earlier posts on Kraut Family Research I was so psyched to have found the church marriage record online of Elizabeth Kraut and Lawrence Keen in Baltimore, Maryland on 20 June 1847. And OHHHH how those records brought abundantly fruitful family expansions. It’s time to elaborate on how those church records went even further in growing this family history. 
First Strong Hint: Anton Kunkel is listed as a witness for the marriage of Elizabeth and Lawrence at St. Alphonsus church in 1847. Since I had seen the Kunkel name before in a record, I knew I should go further investigating a possible family connection. In the naturalization record for Lawrence Keen that I located last year, a person named Anna Maria Kunkel was the witness. He had a sister named Anna Maria, but that’s all I had at that time. And that’s why the Anton Kunkel name on Lawrence’s marriage record lit the light bulb for me. From these two records, I suspected that Anton Kunkel is married to Lawrence’s sister, Anna Maria Keen. But I needed to find more back up for this family tie to be confirmed. That’s how these church records assisted.
More Interesting Hints: As I combed through the Catholic church records posted online in Baltimore, I ran into multiple baptismal records at the St. James Catholic Church that contain the surnames Kunkel and Keen (with various surname spellings). The family relationships started to fit into place and provide more cement for building this piece of the family structure. Posted here are the baptisms in 1844 – 1846 that bring together these Kunkels with the Keens, as well as Kaufmanns. I’ve created a chart that lists the four baptisms for Friedrich Lorenz Kaufmann, Antonius Kunkel, Joannes Kunkel and Anna Maria Kaufmann.
The Tangled Web: These church records have resulted in a tremendous web of family ties that would be frustrating if they weren’t so wonderfully helpful. If anyone takes the time to read them on this posted report they might see that Lorenz Kihn (Lawrence Keen) is the sponsor for Friedrich and Antonius, who are children of Susanna Kihn and Anna Maria Kihn respectively. These are Lawrence’s two sisters. The brave reader would also find that Susanna Kaufmann is the sponsor for John Kunkel, son of Anton Kunkel and A. M. Kien. And lastly, Anna Maria Kunkel is the sponsor for Anna Maria, daughter of Susanna Kihn Kaufmann. Perfect examples of family ties!
As I said, this information could result in some confusion, maybe screaming, if the result wasn’t so great. The discovery of the Catholic church records online in Baltimore, Maryland, was a leap ahead for my family research. With these revealing segments of life I believe I have woven strong ties in the Keen, Kraut, Kunkel and Kaufmann families in Baltimore, Maryland in the 1840s. Now I’ll be tracking them all to see how many of them migrate west to Ohio and Indiana with Lawrence and Elizabeth Keen.
Thanks for visiting Indiana Ties,
Nancy
Kraut Keen Marriage source: Archdiocese of Baltimore City, MD (Baltimore, MC), Church Registers, 1847 Marriages, page 10, Marriage, Lorenz Kihn, Elizabeth Kraut, 20 June 1847; FHL microfilm MdHr M1598, MdHr, M1598.
Link to Baltimore, Maryland, Catholic Church records online: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Baltimore_(Independent_City),_Maryland#Online
Copyright © 2017, Nancy Niehaus Hurley
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