Jenn family in Pearl Rock
JENN, KNECHT
Posted By: John Jenn (email)
Date: 3/27/2005 at 19:05:07
I was quite surprised to notice in the article contributed by Linda Fouste, "(Pearl Rock) History As Compiled By Grace Colburn McGregor", a reference to people by the name of Jenn.
Specifically, I am in reference to the passage: "The first school in district #10 was held in a log house located 1/2 mile north of the present school house, just north of the Jenn's place on the east side of the road." I know where Pearl Rock is, in fact I drove through it today (Avenue Of The Saints/Hwy 218) today, but I can't pinpoint where their farm might have been.
This, by default, had to be a reference to my great-grandparents Theodore Sr. and Anna Christina (Knecht) Jenn, the first Jenns in the US. Based on another part of Mrs. McGregor's article ("...first school built in 1862 or 1863..."), this had to be in the 1863-1866 (or so) time frame.
Theodore Jenn, Sr., and Anna Knecht were both natives of Neunkirchen, Germany, now part of Cologne in the Rhineland. I do know that Theodore Jenn came to somewhere in the US in 1857, but don't know to what location. In October, 1861, Theodore Jenn and Anna Knecht were married in LaSalle County, Illinois, where apparently a lot of Rhinelanders settled for awhile before moving west. I do not know where they lived until my records indicate their 2nd son, John Jenn (my grandfather) was born in Nashua in 1866. I don't have access to the 1870 Chickasaw County census, but Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Jenn Sr. were residents of rural North Washington (South Washington township between North Washington and Ionia) in the 1880 census. They are buried in St. Mary's Cemetery just SW of North Washington, Iowa.
The bottom line is that I am trying to fill in the gaps from 1857 to 1880. THEY had to be the Pearl Rock Jenns as Theodore Jenn's brother John Ferdinand Jenn (the N. Washington town blacksmith and 2nd Jenn to reach the US) didn't get to the US until 1867 when I believe he went straight to North Washington.
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated as I would like to develop a thorough genealogy for my grandchildren.
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