Irvin Karns


Every antique photo carries a mystery, but few tell a story as vividly as a simple postcard portrait found in an old album. On the front, a young man in a dark suit jacket stares into the camera. On the back, written in elegant blue cursive, are the words: "Irvin Karns / mom's old boy friend."

​Who was this mystery man from a bygone era, and how did his path cross with a young woman in early 20th century Oklahoma? Through census records and family archives, we’ve unraveled the fascinating timeline of a man who left home early, chased the oil boom out west, and eventually found his way back east.

​Irvin Mearkle Karns was born on July 23, 1893, in the quiet rural landscape of Monroe Township, Bedford County, Pennsylvania. Growing up as the son of Simon and Mary Karns, Irvin appeared in the 1910 Federal Census as a typical teenager living on the family farm.

​But the quiet life of a Pennsylvania farmer couldn't hold him for long. Family logs from the era note that Irvin "left home quite early in life." Blessed with a wandering spirit, he packed his bags and headed west, looking for adventure and opportunity in a rapidly changing America.

​Irvin’s travels eventually brought him to the territory of Oklahoma. It was here, sometime between 1912 and 1915, that he sat for the portrait captured on a classic Kodak postcard. He was in his late teens or early twenties, sporting a crisp collar and a neat side-part. 

​It was during this adventurous chapter of his youth that he became "mom's old boyfriend," capturing the heart of a local girl before the tides of life pulled them in different directions.

​By the time the 1920 Census was taken, Irvin hadn't just survived out west; he had thrived. Settling down in Oklahoma City, he entered the fast paced world of the early American oil rush. He established himself as an Oil and Gas Wholesaler and rose to become the president of the Red Rock Petroleum Company. He even owned and operated his own filling station right in the heart of the city at 300 N. Walker.

​Like many wanderers, the pull of the East eventually called Irvin back. By the mid 1920s, his time in the Oklahoma oil fields came to a close, and he returned to his home state of Pennsylvania.

​The days of being the elusive "old boyfriend" ended on December 26, 1925, when Irvin married Kathryn Pensinger Arnold at St. Matthew's Lutheran Church in Hanover, Pennsylvania. While he never returned to his childhood home in Bedford County, he and Kathryn built a long, stable life together further east in Pottsville, Schuylkill County.

​Irvin passed away on December 16, 1958, followed decades later by Kathryn in 1995. Today, they rest together at Knaub Cemetery in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania.

​Though Irvin Karns returned to the hills of Pennsylvania to spend his final decades, a piece of his youth remains forever preserved. A snapshot of a young man on the edge of the frontier, remembered fondly on the back of a postcard as a fleeting, romantic moment in a mother's history.


Popular posts from this blog

The Plummer Children

Image
For a long time, the identities of the four children in this portrait were a mystery. With a little patience, the faint cursive on the back finally revealed a list of names: Grace, Winifred, Earle, and Irene Plummer . ​These four siblings grew up at the turn of the 20th century in Marion County, IN. Born to John Thomas Plummer and Mary Elizabeth Barker, they had this studio portrait taken around 1900 or 1901 when the youngest, Irene, was just a toddler. ​Here is the story of the children and the lives they went on to lead. ​Grace M. Plummer (Top Left) ​Sitting in the wicker chair on the left is the eldest sibling, Grace, who was born in February 1888. In the early 1910s, Grace married an Indianapolis attorney named Clarence W. DeHass. Together, they raised two children, John and Mary, in the heart of Indianapolis. Grace lived a long life, passing away in October 1968.  ​Earle S. Plummer (Center) ​Standing in the center in his suit and bowtie is Earle, the only boy...
Read more

Florence Henlen

Image
Born: 1884 in Dickenson County, KS Died: 1975 I recently acquired a beautiful late 1880s photograph that I just had to research immediately. The photo shows a toddler bundled up against the cold. She is wearing a dark winter coat trimmed with white fur or wool, matching cuffs, and a ruffled bonnet. She stands in a Victorian studio's version of the outdoors leaning against a prop tree stump. ​At the bottom, the photographer’s mark reads "Weaver" of Herrington, Kansas (a historic spelling of Herington). ​Turning the card over reveals a faint pencil inscription: (Florence C. Henlen) ​A look into historical records from Dickinson County, Kansas, brings Florence’s world into view. ​Born in 1884, Florence Campbell Henlen was roughly three to five years old when she stood for this photo.  Her family was prominent in the early days of Herington. Her father, Dr. Benjamin Augustus Henlen, was a pioneering doctor who ran the town’s leading drug store, served as a dire...
Read more

The Bailey Brothers

Image
Recently, I found an early 20th century cabinet card featuring two young children. A note on the back of the photo changed everything.  The photo shows two children dressed in dark Edwardian garments, polished lace-up boots, and perfectly styled white hair bows. Looking at the image, one might naturally assume they are looking at two young girls. ​Flip the card over, however, and a note  sets the record straight: ​ "Kenneth & Faber Bailey. There mother always dressed them like girls." ​While it was a common late Victorian and Edwardian custom to keep young boys in gowns or tunics, their mother, Sophia Bailey, clearly possessed a flair for fashion. She let her sons' hair grow out into long, ringlets and adorned them with oversized hair bows that rivaled any young girls. ​Armed with a location (Ohio) and these two distinct names, a look through the US Federal Census records brought the story of these two boys to light. ​Kenneth (born circa 1904) and Fa...
Read more