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Bedford County Historical Society, Inc.

6441 Lincoln Highway, Bedford, PA 15522
Phone: (814) 623-2011
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The Garn Family
including
Carn, Garnes, Garns and Gern

by
Lynn E. Garn, Ph.D.

The Garn Family including Carn, Garnes, Garns and Gern by Lynn E. Garn, Ph.D.

This book traces the descendants of Johannes Gern, who was born around 1686, probably in Germany. Johannes' son Johann Adam Gern, or Adam Gern, was born in 1714 in Kürnbach, Germany. Adam's two sons, Johannes and Conrad Gern, were born in Kürnbach in 1738 and 1748 respectively. In 1763 Johannes came to America as a single man and settled in Bedford Co., PA. His brother Conrad followed in 1785 with his wife and several children and settled in Franklin Co., PA.

The book documents the connection between the family in America and the family in Kürnbach. It also documents the connection to two new, previously unconnected branches of the family. One is from the aforementioned Franklin Co., Pennsylvania, and uses the Garns and Garnes spellings of the name. The other is from Ashland Co., Ohio, and uses the Garn spelling of the name.

This hardbound book has over 700 pages with indexes of both people and places, extensive documentation that includes more than 4000 footnotes and 44 appendices that show original wills, land records, church records, Bible records, and results of Y-DNA tests that establish relationships among branches of the family.

The Introduction to the book gives a brief history of the major places, including Kürnbach, where the Garns lived or still live. The Table of Contents of this book is given at the bottom of this page.

NOTE:After the book was completed and printed, additional information became available which supports some of the conclusions presented in Appendix 17 of the book. An addendum to Appendix 17 was written and can be downloaded by clicking here.

NOTE:Other research, which was done after the book was completed and printed, convinced us that Johanna Christina Gern did not die in Germany but immigrated with her parents and was known by the name Johanna Christiana Garnes in America. To see a report that provides the evidence supporting this conclusion, click here.

These books have been donated to the Society by the author and are sold only by the Society.
ALL proceeds from the sale of these books go toward the purchase of the building we now occupy to make it the permanent home for our Society.

Cost: $30.00 + tax, shipping & handling. To purchase, write or email the address above. You may also use your credit card or PayPal account to order this item online through PayPal. During checkout Pennsylvania State Sales Tax will be added to orders from Pennsylvania residents. If you are using a credit card, look for the credit card icons when the checkout page appears and click on the "CONTINUE" link.

Table of Contents - The Garn Family
Preface 5
Introduction 7
     Kürnbach, Germany - Ancestral Home of the Garn Family 8
     Early Residences in America 19
     Bedford County, Pennsylvania 23
     Franklin County, Pennsylvania 28
     Ashland County, Ohio 32
     Sandusky County, Ohio, and the Black Swamp 37
     Utah 42
First Generation 47
Second Generation 49
Third Generation 51
Fourth Generation 59
Fifth Generation 83
Sixth Generation 181
Seventh Generation 349
Appendix 1 - Trail of Evidence 445
Appendix 2 - Y-DNA Test Results and Relationships 459
Appendix 3 - McBride and Capener - Select Pages, Unrevised 465
Appendix 4 - Church Records, Kürnbach, Germany 479
Appendix 5 - Land Surveys for Johannes Gern, Person #7 487
Appendix 6 - Estate of Johannes Gern, Person #7 491
Appendix 7 - Frederick Garn (#12) Orphan's Court Record 497
Appendix 8 - Will of John Garn, Person #15 501
Appendix 9 - Will of John Garn, Person #21 507
Appendix 10 - Land Patent, John Garn, Person #21 513
Appendix 11 - Lyberger Lutheran Church Records 517
Appendix 12 - Two Susans Who Married Two John Garns 525
Appendix 13 - Will of Adam Garn, Person #25 531
Appendix 14 - Will of Jacob Garn, Person #27 537
Appendix 15 - Will of Mary, Wife of Jacob Garn, Person #27 543
Appendix 16 - Letters, John Garn (#76) to Uncle Samuel Garns (#28) 547
Appendix 17 - Christina Gern (#26) Connection - Click here to download addendum. 555
Appendix 18 - Will of Christian M. Garn, Person #30 561
Appendix 19 - Will of Samuel Carn, Person #63 567
Appendix 20 - Will of John Garn, Person #76 573
Appendix 21 - Family Bible, Samuel Garns, Person #28 577
Appendix 22 - Abraham Garn's Will and Obituary 583
Appendix 23 - Mrs. J. A. Capener Letter 585
Appendix 24 - Will of John Garns, Person #112 589
Appendix 25 - Philip G. Garn's Analysis of the Origin of the Garn Name 591
Appendix 26 - Samuel Garn Discussion 595
Appendix 27 - Consanguineous Marriages 597
Appendix 28 - Naming Conventions 601
Appendix 29 - Will of Jacob Garn, Person #116 603
Appendix 30 - Records of Martin Garn (#311) Family 605
Appendix 31 - Will of Jacob Garn, Person #58 607
Appendix 32 - Will of Milton Garn, Person #196 613
Appendix 33 - Will of Daniel Garn, Person #205 617
Appendix 34 - Will of Joseph Garn, Person #65 621
Appendix 35 - Will of Riley Monroe Garn, Person #283 627
Appendix 36 - Will of David Garn, Person #66 631
Appendix 37 - Family Record, David Garn, Person #66 633
Appendix 38 - Will of Martin Garn, Person #67 635
Appendix 39 - Will of Zachariah Garn, Person #303 639
Appendix 40 - Will of Jonathan Kahl, Person #91 643
Appendix 41 - Civil War Soldiers 647
Appendix 42 - What's New In This Book? 651
Appendix 43 - How The Book Was Written 653
Appendix 44 - Future Research 655
REFERENCES 659
INDEX OF PLACES 661
     Places in The United States 661
     Places - not in The United States 669
INDEX OF PEOPLE 671
     People with Surnames 671
     People without Surnames 707