Korns Family papers (Ohio/Iowa)

Collection

Identifier: MS-0615

Staff Only

Collection Overview

Abstract

The Korns Family Papers consist of family correspondence, diaries, and histories of the Emma (Jacobs) and Jacob Korns family ranging from 1862 to 1932.

Dates

Creation: 1862-1932

Extent

.21 Cubic Feet (1 half legal manuscript box)

Scope and Contents

The Korns Family papers consists of scattered correspondence to members of the Jacob Korns family, as well as related biographical and genealogical material. Although none of the correspondence series are comprehensive, the few letters do provide an interesting snapshot of life in the second half of the 19th century and the first part of the 20th.

The most expansive item in the collection is the 1932 diary written by Emma Korns. In it she makes a meticulous account of her daily household activities, most notably her quilting projects and their progress. Along with the description of the gardening, cleaning, sewing and quilting, cooking and baking, and social activities, she also comments on outside events, particularly those involving family, and occasionally comments on such news as the Republican National Convention.

Biographical / Historical

The Korns Family papers centers on the core family of Emma (Jacobs) and Jacob Korns. Jacob Korns was born in Holmes County, Ohio, the son of William Korns and Elizabeth Hoyman. He lived in Ohio until as a young man he moved to Iowa. During the Civil War he enlisted with the 46th Iowa Volunteers, serving from May until September when he was discharged due to poor health. From 1866 to 1868 Jacob traveled between Iowa and Ohio to engage in such activities as working on a farm and going to school.

In the fall of 1868, while in Fulton County, Ohio, he met Emma Jacobs (b.1849), who had come from Norwalk to visit her sisters. Eventually, the couple married in 1871, and they moved to the area of Grinnell, Iowa where they started their family. Their family consisted of six children, Oliva Alta, Elisabeth A. Mabel Revina, Harriet Eugenia, Jean Eulalie, and Bessie Florence. Olive Alta married Frank Reed Porter in 1892, Elisabeth married James L. McIlrath in 1892, Mabel Revina married Clark Dayton in 1896, Jean Eulalie married Alvin Emory Stickle in 1906, and Bessie Florence married Ralph Albert Manny in 1916.

A detailed genealogy of the family is included in the collection.

Conditions Governing Access

No known access restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Researchers using this collection assume full responsibility for conforming to the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright, and are responsible for securing permissions necessary for publication or reproduction.