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Introduction
This paper presents the origin of the Kernmühle and Kern family names. The Kernmühle
is about 2.5 km north of Roßtal in Middle Franconia near Nürnberg, Germany. The Kern
family can be traced back to the Kernmühle in the early 1500’s. Descendants of the
Kernmühle Kern family settled in the Frankenmuth, Michigan area in the 1850s and
1860s. The first mention of a Georg Kern is in 1532 in a Salbuch at Cadolzburg, Germany
as the owner of the Kernmühle. A Salbuch is a book with lists of ownership rights
of the lord of the manor and duties of his subjects. There is some evidence that
there may have been a name change or adoption, for that matter, of Kern as a family
name. There are Kern families scattered throughout Germany in abundance. In other
words it is a fairly popular last name such as Schmidt, Winkler, Schwarz, Weiss etc.
However, there is some information that infers the possibility that this particular
name pertains to a Kern family whose origins are at the Kernmühle and whose name
meaning is “grain”. The primary source of information for this presentation is from
the “Historisches Ortsnamenbuch von Bayern,” Stadt-
The Early History of the Kernmühle
The Ortsnamenbuch quotes eight different sources of information that provide information on the Kernmühle. These are all German references. It goes back to 1413. In 1413 all writing was handwritten. The movable type did not come until about 1440. The German translation of the Bible by Martin Luther was not until 1534. Martin Luther is credited with establishing a common German language amongst all the versions and dialects that were used in Germany. Thus we see German words in names that are not easily understood and see variations of these names. When one understands the language one sees that they make references to people and places like we do in English.
The Kernmühle appears to have had two descriptive informal names in the early years.
They were variations of Kernmühle and Gizvbelmul. They were used interchangeably.
It can not be determined for certain when the name Kernmühle was formalized. In1413
there already was a reference to a “kernmi-
“Kern” is a general word for “corn, grain, and cereals” in German. The general word for “grain” in Old High German is spelled “chërn” and in Middle High German is spelled “kërn” in southern Germany. Today in the Standard German (High German) it is spelled “Korn”. One also notices the different spellings of “mühle”. From this it is pretty clear that it was called the “Grain Mill” and more specifically, at times, it was called “the grain mill on the Bibert (River)”. The Bibert River was dammed at the Kernmühle to drive the grinding stones.
The Gißvbelsmul was also called Gießhübelmul. In Old High German “gussia” and in Middle High German “güsse” meant torrent of water. In Standard German the same is call a “Guß”. Next there is “üble” and “ubli”. The Standard German for this is “übel”. It translates to “evil bad, wrong, and sick”. So, Gißvbelsmul roughly means the mill by the bad torrents of water. From my personal observation in 2008 I can see this. I suspect before the dam was built, there may have been some treacherous rapids or series of water falls because of the rapid change in elevation of the river. Also there probably was a pretty fast water flow.
Now one can see that the Kernmühle site may first have been known for the treacherous water flow of the Bibert River and later became more known by the “grain mill” that was built there after a dam was built.
The Kernmühle in the first years was owned by the count (burgrave) of the Roßtal Fortress and then later by the Roßtal Church. Fritz Mulnerm appears to be the first private owner in 1464. Records of 1532 show the first ownership of the Kernmühle by a Kern (Georg).
The Emergence of the Kern Family Name
The family name, Kern, did not show up in records until 1532 in the Salbuch at Cadolzburg. It lists a Georg Kern as the owner of the Kernmühle. The Kern name does not appear in the Roßtal church records (nearest church) until 1541. This is over one hundred years after the Kernmühle name appears in records. Is it possible the name Kernmühle predates the presence of the Kern family? This appears to be quite likely. It is interesting that both the Kern family name and Kernmühle are similar.
Where did the Kern family come from? In this excerpt from the “Historisches Ortsnamenbuch” from Germany there is no mentioning of the Kerns and this is probably because they were just trying to address the Kernmühle. A thought is that some family either took on the “Kern” name or changed their name to “Kern” because they were at the Kern (Grain) Mill. This was still in an era where people were taking on second (family/surnames) names. It would be too much of a coincidence that a Kern would move to or buy the Kernmühle. The naming of the Kernmühle after the Kern family name now appears remote especially with kern meaning grain and it is quite likely the mill was named Kernmühle before the Kerns ever arrived. In addition, there is no evidence any other Kerns lived around the Roßtal area so the Kerns at the Kernmühle appear to be a singular family. If the Kernmühle Kerns changed their name to Kern or adopted a second name; that would make them a unique family. That would mean the Frankenmuth area Kerns are not related to any other Kerns except those that trace their ancestry to the Kernmühle.
Last Updated: February 28, 2010
History of Kern Family and the Kernmühle Names
by Wally Kern
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