A few weeks ago, my daughter Elizabeth went to Target and when she checked out the cashier, an older gentleman, asked her for identification, since she was using her family team member discount card. After he checked the name, she thought he said “Karn, my mother’s maiden name was Karn”. When she came home and told us what he said, my wife and I couldn’t figure out the family connection. With not many Karn’s around the area, we knew he had to be related, but there was no one that we knew of who could be his mother! We needed to find out!!
The only way it would work is if he actually said that his grandmother’s maiden name was Karn! In that case his grandmother was probably Emma Karn, my grandfather’s sister. Emma married Fred Neuman and they lived on Creek Road in Delran. They were actually the next-door neighbors of my long-time boss Wayne Lippincott! Emma and Fred had three children two duaghters and one son, Fred. Since the name of the cashier was Fred, it was a good bet that the above case was true!! Fred and I often talk at the check out and he calls me “Young fella” telling him once that I’m old too, he said – but not as old as me and he is right, I’m ten years his junior!
Anyway a few days later, I went into the store and sure enough when we talked he said that he had told my daughter his grandmother’s maiden name was Karn, and she was Emma Rose Neuman!!
It’s really cool to connect with that side of my father’s family, because I never knew them. My grandfather, born in 1898, was the youngest of the five children of Henry and Pauline Karn. The oldest child Harry was born in 1888, followed by Emma born in 1890, Anna in 1891, and Charles in 1894. I don’t remember any of them well, including my grandfather who died in 1953. Of that side of his family my father was the closest to the children of Charles – Gloria and Charles. I do believe that we also visited Anna and my mother amd father were friendly with her daughters. But we were estranged from Harry and his children as well as Fred and Emma. One of causes of the estrangement between the family and Harry, I believe was, that my grandmother would not let Harry in to see my grandfather after one of his heart attacks. Another cause involved Fred and Emma, I always heard the story that the family was mad at them because they got money from the PSE&G easement that went across the family land on Creek Road. Ha – it’s many times about the money!
Anyway, I am looking forward to sitting down with Fred after the holidays and talking about his family. I hope that he can identify folks in some of the family pictures that I have as I don’t even know what Emma looks like!! Bottom line it’s a small world!
