History of the Kerschen World

516,000 B.C. Most recent common ancestor of modern humans and Neanderthals according to mitochondrial DNA divergence. There may have been later interbreeding.

350,000 B.C. Earliest evidence of Neanderthals in central Europe

150,000 B.C. Most recent common ancestor of all modern humans according to mitochondrial DNA divergence.

45,000-24,000 B.C. Modern Humans and Neanderthals co-existed in Europe. DNA analysis has now proven interbreeding between the species during this time period.

27,000-18,000 B.C. Earliest migrations of Modern Humans across the Bering Land Bridge or the North Pacific into the Americas. The last Ice Age was begining to wane about this time.

10,000 B.C. Earliest Evidence of Settlements on the Titelberg Mountain in what would later become Kerschen.

54 BC: Caesar conquered Treveri tribesmen of the Moselle Valley.

52 BC - AD 450: Gallo-Roman era.

481 - 511: Conquest of Gaul completed by Salian Franks under Clovis. Frankish rule established over Neustria.

481 - 752: Merovingian period. Descendants of Clovis reigned over lands of the Franks.

900-1400: The Medievel Warm Period. Many scientific papers suggest it was significantly warmer than today, but all agree that CO2 levels were much lower.

963: Sigefroi began construction of castle on the Bock (beginnings of city of Luxembourg).

4 April 1281: Count Heinrich V of Luxembourg grants soveriegnty to Kerschen under the authority of his son, Raoul of Sterpenich, who became the first Lord of Kerschen. Are the Kerschens his descendants?

1383-1443: Time of troubles. Wenzel II, in need of money, gave Luxembourg as a pawn for repayment of a substantial loan. Luxembourg fell under control of various creditors in turn, ending up under the rule of Wenzel's niece, Elizabeth of Goerlitz. Sigismund, brother of Wenzel I and his successor as Holy Roman Emperor, was unable to repay loan, and left Elizabeth in control.

1441: Elizabeth of Goerlitz sold the Duchy of Luxembourg to Philippe the Good of Burgundy.

1443-1555: Period of Burgundian rule. Duchy of Luxembourg ruled by dukes of Burgundy from their capital at Brussels.

1555: Charles V turned over control of Burgundian possessions in the Netherlands, including Duchy of Luxembourg, to his son Philipp.

1556: Philipp became King of Spain as Philip II.

1555-1684: Spanish Rule Luxembourg

~1585: Jacques Kerschen born in Luxembourg, probably somewhere in Kerschen. The earliest known Kerschen.

1650-1850: The little Ice Age. Farm productivity dropped 20% during this period and glaciers were growing. Global temperatures were 1-2 degrees cooler than today.

1659: First Partition of Luxembourg. Treaty of the Pyrenees ended war between France and Spain. France annexed part of Duchy of Luxembourg, including area around Thionville and Mamedy .

1678-1684: Louis XIV conquered Duchy of Luxembourg.

~1680 Everhard Kerschen born in the city of Niederkerschen.

1684-1697: French rule Luxembourg.

1697: Treaty of Ryswick. Louis XIV forced to return Luxembourg to Spanish rule.

1697-1715: Spanish Rule Luxembourg

~1700: Johannes Balthesarius Kerschen, ancestor of most known Kerschens, born somewhere in the Moselle Valley in Luxembourg, France, or perhaps it was Spain.

1713: Treaty of Utrecht. Spanish Netherlands transferred to Austrian rule.

1715-1795: Austrian Hapsburgs ruled over the southern Netherlands, including the Duchy of Luxembourg.

5 Jun 1732: Johannes Balthesarius Kerschen fathers Nicolai Kerschen with Magdalena Klensh in Lallingen, Luxembourg, 4 miles southeast of Kerschen. Nicolai is the ancestor of most, if not all, of the Kansas Kerschens.

31 Dec 1732: Johannes Balthesarius Kerschen fathers Joannus Carolus Kerschen with Elisabeth Zeitgen in Lallingen, Luxembourg. Joannus Carolus is the ancestor of all the Michigan Kerschens.

1795: French revolutionary armies captured fortress of Luxembourg after long siege.

1795-1814: French ruled Luxembourg, which became the Department of Forests.

1815: Second Partition of Luxembourg. Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo. Congress of Vienna created Kingdom of the Netherlands, including Belgium and the former Dutch Republic, under rule of Willem I (Willem VI, Prince of Orange). Luxembourg became a Grand Duchy under the personal rule of Willem I, but joined to the new German Confederation rather than the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Eastern third of Luxembourg annexed by Prussia. Prussian garrison installed in fortress.

~1819: Joseph Kerschen born in Tetange, Luxembourg, 8 miles southeast of Kerschen, to Francois Kerschen and Catherina Weynand.

1830: Belgians revolted against Dutch rule and established their independence. Invited Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to be their king.

1830-1839: Period of Joint Rule. Luxembourg sent delegates to Belgian Congress, but Prussian troops held the city of Luxembourg for the Dutch king.

1839: Third Partition of Luxembourg. Firsty Treaty of London went into effect. French-speaking western part of the Grand Duchy became Belgian province of Luxembourg. Truncated Grand Duchy became more or less independent, under continued rule of Dutch kings, and remained part of the German Confederation.

~1843: Frederick Kerschen became the earliest recorded Kerschen in the United States. He was born in Brunswick, Germany in 1829. 14 years old seems young to make a trans-atlantic voyage alone, but he may have come with a larger family that has not yet been identified.

2 Feb 1848: Joseph Kerschen married Annie Hoffeld.

1848-1859: The marriage of Joseph and Annie Kerschen ended in tragedy. Nicolas, the first son died at the age of 5 in 1854. Annie herself died in 1859. Michel, the second son, died at the age of 13 in 1865.

2 Mar 1863: Joseph Kerschen married Catherine Goldschmidt. They went on to have 10 children including 3 boys. Most lived to a ripe old age.

1867: Second Treaty of London recognized independence and permanent neutrality of Luxembourg. Prussian garrison withdrew. Fortifications of Luxembourg to be dismantled.

1873: Michael Kerschen had 3 sons, Jacob, John and Frank, who moved to the United States. Charles Kerschen, his wife Mary Klein and their 4 year old son Nicholas also moved at approximately the same time. Marcus Kerschen and his wife Barbara Abilenbecker also moved at approximately the same time. All ended up in Kansas where it is said they arrived at the end of the railroad. Some walked several miles further west and started farming.

1888: Joseph Kerschen and his family migrated to Argentina. Other Kerschens such as Jacob Kerschen's family who remained in Argentina and Nicholas Kerschen who returned to Dudelange, Luxembourg and wrote about the Argentine migration in the L?tzeburger Journal in 1953, probably traveled there at the same time. Joseph Kerschen died in Argentina, and most if not all of his family returned to Luxembourg.

1895-1896: The wife and descendants of Joseph Kerschen sailed out of Havre, France bound for Detroit, Michigan aboard various ships.

1914-1918: World War I. Luxembourg under German occupation.

1918-1919: First American Occupation. Two American divisions occupied Grand Duchy. Peace conference at Versailles. Belgium advanced claim to annex Luxembourg.

1919: Referendum established Luxembourg's overwhelming desire to remain independent under the Nassau-Weilburg dynasty. Americans depart peacefully.

1934: Corrections in temperatures measured by the Goddard Institute reveal this to be the hottest year in recorded history in the United States (not 1998 as had been reported in error). 4 of the hottest 10 years since measurements have been made were in the 1930s.

1939-1945: World War II.

10 May 1940: German troops occupied Luxembourg. Government and grand ducal family went into exile.

1942: Hitler proclaimed Luxembourg part of Third Reich. Conscription of Luxembourgers into German army began. General strike in protest put down with great severity.

1944: Second American Occupation. Governments-in-exile signed Benelux agreement. American 5th Armored Division entered Grand Duchy at Rodange on 9 September and liberated the city of Luxembourg on 10th September.

16 Dec 1944-18 Jan 1945: Battle of the Bulge (Rundstedt Offensive). German troops reoccupied northern Belgium and Luxembourg. American Third Army under Patton entered Luxembourg and raced north to defeat the Germans and drive them out of Luxembourg again. The bodies of 5,076 American's who died in the liberation of Luxembourg from Germany rest at the Luxembourg American Cemetery, including the body of General George S. Patton. Additionally there is a memorial to 371 more, whose bodies were not recovered or identified immediately after the war.

1963: Luxembourg celebrated 1000th anniversary of the founding of the city.

4 April 1981: The 700th Anniversary of the soveriegn region of Kerschen! This anniversary passed without much fanfare, but perhaps the 750th anniversary, on 4 April 2031, will be remembered!