Jane Elizabeth Christner was the fourth of ten children born to Solomon McKenzie Christner & his wife Elizabeth Cheavins Christner. She was born in Etobicoke, York, Ontario, Canada & came to the United States with her husband, Joseph Whiston Merrill, whom she married on 27 September 1858 in Osprey, Grey, Ontario Canada. Together this couple would have eleven children, their eldest being my 2nd great paternal grandfather, William John Whiston Merrill. Jane lies in the Merrill Family plot in Riverside Cemetery, Crete, Saline County Nebraska. Jane Elizabeth Christner's own great grandfather, Johannes Christner came to the United States in 1770 from Switzerland. They were devout Quakers & migrated to Pennsylvania on the promise they'd not have to serve in any military servce. When the War for Independence from Great Britain began, the entire family moved north to Ontario Canada. The Christner family can be traced back as far as Hans Christner, ca. 1650 in Switzerland. Hans Christner is one of my own 10th great paternal grandfathers. Jane herself is my 3rd great, paternal grandmother. This photograph is a tin-type handed down to me by my grandmother, Hazel Alice Merrill. I am in possession of the original tin-type. Those dark eyes & coal black hair have been a staple in my father's family for generations. I have a cousin, four generations removed from this woman, who could pass for her sister.