The oldest known member of this family is Michael Kern, whose parents were said to be Michael Kern and Barbara Kuehn. According to his obituary, he was orphaned at an early age.but apparently had at least one brother, Peter, who had come to America before he did. I was told by my grandfather that this Peter encouraged Michael to come, and that Michael stayed in New York for a while before moving further west. Michael suffered from asthma most of his adult life; he was exempted from military service during the Civil War because of it. He did make shoes for the army during the war, the family says.
Schoenau, the little village where Michael came from, is charming. My brother visited the town and said it was very nice. He got quite a shock, however, when he asked if there were any Kerns living in the town. He was told that half the town were Kerns. He then asked if there were any Kuehns living there. He was told that the other half of the town were named Kuehn!
Additional information on the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren will be added as they are found. For more information on these generations, please go to Ruedger, Foster, and Related Families at WorldConnect.