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."