Hi, Nancy! What can you tell me about your Kunkle line? Mine settled in Adams and Wells Counties, Indiana about 150 yers ago. Here's some of what I have: The Descendants of Michael Kunkel, son of the immigrant Henry Kunkel 1. Michael Kunkel, born 12 Feb 1784, York Co., PA; died, Jackson Twp., Carwford Co., OH, 1850 before 7 August 1850. Married, 1 Elizabeth Meyer (2) Catherine Sentz Davis. He had three children by his first wife, the names of two of them unknown, and nine by his second wife. Michael is the son of Henry, the immigrant. 13. Henry Kunkel2 (Michael Sr.,1). Born, 2 Sep 1814, in York Co., PA Died, after 1886, in York Co., PA. Henry was born on the family homestead in York County. His mother died when he was very young and he was brought up in the family of his uncle, Jacob Markey/ Markel, where he lived until he was 19 years old, when he went to York, PA, and learned the shoe-maker's trade. He and his first wife, Ruth, had six children. After her death in 1852 he married Sarah Herbert and they had five children. His biography in the 1886 history of York County stated that eight of the 11 children were still living. It also stated that he owned a farm of 50 acres in Fawn Township and that he carried on general merchandising. He married, first, Ruth White, 1838. Born, circa 1815, in Harford Co., MD (York History page B103). Died, 1852. Children: 131. Elizabeth H. Born, circa 1840, in Fawn Twp., York Co., PA (ibid..). Died, after 1886. 132. Mary J. Born, circa 1840, in Fawn Twp., York Co., PA (ibid.). Died, after 1886. 133. Salome E. Born, circa 1840, in Fawn Twp., York Co., PA (ibid.). Died, after 1886. 134. Felix H. Born, circa 1840, in Fawn Twp., York Co., PA (ibid.). Died, after 1886. 135. Fifth. Born, circa 1840, in Fawn Twp., York Co., PA. 136. Sixth. Born, circa 1840, in Fawn Twp., York Co., PA. He married, second, Sarah V. Herbert, daughter of Phoenix Herbert and Mrs Herbert, 1853, in Fawn Twp., York Co., PA (ibid.). Born, circa 1815. Children: 137. Michael J. Born, circa 1855, in Fawn Twp, York Co., PA (ibid.). Died, after 1886. This is probably the Michael Kunkel noted on page 617 of Gibson's History of York County as being a member of the school board for the year 1884-85 in the borough of Manchester, Manchester Township, York County, PA. 138. Jacob M. Born, circa 1855, in Fawn Twp., York Co., PA (ibid.). Died, after 1886. 139. John P. Born, circa 1855, in Fawn Twp., York Co., PA (ibid.). Died, after 1886. 130. Annie R. Born, circa 1855, in Fawn Twp., York Co., PA (ibid.). Died, after 1886. 131. Fifth, Born, circa 1855, in Fawn Twp., York Co., PA. 14. Michael2 Kunkel Jr. (Michael Sr.,1 ). Born, 21 Sep 1816, in York Co., PA. Died, 7 May 1886, in Bluffton, Wells Co., IN. Burial in Bluffton, Wells Co., IN (Fairview Cemetery with Mary). Occupation: Farmer. The Index of the Ohio 1835 Tax Duplicate, by Gerald M. Petty, shows Michael Kunkle as owning property in Sandusky Township, Richland County, Ohio. Michael Kunkel married Julia Mason in adjacent Crawford County and their four children were born there. After Julia's death in 1847, Michael married Mary A. Kleinknight and almost immediately, in the Spring of 1849 and in the company of John M. Kleinknight, his father-in-law, traveled to Wells County, Indiana in search of land. Both then returned to Crawford County, Ohio, where they liquidated their debts and disposed of their various interests. With his wife and family Michael returned to the wilds of Indiana where, in Adams County near Decatur, he had purchased 80 acres of land that he cleared and reduced to cultivation. Two years later he sold his place and the family removed to Lancaster Township of Wells County, an area that was new and but little developed. There he had acquired a tract of 120 acres in section 12, Lancaster Township, Wells County. Having doubt as to where the local road would eventually be built, he constructed his house as he thought in the most suitable place, which accounts for its ultimate distance from the highway. (The farm is now located about one mile south of Tocsin). Michael Kunkle was a practical farmer in that section. He worked hard, cleared a good farm and, while not becoming wealthy, he provided well for his family and succeeded in accumulating a sufficiency of this world's goods to place him in very comfortable circumstances. He lived on the place where he originally settled until about 1883, when he removed to Bluffton in order to give his children the advantages of the higher schools there. He married, first, Julia Mason, 20 Jun 1839, in Sandusky, Richland Co., OH (IGI, 1988 Ed.). Born, circa 1816, in OH. Died, 1847, in Crawford Co., OH (History Adams Co., p781). (A review of the 1830 US Census for Orange Township, Richland County, Ohio, indicates that her father might have been Martin or Jacob. Both families had a daughter in the 15-20 year age bracket at the time of the census. M19, roll 139, page 104.) Children: 141. Sophia3. Born, 1840, in Crawford Co., OH (1860 Census). Died', 15 Feb 1879. She married John Weesner, 9 Oct 1867. 142. Louisa3 Born, circa 1840, in Crawford Co., OH. Died, 20 Sep 1854. 143. Samuel. 144. Calvin. He married, second, Mary Ann Kleinknight (Marriage certificate spelling: Kteinecht), daughter of John M. Kleinknight and Anna Gerhart, 1 Mar 1849, in Crawford Co., OH (Crawford Co., Ohio Probate Court Records; Fisher). Born, 31 Dec 1827, in Middletown, Butler Co., OH (1860 Census says age 31, born MD). Died, 27 Feb 1913, in Bluffton, Wells Co., IN. Burial in Bluffton, IN (Fairview Cemetery with Michael). Children: 145. Theodora Horton. Born, ca 1850, in Lancaster Twp., Wells Co., IN. He married Frances T. Keller, 13 Jul 1882, in Wells Co., IN (Marriage Records, Wells Co., IN, 1837-1900, Page 249). 146. Martha Ann. Born, ~ 1850, in Lancaster Twp., Wells Co., IN. Died, circa 1850 (?). 147. Dora A. Born, oml~m~m~1850, in Lancaster Twp., Wells Co., IN (Wells Co.). Died, circa 1850. 148. John Oliver. Married Melissa M. Blue. Had: 1481. Mary Ann Kunkel was born in Wells Co., IN on June 23, 1880. She married Arthur Earl French. He died July 22, 1940 at Willow Lake ND. She died there on July 28, 1956. They had one daughter: 14811. Mildred French was born in 1910. 1482. Elzy Oren Kunkel was born June 16, 1888. On January 14, 1913, at Carlyle, IL, he married Grace Van Ella May, 5th of 11 children of Patrick B. and Margaret Chaney May; she was born in Coffee Co., TX on June 15, 1895. They had two children: 14821. 149. Lydia Matilda. Born 54, in Lancaster Twp., Wells Co., IN (1860 Census). Died, 1929. She married Thomas M. Sowders (Name spelling from Bio Memoirs of Wells Co, IN, B.F. Bowen Publisher), 14 Nov 1872, in Wells Co., IN. 140. Rebecca A. Born, 1857, in Lancaster Twp., Wells Co., IN (1860 Census). She married William Henry Masterson, 28 Aug 1875, in Wells Co., IN. 141. William Albert. 10. Samuel2 Daugherty Kunkel (Michael1 Sr., ) Farmed 80 acres in Root Township, Adams Co., IN. Born, 25 Aug 1820, in York Co., PA. Died, I May 1915, in Adams Co., IN (Snow's History, p378). Occupation: Farmer. Samuel Kunkle received his education in the old subscription schools of his time. He came to Ohio with his parents in about 1825 and lived on his father's farm in Jackson Twp/. Orig., Crawford Co., now Richland County, where he was acquainted with Miss Martha Dorwin, then living in Mansfield. In 1845, the Dorwins moved to Indiana. When Samuel's father died in 1846, Samuel moved to Indiana to marry Miss Dorwin. He came to Indiana by way of wagon and bought 80 acres of land in Root Township, Adams County, which was then a part of the primitive wildness. He built a rude log cabin, where he lived for about 16 years, subsequently trading his farm for that of his wife's father, consisting of 160 acres in Root township and where he lived until the early 1900's. He erected many substantial farm buildings and maintained his land in a splendid state of cultivation, yielding rich returns. He was a member of the Concord English Lutheran church and the assessor of Root township for eight years. In 1900 he sold .his farm to his son Calvin D. who lived all his years on the homestead. He married Martha Dorwin, daughter of Calvin T. Dorwin and Fanny Bell, 9 Jun 1846. She was born 24 Jul 1824, in Mansfield, Richland Co., OH, and died, 6 Feb 1902, in Wells Co., IN. On September 2, 1852, Michael bought 141 acres of land from Isaac Brubaker, and in 1860 a patent was granted him by Lt. Governor James Hamilton. Later (in 1868) he bought another 59 acres from Adam Diller. The house on this farm was built in 1876. In 160 he purchased ..... Martha Maria Dorwin Kunkel, on her 73rd birthday July 24, 1897, wrote, "Seventy-three years ago today I was born in Wadsworth, Medina County. Ohio. My mother was very ill and not expected to live. My grandmother who lived in Guernsey County, eighty miles away, rode horseback to come and be with her. After she was there several days, my mother was better and grandmother returned home. As she neared her home about sundown, she met the family coming home from burying her little son, James, about five years of age. He had taken sick and died in her absence. They had sent a messenger to tell her, but he had taken a wrong road and failed to meet her. What a sorrowful homecoming!" This was found in the Kunkel family Bible after her death. She moved with her parents from Wadsworth, Medina Co., OH to Cambridge, Guernsey Co., then to Sandusky, Richland Co., and finally to Galion, Crawford Co., OH. Here she met Samuel D. Kunkel, and by September 15, 1845 they were very close, as witnessed by her book of memories given to her by Elizabeth Grush at Galion, O. Each entry had a poem and a lock of hair from the friend! These included Calvin S. Dorwin, a cousin, and one from Jane E. Dorwin to M.M. Kunkle! And so wrote B.A. Wise. On June 9, 1846 Samuel Daugherty Kunkel married Martha Maria Dorwin. He was born August 25, 1820 in York Co., PA, the son of Michael and Catherine Sentz (Davis?) Kunkel. The Kunkels moved to Richland Co., OH in 1825, when Michael was five years old. He received his education there in the old subscription schools of that day, and eagerly improved all the opportunities in that line that came to him. He lived on his father's farm until he was 26, when he came by wagon to Root Township, Adams County, IN and bought an 80-acre farm, which was in a state of primitive wildness. He built a rude log cabin where the family lived for 16 years, before selling it and purchasing his father-in-law's 120-acre farm in 1863. Politically a Republican, he served as assessor of Root Township for eight years. In 1900, he sold his farm to his son, Calvin, and retired there on the farm, dying in his 94th year on May 1, 1915. Martha A. Peterson Heller recalled many years later how she and her sister, Dode, young girls, had been riding to Fort Wayne on a wagon with their Grandfather Samuel D. Kunkel and were near the Allen county line, when he leapt from the wagon with his rifle, stalked into the woods and killed one of the last bears seen in the county. In his retirement years, he was quite active, a frequent visitor in Decatur, coming in on the interurban car. He was a prominent figure at the various reunion gatherings of his family both in Decatur and neighboring cities, making the journeys to the very last. A few years before his death, he was in a runaway, and also suffered a broken hip in a fall from his horse, but recovered wonderfully from all injuries. At his death, he was one of the oldest pioneers in the township. Martha Kunkel was considered well-educated for her day, loving to read and spending much time doing so. She was a good Bible student, and always taught a class in Sunday School. They were members of the Concord English Lutheran Church, near Monmouth. She died February 6, 1902, aged 77 years. They raised a family of six children: 101. William Oliver "Willie" Kunkel, born February 9, 1847 in Root Twp., Adams Co., IN; he died in infancy, no issue. 102. Fannie Catherine Kunkel, born June 3, 1849 in Root Twp., Adams Co., married September 25th 1868(C207 gives 27th, but may be return date) at the Concord English Lutheran Church, Root Twp., to Robert Smith Peterson, son of John Wesley and Hannah Smith Peterson. He was born February 1, 1845 on Section 17, St. Mary's Township, Adams Co., IN, and lived with his parents until he was 18 years old, attending the common district schools and also select schools. On March 9, 1864, at the age of 19, he enlisted in Company G, Thirteenth Indiana Cavalry, when it was organized and activated, serving as duty sergeant. Later he became first sergeant, and was commissioned a second lieutenant shortly before mustering out, advanced over other sergeants for meritorious service on the courier line between Pensacola, and Mobile, AL. Immediately after mustering, the regiment left for Nashville, TN and from there was sent to Huntsville, AL. While at Huntsville the regiment was assigned to scouting the country to protect against the guerrillas, having had several skirmishes with prowling bands of rebel cavalry. Later on in the summer it fought against Gen. Buford. Later, they were sent to Paducah, KY and there fought Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest. After his repulse, the regiment joined Gen. Wilson's cavalry, and took an active part in the battle against Nashville Dec. 15-16, 1864. After several days' chase after Gen. Booth's fleeing army, his division was sent to Vicksburg, MS and from there to Mobile, AL where it took an active part in the capture of Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely, March 20-April 9, 1865. An expedition was arranged to sweep the country, commanded by Major Gen. A.J. Smith, the cavalry commanded by Brevet Gen. Garrison. On reaching Montgomery, AL the war had ended. The regiment went into camp at Columbus, MS where it remained until mustered out, Nov. 18, 1865. Returning home he taught and attended school by turns until the Spring of 1867, when he began the study of law with Judge David Studabaker. His study was interrupted by teaching school again the following winter. In the spring of 1868 he was admitted to the bar, though he continued his course of reading until the December following before beginning the practice of law on his own account. He later formed a partnership with E.A. Huffman and this firm continued until Mr. Peterson accepted a place as cashier of the Decatur National Bank, which institution he had assisted in organizing and where he continued to served until his health began to fail in 1895. He was for many years a prominent figure in the community as a lawyer, banker and as a public spirited citizen. He was a lifelong Republican, running against Judge Daniel D. Heller for the judgeship, and cutting the Democratic margin seriously. He was once a candidate for Congress in the Old Eleventh District. He served as President of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Decatur for the five years before the adoption of a city charter in 1882, and is given credit for doing much to perfect the sewage system of Decatur at that time. He also helped organize and secure the construction of the Cloverleaf Railway, the town of Peterson being named for him;he was also a stimulating factor in building the Erie. He served as local attorney for both railroads for many years. He was a Mason, a charter member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and belonged to the Presbyterian Church. As a member of the Decatur School Board he worked for better schools. For nearly 40 years thereafter he was actively engaged in the practice of his profession in Decatur, retiring in 1904, his health haven gotten progressively worse. During the Civil War he received a wound in the breast and after his return and for 46 years, he never enjoyed good health. He suffered from stomach, heart and catarrhal ailments, and in 1895 an atack of the grip weakened him so he had never been well since. His last trip downtown was to vote on the local option question. He suffered pneumonia for two weeks before his death at the age of 65 years, one month and 16 days on occurred March 16, 1911. Mrs. Peterson was affectionately known by her many grandchildren as "Nanny Pete." After her marriage, they moved to the edge of Decatur, to what is known as the Gage farm at the east edge of town; about 1902, they moved to 617 N. Second Street, where they lived the rest of their lives. Fannie C. Peterson died at the age of 83 on Thursday, Nov. 17, 1932. She had been ill about ten days with influenza, and her heart failed. Originally a member of the Concord English Lutheran Church, she had for many years been a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Decatur. She was a charter member and first worthy matron of the Decatur Eastern Star Lodge, a longstanding member of the Decatur HIstorical Club and took a keen interest in the community. She was known as a loving, patient and indulgent mother, a friend worth while and a lovely lady in every respect. She will be remembered always for her kindliness and thoughtfulness and her sympathetic helpfulness to all who came to her. The Rev. George O. Walton had charge of the services at the residence. One of Dick D. Heller,Jr., earliest memories is having pulled his sled down to Nanny Pete's house, which was full of people, and being held up by Aunt Scoot (Elizabeth P. Peterson) to see "Nanny Pete asleep." They had twelve children, ten of whom lived to maturity: Let me know if you think we could be related. Dick D. Heller, Jr., retired to sunny, warm Mission, TX on the Rio Grande [email protected]