47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantrymen and blood brothers Levinus Lafayette Knerr (1830-1905) and James Henry Knerr (1838-1886) were members of a large family with strong ties to Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Although many of their siblings lived well-documented lives, several remain obscured by the mists of time.

Part two of our biography about the Knerr family, which begins below, presents the information located to date by researchers for 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers: One Civil War Regiment’s Story regarding the Knerr brothers’ siblings.

* Note: To learn more about Lafayette and James Knerr, including about their service to the nation during the American Civil War, please read part one of this biography.

John Solomon Knerr (1828-1908)

Following his marriage to Dianna Fisher (1832-1904) in 1872, John Solomon Knerr, the oldest brother of 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry veterans Levinus Lafayette Knerr and James Henry Knerr, settled with his wife in Allentown, where he and his wife then welcomed the birth of Charles Henry Knerr (1873-1939), who arrived on 13 October 1873 and would later wed Grace H. Werner (1884-1965). Still residing with his wife, Dianna, and their son in Allentown by 1880, John S. Knerr supported his family on the wages of a laborer.

No longer working by 1900, he and his wife were supported by their unmarried son, Charles, who was employed as a railroad brakeman. The trio resided at the Knerr family’s rented home on Hamilton Street in Allentown. Widowed by his wife when she died in Grimville, Berks County on 7 August 1904, John Knerr continued to reside with his son in Allentown for the remainder of his days.

In declining health and suffering from clinical depression during his final years, John Solomon Knerr died by suicide at the age of seventy-nine in the outhouse at the rear of his son’s home at 28 North Third Street in Allentown on 20 January 1908, and was laid to rest at the New Bethel Zion Church Cemetery in Grimville.

Daniel Knerr (1834-1905)

Following his marriage to Lovina Ditterline (1836-1908) on 14 March 1857, Daniel Knerr, settled with his wife in Franklin Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania, where they welcomed the births of: Emma Knerr (1857-1883), who was born on 6 November 1857 and would later wed Lewis/Louis Leikel; and Ellen/Ella Knerr (1862-unknown), who was born in January 1862, never married and worked as a servant or housekeeper for most of her life.

By early July of 1863, Daniel Knerr was employed as a boatman on Pennsylvania’s busy canal system. Still residing with his family in Franklin Township, according to U.S. Civil War draft registration records, he and his wife subsequently welcomed the birth of a son, Harrison Knerr (1863-1915), on 22 October 1863. (Harrison would later go on to marry Weissport, Carbon County native Elizabeth D. Fink and would become the foreman at the Lehigh Valley Stove Works.)

Subsequently enrolled for military service as a corporal with Company A of the 4th Pennsylvania Cavalry (also known as the 64th Pennsylvania Volunteers), during the latter part of the American Civil War, Daniel Knerr joined his regiment at one of the most important times in the nation’s history — the Union’s launch and successful prosecution of the Appomattox Campaign, which began on 29 March 1865 and ended less than two weeks later with the surrender of Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army at Appomattox Court House on 9 April. After receiving his honorable discharge from the military, Daniel Knerr returned home to his family in Carbon County, Pennsylvania. He and his wife then welcomed the birth of Anna B. Knerr, who was born circa 1869.

A successful blacksmith who lived and worked in the town of Weissport in Franklin Township in 1870, Daniel Knerr had amassed real estate and personal property by that time that was valued at two thousand one hundred dollars (the equivalent of fifty-two thousand U.S. dollars in 2026). Residing with him were his wife, Lovina, and their children: Emma, Ellen, Harrison, and Anna. Both Emma and Ellen were enrolled in school that year. More children soon followed: George R. Knerr (1871-1953), who was born in Weissport on 27 June 1871 and would later become a conductor for the Lehigh Valley Railroad, marry Elizabeth Meyerhoff and settle with her in Jersey City and then Hillside, New Jersey; and Frank H. Knerr (1872-1902), who was born in on 3 August 1872. (Frank would later secure employment with the Lehigh Valley Railroad but would succumb to complications from smallpox at the age of thirty on 16 August 1902.)

Still employed as a blacksmith in 1880, Daniel Knerr headed a household that year that included his wife and their children: Harry, George, Ellen, and Frank. Continuing to work as a blacksmith in Franklin Township after the turn of the century, his household included his wife and their children, Ellen and Frank. But the federal census of 1900 that documented their happy home would be the last one that would ever record Daniel’s name. Felled by an episode of apoplexy in early January 1905, he subsequently died at the age of seventy-one in North Weissport, Carbon County, on 22 July of that same year, and was laid to rest at the Union Hill Cemetery in Weissport.

Caroline (Knerr) Kleckner (1832-1915)

Following her marriage to Peter Kleckner (1826-1897; spelling variant: “Klechner”) during the mid to late 1840s, Caroline (Knerr) Kleckner initially settled with her husband in Lehigh County, where they welcomed the births of: Mary Jane Kleckner (1848-1941), who was born on 24 November 1848 and would later wed Samuel Morrison (1838-1912) and settle with him in the city of Easton; Charles W. Kleckner (1851-1919), who was born in Allentown on 12 September 1851 and would later wed Anna Millie Stocker (1855-1935) and work for the Lehigh Valley Railroad prior to his employment as an engineer with the Terminal Railroad in St. Louis; Emma Caroline Kleckner (1854-1923), who was born in Easton on 13 November 1854 (alternate birth year: 1853) and would later wed John Britton (spelling variant: “Brittain”) and settle with him in Easton; Ida Kleckner (1857-1932), who was born in Easton’s South Side in March 1856 and would later wed Stewart Asher Bowers (1858-1900) and settle with him in Jersey City, New Jersey; Sarah Kleckner (1856-1926), who was born in Allentown on 24 October 1856 and would later wed Johnson Shafer (1858-1916) and settle with him in Easton; Elmer E. Kleckner (1861-1937), who was born in Easton on 28 September 1861 and would later wed Mary Sandt (1862-1918) and settle with her in Easton; Edward Kleckner, who was born circa 1866; Rebecca Kleckner (1867-1940), who was born in Easton on 12 May 1867 and would later wed Harry Keiper (1863-1922) and settle with him in Jersey City, New Jersey; and Carrie Kleckner (1871-1958), who was born in Allentown on 10 December 1871 and would later wed Harry Laubach (1871-1949) and settle with him in Easton.

A native of Allentown, Caroline (Knerr) Kleckner had lived in that city until roughly 1866 when she relocated to the city of Easton in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. Widowed by her husband on 27 January 1898, she subsequently moved into the Easton home of her daughter, Mrs. Harry Laubach, where she remained for two decades. Sadly, Caroline (Knerr) Kleckner suffered a severe fall while visiting her son, Elmer, at his home in Easton on 18 October 1915, and died eight days later, at the age of eighty-four, at 410 North Tenth Street in Easton (on 26 October 1915). Following funeral services, she was laid to rest at the Hays Cemetery in Easton.

Charles Knerr (1837-unknown)

Very little is presently known about the Knerrs’ brother, Charles Knerr, other than that he was born in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania circa 1837 (alternate birth year: 1835) and that he was still residing with his parents and siblings at their home in East Allentown, Northampton Township, Lehigh County at the time that the federal census was conducted in 1850. Researchers are still searching for records that will document what happened to him after that census was enumerated.

Anna Maria Angelina (Knerr) Reichard (1844-1924)

Following her marriage to Jacob Reichard (1841-1925), Anna Maria Angelina (Knerr) Reichard, settled with her husband in Lehigh County, where they became the parents of: Henry W. Reichard (1863-1944), who was born in Friedensville on 13 September 1863 and would later wed Julia C. Spahn (1862-1943); William Charles Reichard (1875-1913), who was born in Upper Saucon Township on 11 July 1875 and would later wed Elizabeth Mae Hatch on 26 April 1900; Alice Marie Reichard (1877-1958), who was born in Friedensville on 14 July 1877 and would later wed Ralph Alexander Miller (1877-1965); and Amanda E. Reichard (1879-1955), who was born in Friedensville on 22 June 1879 and would later wed Samuel I. Garis (1875-1958). In 1880, Anna Maria Angelina (Knerr) Reichard, resided in Upper Saucon Township with her husband, a laborer, and their three children.

By the summer of 1900, the Reichards had relocated to the Twelfth Ward in the city of Easton in Northampton County, and their household included just Anna and her husband, a day laborer, and their son, Henry, a farm laborer. By 1910, however, Anna and her husband had returned to Upper Saucon Township and were living there as “empty nesters.” Ailing with enteritis during the final year of her life, Anna Maria Angelina (Knerr) Reichard died at the age of eighty in Upper Saucon Township on 3 October 1924, and was subsequently laid to rest at the Friedensville Cemetery.

Elizabeth (Knerr) Diehl (1847-1925)

After becoming the second wife of widower Jacob Franklin Diehl (1838-1916), Elizabeth (Knerr) Diehl, settled with her husband in Friedensville, where they became the parents of: Jacob Henry Diehl (1867-1946), who was born on 26 February 1867 and would later wed Alvira Reichard (1869-1925); Joseph S. Diehl (1868-1869), who was born on 24 September 1868 but died at the age of ten months on 26 July 1869; Sarah Eliza Diehl (1869-1917), who was born on 7 October 1869 and would later wed Oscar J. Swartz (1868-1943); Alice Julia Diehl (1870-1951), who was born on 19 December 1870 and would later wed Charles C. Dietzel (1867-1926); Stephen Albert Diehl (1874-1966), who was born on 23 February 1874 and would later wed Elizabeth H. Smith (1877-1931); Carrie Susan Diehl (1877-1969), who was born on 18 October 1877 and would later wed Albert J. Xander (1872-1935); Herbert Nathan Diehl (1879-1936), who was born on 23 October 1879 and would later wed Cora V. Gangwere (1879-1934); Julia Catherine Diehl (1880-1972), who was born on 1 December 1880 and would later wed Jacob Penrose Oswald (1878-1963); Robert Fulton Diehl (1882-1885), who was born on 8 September 1882 but died on 5 September 1885 — just three days before his third birthday; and Ellen Jane Diehl (1884-1953), who was born on 19 January 1884 and would later wed and begin her own family line with Morris Ruth (1881-1914), before being widowed by him, marrying for a second time to Charles C. Bianckini and settling with her second husband in Seidersville, Lehigh County.

Known to family and friends as “Eliza,” Elizabeth (Knerr) Diehl was also the stepmother to two children from Jacob Diehl’s first marriage to Catharine Salisa Ritter (1838-1863): Chauncey William Diehl (1859-1919), who had been born on 4 January 1859; and Charles John Diehl (1863-1940), who had been born in Lower Saucon Township on 24 September 1863.

* Note: Elmore Franklin Diehl (1860-1860) and Anna Julia Diehl (1862-1862), the second and third-born children of Jacob Diehl, died in infancy, while Jacob was still married to his first wife, Catharine Salisa (Ritter) Diehl. Born on 25 August 1860, Elmore was just two days old at the time of his passing, while Anna was seven weeks old when she died. (Born on 24 January 1862, Anna passed away on 11 March 1862.) 

Widowed by her husband, Jacob F. Diehl, when he was struck by a car in front of their home on 22 November 1916, Elizabeth (Knerr) Diehl survived her husband by nearly a decade. In declining health during her final months, she succumbed to disease-related complications at the age of seventy-eight, at the home of her daughter, Julia (Diehl) Kunkel, in Colesville, Lehigh County on 14 April 1925, and was subsequently buried at the Friedensville Cemetery. In addition to four of her daughters and three of her sons, Eliza was survived by twenty-two grandchildren and forty great-grandchildren.

 

Sources:

1. “A Smallpox Victim” (death notice of Frank H. Knerr, who was a nephew of Lafayette and James Henry Knerr and a son of Daniel Knerr). Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Allentown Leader, 18 September 1902.
2. “Aged Veteran Takes His Life” (obituary of John Solomon Knerr, the oldest brother of Lafayette and James Henry Knerr). Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Allentown Leader, 20 January 1908.
3. Alice Marie Reichard (bride and a niece of Lafayette and James Henry Knerr and a daughter of Anna Maria Angelina (Knerr) Reichard); and Ralph Alexander Miller (groom), in Marriage Records (Northampton County, Pennsylvania, date of marriage: 4 September 1901). Easton, Pennsylvania: Clerk of the Orphans’ Court of Northampton County, Pennsylvania.
4. Amanda E. Garis (a niece of Lafayette and James Henry Knerr and a daughter of Anna Maria Angelina (Knerr) Reichard), in Death Certificates (file no.: 14123, registered no.: 223, date of death: 12 February 1955). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics.
5. Bates, Samuel P. History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-5, vol. 1. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: B. Singerly, State Printer, 1869.
6. Caroline Kleckner (a sister of Lafayette and James Henry Knerr), in Death Certificates (file no.: 94763, registered no.: 486, date of death: 26 October 1915). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics.
7. “Charles W. Kleckner Tried Suicide at Easton” (employment and mental health data regarding a nephew of Lafayette and James Henry Knerr and a son of Caroline (Knerr) Kleckner). Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, 6 October 1919.
8. Daniel Knerr (mention of the illness of a brother of Lafayette and James Henry Knerr), in “Lehighton.” Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Allentown Leader, 11 January 1905.
9. Daniel Knerr (a brother of Lafayette and James Henry Knerr), in Records of Burial Places of Veterans (Union Hill Cemetery, East Weissport, Carbon County, Pennsylvania). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Military Affairs.
10. Elmer Kleckner (a nephew of Lafayette and James Henry Knerr and a son of Caroline (Knerr) Kleckner), in Death Certificates (file no.: 108235, registered no.: 675, date of death: 4 November 1937). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics.
11. John Solomon Knerr (the oldest brother of Lafayette and James Henry Knerr), in Death Certificates (file no.: 356, registered no.: 60, date of death: 20 January 1908). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics.
12. Knerr, Daniel (a brother of Lafayette and James Henry Knerr), in U.S. Civil War Draft Registration Records (Franklin Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania, 1 July 1863). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
13. Knerr, Daniel (a brother of Lafayette and James Henry Knerr), Lovinia [sic, “Lovina”], Emma, Ellen, Harrison, and Anna B., in U.S. Census (Weissport, Franklin Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania, 1870). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
14. Knerr, Daniel (a brother of Lafayette and James Henry Knerr), Livina [sic, “Lovina”], Harry, George, Ellen, and Frank, in U.S. Census (Franklin Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania, 1880). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
15. Knerr, Daniel (a brother of Lafayette and James Henry Knerr), Lavina [sic, “Lovina”], Ella, and Frank, in U.S. Census (Franklin Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania, 1900). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
16. Knerr, James H., in Civil War Muster Rolls (Company G, 47th Pennsylvania Infantry). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State Archives.
17. Knerr, James H., in Civil War Veterans’ Card File, 1861-1866 (Company G, 47th Pennsylvania Infantry). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State Archives.
18. Knerr, James H., in Records of Burial Places of Veterans (Charles Evans Cemetery, Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania, date of death: 5 April 1886). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Military Affairs.
19. Knerr, John S. (the oldest brother of Lafayette and James Henry Knerr), Dianna and Charles H., in U.S. Census (Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1880). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
20. Knerr, John S. (the oldest brother of Lafayette and James Henry Knerr), Diana and Charles, in U.S. Census (Allentown, First Ward, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1900). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
21. Knerr, Lafayette, in Ferris Bros.’ Allentown City and Lehigh County Directory for 1885, p. 130. Wilmington, Delaware: Ferris Brothers Printers and Binders, 1885.
22. Knerr, Lafayette, in Records of Burial Places of Veterans (Union-West End Cemetery, Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Military Affairs.
23. Knerr, Lafayette, Matilda and Mary, in U.S. Census (Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1880). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
24. Knerr, Lafayette and Matilda; and Leaser, Addison J. (senior), Mary J. (a daughter of Lafayette Knerr) and Addison J. (junior); Morris, Marie S. (boarder); and Kunkle, Elsie C. (boarder), in U.S. Census (Allentown, Tenth Ward, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1900). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
25. Knerr, Lafinus [sic, “Lavinus Lafayette Knerr”] and Matilda, and Gingkinger [sic, “Ginkinger”], John, Tilghman, George, and Mary (all of whom were listed on page 29 of that group of census records; the Ginkingers were children from Matilda’s first marriage to Thomas/Tilghman Ginkinger); and Hilliard [sic, “Hilyard”], John, Sarah, William, and Emma (the parents and siblings of Matilda (Hilliard) Knerr, and Knerr, James (a brother of Lafayette Knerr), and Burcaw, Harry, aged six (all of whom were listed on page 30 of that group of census records), in U.S. Census (Allentown, Fourth Ward, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1860). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
26. Knerr, Levi [sic, “Levinus Lafayette Knerr”], in Civil War Veterans’ Card File, 1861-1866 (Company B, 47th Pennsylvania Infantry). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State Archives.
27. Knerr, Levi [sic, “Levinus Lafayette Knerr”], Matilda, Walter, and Mary; and Ginkinger, John and Tilghman (Matilda’s sons from her first marriage), in U.S. Census (Allentown, Fifth Ward, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1870). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
28. Knerr, Nathan, Judith, John, Levina [sic, “Levinus Lafayette Knerr”], Daniel, Charles, James, Angelina, and Elizabeth, in U.S. Census (East Allentown, Northampton Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1850). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
29. Lafayette Knerr (birth and death dates), in Death Records (Salem United Church of Christ, Allentown, Pennsylvania, date of death: 15 February 1905). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
30. “Lafayette Knerr” (obituary). Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, 17 February 1905.
31. “Mrs. Ann Knerr” (a sister of Lafayette and James Henry Knerr), in Death Certificates (file no.: 94694, registered no.: 44, date of death: 3 October 1924). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics.
32. “Mrs. Emma Britton” (obituary of a niece of Lafayette and James Henry Knerr and a daughter of Caroline (Knerr) Kleckner). Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, 12 October 1923.
33. “Mrs. Jacob F. Diehl” (obituary of Elizabeth (Knerr) Diehl, a sister of Lafayette and James Henry Knerr). Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, 16 April 1925.
34. “Mrs. Jacob Reichard” (obituary of Anna Maria Angelina (Knerr) Reichard, a sister of Lafayette and James Henry Knerr). Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, 5 October 1924.
35. “Mrs. Sarah Shafer” (obituary of a niece of Lafayette and James Henry Knerr and a daughter of Caroline (Knerr) Kleckner). Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, 17 February 1926.
36. “Obituary: Charles W. Kleckner” (a nephew of Lafayette and James Henry Knerr and a son of Caroline (Knerr) Kleckner). Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, 31 October 1919.
37. “Obituary: Mrs. Caroline Kleckner” (a sister of Lafayette and James Henry Knerr). Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Allentown Democrat, 28 October 1915.
38. “Obituary: Mrs. Ida Kleckner Bowers” (a niece of Lafayette and James Henry Knerr and a daughter of Caroline (Knerr) Kleckner). Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, 4 August 1932.
39. “Octogenarian Victim of Automobile Accident” (report on the death of Jacob Franklin Diehl, a brother-in-law of Lafayette and James Henry Knerr and the husband of Elizabeth (Knerr) Diehl). Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Allentown Democrat, 24 November 1916.
40. Oettinger, Judith (infant and the future mother of Lafayette and James Henry Knerr), and Christian and Margaretha (parents of Judith), in Birth and Baptismal Records (Zion Lehigh Evangelical Lutheran Church, Alburtis, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, birth date: 10 December 1806, baptism date: 9 May 1907). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
41. Reichard, Jacob, Anna (a sister of Lafayette and James Henry Knerr), Henry, William, Alice, and Amanda, in U.S. Census (Upper Saucon Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1880). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
42. Reichard, Jacob, Anna (a sister of Lafayette and James Henry Knerr) and Henry, in U.S. Census (Easton, Twelfth Ward, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, 1900). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
43. Reichard, Jacob and Anna (a sister of Lafayette and James Henry Knerr), in U.S. Census (Upper Saucon Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1910). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
44. “Roster of the 47th P. V. Inf.” Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, 26 October 1930.
45. “The History of the Forty-Seventh Regt. P. V.” Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Lehigh Register, 20 July 1870.
46. “Two Women Die Suddenly” (death notice of Rebecca (Kleckner) Keiper, a niece of Lafayette and James Henry Knerr and a daughter of Caroline (Knerr) Kleckner). Jersey City, New Jersey: The Jersey Journal, 11 November 1940.
47. William Charles Reichard (groom and a nephew of Lafayette and James Henry Knerr and a son of Anna Maria Angelina (Knerr) Reichard); and Elizabeth Mae Hatch (bride), in Marriage Records (Northampton County, Pennsylvania, date of marriage: 26 April 1900). Easton, Pennsylvania: Clerk of the Orphans’ Court of Northampton County, Pennsylvania.