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• NARRATIVE
  • Foreward
  • Genealogical Sources
  • Beginning in Somerset
  • John the Mariner in Bristol
  • Edward the Quaker
  • Thomas, Merchant of London
  • Thomas Perrin in Pennsylvania
  • John Perins, Planter of Maryland
  • Indian War and Land Purchases
  • Edward Perrin and Mary Cherry in Frontier Pennsylvania
  • John, Jr. in Bedford County
  • Joseph Perrin and Land Sales
  • John and Edwards children in Ohio
  • Thomas Perrin in Town Creek
  • Amos and Deborah
  • James K. and Upton
  • James K.'s Family in Brownsville
  • Upton G. M. and William H. in Pittsburg
  • F. R. C. Perrin and family in Crafton
  • Lea Perrin
  • Berta Perrin Day
  • Sarah Perrin's Vision
  • Lazear Family in Maryland
  • Powell Family in Maryland
  • Maxwell Family
  • Kramer Family
  • Wentz Family
• THOUGHTS
  • Space and Time
  • Ancestor Veneration
  • Seduction of Genealogy
  • The Land Forgets
  • Death and Syntax
  • The Books Are Free
  • Brownsville
  • Where's Thomas
  • This Should Be Investigated
  • Closure
  • Epilog
  • Reviewing the Land
• DATABASES
• MAPS
• SITEMAP

The Kramer Family

Early History

This section will concern itself with the ancestry of Asia Kramer and some of her relatives. The first portion of this family history comes from various published genealogies, and I can not vouch for its accuracy.

The Kramer's emigrated from Germany, arriving in Philadelphia in 1773 on the ship Britannica, with the following persons, of uncertain relationship, on board (the grouping of the names reflects their arrangement in the ship's manifest) I. Daniel Rupp, A collection of upwards of thirty thousand names of German, Swiss, Dutch, French and other immigrants in Pennsylvania from 1727-1776 : with a statement of the names of ships, whence they sailed, and the date of their arrival at Philadelphia, chronologically arranged, together with the necessary historical and other notes, also, an appendix containing lists of more than one thousand German and French names in New York prior to 1712 (Philadelphia: Leary, Stuart, 1927), 408-9:

• Ludwig Kramer
• Martin Kramer
• Johann Georg Kramer
• Johan Martin Kramer
• Johan Georg Kramer
• Johan Balthaser Kramer
• Johann Adam Kramer

Johann Georg Kramer came from Karlsbrunn, having married Whilemina Hollenbergerin in 1771 there. Son Christian Kramer was born in January of 1773.

Johan Balthaser and Johann Georg probably both worked initially at a glass making facility at Manheim, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, then moved to Frederick County, Maryland, working at the Amelung glass works at New Bremen Le Roy Kramer, Johann Baltasar Kramer, or "Baltzer" Kramer : pioneer American glass blower : a record of his known descendants and relatives (Chicago: Privately printed by L. Kramer, 1988), 3-5. This facility went bankrupt in 1790, and members of the Kramer family subsequently moved west. While en route the caravan stopped at Tomlinson's Tavern near the present village of Grantsville, Md., between Cumberland, Md., and Uniontown, Pa., on the trail which later becme the National Road. Here they met Albert Gallatin, who had purchased and named the town New Geneva after his native Swiss city of Geneva. Doubtless you remember the Tomlinson name from the Frederick County, Maryland section of this narrative. Gallatin would later become a Congressman and, from 1801 until 1814, Secretary of the Treasury of the United States. New Geneva is located on the Monongahela River near the (West) Virginia border Franklin Ellis, History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men (Philadelphia: L.H. Everts & Co., 1882), 768-69.

The establishment of the glass-factory, near where New Geneva was soon after built, was due to Albert Gallatin. Two stories are related concerning its establishment, one by grandchildren of the founders, the other by neighbors. The first, being the most credible, is as follows:

Christian Kramer, Adolph Eberhart, Lewis Reitz, John George Reppert, Baltzer Kramer and John Christian Gabler, German glass-blowers from Frederick Town, Frederick Co., Md., had left their home for the purpose of establishing a glass-factory in Kentucky, near where Louisville now stands. Having reached the Ohio River, they embarked in a canoe, and had arrived near Wheeling, when, stopping for the night, they were joined by a stranger, who, speaking their language, was soon on the best of terms with them. The stranger was Albert Gallatin. Having been informed of their journey and its object, he succeeded in persuading them to return to his farm on Georges Creek, where the necessary facilities for manufacturing glassware were to be had almost for nothing. After some little talk he finally agreed to furnish everything and they do the blowing. The terms were accepted, and in 1794 the company began the manufacture of glass. The other account is that the same Germans were crossing the mountains in wagons, having their provisions with them, and that they would stop at some public-house and borrow cooking utensils to cook their food. Having reached Tomlinson's stand, they put up for the night. After supper they amused themselves with music, several being excellent performers. Being a great lover of music, Mr. Gallatin (who was there) inquired of the landlord who they were. Being informed, he introduced himself, and the whole company spent evening in drink and music. Having discussed the glass question in all its phases, he gave them a letter to his manager at Friendship Hill, urging him to offer better terms than he himself had to induce them to stay. Three accepted at once, but the others continued their journey. Upon their arrival at Louisville they found the location unfit, and returned and joined their companions.

The building erected for the glass-works was a frame, forty by forty feet dimensions, three sides frame and one side stone. This interesting establishment was situated a little over a mile above New Geneva, on the south bank of Georges Creek, on land purchased by Albert Gallatin of John Calhoun. It was an eight-pot factory, used wood for melting, and ashes instead of soda. The potash was manufactured by Patrick Brawley. The clerk of the works was Andrew Hoover; book-keeper, James W. Nicholson. There was a difference of opinion in regard to the price at which the glass was to be sold, Gallatin advocating a fair price, fearing that a high one would bring a great competition. The price agreed upon was fourteen dollars per box. The style of the company was Gallatin & Co. In a few years it was changed to "New Geneva Glass-Works." In 1807 the company erected new and more commodious works in Greene County, where success continued to reward their efforts. They still retained the name "New Geneva Glass." In 1858, Christian Kramer died, at the age of eighty-five years. He was the last survivor of the original members of the glass-works company, and was the father of Allen Kramer, banker, of Pittsburgh.

The glass factory went through several groups of owners and persisted for many decades.

It is recorded in the Uniontown newspaper records of 1894 that Christian Kramer, son of Johann Georg, married Margaret Reppert; their son Allen, born 1804, married Margaret, a daughter of a Baltzer Kramer, in 1827 Le Roy Kramer, Johann Baltasar Kramer, or "Baltzer" Kramer : pioneer American glass blower : a record of his known descendants and relatives (Chicago: Privately printed by L. Kramer, 1988), 20-1. This Baltzer Kramer, the son of Johann Balthaser Kramer, was born in 1777 and died in 1852. He had married Sarah Phillips, whose mother's name was Prather; you may remember this family from Frederick County, Maryland as well.

Allen Kramer

Things get less confusing from here on. Allen Kramer, with his wife, one child and six other people aged 15 to 20, were in the South Ward of Pittsburgh in the 1830 census. In 1841 he founded a bank and brokerage house; the business is mentioned in the descriptions of the Great Pittsburgh Fire of 1845 A full account of the great fire at Pittsburgh, on the tenth day of April, 1845 : with the individual losses and contributions for relief (Pittsburgh: J.W. Cook, 1845).

Later in the decade he was joined by Edward Rahm, whose family had been manufacturing iron in Pittsburgh since 1819. A brief excerpt of Edward's father Martin's ancestry is included here :Lewis Clark Walkinshaw, Annals of southwestern Pennsylvania (New York: Lewis historical publishing company, inc., ca.1939), 4: 349-50

Through her maternal lineage, Mrs. Noble Garvin Miller was a great-grandaughter of Conrad de Rahm, native of Metz, Lorraine, who came to this county aboard the "Europa" with a group of Palatines and settled on a farm near Philadelphia in 1741. Through his abhorrence of class distinction he is said to have dropped the prefix "de" from his name. Brothers and at least one sister also came to America; one brother was killed by Indians in Eastern Pennsylvania. They were Moravians. One brother [Martin] had a plantation in Dauphin County, and had slaves (will 1794 in Dauphin County, recorder's office). Prior to the Revolutionary War, Conrad Rahm sold his farm and removed to a section near Harrisburg. When the war broke out he became a corporal in Captain Benjamin Weiser's Company and saw action in the battles of Trenton and Princeton, New Jersey. He also fought against the Indians as a member of Sullivan's Expedition; and as captain of the Huntingdon Dragoons in 1780, helped protect the frontiers of Northumberland County. Three of his sons, John Michael Rahm, of Hummelstown, Pennsylvania; John Jacob Rahm, of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania; and Melchoir Rahm, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, fought in the Revolutionary War...? Conrad Rahm, who worshipped in the Moravian Church, died in 1782. His youngest son, Martin Rahm, maternal grandfather of Mrs. Noble Garvin Miller, was only six years of age at the time. He was born near Harrisburg, October 44, 1776, and died in Pittsburgh, May 6, 1836. On January 20, 1806, in Huntingdon County, Martin Rahm married Anna Maria Dorothy Anshutz, daughter of George Ludwig and Catherine Elizabeth (Gerber) Anshutz. There were eleven children by this marriage, the fifth of whom was Anna Maria Rahm, mother of Mrs. N. G. Miller....Mr. Anshutz came to the city of Pittsburgh and built the first blast furnace in the Pittsburgh district, near Shadyside, East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was supposed there was iron ore in the neighborhood sufficient for the purpose, but as it had to be brought down the Allegheny River from near Kiskiminetas, this proved too expensive. It was abandoned after the "Whiskey Insurrection," when the soldiers camped nearby and burned his supply of wood used for charcoal. He then went to Westmoreland County and ran the Probst furnace for its owners. Poor iron ore again caused him to search further. He finally found better ore in Huntington County and moved there in 1795 and built the first furnace, in the then undeveloped Juniata iron region.

I freely admit that this history is irrelevant to the subject of this book, but it is pretty incredible that the progeny of the first glass makers west of the Alleghenies would team up with the progeny of the first iron makers west of the Alleghenies. All of the above information is confirmed in the Weiser family genealogy with one exception; Martin is thought to be the son of Melchoir Rahm Henry Melchior Muhlenberg Richards, "The Weiser family" (Lancaster, PA: The Society, 1924), 95-97. This biography further stated that Martin Rahm was a member of the iron commission firm Anshutz & Rahm in Pittsburgh, formed in 1814 Lewis Clark Walkinshaw, Annals of southwestern Pennsylvania (New York: Lewis historical publishing company, inc., ca.1939), 4: 349. This firm was acknowledged as a large mercantile house as of 1818 in a later history of the city Standard history of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania (Chicago: H. R. Cornell Co., 1898), 157.

The partnership of Allen Kramer and Edward Rahm must have been close, as the 1850 census shows that Edward married Allen's daughter, Virginia. The resulting firm, Kramer & Rahm, was a major banking enterprise, surviving a run on the bank in 1855 Standard history of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania (Chicago: H.R. Cornell Co., 1898), 440,

On January 22, 1855, Kramer & Rahm were forced to suspend operations. They had been sorely pressed during the previous runs [on other banks], but had managed to meet all demands, though they were so crippled that eventual suspension was necessary. No immediate run caused this action; they constant drain and poor collections rendered the closing of their doors imperative. It was said of them: "This house, like most of the others which preceded it, had out side risks -- large sums invested in a rolling-mill and other ventures of a similar nature, from which it is next to impossible to realize at such a time as this . . . .These are not the investments for those to whom are intrusted the temporary use of other people's money . . . . We have no doubt that the motive prompting them is a good and honest one, and we cast no personal censures on any. But the whole thing is wrong at the root." (Gazette, January 24, 1855).

The result of this monetary panic here was thus the failure of six brokerage and banking houses and an incalculable amount of suffering among small depositors. Out of the ruin of the old house of A. Wilkins & Co. arose the new one of Wilkins & Co., with the solemn promise to the public, through the newspapers, to stick closely to their legitimate business thereafter and not deal in any more outside ventures. Kramer & Rahm also managed to resume business again in April, 1855.

but not surviving in 1866 Standard history of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania (Chicago: H.R. Cornell Co., 1898), 480:

On May 14, 1866, by the failure of Work, McCouch & Co. of Philadelphia, of which they were a branch, Kramer & Rahm of this city, private bankers, were forced to close their doors. "This house is one of the oldest, and has always been considered one of the most reliable banking institutions in the city, and the suspension created considerable excitement in financial circles" (Gazette, May 16, 1866). The Philadelphia papers stated that the failure was due to stock gambling (Hestonville Railway stock) and involved upward of $1,000,000, and that the extent of the disaster was in doubt "beyond its intimate connection with a highly respectable firm in Pittsburg, which can scarcely stand up under this disaster." Kramer & Rahm, with characteristic promptness, turned over their private and personal effects to secure their creditors.

In 2012 the auction house of Kaminski sold a daugerrotype of Allen Kramer. The documentation indicated it had come from Maude Rahm, via the collection of Graham Nash. I reckon it is from the 1850s.

Margaret and Allen had seven children, including one named Asia, and one named Virginia who married Edward Rahm. The family stated in the 1860 census that they had two servants and a net worth of $200,000, an astonishing sum at the time. Allen died in 1868, perhaps broke, but owning a prime section of the Allegheny Cemetery, now known as the Kramer Circle, just up the hill from Stephen Foster's grave (who incidentally had an account at Kramer & Rahm Evelyn Foster Morneweck, Chronicles of Stephen Foster's family (Pittsburgh: University Library System's Digital Research Library, 2000), v. 2, 444).

Florence Kramer

Florence was the first son of Allen and Margaret Kramer, born in 1830. He was prominently listed on the advertisements for the bank in the 1850's.

Following the bank's failure he declared personal bankruptcy in 1868 The Federal Cases: Comprising Cases Argued and Determined in the Circuit and District Courts of the United States from the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Federal Reporter, Arranged Alphabetically by the Titles of the Cases, and Numbered Consecutively (St. Paul: West Publishing Co., 1897) 30: 624, in case no. 18,044 re WORK et al. Circuit Cour, W. D. Pennsylvania. May 12, 1873 . Subsequently he worked in various business enterprises, notably wholesale and retail confectionary, according to the Pittsburgh directories, before selling insurance. While the 1885 Pittsburgh direcoty stated Florence resided in Castle Shannon in southern Allegheny county, other information below implies he and his family moved to Crafton soon thereafter.

Florence died suddenly in June of 1887, as described in the newspaper Pittsburgh Daily Post June 2, 1887 :

A SAD ACCIDENT

Mr. Florence Kramer Instantly Killed Last Evening

Mr. Florence Kramer met with death under peculiarly sad circumstances, last evening. He lives at Crafton station, and returned home from the city on the Dennison accommodation between 4 and 5 o’clock in the evening. He stepped off the train and was crossing the track carrying a basket, when a gravel train coming up on the other track struck him, killing him instantly. Mr. Kramer was fifty-four years of age, and was formerly of the firm of Kramer & Vogleson, but latterly had been an insurance agent. He leaves a wife and four children, one son being a member of the firm of Kramer & Redman, of Allegheny. His daughter, Miss Asia Kramer, is a teacher at Crafton.

Anna Kramer and Children

Florence married Anna May Hazelton, daughter of Edward Hazelton, a merchant living in ward 4 on Liberty Street. There were four children: William (born 1854), Asia (born 1863), Edward H. (born 1864) and Estelle (1870). Anna and Florence had moved to Crafton by 1886; judging from the plat map

the Kramers had putchased land on Noblestown Road at Division Street. On the map there is no evidence of a building in 1886, however. By 1896

the map clearly shows a dwelling, with additional property purchased along Noblestown Road. In addition the four lots around the Methodist church are called "Kramer's Plan"; however, there is only one lot with a dwelling built. In 1906

the map still shows Kramer property on Noblestown Road, but the original lot plus dwelling has been sold to another; Kramer's Plan is unchanged. All of this information agrees with the census which showed that Anna had moved by 1900 to live with Asia and F. R. C. Perrin. Later census records showed her living in Philadelphia; with daughter Estelle in 1910 and granddaughter Florence in 1920. Anna died October 10, 1924 Pittsburgh Daily Post October 15, 1924  and is buried in the Kramer circle.

William Allen Kramer

William Allen Kramer, son of Florence Kramer, was born December 30, 1854 and died July 25, 1912 New Hampshire, Death and Disinterment Records. His New Hampshire death certificate states his mother was Jane English; this makes sense, since he was only 13 years younger than Anna Kramer. Since Florence Kramer was still living at home, unmarried, in the 1860 census this starts to sound like William was illegitimate. The only candidate for his mother in the 1860 census lived in Allegheny and would have been 16 when William was born.

William did live in the Kramer household in 1880. At the time of his death he lived in Philadelphia, married with no children. He sold water heaters. William was apparently on vacation at the Crawford House in the White Mountains at the time of his death. His obituary mentioned only his father Florence Pittsburgh Daily Post July 26, 1912.

Edward H. Kramer

Edward H. Kramer, born August 8, 1864 married Katie McCue Jan 8, 1890. I wonder if further research will show that the correct spelling of his wife's name was Mackey, for Edward was managing Charles Mackey's printing business as of 1892. In that same year the Pittsburg Directory showed that he moved to Crafton, living on Belvedere Avenue next to the Methodist Church on the land named Kramer's Plan on the above maps. As of 1895 he had his own brokerage company on Smithfield Avenue, Pittsburg. In 1897, with the birth of his daughter Margaret in Crafton, he declared his occupation as "gold prospector" Original birth records at the Crafton Historical Society. He left Pennsylvania shortly thereafter, being found in the Alameda County, California 1900 and 1920 census. There he ultimately was a stock broker. He died in Alameda October 15, 1946.

Estelle Kramer

Estelle Kramer, born January 27, 1870 PA death certificste #10540  married Charles A. Mackey June 13, 1887. Estelle gave her address as Liberty Street at that time. Charles Mackey and his print company was already discussed in a previous section. However, that business must not have lasted long after F.R.C. left it, as the 1900 census stated that Charles was a roofer. Charles died in 1902 Homewood Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Section: 9-2 Lot: 73 Grave: 1, and by 1910 Estelle was living on Broad Street, Philadelphia with mother Anna and children Florence (female) and George. She remarried in 1911 to Arthur J. Overpeck Philadelphia Marriage Index license # 274471 and died of a postpartum infection following stillbirth January, 1914 PA death certificste #10540.

Asia Kramer

I have already described what I know about Asia Kramer after her marriage to F. R. C. Perrin. There is a little more to add to her story before 1894.

Asia Kramer turned up several times in the Pittsburgh newspapers associated with Crafton. These articles, generally dealing with church bazaars at the Crafton Methodist Church, began in 1885. Of interest was Asia in her work with relatives of C. C. Craft. By 1892 Asia was the Secretary and Treasurer of the Epworth League at Crafton Methodist Church, and became the superintendent of its Junior League in March, 1893 History of the Crafton M.E. Church (Crafton, PA: 1893), 24. In the obituary for Florence Kramer in 1888, Asia was mentioned as a teacher Pittsburgh Daily Post2 Jun 1887.

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The Kramer history then becomes helpful in allowing one to see the difference in social background between F. R. C.'s first wife and Asia, his second. I don't think it is an accident that following his second marriage F. R. C. saw his employment opportunities vastly improved. Her family provided connections, and I suspect more capital than he had seen before. This allowed him to advance much more quickly to a position in the middle class, and allow (or motivate) his son to do the same.

Kramer Circle

Here is a list of the occupants of the Kramer Circle, Section 13, Lot 1 of Allegheny Cemetery. The persons buried are given in the order of the plot number; unfortunately the graves do not follow these numbers in space. Note that the date of burial is sometimes several days after the date of death.

While I have not photographed all of the stones in this circle, those which I have are included in this

The first set of plots fell to the Kramer family. To decrease confusion, I will try to describe these Kramers in terms of their relationship to Allen Kramer or his son Florence.

Name	Date of Burial	Relationship
Ellen H. Mackey	2/5/1894	Probably the child of Estelle Kramer (daughter of Florence) & Charles Mackey; the coffin is small
Florence Kramer	6/1/1887	Asia's father, and son of Allen & Margaret Kramer. Born 1830
Allen Kramer	11/7/1868	Patriarch. The stone states he was born December 24, 1802
Margaret Kramer	8/27/1867	Her stone states she was the wife of Allen Kramer, born July 20, 1808
Mrs. Asia Odell	8/16/1865	I believe from the census that she was born in 1838 to Allen and Margaret Kramer
Emma Kramer	6/10/1858	I believe from the census that she was born in 1843 to Allen and Margaret Kramer

The next group of plots must have fallen to the Rahm family for all buried there are named Rahm. It is best to relate these people to Edward Rahm, who was Allen Kramer's son-in-law.

Jamie Rahm	3/23/1892	Probably was Frank Rahm's wife, judging from the 1860 census, making her Edward Rahm's sister-in-law
Frank Rahm	12/30/1889	Edward Rahm's brother
Allen K. Rahm	1/15/1877	Born 1851, he was the son of Edward Rahm and Virginia Kramer
Martin Rahm	3/8/1859	Born 1849, he was the son of Edward Rahm and Virginia Kramer
Edward Rahm	7/28/1875	Born 1811, the son of Martin Rahm
Virginia K. Rahm	4/30/1870	Daughter of Allen Kramer, and the wife of Edward Rahm

Then after a gap in time, the plots are filled by either family in chronological order.

Allen Kramer	12/9/1918	Born 1845, he was the youngest son of Allen Kramer
Florus R. C. Perrin	10/19/1921	The husband of Asia Kramer Perrin, his remains were moved here from Homewood Cemetery
Annie K. Krame	10/18/1924	She was the wife of Florence Kramer, and Asia Perrin's mother
Edward Rahm	3/10/1929	Born 1859, he was the son of Edward Rahm and Virginia Kramer
Theophil A. Krumm	10/15/1929	The first husband of Asia Perrin's daughter Anna
Cora E. Buchanan	11/20/1929	The mother-in-law for Florus Ross Perrin, Asia's son
Asia K. Perrin	12/9/1930	Daughter of Florence Kramer
Mrs. Maude H. Rahm	12/13/1956	Probably the wife of Edward Rahm (died 1929), born in 1867 according to the census