Karns Biographies and Stories
Kerns (Karns) Home in Bedford, Pennsylvania
Alva Karns, Widower Who Moved His Family to Kansas in 1904
Hiram Karns, who moved to Kansas in 1882
A Letter Concerning Alva Karns from His Daughter-in-law
Verna Karns
Rachel Karns Snyder, Daughter of Simon H. Karns
John M. Karns, Who Moved to Kansas in 1911
Osa Karns Paxton, Daughter of Alva Karns
Harry M. Karns, Son of Alva Karns, Who Moved to Kansas in
1911
Arthur M. Karns, Son of Alva Karns, Resident of Pratt,
Kansas
Elmer M. Karns, Son of Alva Karns, Resident of Ford, Kansas
and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Memories of Elmer Karns by His Daughter Melva Jean
A Poem Written by Elmer Karns for His Niece, Sara Jean Riley
Verna Dawson Karns, Wife of Elmer Karns
Carl M. Karns, Son of Alva Karns and Resident of Kansas
and Colorado
Melvin E. Karns, Son of John and Anna Karns
The Story of the Construction of the Jackson Mills Bridge
in Bedford County, PA
Libby Prison, by Robert W. Waitt
Recollections of Libby Prison, by Rev. J. L. Burrows,
D.D.
Some Things I Remember about Elmer and Verna Karns,
by Melva Jean Karns Ladd, daughter
Glen W. Paxton's Naval Service, summarized by
Michael Bell, his son-in-law
A Letter to Elmer Karns, from his niece Sara Jean
Riley
Kerns (Karns) Home in Bedford, Pennsylvania
ABRAHAM [KARNS] KERNS, probably son of Philip Karns, was born about 1788 and died September 16, 1838 in Bedford, Bedford Co., PA. He and his wife Naomi lived just across from the square in downtown Bedford, Bedford Co., PA. This home is still standing, is very well kept, and in the early 1990s was listed on the Tour of Historical Homes in the Bedford area. It is a large two story home with an extension on the back that very possibly was used for servant quarters. The home is located at 233 S. Richard St., Bedford.
Not far from the house, in the downtown area of Bedford, the graves of Abraham and Naomi and three of their children are marked by stones in the Methodist Church Cemetery, located at Juliana and John Streets. The cemetery dates back to the early years of Pennsylvania history and many of the stones are well-worn with time and the elements.
Lack of finding proof records makes it impossible to be positive Abraham is
the son of Philip, Sr. Hopefully the records will be found at a later time. [JL]
Alva Karns, Widower Who Moved His Family to Kansas in 1904
Alva Hixon KARNS was born in a small, picturesque mountain valley in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, south of the town of Everett, on June 25, 1854. His parents were John Heft and Salome Mearkle Karns. He was the fifth child of eight born into the John Heft Karns family. Alva's middle name, Hixon, was his mother's surname. This name carried on the custom of giving a family name to the children. His mother was Rachel Hixon, daughter of John Hixson and Mary Forney. He was usually known by his first name, Alva, which was sometimes spelled as Alvah.
While there is no firm proof, family stories indicate that the Karns family from several generations earlier came to America as Hussian Soldiers from Germany. The family probably crossed the Delaware River in New York and, following the Revolutionary War remained in the American frontier land.
The schools in the small valley of Pennsylvania where the Karns lived usually had only one room, ordinarily heated with a potbellied wood or coal stove. Many of the children in a school would have been related to each other since there were several other families in that area who intermarried frequently.
Their world was quite isolated. The Wright Brothers made their first historic airplane flight in 1903. The radio was a new and mysterious machine that connected them with the outside world. Alexander Graham Bell exhibited his telephone in 1876, but phones were not available immediately to everyone--especially to small rural areas in the mountains of Pennsylvania. As they heard of this wonderful talking machine, they no doubt rigged their own tin cans with string and pretended that they, too, were using a telephone. By 1880, many cities had telephone service, but they certainly did not look or perform like the touch-tone phones of the end of the 20th century.
Between 1850 and 1900, fifteen more states joined the union, including most of the western and Great Plains states. As they heard the news, the formation of the new states was exciting both to residents of their valley as well as to people in the rest of the country. Expansion in the West soon prompted the need for a transcontinental railroad. In 1869, the first such railroad was completed and there was a great celebration surrounding the event. More railroads followed.
About 1878, Alva married Salome Mearkle in that small valley area in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. Living conditions were very primitive. Their first child, Nancy, was born about 1880 but died soon after and was buried in the Rockhill Cemetery at Clearville, Pennsylvania. Other children were born, including John, Bessie, Osa, and Harry. But the family was saddened again when the next child, Oliver, died when very small. There was another burial in the same cemetery. Arthur, Elmer, and Carl came into the family, but pneumonia took the life of their mother, Salome, on Sept. 16, 1896, the same day her father, George Mearkle, died. Carl was about one year old at that time. Salome was laid to rest in the Rockhill Cemetery, south of Clearville, Pennsylvania, beside her two other children. Alva faced the future alone with seven children to care for.
Life was busy with tending to the simple necessities of life in that rural area. Finally, the two smaller boys were placed in foster homes in the area. Elmer lived for a few years with the Jacob Grubb family. their daughter, Mary, was married to Lester Karns, who had been appointed guardian of the children. Carl was placed with the Ferguson family. Mrs. Ferguson was a sister of Salome. Elmer remembered Mrs. Grubb as "Mother Grubb" and a picture of her still remains in his family, along with a small New Testament with the words, "from Miss Olive Grubb, Dec. 1902."
Alva was a shoe cobbler by trade, and no doubt spent time in the growing of crops as well to help feed his family. Since two of his older brothers, Simon and Albert, had already migrated to the West, in 1904 Alva gathered up his children and prepared for a trip by train to eastern Kansas where his brothers had settled in the Englevale, Kansas area. Alva, now a widower with seven children, believed the Allegheny mountain area and its coal mining was no place to raise a bunch of little boys and their sister. As he looked at the future ahead for his children, he dreamed of a better life for them.
Traveling on the train with five children for several days, taking all the possessions they had, being sure there was enough food to last during the trip, etc., must have taken a lot of courage for this young widower. The children, as well as Alva, must have sensed a great amount of curiosity, adventure, and no doubt some apprehension about the future. We can only guess what they felt as the train chugged along the rails through the mountains of Pennsylvania across the states to the west, and then into the flat lands of Kansas. They settled first near the brothers in Englevale.
Remaining in Pennsylvania were the two eldest children, John M. and Bessie. John, a teacher, was married to Anna Bussard, and in 1911 they and their four children came to Kansas. Bessie, also a teacher by training, later married Scott Jay and they had four children. When their home burned to the ground she, Scott, and the small children followed her father to Kansas for a new start in 1913. That was the year the grasshoppers ate the hoe handles if the tools were left outside. This was pioneering!
After a few years, Alva and the family moved further west into the plains areas of Kansas, including Plains, Dodge City, Greensburg, and Ford. They finally settled north of the Arkansas River at the bend of the road as it turns northwest leading to Dodge City. One of many critical times during these years was the great flu epidemic of 1917. In contrast to many families of that time, all of Alva's family survived. The younger boys lived there with Alva until they were grown.
During that time, Grace Geary came into the home to help with the housework. Later, about 1917, Alva and Grace were married. Several years later they moved to the Bellingham, Washington area where Alva died of apoplexy (a stroke) on March 13, 1939. He was cremated.
Though the miles between the families were not so great, the fact that they were in different schools, attended different churches, and had many responsibilities caused some of the families to have very little personal contact most of the year. There was, however, one event that seemed to bond the family together. In 1915 Alva's family started holding their annual family reunion. Their eastern Kansas cousins sometimes came west to attend and through the next 65 years the reunions continued. In July or August every year the Karns Family Reunion was held. Most of the aunts, uncles, cousins, and sometimes relatives from the Hiram Karns family groups, and occasionally cousins Cromwell and Rachel Snyder, met together for the reunion. It was a happy time when everyone tried to catch up on the news of family activities for the past year.
The families have grown and prospered. Those who are past the middle of their life span now and have known the pioneer fathers know that the younger ones are going to have to do well to outdo the accomplishments of their pioneer grandfathers who believed in work, education, and God.
Written by Jean Ladd, daughter of Elmer Karns, in 1997.
Hiram Hixon Karns, who moved to Kansas in 1882
Other brothers of Alvah pioneered in Kansas. Hiram H. KARNS pioneered in Crawford County near Pittsburg, Kansas in 1882 after leaving Bedford County, Pennsylvania. This area of Pennsylvania was in the heart of the world's largest soft coal mining area near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which was about 100 miles west of his home. Coming west he located near Pittsburg, Kansas in the coal mine area there. Hiram brought with him his wife and their four children. In this new country, he sunk a coal shaft, farmed, and became a businessman in the town of Englevale, Kansas. Here his family increased to a number of ten. Two of his children, Mrs. A. C. Stwalley, the oldest child and born while the family still lived in Pennsylvania, and Mrs. Hattie Carlin, the youngest, reared their families in the Ford, Kansas community.
About the same time that Hiram arrived, another of Alva's brothers, Albert, came to Crawford County to settle. Most of the children of Albert's family later moved to the Kansas City, Missouri vicinity.
-- as reported in THE BUCKLIN BANNER, August, 1957
A Letter Concerning Alva H. Karns from His Daughter-in-law Verna Karns
Thurs. eve -- [In 1953 or 1954]
Dear Folk-- I am making a carbon copy to the John Karns & A.M. [Arthur] Karns -- save a little time -- John -- we tried to call you this morning before we left but were unable to get you -- we left home about 8:30 & got here -- (Jean's in Lawrence) at four o'clock -- we plan to go on Northeast [to Pennsylvania] as soon as Colleen [daughter of Elmer and Verna] gets off work tomorrow. Jean [daughter of Elmer and Verna Karns] had some news we have all been interested in so am writing this letter tonight. -- After we got our birth certificates Jean got interested in trying to get information on Grandpa Karns [Alva] -- we gave her all we could & today when we got here she gave us a copy of the certificate of his death from the state of Washington. -- He died March 13, 1939 in County Hospital in Whatcom County, Washington, city of Bellingham -- His death was caused by Apoplexy after 6 days illness; he had worked the day before he became ill. The certificate states that the informant was his wife Grace A. Karns of Bellingham. We thought you would be glad to know this before the family are together. We ran out of the rain soon after leaving Pratt -- Hutchinson had a shower this morning. It is dry all the way then. Will drop you a line once in a while. Love -- Verna
NOTE: The brackets contain explanatory material added by Jean Ladd; they were not part of the original document.
Salome Mearkle KARNS, wife of Alva Karns, lived all of her short life in the
Bedford County, PA area. She died of pneumonia at age 36. Two of her children,
Nancy and Oliver, had died earlier. At her death she left behind her husband,
Alva, and seven other children, the youngest being about a year old. Salome was
laid to rest in the Rockhill Cemetery, south of Clearville, PA in Bedford Co.
beside her two children.
Rachel Karns Snyder, Daughter of Simon H. Karns
RACHEL KARNS and CROMWELL SNYDER were both born and reared in Bedford Co., PA. She was born Nov. 20, 1880; he was born June 12, 1879. After their marriage, they decided to pioneer and move west with their small children. The minister of their church is said to have given his farewell words to them "I would rather bury you than to see you go to Kansas!"
With that kind of sendoff, Cromwell and his wife, Rachel (Karns) Snyder left the small community of Clearville, Bedford Co., PA, and rode the train to the end of the line, which at that time was Elkhart, KS. After arriving in KS in 1915, one of the children remembers the family living in a train caboose until they were able to build a house.
Esther, daughter of Rachel and Cromwell, remembers the strict customs of her church in the East. The girls all wore long black stockings. Even as an angel in the Christmas programs -- they made quite a scene having black legs with their white costumes.
They lived in Kansas during the years of the Dust Bowl and the great depression. During this time they discovered they had cousins who also lived in the area around Dodge City, KS and also another group in the southeastern part of KS. For many years each July or August a KARNS Reunion was held in the area around Dodge City, and occasionally the cousins from the east part of the state joined the group as well as the Snyders.
Rachel died at age 74 from heart disease and Cromwell ("Crum") died in Denver, CO at age 82.
This family, along with the Nettie and William Snyder family in PA, shares a
double connection. Two SNYDER brothers married two KARNS sisters. Therefore, the
children were double-cousins, though the distance in miles kept them from being
together much of the time.
John M. Karns, Who Moved to Kansas in 1911
John Mearkle KARNS, son of Alva and Salome Mearkle Karns, was born July 11, 1881 in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, where he grew to young manhood. He married Anna Matilda Bussard Oct. 22, 1903 in Bedford County, PA. He entered the teaching profession and taught for several years, obtaining a Life Certificate in the State of Pennsylvania.
In 1903 he married Anna Bussard in Clearville, Pennsylvania. They lived in Everett, Pennsylvania until 1911 when they moved to Mullinville, Kansas. After teaching there one year, John entered the farming profession and continued to farm and raise livestock until the time of his death. John and Anna believed in education, as evidenced by the number of their children who completed college degrees at a time when many did not pursue education beyond high school.
John was a charter member of the Bucklin Co-op and served as its president for twenty years. Throughout his life he was active in community affairs, serving on school and township boards, the ASC Office committee on wheat allotment, and various civic organizations.
John died at the age of 86. Memorial services were held for him on July 19,
1967 in the Christian Church in Bucklin, Kansas.
Osa Karns Paxton, Daughter of Alva Karns
Osa KARNS PAXTON came with her father, Alva Mearkle KARNS, to Kansas on a train from their home in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. She was born Nov. 9, 1885 in Bedford Co., PA. She had a great amount of responsibility in caring for their home on the prairie and helping care for the younger brothers. Osa married Paul Paxton. She was a homemaker, living in Pennsylvania, Kansas, and Idaho. She died at age 84.
In 1903, Paul Paxton, with his parents, moved to Kiowa County, Kansas. He
married Osa Karns, and in 1918 they moved to Cimarron County, Oklahoma, where
they lived until 1924. At that time, they moved back to Kiowa County, Kansas,
and engaged in agriculture. In 1943, Paul and Osa moved to Middleton, Idaho,
where he worked as a carpenter. In Paul's later years he moved to Nampa, Idaho,
where he lived until age 96. Burial was in the Middleton, Idaho cemetery beside
his wife.
Harry M. Karns, Son of Alva Karns, Who Moved to Kansas in 1911
Born October 15, 1887 in Clearville, Pennsylvania, Harry M. Karns came to Kiowa County, Kansas in 1911. On Christmas day of 1911, he married Jenny Brown in Kiowa County. Eleven children were born to them. From 1911 to 1939 they lived in Mullinville, Kansas and in 1939 they moved to Greensburg, Kansas, where he and his wife lived until his death in 1964. He worked for the Kansas Highway Department.
Harry died suddenly in his home at Greensburg, Kansas. Returning from a visit to Dodge City in the afternoon, he shared in a family dinner at his home and died shortly afterward. Services were held at the Fleener Chapel, Greensburg, Kansas, with burial in the Greensburg, Kansas Cemetery.
Jennie May BROWN KARNS was a very busy homemaker, the loving mother of eleven
children and grandmother to their families. She was born and raised in Kansas
and following her death at age 78, Jennie was buried beside her husband, Harry
M. Karns, in the cemetery at Greensburg, Kansas.
Arthur M. Karns, Son of Alva Karns, Resident of Pratt, Kansas
Arthur Martin KARNS was born in Bedford County, Pennsylvania on August 9, 1891. He married Edith Edna Dawson on April 13, 1916 in Ford, Kansas. They had two children, Glenn Elmer Karns and Verna Bethene Karns. He was a farmer and cattleman. He and Edith moved to Pratt, Kansas for retirement, where he became an active member of the Church of the Nazarene. After Edith's death, he married Elizabeth Metz on June 2, 1954 in Wichita, Kansas. Arthur died of a stroke on March 7, 1972 in Pratt, Kansas. Burial was in the Ford, Kansas cemetery.
Edith Edna DAWSON KARNS was a homemaker for her husband Arthur Karns and
their two children, Glenn and Bethene. She lived with her husband in the Ford,
Kansas area during their working years, and with him in Pratt, Kansas at
retirement. She was an active member of the Church of the Nazarene. Edith was
instrumental in organizing the teenage girls' quartet whose members were Bethene
Karns, Dorothy and Berniece Dawson, and Roberta Pearsall.
Elmer M. Karns, Son of Alva Karns, Resident of Ford, Kansas and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Elmer Mearkle KARNS was born July 14, 1893 near Clearville, south of Everett, Bedford County, Pennsylvania. On August 14, 1921 he married Verna Mabel DAWSON in Hutchinson, Kansas. Their first daughter was Winifred Colleen, with Melva Jean born a year later. Elmer died July 20, 1977 in Bethany, Oklahoma.
His mother, Salome Mearkle Karns, died of pneumonia in Clearville, Bedford County, Pennsylvania on Sept. 16, 1896. After her death the care of the younger children at home was too much for Alva. The two youngest children, Elmer and Carl, were placed in foster homes. Elmer lived with the Jacob Grubb family, which included their daughter Olive Grubb. He attended public schools in Pennsylvania and later in Kansas.
In 1903/04 Alva began the journey west to Kansas with five children, including Elmer. They lived first in the Englevale, Kansas region, and later moved to western Kansas. Elmer attended the Kiowa County Teachers Normal School, completing his training as a teacher in 1912. He taught in the Shuman School, District #7, near the town of Wright in Ford County, Kansas during the 1912-1913 school year. He had 19 students that year. His occupation then shifted to farming and raising livestock.
The Church of the Nazarene of Ford, Kansas was organized in 1924. Elmer was Sunday School Superintendent for many years and always was a faithful member until he moved from the community.
Following their marriage, Elmer and Verna lived in the vicinity of Ford, Kansas from 1921 until his retirement. They first lived south of town on the Clark Place, then in 1927 moved to the west side of Ford on the Taylor Place. They next lived on the Madison Farm just east of Ford. They moved to the Dawson home place northeast of Ford in 1943, living there until retirement in 1956, when they moved to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
They lived in Oklahoma City until Elmer's health failed and it was necessary
for him to go to a nursing home. Verna wanted to be with her husband, so
they lived together in the nursing home for a year. Elmer's heart was weak, and he passed away peacefully in his sleep of heart failure in
1977. Verna survived him, living until August 24, 1978.
Memories of Elmer Karns by His Daughter Melva Jean
SOME THINGS I REMEMBER . . . by Melva Jean KARNS LADD, daughter
About Elmer-- . . . His habit of checking the car for flats in time to change a tire and still be on time. . . . Always stopping the machinery on the Sabbath--even though the crops were ready for harvest and storms might threaten. . . . Always dependable. . . . Starting the day with family Bible reading and prayer following breakfast.
About Verna . . . Christmas programs at church . . . white sheets on the platform to look like snow; angel costumes. . . . Curling hair with a hot curling iron heated over a kerosene lamp--or making long curls by winding on rag rollers. . . . Teaching Sunday School and leading evening young people's service. . . . Gardening for vegetables. . . . Flowers for the yard and cut flowers inside our home. . . . Cooking for Sunday guests--or a harvest crew. . . . Winter projects of quilting, sewing clothing. . . . Summer canning of grapes, and "fuzzy" peaches. . . . Varnishing floors--and the fun it was to walk from carpet to carpet bridged over the varnish with table leaves.
About the family . . . The yearly trek to church assembly in
August--sometimes staying in homes of community people, a few times sleeping in
a tent, always meeting old friends from earlier years. . . . Trip to Colorado to
see Pike's Peak and crossing the Divide--first time to see a mountain. . . .
Trips to take Grandmother Allie Dawson to Missouri to visit relatives--always
looked forward to roasting ears and visiting the well to draw water with a
bucket at the home of Roy and Audra Dawson in Sarcoxie, Missouri.
A Poem Written by Elmer Karns for His Niece, Sara Jean Riley
The newest things down on the farm
Are two new calves around the barn;
A dozen kittens are in the hay,
All are yellow if they're not grey.
Plums all picked and corn all gone
Peaches are green and still hanging on.
Long wet harvest wasn't funny,
Lots of work and not much money.
Uncle
Verna Dawson Karns, Wife of Elmer Karns
Verna DAWSON KARNS took grades five through twelve in the Ford, Kansas, public schools. She attended Lincoln school, a rural school north of Ford, Kansas, for grades one through four. After graduation she attended Normal School in Emporia, Kansas to earn a certificate to teach. She taught for a few years in rural schools near Ford.
Verna and Elmer Mearkle Karns were married August 14, 1921. They first lived on the Clark Place south of Ford, Kansas, although at that time the address was Kingsdown, Kansas. While living there they experienced a tornado on their property, though it did not do extensive damage to the buildings.
While there, Verna had two close friends--Edna Patterson Haley who was a schoolmate through their school years, and Nancy Karns, wife of Carl. One of the family pictures, for example, shows Verna and Nancy working on a car engine together. Along with their husbands and children, they kept busy with farm, church, and community activities. She was active in the various ministries of the Church of the Nazarene.
In 1924, they joined a group of their fellow community friends in establishing and building a new church, the Church of the Nazarene. Both she and Elmer were very involved in the activities of the church until they retired and moved to Oklahoma.
About 1930, Elmer and Verna moved west of Ford to the Taylor Place where they farmed for several years. Their two girls, Winifred Colleen and Melva Jean, began school years in the rural Wilroads school, a mile or so north of their home. Later they moved to the Madison farm about two miles east of Ford where the family lived in a home with their first basement, first indoor bathroom, first upstairs--and one very small room [only a few feet square] with windows and a step-down floor level! It made a perfect doll-house for the girls! The Madison farm adjoined the Arkansas River and as one approached the river area a beautiful pasture with large cottonwood trees made a wonderful place for picnics, etc.
In the early 1940s, one last farm move was made to the Dawson Farm north of Ford. Elmer and Verna completely remodeled or rebuilt all the buildings which had stood there since Isom Dawson came to this area in 1903/04. A large pasture of native buffalo grass lay to the west of the house and they had farm land to the north.
In 1956, Elmer and Verna decided it was time to retire. They had spent their lives in this same community and were very highly involved in the activities of the church, community, and lives of their families. They were involved either with playing or singing at many of the funerals in the area for many years. The farm was sold and in 1956 they moved to Oklahoma City to be near family. Verna managed the Bethany Book Store, a branch of the Nazarene Publishing House, for several years until her retirement in 1971. Elmer kept busy maintaining some rental properties which they had acquired along with caring for his yard at their home.
Both are buried in the Bethany, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma Cemetery, just
north of the City of Bethany.
Carl M. Karns, Son of Alva Karns and Resident of Kansas and Colorado
Carl Mearkle KARNS, born Sept. 26, 1895 to Alva and Salome Karns, lived in Kansas for 40 years before moving to Colorado. In Kansas, he was a farmer, taught school and sold insurance. He also owned a dime store, a grocery store and butcher shop. After moving to Colorado Springs, he opened his own real estate company.
First among his interests were his family and his church. He was a member of the Methodist Church.
Carl died at age 81. His funeral services were delayed from Saturday until Monday because of a blizzard that swept through eastern Colorado. The service was conducted by Rev. Allan Nesbitt of East United Methodist Church. He was interred in Evergreen Park Mausoleum, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Carl was a member of the Methodist church.
Nancy Mae HATFIELD KARNS, Carl's wife, was educated in the public schools of Ford, Kansas, where she graduated from high school. She was a homemaker, loving mother and grandmother. Her interests were her family and her church. She was a member of the Methodist church.
She died at age 96 in Colorado Springs, Colorado and was laid to rest in the Evergreen Park Mausoleum, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Melvin E. Karns, Son of John and Anna Karns
Melvin Elwood KARNS, born July 4, 1904, spent his early years near Bucklin, Kansas. He later graduated from Kansas State University with a BS degree in electrical engineering and from Rutgers University with an LLB degree. He was a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and was elegible to argue cases before the Supreme Court of the United States.
Melvin joined Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in 1929 as a radio engineer. Five years later, he became Manager of Foreign License Technical Service. During part of World War II, he served with the War Production Board as Director of its Radio and Radar Division.
Upon returning to RCA late in 1945, Melvin became Administrative Assistant to the Vice President in charge of RCA Laboratories at Princeton, New Jersey. In 1955, he became Director of License Operations, RCA International Division, and served in that capacity until his apppointment as Division Vice President for Foreign License Operations in 1960. He supervised work in such overseas areas as Zurich and Tokyo.
On May 26, 1983, Melvin E. Karns died at the University of Pennsylvania
Hospital in Philadelphia. The cause of death was an aneurysm of the aorta. He
was 78 years old. Funeral services were held on Tuesday, May 31, 1983, at the
Kimble Funeral Home, Princeton, New Jersey, with internment at the Princeton
Cemetery.
The Story of the Construction of the Jackson's Mill Covered Bridge in Bedford County, PA
Jackson's Mill Covered Bridge is named for M. J. Jackson, who bought the adjacent mills in 1867. Adam Karns Bottenfield and Jacob Pee, brothers-in-law, built the bridge in 1875 for $1284. During the Johnstown Flood of May 31, 1889, the bridge washed about 200 yards downstream. John G. Rohm, Jr., a Karns relative, and William B. Karns reset the bridge at its present location at a cost of $675. The kingpost truss approach spans were constructed at that time.
The bridge now is officially the Bedford County Bridge #16. It was rehabilitated in 1992.