LeRoy Oscar² Kerns (_____________¹) was born 23 December 1855 at _____________, _______________ County, ____________, the son of __________ and ___________ (_____________) Kerns. His birth is recorded in ______________ County birth records, v. ___, no. ___.

He died Saturday, 20 February 1897, age 42, of ___________ at his homestead near Hillsdale, Garfield County, Oklahoma Territory. The funeral was held ____________________, at ___________ Church, _________, according to his obituary, he was buried in the Coldwater Church Cemetery at Garfield County. Sometime after his widow moved to Hugoton in 1925, his body was moved to the Hugoton Cemetery at Hugoton, Stevens County, Kansas. His death is recorded in Garfield County death records, v. ____, no. _____.

He married, first, Molly Mae Lightbody __ _______ 18__, at ___________________ Church, _______________, ______________ County, ____________________. Reverend _________________ presided. Witnesses were __________________ and ________________. The marriage is recorded in the marriage register of the church. See also ______________ County marriage records, v. ___, no. ________.

Molly Lightbody was born __ ______ 18__, at _____________, ___________ County, ___________, the daughter of _____________ and _____________ (___________) Lightbody. Her birth is recorded in ___________ County birth records, v. ___, p. ___. She died __ __________ 18__, age __, of _____________, at _____________, ______________ County, __________. The funeral was held _____________________, at _________________ Church, __________, and she is buried in ___________ Cemetery at ____________. Her death is recorded in _____ County death records, v. ____, p. _____.

He married, second, Mary Ann Diederich 16 June 1884 at ___________________ Church, Geneva, Fillmore County, Nebraska. Reverend _________________ presided. Witnesses were __________________ and ________________. The marriage is recorded in the marriage register of the church. See also Fillmore County marriage records, v. ___, no. ________.

Mary Diederich was born 20 January 1851 probably at Town of Lawrence, Brown County, Wisconsin, the daughter of John and Anna (Clasen) Diederich. She was the third child born in Wisconsin after her parents migrated from Germany.

She died Wednesday, 25 August 1937, age 86, of _________, at Hugoton. The funeral was held _____________________, at _________________ Church, __________ and she is buried in Hugoton cemetery at ____________. See Stevens County death certificates, v. ______, no. ________.

Mary Ann Diederich's birth is recorded in Brown County birth records, v. 1, p. 328, as Mary Dietriech, daughter of John Dietrich and Ann Klassen. According to the birth record she was born at Green Bay, but it is more likely that she was born on the family farm at Town of Lawrence.

She grew up on her parents' farm in the Town of Lawrence. In 1879, she moved to Stanton Precinct, Fillmore County, Nebraska, where three of her brothers intended to establish homesteads.

On 1 April 1880, she sold her one-eighth interest in her deceased parents' 51-acre tract in Town of Lawrence to her brother, Mathias, for $133.33. See Brown County Deed Book 42, p. 318. On 12 April 1880, "Mary Diederich of Fillmore County, Nebraska," sold her one-eighth interest in the remainder of the estate to Peter, John, and Antoon Keyzers for $150. See Brown County Deed Book 42, p. 311.

In the June 1880 Census of Nebraska, p. 520C, she is recorded as living in her brother John's household. Her brothers, Antone and Joseph, and their families were nearby neighbors. John and Antone Diederich returned to Brown County, Wisconsin, in 1881, but she and her brother, Joseph, remained in Fillmore County, Nebraska.

She and her husband evidently lived at or near Geneva, the county seat of Fillmore County, after their marriage. In 1894, they established a 160-acre homestead in the Northwest ¼ of Section 22, Town 24 North, Range 8 West of the Indian principal Meridian in Cheohee Township, Garfield County, Oklahoma Territory, three miles west and one mile south of the present town of Hilsdale. Two years later, LeRoy Oscar Kerns died. His brief obituary was published Wednesday 24 February 1897 in the Enid Daily Wave, p. 3:

Mr. L. O. Kerns, who lived with his family, consisting of a wife and four children, ranging from 12 to 3 years old, on the northwest 22-24-8, in Cheochee township, died Saturday evening at 5 o'clock, of ulceration of the stomach, after a few days of intense suffering. He was 41 years of age; was buried in the Coldwater Church Cemetery.

Mary Ann Diederich Kerns evidently raised her family on the homestead, remaining there until 1925, when she moved to Hugoton, Kansas, to live with her son, Earl John Kerns. The latest plat book of Garfield County shows that Ira L. Swan, a grandson, currently owns the quarter-section homestead.

When she died, The Hugoton Hermes of Friday, 27 August 1937 reported:

Mrs. M.A. Kerns died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. R.M. Swan, in this city at 5:50 Wednesday morning, at the age of 84½ years. Mrs. Kerns moved to Stevens County in 1925. For a long time she made her home with her son, Earl, but of late she has been with her daughter. She leaves two sons and two daughters: Howard Kerns, of Greeley, Colorado, Mrs. Allie Hooker of South Gate, California, Mrs. R.M. Swan, and Sheriff Earl Kerns of Hugoton. At this writing funeral arrangements have not been made.

Her obituary in The Hugoton Hermes of 3 September 1937 states:

Mary Ann Diederick was born January 20, 1853, at DePere (sic), Wisconsin, and departed this life August 25, 1937, at the age of 84 years , 7 months, and 5 days.

She was united in marriage to LeRoy Oscar Kerns of Geneva, Nebraska, June 16, 1884. To this union four children were born, of which three are living. Her husband and a son preceded her in death. She leaves to mourn her loss four children: Howard A. Kerns, stepson of Greeley, Colorado, Allie Hooker of South Gate, California, Earl Kerns, Hugoton, Kansas, and Mrs. Roy Swan, Hugoton, Kansas.

She leaves seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, besides a host of friends.

The funeral services were held at the Christian Church, Thursday of last week, W.D. Darnall delivering the funeral address. Prine Funeral Home was in charge of the burial.

Their gravestone is inscribed:

KERNS
LeRoy O. Mary Ann
Dec. 23, 1855 Jan. 20, 1853
Feb. 20, 1897 Aug. 25, 1937
HOMESTEADED 1894 31 MISW
HILLSDALE, OKLAHOMA

Although her death certificate, obituary, and gravestone give her birth date as 20 January 1853, her birth certificate says "20 January 1851", and that is probably correct. Her death certificate (Kansas Death Certificates, v. 95, p. 595) tells when and where she died and is buried.

LeRoy Oscar and his first wife, Molly Mae (Lightbody) Kerns, had one son:

Howard Abner Kerns = Ethel Gladys Stepp

LeRoy Oscar and his second wife, Mary Ann (Diederich) Kerns, had two sons and two daughters:

Annie Rosalia Kerns (Allie) = Louis Franklin Hooker
Earl John Kerns = Evalena White
Phillip Kerns
Leona Mary Kerns = Roy Melvin Swan