Biografie von Benjamin Jordan (Dr. KERN (1818-1849)

Birth place: Philadelphia

Death place: Colorado Rockies

Profession: Topographical draftsman

Comments: Elder brother of Edward M. and Richard H. Kern (see entries), he was also a doctor. As survey artists, he and his brothers accompanied John FrÈmont's (see entry) fourth expedition to the Rockies, through the mountains of northern New Mexico, in 1848. A great number of the men in the exploring party died as a result of the harsh winter conditions. On March 14, 1849, Benjamin Kern himself was killed by Ute Indians, who had been attacked by U.S. troops days earlier.

Sources: G&W; Taft, Artists and Illustrators of the Old West, 258. More recently, see P&H Samuels, 263; William H. and William Goetzmann, The West of the Imagination, 103-106.