Previously, I looked into my Pastor’s Gray genealogy. In this Blog, I’ll take a look at his Knarr genealogy:

Frances Ruth Knarr was my Pastor’s paternal grandmother. Here is Frances’ birth certificate:

She was born to a miner in Big Run, Pennsylvania:

Big Run is close to Punxatawney.

It is difficult to make out Frances’ name in the 1910 Census, but it is transcribed as Sadie:

We learn further that her father was a coal miner.

Here is Ruth in 1925:

Here is Ruth the following year at her Indiana, Pennsylvania School:

This appears to be a sample of her handwriting. There seemed to be several different ways to write her last name.  Ruth must be about 16 at this time. A few years later, Ruth or Frances made the Punxatawney News:

I suppose that people did not shop as often in those days.

Here is more news for Frances:

Ambridge is a place near Pittsburg – also near where the family was living in 1940. I wonder if the couple eloped as Greensburg is quite distant from Big Run:

There is also no mention of a wedding party. Here is the Gray couple in 1930:

They are living with Frances’ mother who was divorced and going by her maiden name of Weber.

Here is the couple in 1940:

They now have four children and live in Baden, Pennsylvania where Melvin is a laborer for a steel company.

In 1950 Melvin is an insulator for a refrigeration company and the family is living in Bell Township:

Not long after this, the family was back in Punxatawny:

Frances passed away in 1997 in Punxatawny:

She is buried in Big Run:

Clarence Emmanuel Knarr Born 1876

During the Draft Registration for the First World War, Clarence was a farmer in Troutville, Pennsylvania:

Troutville was not far from Big Run:

Clarence was of medium height and build and had gray eyes and light hair:

Here is a photo:

Clarence’s hair does not look very light, but perhaps this is an earlier photo.

Clarence married Emma Weber in 1904. The marriage was performed by a Justice of the Peace:

Here is Clarence in 1880:

The family lived in Brady Township which included Troutville. Three of Clarence’s grandparents were born in Bavaria:

Clarence’s father was a farmer in 1880.

The 1900 Census is a bit confusing:

An immigration year is given, but it must be for the parents as it is before Jacob and Louisa were born.

Clarence is living by himself in 1920 and listed as divorced:

There is a 70 year old Emiline Knarr living next to him. Clarence’s occupation is a coal loader. In 1930, Clarence is still by himself but now a farm laborer:

In 1950, Clarence is still alone, but listed as a widower:

Clarence dies two years later at the age of 76 from heart related issues:

Clarence was buried at the United Church of Christ Cemetery:

Jacob George Knarr Born 1850

In 1860 Jacob was likely living in an Inn as his father was an Inn Keeper:

I assume that they lived in Troutville as that was where the local Post Office was according to the 1860 Census. Jacob’s father was born in Germany. There is no age listed for Margaret, so there is some confusion as to who she is. George and Louisa Knarr are the next listed couple on the Census and they are listed as being 71 and 69 years old.

Here is the 1870 Census showing two Knarr families living next to each other:

We now see that Margaret was Adam’s wife. Jacob is a farm laborer. Jacob’s father Adam has extensive real etate holdings worth $10,000 and is now a farmer. He says that he was born in Wurtemburg:

Apparently, this was a Kingdom that bordered on Bavaria on its Eastern and Southern borders.

In 1880, Jacob is now married with children as a farmer. His sister-in-law is living with the family:

In 1910, Jacob is living with his wife:

Jacob was buried in a Lutheran Cemetery:

From findagrave.com:

Jacob George Knarr was the son of George Adam Knaff b. 17 Mar 1827 in Gersbach, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany and Anna Margaret Kuhnley b. 30 Oct 1827 in Westmoreland Co., PA

He married his first wife Margaret Barto born About 1850, They had a son they named George Jacob Knarr Jr.

He married Maria Louisa “Louisa” Keller on 11 Sep 1873 in PA and they had 4 children they named: Clarence Emanuel, Margaretha Luella, Mary Louise and Wilhelmine Anna Knarr.

George Adam Knarr Born 1827

Here is what I have so far:

One account I read described George Adam as a picturesque figure. Thanks again to findagrave.com, I have a photo:

According to the 1900 Census, Adam immigrated in the year 1831:

If that is correct, he would have been quite young at the time. Based on a birth year of 1827, he would have been 4 or based on the Census, he would have been aboiut 8.

I was able to find and online version of the 1887 History of Clearfield County Pennsylvania:

 The dwelling houses in those pioneer days were little better than “shanties.” It is true there were openings for windows and doors, before which sheets and blankets were hung, as boards were not to be had, as no saw-mills existed. Consequently floors were rare, or did not exist. The roofs were made of split shingles, or clap-boards, held in place by good sized logs known as weight poles. In I832 the Knarr residence, the first house, where Troutville now stands, was built; it was probably as good as most in the township; it was made of hewn logs, clap-board roof, no second floor or ceiling, a hole in the apex and centre, as to length of the roof, for the smoke to escape. This house had a ground floor, made by placing cross pieces between the “sleepers,” close together, so as to hold a layer of clay mortar, which, packed solid and smoothed over and allowed to dry, made a firm and warm floor, which had the advantage, by virtue of its material, to escape scrubbing. The idea of this kind of floor was taken from the old German method of stucco work, similar to old time German threshing floors (not a nail used). Within a stone’s-throw of the site of this pioneer cabin is the modern residence of H. E. Ginter, having all the modern conveniences of steam heat, hot and cold water throughout the entire house; make the comparison between the two, and the vast improvement since then, will strongly impress us that the world moves. Prior to the location of the Knarr cabin, between the years 1821 and 1824, or near those dates, the first settlers located in the southern part of Brady township; 

Societies

Literary and debating societies found favor prior to 186o. Troutville and vicinity had a debating club (German) which used to meet at the Black Horse Tavern, kept by Adam Knarr, prior to 186o, and discussed such weighty (?) questions as: Which is the mother of the chick, the hen which laid the egg, or the one that hatched it? and, Which is the stronger element” fire or water? etc. During the winter of 1868 or ’69 there was a society organized at Luthersburg, having physical and mental improvement in view. This society had the spacious title of United Brethren of Progress. Then, shortly after (winter of 1869″70) Troutville supported a literary society in which Jno. Carlile, Henry Sykes, sr., L. Schuch, S. G. Kuntz, P. S. Weber, J. C. Keller, J. M. Carlile and others took an active part. The question: “Resolved, that woman shall be granted equal rights with man,” attracted considerable attention in the earnest and able manner in which this debate was conducted. From this period to the present time, literary societies both at Luthersburg and Troutville are kept in operation, and maintaining a high standard. I. 0. 0. F.  Mingle Lodge No. 753, I. 0. 0. F., was instituted at Troutville, February 17, 1871, with the following charter members: H. E. Ginter, noble grand; H. W. Schoch, vice-grand; J. C. Keller, secretary; J. M. Miller, assistant secretary; George Knarr, treasurer; William Null, Charles Miller, Sr., Israel Frantz and P. B. Weaver. The lodge was moved to Luthersburgh November 17, 1871, on account of the smallness of the hail at Troutviile, but was removed to the latter place August 2, 1884, occupying their new and commodious hail, owned by the order; membership in good standing, 49; lodge in flourishing condition; no debts, and handsome surplus in the treasury. Good Templars.   This temperance society flourished in the township from 1868 to 1870, but finally lost prestige and ceased to exist.

Hotels

The first tavern, as hotels were then called, was opened by Lebbeus Luther shortly after settling at Luthersburgh, in 1820. Later he sold to Jacob Flick, who continued in the business until about 1839, when Joseph Fulton succeeded him. Fulton was followed by. William Irvin, and he by P. W. Barrett. The lower house, where D. Goodlander’s “Merchants” Hotel now stands, was first kept by Conrad Best, followed by Judge William Foley. Foley was followed by Daniel Barrett, and he by his son, Lewis. George W. Long kept what is to-day known as the Schwem House. In 1863 lie was followed by the Evanses, and they by the present proprietor, William Schwem, Jr. In 1863 to 1864 Frederick Korb kept what was known as the Eagle Hotel, now occupied as a tenement and office. In about 1853 Wilson Moore built the “Merchant’s” (now Goodlander’s). Moore was succeeded by Wallace & Shaw, they by David Johnston, Johnston by James Zeigler, he by H. Wittenmyer, when it finally passed into the hands of D. Goodlander, the present owner, who keeps it as a temperance house. In 1855 Henry Goodlander took charge of the old “Salem” tavern, succeeding Thomas Montgomery. Mr. Goodlander kept this well known hostelry until his death (1883). In 1845 Jacob Trautwein started the first hotel at Troutville. About 185? he sold to William Schwem, Sr., Schwem sold to Frederick Zeigler, he to George Knarr, the present owner. This house is now occupied as a dwelling. The second hotel was started in 1854 by Adam Knarr, known as the “Black Horse Tavern.” The “Traveler’s Home” stands on the site of the old tavern, and is owned by Adam Knarr. It was an extremely difficult task to secure data on this subject, and may be defective on that account. As a reminiscence it may be remarked: Little or no beer was sold prior to 1860, and whisky was served in tumblers at three cents a glass.

According to the findagrave.com entry for Jacob Knarr above, George Adam Knarr was born in Gersbach, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany:

Jo

Gersbach is not far from the French border.

Here is George in 1850:

Johann George Knarr Born 1789

George or Johann George was the first to bring his family to the Pennsylvania. We find out about George’s arrival in another biography of his son Adam:

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This 1898 biography is quite extensive and the reader may refer to the link above if interested. Here is Warren, Pennsylvania mentioned in the article:

Ancestry gives this hint for George’s Baptismal record:

I don’t think that Knerren is right. It should be Knerr.

Pirmasens appears to be close to where we were looking earlier in Germany:

Here is a closer view:

According to Wikipedia:

Pirmasens is an independent town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, near the border with France. It was famous for the manufacture of shoes. The surrounding rural district was called Landkreis Pirmasens from 1818 until 1997, when it was renamed to Südwestpfalz

Going Further

I have not done my own research into the German background of the Knerr surname. I have just accepted suggestions from Ancestry which uses online trees. This tree has a different name:

However, the Germans tended to have a lot of names. He could have been Johann Georg Andreas.

It would be intersting to accept the hints to see where they take us. This tree has:

This shows the Knerr family in Winzeln:

This tree (right or wrong) has the Knerr family in Switzerland going back to the 1500s:

If the tree is right, Theordore was the one who moved from Switzerland to Primasens:

According to Wikipedia:

Nennigkofen is a former municipality in the district of Bucheggberg, in the canton of Solothurn, Switzerland. On 1 January 2013, Lüsslingen and Nennigkofen merged to form Lüsslingen-Nennigkofen.^[1]

This would have been a considerable way to travel for this family:

Summary and Conclusions

• I was able to find a coal miner’s daughter in my pastor’s genealogy.
• Frances Ruth Knarr’s parents divorced. It may be possible to find the details of this divorce in County records.
• The Knarr’s moved from Germany and were early settlers of Troutville, Pennsylvania.
• One early Troutville Knarr was an Inn or Tavern Keeper.
• In Germany, the family lived in the Primasens area, not too far from the border of France.
• In Germany, the name was originally Knerr.
• The family has possible roots going back to the 1500’s in Switzerland.

My Pastor is a Gray and we went on a trip to Africa together. I said that I could look into his genealogy a bit if he would like. He mentioned that there were parts of his genealogy that he would be interested in. I started working on his genealogy on my phone, but it is easier to do research on a computer.

Here is how far I got doing research on my phone on my trip to Africa:

Pastor Joel’s four ancestral lines are:

1. Gray
2. Knarr
3. Garlow
4. Spohn

These ancestors were in Pennsylvania from my recollection.

The Gray Line

Melvin Emerson Gray – born 1906

I’ll start with Melvin Emerson Gray. Here are his basics:

I have that Melvin was born in Big Run, Pennsylvania. Here is Melvin in 1910:

Melvin went by Emerson to distinguish him from his father. Melvin’s grandparents were also from Pennsylvania. So the Grays had deep roots there. Melvin’s father Melvin was a painter. Here is Big Run, outside of Punxutawney:

Fast forward to 1950  and here is Melvin:

Melvin is an insulator at a refrigeration plant. He lives on a dirt road in Bell, PA with his wife and six children.

Melvin Odell Gray – Born 1885

I’ll start at Melvin’s end. Here is his death certificate:

Here is the McClure Cemetery noted in the Death Certificate:

Sadly, Melvin Odell died at the age of 30 of chronic alcoholism. This must have been difficult on his family. That means that his son, Melvin Emerson was 10 when his father died. Here is the family in 1920:

Nettie was working at a laundry to support the family.

Here is Melvin Odell in 1900 in Big Run:

Melvin Odell’s mother was also a widow. So here was another single parent family. Melvin’s older brother was working as a day laborer supporting the family. I’m sure that Melvin didn’t realize at this time that nearly half his life was over.

Enoch George Gray – Born 1831

The 1890 Census is missing, so the last Census Enoch is in is the 1880 Census:

Enoch was a carpenter. Both of his parents and his wife’s parents were born in Pennsylvania. This means that Melvin Odell was born when his father was about 52 and his mother about 42. Here is a fuzzy photo of Enoch from Ancestry.com:

Here is the 1870 Census:

I note the Yohe name above which is a Gray family name. Also note that the value of the house and property varied quite a bit between the Yohe family and the Gray family.

Enoch served in the Civil War:

This note appeared to the right of the record:

It appears that he was in Monroe, VA:

Here is a further report on the Regiment:

206th Regiment, Pennsylvania Infantry

OVERVIEW:

Organized at Pittsburg September, 1864. Left State for City Point, Va., September 9. Attached to Provisional Brigade, Defences of Bermuda Hundred, Army of the James, to October, 1864. 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, 10th Corps, Army James, to December, 1864. 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, 24th Army Corps, to June, 1865.

SERVICE:

Duty with Engineer Corps engaged in fatigue duty at Dutch Gap, Va., till October 26, 1864. Duty in trenches before Richmond north of the James till April, 1865. Occupation of Richmond April 3. (Temporarily attached to Devens’ 3rd Division, March 27 to April 22.) Provost duty at Richmond till May. At Lynchburg and Richmond till June. Mustered out June 26, 1865.

Regiment lost during service 1 Enlisted man killed and 29 Enlisted men by disease. Total 30.

It is interesting that more were lost to disease than to battle. Fortunately, Pastor Joel’s ancestor survived his sickness. Much more information can be found on Wikipedia including:

After the breakthrough, the 206th was among the first units to march into Richmond unopposed on 3 April,^[1] to discover that the Confederate forces had evacuated.

Here is Enoch’s Veteran Burial Card:

So while Enoch’s son only lived a short life, Enoch lived to 63 and died with money as seen by the probate records:

Benjamin Lever Gray – Born 1807

The link between Enoch and his father Benjamin is in the 1850 Census. That year was the earliest Census with family information:

Here we see that Benjamin had at least 10 children. The Census does not state specifically that all these people were Benamin’s children, but that is generally assumed to be the case. Before 1850, it is more difficult to figure out the family connections. Here is Pine:

It is on the other side of Punxutawney compared to Big Run. Here is Benjamin’s grave stone:

Here is some more information:

Benjamin’s mother’s maiden name was his middle name. Mercer is to the North of Pittsburgh:

In 1860 Benjamin was a teamer in Henderson:

My interpretation is that he drove a team of horses which were hauling a heavy load. However, the transcription says Farmer, so I will defer to that. Looks like a fancy ‘F’. Henderson is just to the North of current Big Run.

Adam Gray Born 1775

With Adam, it gets interesting as he was born just before the birth of our Nation. Ancestry shows three trees for Adam Gray. The first two show him born in Maryland:

The third tree has him born in Pennsylvania:

The War of 1812

There is a record of two Adam Grays from this period:

The second on the list appears to be an Adam A Gray. It is possible that neither is the one we are interested in. If I were to pick one, I would take the first, as I am not aware of a middle initial for this Adam of interest. Unfortunately, it appears that the first Adam deserted after camping near Buffalo:

Peter Gray Sr. Born 1745

This Gray is of interest as we would like to find an ancestor of Pastor Gray who served in the Revolutionary War. According to WikiTree:

Peter Gray was among the first settlers of Patton Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania.

The Peter Gray family and the Conrad Hartsock family were the earliest settlers to the area. They came to the Half Moon Valley in 1788, from Frederick County, Maryland, and settled in what is now Patton Township. The early days were strongly influenced by the Methodism. As soon as Peter Gray had a roof on his log cabin, he began Sunday School classes, and founded what is today Grays United Methodist Church.

Here is Patton Township:

There is even a Graysdale there. This must be the mecca for every Gray descendant. Here is Patton Township in relation to Pittsburgh:

Here is the citation of Patton Township from Wikipedia:

Patton Township was established in 1794 and named after Colonel John Patton, a revolutionary officer, who co-owned the Centre Furnace, along with Colonel Samuel Miles. The Peter Gray family and the Conrad Hartsock family were the earliest settlers to the area. They came to the Half Moon Valley in 1788, from Frederick County, Maryland, and settled in what is now Patton Township. The early days were strongly influenced by Methodism. As soon as Peter Gray had a roof on his log cabin, he began Sunday School classes, and founded what is today Grays United Methodist Church. These settlers also made pilgrimages to church at Warriors Mark, a 12-mile distance, because that was the nearest regular preaching point in the valley.^[3] Iron mining was begun in the early days of Patton Township, affording supply of ore for Centre Furnace. Scotia mines are located in this township, which is still rich in iron ore.^[4]

• • 

    Grays United Methodist Church

John Gray Born 1725

There is some confusion as to where John Gray was born. The candidates are Lancaster, PA, England, Netherlands and Germany. I am tending to favor Germany. It is believed that the original name was Krey (or some version thereof).

Here is a picture of what I have so far;

Here is what I have for the earliest Gray:

However, the Netherlands may or may not be right. One family legend has them from England.

Gray DNA

At this point, it would be helpful if DNA could give us some hints as to the origin of this Line of the Gray family. It is likely that there are many unrelated ‘clans’ of Grays as could be seen by a DNA study. FTDNA which is a DNA testing company has a YDNA Family Group for the Gray Family. YDNA tests just the male line of DNA, so it is ideal for surname studies.

Summary and Conclusions

• I attempted to start a genealogy of my Pastor’s Gray family
• I got back to the 1700’s to John Gray born 1725.
• Before that the picture is a bit less clear.
• Genealogical testing could help in getting an idea of where the Gray family goes beyond that.
• The male Gray line is one fourth of Pastor Joel’s genealogy.