Howard
Quanz
By Billey (Quanz) Force
Note: This is from a letter written by Billey (Quanz) Force to Martin
Quanz of Wayland, New York on September 12, 1986.
This is a little history on my Great-grandfather. My brother is the John
Quanz on Harmony Road, Bellingham and his son is John Quanz Jr. John, Jr. now
lives in the Seattle area. Also the G. L. Quanz of Fort Worth is my first
cousin. His dad, Wes Quanz, and my father, Howard, were brothers. G. L. (Gail)
is very interested in the Quanz name and would enjoy hearing from you.
Have you ever been
to Germany to check on the family tree? My husband, Al, was stationed in
Germany from 1953 -
1956 but we never met until 1957 and he was out of the Army by then. Should
have met him sooner and he could have looked up some of my family's history.
After your wife
retires, will your travels include a visit to our state? We love to travel, but
have only been to 15 states, two Canadian provinces and Tijuana, Mexico, since
our marriage 28 years ago. Al has been to a lot more states due to his Army
travels.
Two of my sisters
and myself flew to Denver, then on to Kansas by rental
car where we visited relatives for 15 great days. We checked out several
cemeteries for information and pictures. Also attended a
family reunion on my mother's side.
Our immediate family has three children:
Dave is 24, not married and sells cars,
Tom is 21, not married and was employed by Frontier
Airlines until recently. Moved back home here from Salt Lake City until a new
reservations agent job became available.
Jennifer was 14 last Wednesday and is a typical teenager.
Al works at the
local paper mill; has for 26 years now. I worked in a bank for five years, but
haven't worked out since Dave was born. I enjoy volunteer work, PTA, room
mother, and making quilts.
Hopefully, we can
somehow figure out how we might be related. Maybe we're all cousins! Our
backgrounds all sound similar.
Thanks for writing.
Sincerely,
Al
& Billey (Quanz) Force
and family
Family History on Adam Quanz
Johan "Adam" Quanz (my great-grandfather) and his older
brother John came to America in 1847 from Buchanau (Buchenau?)
in KurHessen, Germany. One brother, Adam, kept the
German spelling of his last name. The other accepted the American version (John
Quantz or Quince). They left their homeland because of religious issues and
settled in New Jersey.
Adam was 15 years
old when he immigrated to America. His passport reads, "Johan Adam Quanz,
31st of ????????,
1847. Age 15. Height: 4', 11". Blonde
hair. Nose: 3/4". Moustache showing. Some
scars.
Adam and his brother
John were the only ones in their family to come to America. It is told their
mother watched them leave and waved to them as long as she could see them, but
that was her last sight of them, as they never ever returned to the land of
their birth.
In New Jersey, Adam
met and married Elizabeth Kincaid at Vernon, Sussex, E. G. on March 22, 1852.
Four children were born in New Jersey:
Anna,
Charles,
Maria, and
Margaret.
They moved to Ohio
where eight more children were born:
Ellemory,
Harriett,
Albert and Alfred - twins,
Edward,
Emory,
John Adam (my Grandfather), and
Robert.
In 1881, the family
moved to Marvin, Kansas. Adam's wife, Elizabeth, died January 20, 1898. In
1906, Adam moved to Syracuse, Kansas to live with his son john Adam and wife
Emma. He died September 28, 1906 and is buried beside his wife in the Marvin
Cemetery in Glade, Kansas.
Billey Quanz Force
Interesting Note:
"My Grandfather, John Quanz, and his brother, Edward, formed a
partnership in threshing grain. Began with
"horse-power" threshing machines and among the first to advance to
the steam engine. They threshed the wheat with which J.K. Edwards won
First Prize at the first World Fair in Chicago in 1893."
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