Hi Judy,

I am a first cousin of your dad - therefore a first cousin once removed to you. My father was Peter Nicholas
Karpen - son of Jacob, who was a son of Ludwig. My dad's
brothers were Louis, Chrisopher and John. They also had
a sister, Eva, who married a Frederick.

Jacob was a blacksmith in Brighton, WI. When Anna Maria Milbach, his second wife died, he married her sister, Elizabeth
Milbach Yagen, who was a widow. Elizabeth and Jacob didn't
have any children together. My father was about 4 years old
when Anna Maria died, so he always thought of Elizabeth
as his mother.