Sunday, August 23, 2009

Kinzie Genealogy

Was visiting with my nephew, Larry Erbaugh, at the Flory reunion several weeks ago and the now interesting topic of family genealogy came up. Both of us admitted that several decades ago we had little interest in the subject, but that both of us now dabbled in it on occasion. I discovered that his wife was related to the Funkhouser family of Singers Glenn. It was their decendants that influenced the development of Shenandoah University. I had attended Shenandoah when it was Shenandoah Conservatory in Dayton, Virginia from 1955-57.

My missionary father, William (Bill) Kinzie, was a good transmitter of family lore. On our walks to the local stores or post office he would regale me with his story. When his father died while we were yet on the other side of the world this activity became pronounced. This was the way I learned who I was and the values by which we lived. My mother was Pauline Garst Kinzie.

When I married Elizabeth (Lib) Flory in December of 1956 we brought together strands of Church of the Brethren families that might be of interest to some. My father’s father was Letcher Kinzie. He married Mary Eliza Fellers. Her brother, Stamford Fellers, was judge of the Chaucery Court in Roanoke for a number years. When we came back from India in 1945 I learned to know my great grandfather Fellers for just a few years. His claim to fame was that he had lived through the “War between the States”. My mother’s father was Levi Garst, a preacher-pastor in the Roanoke area. My mother’s mother was Margie John Garst. She was well known to past generations of 9th Street Church of the Brethren members in Roanoke, Va.

Lib’s father, Walter Flory, was a stalwart member of the Dayton Church of the Brethren and operated a profitable dairy farm in Rockingham county. Walter’s mother was a Garber, a large family with numerous branches. Lib’s mother was Emma Landis Flory. Her mother's mother was a Branner.

This blog just offers a very brief overview of my branch of the Kinzies. The book that traces the family back to Thun Switzerland is:


KINZIE GENEALOGY
CHRISTIAN KINZIE (-1774)
Compiled by Catherine E. Smith 1981
Oliver Lake, R R 1 Box 423
Wolcotville, Indiana 46795

“Christian Kuntzli was born near Thun, Switzerland. The family emigrated to Berks County, PA., where three more children were born. Christian became a member of the Oley Congregation of the German Baptist Church in Berks County, PA."

The surname Kinzie is believed to be associated with the English
meaning "decendant of royal victory”

"Many spellings of this name are found in the 1790 census:
Kinsey,Kense, Kensy, Kincy, Kinzie, Kinsee, Kinsey, and Kintzi.
Some of the Kinzies came directly from Germany while others came
through England and so the spelling became Anglicized to Kinsey and
Kinzie. Changes in the spelling took place at different times for
unexplained reasons.”

As a child I heard the names “Uncle Charlie” (the orchardist in Daleville, Va) and “Uncle George”. I came to know two of my father’s cousins Bob and Harold Kinzie. I was better acquainted with Bob as he and his wife attended Green Hill Church of the Brethren in Roanoke County. My father was pastor there for three years between stints in India.

Stories my father told were often about hunting, fishing, and the hard working life on the family farm. This was standard fare for rural southern American life.

2 comments:

Nicole Suzanne Farley said...

I found your blog! Thanks for the fun comments on my blog, it's so fun to connect with people that have been here before!

Bill Kinzie said...

You help keep Woodstock ever fresh in my mind!!