, a small shopping center, and a bank are located near where the home stood. William Kerchner is listed in the 1810 Census of Longswamp Township, Berks County, Pa., page 792, Wm. 'Kircher'. He is also listed in the 1820 Census of Macungie Township, Lehigh County, Pa., page 171, William 'Kercher'. Thus he moved from Berks County to Lehigh County sometime between 1810 and 1820.

William died on Nov 22, 1841. He was the first person buried at the Solomon's Reformed Church in Macungie, Lehigh County, Pa., which was completed that year. He was active in the establishment of this church and his untimely death is recorded in the historical records of the church. His grave is in the second row, far left, of the "old cemetery". His wife, Saloma, who died June 5, 1870, is buried by his side. I have photographed the tombstones. Records of his children's baptisms were recorded at Lehigh Zion Lutheran Church near Macungie, Pa. A microfilm copy is on file at the Muhlenberg College Library, Allentown, Pa. A facsimile copy is on file at the Lehigh County Historical Society, Allentown, Pa. His will, written in German, was recorded in 1841 at the Lehigh County Courthouse, File #1586. I have had it translated into English. It lists his 3 surviving children, plus the 2 daughters and their husband's names. Like his father's will, it is very interesting in the detailed explanation on exactly how his wife is to be taken care of until she dies. She lived almost 30 more years, until 5 Jun 1870, so the final account to the court of his estate was not done until 10 May 1871. When William died on 22 Nov 1841, he was serving as the administrator for his mother, Barbara Kerchner's estate in the Berks County court system. She had recently died on 26 April 1841. This caused a very complicated estate for William's son, John F. Kerchner, and the other executors to resolve.

Gravestone for F. Wilhelm Kerchner at Solomon's Church Cemetery, Macungie PA

Gravestone for Saloma (nee Egner) Kerchner at Solomon's Church Cemetery, Macungie PA

Frederick Wilhelm Kerchner, aka F. Wilhelm Kerchner, aka Wilhelm Kerchner, aka William Kerchner's FindaGrave Record

KERCHNER ANCESTRY -- Page 15

Philip Peter Kerchner, aka Peter Kerchner, (1778-1822), third known child and son of Frederick Kerchner, and my 3rd great-granduncle, was born February 11, 1778, in Longswamp Township, Berks County, Pa. He was baptized on March 15, 1778, at Longswamp Reformed Church as Philip Peter, but chose to use his middle name as his legal name. This was a common German custom. About 1800, he married Catharina (last name unknown). They settled in Longswamp Township. His family is listed in the 1800 and 1810 censuses of Longswamp Township, Berks County, Pa. They had ten children of which the names of eight are known. They were: Catharina (Jun 7, 1801), Salome (Apr 1805), Patty (Mar 27, 1807), Anna (Apr 30, 1809), Lydia (Sep 3, 1810), Judith (Aug 24, 1812), Mathilda (c1815), and Peter (c1817). Some of the children were baptized at Longswamp Reformed Church and some were baptized at Zion Lehigh Lutheran Church, Macungie Township, Lehigh County, Pa. Philip Peter died about 20 Oct 1822. His estate was administered in the Berks County Courthouse in Reading, Pa., under the name Peter Kercher. His last name was misspelled. However, his name is spelled correctly in several of the estate documents such as the inventory and in the petition signed by his wife to appoint guardians for the minor children. His wife, Catharine, and his brother, William Kerchner, were the administrators. I have not found a record of Catharine's death. As of this date I have not located were they are buried.

Elizabeth M. Kerchner (1783-1833), fourth known child and the first known daughter of Frederick Kerchner, and my 3rd great-grandaunt, was born May 25, 1783, in Longswamp Township, Berks County, Pa. She was baptized on July 6, 1783, at Lehigh Zion Lutheran Church, Macungie Township, Lehigh County, Pa. The daughters were apparently baptized Lutheran since the mother was Lutheran while the sons were baptized Reformed since the father was Reformed. This was common with German "mixed religion" marriages. On June 7, 1801, she married Abraham Griesemer, born April 16, 1777, the son of Leonard and Elizabeth (nee Lefebre) Griesemer. They had nine known children: Rebecca Margaret (Mar 6, 1802), Elizabeth (Dec 22, 1803), Catharine (c1805), Maria Magdalena (1808), Jennike Eunice (Mar 7, 1810), and John (Aug 26, 1812), Julia Ann (Aug 1, 1816), Mary (c1820), and Abraham (Nov 7, 1822). Elizabeth died January 18, 1833. Her husband died October 15, 1823. They are buried in the same row as her parents at Huffs Church Cemetery, Huffs Church, Hereford Township, Berks County, Pa. Her maiden name was misspelled as Kergner on her tombstone.

Jacob Kerchner (1787-1836), fifth known child and the fourth known son of Frederick Kerchner, and my 3rd great-granduncle, was born November 28, 1787, in Longswamp Township, Berks County, Pa. He was baptized at Longswamp Reformed Church. On 26 Jan 1808 he married Catherine Koser, born on August 17, 1788, the d/o Johan George and Elizabeth Barbara (nee Peters) Koser. Initially, Jacob and his family lived in Longswamp Township but later moved north of the Blue Mountain to Towamensing Township, Carbon County, then part of Northampton County, Pa. His family is listed in the 1820 and 1830 censuses of Towamensing Township. They had nine known children: Jacob Jr. (28 Jun 1808-26 Oct 1831), never married; Benjamin (8 May 1810-5 Apr 1896), married Elizabeth Box; Anna Maria (b. 5 Apr 1812), married George Greenzweig; Catherine (4 May 1814-7 Apr 1882), married George Ziegenfuss; Judith (27 Mar 1816-2 Jul 1903), married Joseph Christman; John (24 Mar 1819-27 Mar 1889), married Susannah Serfass; Salina (9 May 1822-27 Jul 1896), married first to Mr. Arner, married second to Mr. Wagner; Daniel (1827-12 Mar 1900), married Fannie Hawk; Susann (c1831), married Peter Meixel; Jacob Kerchner, Sr., died about March 1836 in Lower Towamensing Township, Carbon (then Northampton) County, Pa. His estate was administered at the Northampton County Courthouse, Easton, Pa. His wife, Catherine, died October 2, 1867. It is not known where Jacob, Sr. is buried. His wife is buried in the Salem Church Cemetery in Gilbert, Chestnuthill Township, Monroe County, PA. Several of their children are buried in the cemetery at Gilbert. She was probably living with one of her children in that area when she died. Their first son, Jacob, Jr., who died young at age 23, is buried at St. John's Union Church Cemetery, Palmerton, Lower Towamensing Township, Carbon County, PA.

KERCHNER ANCESTRY -- Page 16

Maria Kerchner (1796-1873), sixth known child and the second known daughter of Frederick Kerchner, and my 3rd great-grandaunt, was born January 20, 1796, in Longswamp Township, Berks County, Pa. I have found no baptismal record for her as of this date. In 1816 she married Johan Jacob Miller, aka Jacob Miller and/or John Miller, born Sep 22, 1786. They had nine known children: Caroline (Oct 1, 1817), Jacob (1818), Lydia (Aug 13, 1819), Judith (Sep 11, 1821 - Nov 25, 1895), William (Aug 25, 1823 - Feb 2, 1881), Charles (Aug 26, 1826 - Jun 10, 1898), female child (c1833), Edwin (c1835), and Franklin (c1838). Some of the information on these children was found with their burials records in the private burial records of Rev. Eli Keller, CLDS Film No. 1305843-05. Maria (nee Kerchner) Miller died February 19, 1873. She is buried in the same row as her parents at Huff's Church Cemetery, Huffs Church, Hereford Township, Berks County, Pa. Her maiden name on her tombstone is spelled, Kergner. Her tombstone inscription states she was married to Jacob Miller. However, as of this date, I have not found the burial location of her husband.

John F.(Frederick?) Kerchner (1804-1888), my 2nd great-grandfather, son of F. Wilhelm a/k/a William, and grandson of Frederick Kerchner, was born February 12, 1804, in Macungie Township, which was then part of Northampton County, Pa. Lehigh County was not created from Northampton County until March 6, 1812. He was a farmer. On March 7, 1830, he married Maria Christman, who was born November 4, 1805, the daughter of Johan Henry and Anna Maria (nee Roeder) Christman. They had 9 children who were: William Henry (Mar 6, 1831 - Feb 4, 1879), married Levina Laros; Mary Ann (1832), married John Bastian; Thomas Franklin (Nov 9, 1833 - May 31, 1884), married Eliza Miller; Sarah Amanda (Feb 8, 1836 - Feb 3, 1895), married Peter Faust; Salome Caroline (c1838), married William Eberhard; Eliza Catherine (c1840), married John Schantz; John Addison (Feb 10, 1844- Jan 21, 1926), allegedly served in the Civil War, died in Ohio, married first to Louisa Schwartz and second to Emma Weidner; Susanna Rebecca (Oct 9, 1847 - May 30, 1854), died age 7; and Jacob Benjamin (Dec 27, 1849 - Nov 20, 1870), never married. John Kerchner and his family are listed in the 1850 Census of Lower Macungie Township, Lehigh County, Pa., page 161, line 17, John Kercher (sic), age 46, farmer. According to A History of Lower Macungie Township, published in 1976, and on file at the Lehigh County Historical Society, there were two iron ore mines located on his property. John Kerchner was active in community affairs. He was one of the 16 original shareholders in the establishment and building of the "Macungie Institute" school in 1856. The Borough of Macungie was known as the village of Millerstown back then. The school was named after the township of Macungie since it served the whole township area and not just the village of Millerstown. The original building still stands today with large additions made in 1871 and 1941, and renovations completed in 2002.Today the Macungie Institute building serves as a community center and the home of the Macungie Historical Society. John F. Kerchner died Jul 25, 1888. He left an estate of record valued by the court at more than $20,000, a considerable sum for those times. $20,000 invested at 3% interest would be worth about $582,000 in 2002. It was divided between the children and one grandson. He and his wife are buried at Solomon's Church Cemetery. His grave is in Section A, Lot 54, Grave #7. His wife, Maria, who died February 15, 1874, is buried by his side. I have photographed the tombstones. They are heavily weathered. His will, written in English, was recorded in 1888, at the Lehigh County Courthouse, File #7028. It lists his surviving children and the husbands of his surviving married daughters. Also it names one of his grandsons, Morris R. Schantz. His daughter, Eliza Catherine, who married John Schantz, had predeceased him. Several other children, including his oldest son, William Henry, also predeceased him.

Gravestone for John Kerchner at Solomon's Church Cemetery, Macungie PA

Gravestone for Maria (nee Christman) Kerchner at Solomon's Church Cemetery, Macungie PA

Johannes Kerchner's FindaGrave Record

Here is a four generation Descendant Chart for Jacob Christman

KERCHNER ANCESTRY -- Page 17

William Henry Kerchner (1831-1879), my great-grandfather, son of John F., was born March 6, 1831, in Lehigh County, Pa. His occupation in the 1850 census was listed as apprentice (wagoner?). In 1853, he married Lovina (aka Levina) Laros (aka Larosch, Larrash, Laurisch), born October 16, 1833. Lovina was a descendant of an early settler in the Macungie Twsp area Ludwig Larosch. Lovina Laros was the daughter of Jesse and Lydia (nee Siegfried) Laros. William and Lovina had 9 children. They were: Oscar Llewelyn (1855), Mary Alice (c1857), John Henry (Oct 28, 1860 - died age 24, studying for the ministry), William Jesse (Sep 26, 1862 - was a blacksmith by trade and owned a blacksmith shop in East Macungie, PA). The blacksmith shop was continued by his son, William Jesse, Jr. An account of the their shop and their skills appeared in A History of Lower Macungie Township, published in 1976, Ellen Louisa (c1866), George Franklin (Apr 21, 1868), Jacob Benjamin (Dec 13, 1870), Edwin Alfred (Jan 6, 1873), and Margaret Lydia (Jan 26, 1877). He was a farmer, carpenter, and made furniture. A cane chair he made was owned by his grandson, the late E. Jesse Kerchner. He is listed in the 1850 Census of Lower Macungie Township, Lehigh County, Pa., page 161, line 13, William 'Kercher', age 19, apprentice. He was living with his sister, Mary Ann, who married John Bastian, occupation wagoner. Since William's father, John, owned two iron ore mines on his property, the wagons were probably used to haul iron ore to Lockridge Furnaces in Alburtis. William, according to the deed description for the property he owned, probably lived in the house located at the 'V' intersection of the road to Alburtis and the road to Trexlertown immediately north of the entrance to the present Mack Truck facility. The present day location of this road has been relocated from it's former location. William Henry died, at the rather young age of 47, on Feb 4, 1879. His father outlived him. William Henry is buried in the Solomon's Church Cemetery, Section A, Lot 44, Grave #5. His wife, Lovina, who died July 20, 1902, is buried by his side. I have photographed the tombstones. A copy of Solomon's Church records are on file at the Lehigh County Historical Society, Allentown, Pa. His estate was administered at the Lehigh County Courthouse in 1879, File #5385.

William Henry Kerchner's FindaGrave Record

Gravestone for William Henry Kerchner at Solomon's Church Cemetery, Macungie PA

Gravestone for Levina (nee Laros) Kerchner at Solomon's Church Cemetery, Macungie PA

Here is a three generation Descendant Chart for Ludwig Larosch

Jacob Benjamin Kerchner (1870-1941), my grandfather, son of William Henry, was born December 13, 1870, on the "Kerchner Farm" near Macungie, Lehigh County, Pa. On January 2, 1897, he married Emma M. C. Derr, who was born September 7, 1877. Emma was the daughter of John and Lucy Ann (nee Walbert) Derr. Jacob and Emma had 8 children -- Irvin Jacob (was in business as a painter and paper hanger), Levina Estella (died in childhood), Verna Ella (married James Heil of Macungie), John Oscar (died in childhood), Edgar Harold, George Paul, Mildred Emma (never married), and Charles Frederick. Jacob was a farmer but for a time it was alleged by my aunt that he worked in Ohio as foreman at a pipe factory for a short time. But thus far I have found no hard evidence of that. In later life he owned a home on the west side of the Main Street in Macungie PA, across from the hardware store. His obituary states that for 12 years he was proprietor of the Sunset Shirt Manufacturing Company near Vera Cruz. He was also in partnership with William Kern in a glove making business in Macungie, Pa. My father, Charles (Sr.), remembers that for a while he managed several shirt manufacturing businesses in Emmaus, Pa. and in Danielsville, Pa. He also was in partnership with William Kern in a shirt factory in Emmaus, Pa. He was a church elder for many years at Solomon's Reformed Church in Macungie, Pa. He died on October 3, 1941. He died before I was born so I never met him. He is buried in Solomon's Church Cemetery, Section B, Lot 23, Grave #5. His wife, Emma, who died November 20, 1956, is buried by his side. I have photographed the tombstones. A copy of Solomon's Church records are on file at the Lehigh County Historical Society, Allentown, Pa. His will was recorded in 1941 at the Lehigh County Courthouse, File #32110.

Jacob Benjamin Kerchner's FindaGrave Record Showing His Picture and His Family Gravestone

Links to other surnames and web sites of prime genealogical interest to me:
Laudenslager Genealogy Home Page.
Lucy Ann Walbert Genealogy Home Page.
Additional Surnames of Interest to Me Descendants Charts Page.

Rootsweb RSL List surname search engine.
Genetics and Genealogy Information Page
Kerchner Surname Y-DNA Chromosome Genetics and Genealogy Project
Library of Congress online catalog of holdings.
Palatines to America organization home page.
Pennsylvania Deutsch information page.
German-English On-Line Dictionary home page.
German Town Locator - GEO Serv procedures and instructions home page.
Old German Professions, Occupations, and Illnesses
National Genealogical Society organization home page.
National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution home page.
National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution home page.
Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet home page.
CLDS Online Ancestral File and IGI Search home page.
Vital Records Division Addresses for the 50 U.S. States.
Pennsylvania Division of Vital Records Address and Contact Information.
Pennsylvania GenWeb home page.
Lehigh County PA GenWeb home page.
Lehigh County Historical Society home page.
Dillingersville School - Union School and Church Association aka The Schoolhouse Near The Old Spring.
Early Lehigh Co PA Surnames, The 1812 Project home page.
Interactive Maps, Lehigh County PA, and Environs home page.
Berks County PA Genealogy home page.
Berks County Genealogical Society home page.

Other reports written by me:

18th Century PA German Naming Customs

18th Century PA German Nicknames

18th Century PA German Name Spelling Idiosyncrasies

PA Dutch Are Of German Heritage, Not Dutch

Kerchner and Kershner Are Different German Family Names

Kerchner and Kercher/Karcher Are Different German Family Names

Tips and Tricks For The Beginner - Genealogy 101

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Charles F. Kerchner, Jr.
3765 Chris Drive
Emmaus PA 18049-1544 USA
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Charles F. Kerchner, Jr.
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Website Created - 01 Sep 1996
Website Updated - 15 Jul 2026