52 Ancestors - Edward G. Gerner

Edward G. Gerner was the fifth child and third son of Frederick and Elvira Bartley Gerner.  He is one of my paternal grandmother's older brothers.  Essentially, I've discovered birth, marriage, and death information for him, but not too much else.

Birth
Edward was born in Putnam County, West Virginia on July 16, 1877.  His parents moved there soon after their marriage in 1872 and returned to Butler County, Pennsylvania, about ten years later, in about 1882 when Edward would have been 5.

Marriage
Edward married Ella Knapp on June 24, 1903.  Edward was living in Harrison County, Ohio, working as a pumper (probably of oil); Ella was living in Fairview, Mercer County, Pennsylvania.

They appear in the 1910 U.S. Census, living in Clinton Township, Venango County, Pennsylvania.  Edward was 32, Ella 27.  There are no children.  The census taker recorded that Edward's business was oil/petroleum and that he was an employer.

Death
Edward died on October 21, 1917 in Mercer County, Pennsylvania.  His cause of death was tuberculosis peritonitis, a disease from which he suffered for 18 months.  His death certificate indicates he was buried in Fredonia, Pennsylvania.  The informant for the death certificate was Glenn Knapp of Stoneboro, Pennsylvania, possibly Ella's father or a brother.

Edward's death was the third of Fred and Elvira's adult children:  their oldest daughter, Ida, died of consumption in 1904, and Beulah died after childbirth in 1913.

Notes

• The oil industry in the United States began in the 1850s in Venango County, Pennsylvania.  I've not yet found information the company Edward may have owned or details about petroleum retrieval and production in the early 1900s.
• Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis.  It usually affects the lungs but can affect other parts of the body, including the peritoneum.  The peritoneum is a membrane that lines the abdominal cavity.  Tuberculosis was formerly called consumption, named for the way it consumes the body from the inside out.  Tuberculosis peritonitis is difficult diagnose because of non-specific conditions and is often fatal.

Birth Record Image & Transcription
Line Number.  17
Date of Birth.  July 17 1877
Name of Child.  Edward G. Gerner
White
Sex.  Male
Born.  Alive
Place of Birth.  Scott District
Father's Name.  Frederick Gerner
Father’s Occupation.  Farmer
Father's Residence.  Scott District
Mother's Name in Full.  Elvira Gerner
Name of Person Giving Information of Birth.  Frederick Gerner
Relation.  Father

Marriage Record Image & Transcription

No. 7463
E. G. Gerner born in W Virginia on the 16" day of July A.D. 1877 residing at Harrison Co. Ohio and a Pumper by occupation not related by blood or marriage to the person whom he desires to marry never married before
and Ella Knapp born in Mercer Co Penna, on the 24" day of June A.D. 1882 residing at Fairview . . . never married before
And now this 24" day of June 1903 Marriage License issued in legal form . . . .
    Filed this 24" day of June 1903.
    Duplicate Certificate returned and filed this 3 day of July 1903 showing marriage ceremony to have been performed by J. M. Farrell on the 24" day of June 1903.

Death Certificate Image & Transcription

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics
Certificate of Death, File No. 115543
County of Mercer, Township or Borough of [blank]
1.     Place of Death County of Mercer.
2.     Full Name Edward G. Gerner.
PERSONAL AND STATISTICAL PARTICULARS
3.     Sex     male
4.     Color     white
5.     Marital Status    Married
6.     Date of Birth     July 17, 1877
7.     Age     40 years 3 months 4 days
8.     Occupation     oil producer
9.     Birthplace     Pennsylvania
10.     Name of Father     Fred Gerner
11.     Birthplace of Father     Pennsylvania
12.     Maiden Name of Mother     Elvira Bartley
13.     Birthplace of Mother     Pennsylvania
14.     Informant     Glenn Knapp, Stoneboro, Pa
15.     Filed    July 24th 1917 H. W. Redford, Local Registrar
MEDICAL CERTIFICATE OF DEATH
16.     Date of Death     Oct. 21, 1917
17.     I hereby certify, that I attended deceased from Sept. 1 1917 to Oct. 21 1917, that I last saw him alive on Oct. 18, 1917, and that death occurred on the date stated above at 2:30 P.M.  The Cause of Death was as follows:  Tuberculosis peritonitis. Duration 1 year, 6 months.
        Signed J. E. Ferringer, M.D.  Oct. 22, 1917, Stoneboro, Pa.
18.     Length of Residence    [blank]
19.     Place of Burial or Removal    Fredonia    Date of Burial Oct. 24, 1917
20.    Undertaker     A. M. Yeager, Stoneboro, Pa.

Yet to Find

• 1910 U.S. Census
• WWI draft registration
• cemetery and gravestone

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This post is in response to Amy Johnson Crow's call to her readers to write about 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. 


--Nancy.
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