Family History Books
Title:
Kress Family History
Author: Karl Friedrich von Frank
Published: May 1930
Format: Limited hardcover print (no longer available), a photocopy PDF is not currently available. Copyright should end in 2025 if permission is not found earlier to produce and share a PDF. The book will enter into the public domain on January 1, 2026.
Check this link to see if a digital copy has been made available yet from the microfilm: https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/744915-kress-family-history
Pages: 770
Description: This is the first family history book compiled in 1930 by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. Copies are hard to find. This book is well researched. My main problem with this book is the complete omission of the descendants of Johann Nicholaus Heinrich Kress which partially required the writing of another book. However, I am glad that at least it spurred on the continued recording of our family history to this day.
Title:
The Ancestors and Descendants of Johann Nicholaus Heinrich Kress - First Edition
Author: Bernard W. Cruse, Jr.
Contributors:
Bernard William Cruse, Sr.
Juanita Boland Cruse
Ruth R. Cress
Frank K. Bostian
Mabel Kitch
Ruby Lentz Bohrer
Ruth Ritchie Bowles
Published: August 1978
Format: Limited hardcover print (no longer available), photocopy PDF available to download.
Pages: 584
Description: This amazing work is the fruit of hours of research labor from several individuals. The first edition was followed up with corrections and additions published as a new book in three volumes in 1999.
Digital PDF eBook
1978 The Ancestors and Descendants of Johann Nicholaus Heinrich Kress.pdfTitle:
The Ancestors and Descendants of Johann Nicholaus Heinrich Kress - Second Edition
Author: Bernard W. Cruse, Jr.
Contributors:
Bernard William Cruse, Sr.
Juanita Boland Cruse
Ruth R. Cress
Frank K. Bostian
Mabel Kitch
Ruby Lentz Bohrer
Ruth Ritchie Bowles
Published: August 1999
Format: Limited paperback print in 3 volumes (no longer available), photocopy PDF available to download.
Pages:
Volume 1 has 362 pages
Volume 2 has 424 pages
Volume 3 has 294 pages
This publication is 1080 total pages
Description: This amazing work is the fruit of hours of research labor from several individuals. This second edition is a follow up with corrections and additions. Some errors are present in this update as well. My grandfather is still listed as Daniel Elton Cress rather than Daniel Larry Cress.
Volume 1
1999 The Ancestors and Descendants of Johann Nicholaus Heinrich Kress (Kress) - Volume 1.pdfVolume 2
1999 The Ancestors and Descendants of Johann Nicholaus Heinrich Kress - Volume 2.pdfVolume 3
1999 The Ancestors and Descendants of Johann Nicholaus Heinrich Kress - Volume 3.pdfTitle:
The Kress Family History
Author: Wojcik, Rosemary Kress, 1930-; Kress, Joseph Conrad, 1904-; Kress, Minnie (Philomena Barbara Stauner), 1900-
Published: F.A. Weber & Sons, 1997
Format: Print
Due to copyright, this publication is not viewable as a PDF. It will enter the public domain on January 1, 2093.
Pages: 174
Description: This book title was found along with my research. It appears to be a different Kress family or one line which chose to use a different coat of arms. This shows the coat of arms with the fish.
History of the ancestors and descendants of Conrad Kress (1843-1929) and his wife, Maria Eva Moeller (1841-1925), who left Michelsromach, Germany for America in 1882. (Side note: This area is quite far from Nuremberg, but not so far that any relation would be impossible. My ancestors settled in Halle which is even further away from Nuremberg.) They settled in Medford, Taylor County, Wisconsin. They had six children: Maria Anna, Joseph Conrad Sr., Bertha, Benedict, Mary, and Henry. They were devout members of the Catholic Church (side note: This highly suggests a different branch or maybe a different family altogether). Many of their posterity married descendants of other German immigrants in central Wisconsin, and stayed in Athens, Medford, Black River Falls, Little Black, and nearby areas. Some focus is on (but not limited to) the line of Joseph Conrad Sr. and his wife, Theresia Niggemann, who were married in 1899. Some related families and descendants also lived in Saskatchewan (Canada), Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington D. C. and elsewhere in the United States and Canada.
Title:
The John M. Kress Family History: Ancestors, Descendants, Relatives
Author: Kress, Charles B. (Charles Benjamin), 1917-; Kresco Family Association (Union City, Indiana)
Published: unknown but before 1981
Format: Print
Due to copyright, this publication is not viewable as a PDF. It should enter the public domain no later than January 1, 2077.
Pages: 1013
Description: This book may be of significance to some of our readers. I have not obtained a copy of this book. I am not sure who John M. Kress was in relation to the overall Kress family tree. The image included here is from a listing on familysearch.com
Content on the image:
"This limited printing is not for sale, only for private circulation of The John M. Kress Family, Descendants, & Relatives.
The First Edition Copy No. 108 Is registered to:
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Genealogical Department 9 Nov. 1981."
Note: Neither cresshistory.com nor The Cress Family is affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in any way whatsoever.
Title:
Who's Who In Our Tree
Author: Rita Frances Kress Stauffer
Published: February 1982
Format: Print
Due to copyright, this publication is not viewable as a PDF. Technically copyright ends 70 years after Stauffer passes away.
Pages: 68
Description: This book may be of significance to some of our readers. I have not obtained a copy of this book. I am not sure how this data fits in relation to the overall Kress family tree. The image included here is from a listing on familysearch.com
Note: Neither cresshistory.com nor The Cress Family is affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in any way whatsoever.
Title:
One Tough German: George Cress (1738-1823) and his descendants
Author: David Carl Attride
Published: unknown
Format: Print
Due to copyright, this publication is not viewable as a PDF.
You can purchase a Kindle version or Paperback version on Amazon.
The author also offers other Cress genealogical resources for sale or free on his website.
Pages: 395
Personal note: Due to his age, he must have been a contemporary of Johann Nicholaus Heinrich Kress (1722-1783) rather than a descendant which means we could be looking at a second branch of the Kress family or a separate family entirely which also spell their name as Cress. The author suggests there may be at least two separate Cress families based on DNA evidence.
There is at least a theory that this George Cress was the 1st cousin of Johann Nicholaus Heinrich Kress with their shared grandfather being Philip Caspar Kress.
Description: This book may be of significance to some of our readers. I am not sure how this data fits in relation to the overall Kress family tree or if it does at all. The author suggests George Cress may be from an entirely separate Cress family which also came from Germany. The image included here is from a listing on familysearch.com
Note: Neither cresshistory.com nor The Cress Family is affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in any way whatsoever.
Title:
The Cress Connection (1764-1981): A Record of Simon Cress (1764-1851) and His Descendants
Author: William Albert Schmidt
Published: unknown
Format: Print
Due to copyright, this publication is not viewable as a PDF.
Pages: 144
Personal note: I am very interested in obtaining a copy of this book.
Description: This book may be of significance to some of our readers. I have not obtained a copy of this book. I am not sure how this data fits in relation to the overall Kress family tree. The image included here is from a listing on familysearch.com
Note: Neither cresshistory.com nor The Cress Family is affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in any way whatsoever.
Title:
The Cress Connection Part 2: A Record of Jacob Cress (1804-1881) and His Ancestors and Descendants
Author: William Albert Schmidt
Published: unknown
Format: Print
Due to copyright, this publication is not viewable as a PDF.
Pages: 129
Personal note: I am very interested in obtaining a copy of this book.
Description: This book may be of significance to some of our readers. I have not obtained a copy of this book. I am not sure how this data fits in relation to the overall Kress family tree. The image included here is from a listing on familysearch.com
Note: Neither cresshistory.com nor The Cress Family is affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in any way whatsoever.
Title:
My Cress & Kleckley Ancestors
Author: Glen H. Cress III
Published: 2014
Format: Print (no longer available), a PDF photocopy is available to download
Pages: 510
Description: This book may be of significance to some of our readers. Unforunately digging further, Glen was unable to find how his Cress ancestors were related to the overall Kress family tree due to lack of records in Virginia for his 3rd Great Grandfather, Philip Cress (abt. 1780-1841). Glen mentions on page 94 that a Y-dna testing showed that Philip Cress and a Daniel Grass had a common ancestor. Grass would be a variant spelling of Kress/Cress and may point to a separate branch of the family. Then again maybe a connection can be made in our family branch. Glen shares more thoughts on his Cress family origins on page 473.
My Cress and Kleckey Ancestors by Glen H Cress III.pdfTitle:
THE DESCENDENTS OF GEORGE CRESS BORN 1739, VOLUME II, A COMPILATION OF ALL KNOWN DESCENDENTS by Edgar A. Cress, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. LDC-1990
Author: Edgar A. Cress
Published: 1990
Format: Print
Due to copyright, this publication is not viewable as a PDF. It would enter the public domain 70 years after Edgar A. Cress passes away.
Pages: 129
Personal note: I am very interested in obtaining a copy of this book.
Description: This book may be of significance to some of our readers. I have not obtained a copy of this book. I am not sure how this data fits in relation to the overall Kress family tree. The image included here is from a listing on familysearch.com
Note: Neither cresshistory.com nor The Cress Family is affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in any way whatsoever.