Ok so have you ever thought who are those people on the banners at the top of this page? No, well the hell with you! I’m going to tell you anyway! The younger folks are my children and I’ll get to them later. The older pictures are my father’s side of my family.From left to right – first my father’s mother Charlotte Meyer Karn or Nana Karn as I knew her. She was a great lady very kind and she loved her family especially the grand kids. Along with her mother and sister Irma she came to America in September of 1912 from Dresden,Germany. Her father, Herman had come over the year before. She was 9 and Irma was 14 when they immigrated. Charlotte never had a German accent and Aunt Irma never lost hers!! She passed away in January of 1971 (1971 was not a good year for my family as my mother’s mother died in June of ’71).
Next up are my father’s two brothers Kenny on the left and Arthur on the right. My Dad was the oldest then Art and Kenny was the baby. Art had two daughters Marti and Arlene that now live in South Carolina. Uncle Kenny never had any kids. All three were hard workers my dad and “Uncle Ott” really never stopped working for long. Uncle Kenny not as much he was always the one who played baseball or football with me! The next picture is my Dad with Art.The next picture is my dad’s grandmother Pauline Heckler Karn or “Grissy”. She came with her family father Daniel, Mother Susanna and brother Gustav from Switzerland in 1882. Granpop Karn is in the next two pictures in the first one he is holding my cousin Marti and in the second he is by himself. He was a farmer for most of his life farming first on Creek Road in Delran and then in Willingboro where he farmed for the Schmerier family. I never knew him or my mother’s father for that matter, as they died in 1953 and 56 respectively. I believe that he had three heart attacks and when he finally passed away his obituary said he was a cook at the Florence Diner. From what I’ve pieced together I believe his father Henry Karn came from Germany around 1880. Next is a group picture of the family, followed by a picture of Charlotte and Edward H,Sr. The final two pictures are from the Meyer family first Aunt Irma my grandmother’s sister and her man Tony. Irma was married to John Alfred, but John wouldn’t leave his family home and Irma couldn’t live there, so she moved out with her baby Eleanor. We have many touching letters she wrote to John telling him about the baby,etc, but they never got back together. Her companion for life was Tony! The last picture is my grandmother’s father Herman Meyer. In this picture he appears to be maybe in front of the Zurbrugg Mansion on the River Bank or at least one of the larger homes where he was the landscape designer. He worked for Dreer’s Nurseries in Riverton designing and landscaping many prominent homes along the Delaware River.
So now you know! Maybe tomorrow I’ll tell you about the young folks!
