Although our family name has often been spelled Kern, it is Kem. It also appears as Kim, Kemm, and Kimm. I am not aware of any spellings like "Kerns." So I'm not sure whether your Kerns and my Kems are related. The George Kem I am looking for was born around 1754 in England and sent to the States as an indentured servant in January 1773 (at the age of 18?). He married a woman named Elizabeth, and they had at least five children: Thomas, Joseph, Anna, James, and Nancy -- and possibly William, my ancestor. Thomas had a son, named George William Kem, born in 1820.