This page conforms to the XHTML standard and uses style sheets. If your browser doesn't support these, you may not see the page as designed, but all the text is still accessible to you.

SCHENECTADY DIGITAL HISTORY ARCHIVE

Bringing the heritage of Schenectady County, New York to the world since 1996

You are here: Home » Resources » MVGW Home » Biographies » Frank Kiniry

History of the Mohawk Valley: Gateway to the West 1614-1925
Frank Kiniry

Index to All Biographies | Index to Biographies by County: Fulton, Herkimer, Montgomery, Oneida, Schenectady, Schoharie | Search by keyword

Go to previous biography: Mrs. Laura Elizabeth (Heroth) Sitterly | next biography: John Kellogg

[This information is from Vol. IV, pp. 75-76 of History of the Mohawk Valley: Gateway to the West 1614-1925, edited by Nelson Greene (Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1925). It is in the Reference collection of the Schenectady County Public Library at R 974.7 G81h. This online edition includes lists of portraits, maps and illustrations. As noted by Paul Keesler in his article, "The Much Maligned Mr. Greene," some information in this book has been superseded by later research or was provided incorrectly by local sources.]

Contents | Portraits | Illustrations | Maps

The chief interest in the life of Frank Kiniry of Fort Plain, in a business way, is the great dairy and milk industry for which his native state of New York is so justly famous. He is the general manager of the Fort Plain Milk Company, which daily ships its quota of the city's milk supply to the great metropolis on Manhattan Island. Born in Freysbush, Montgomery county, on September 2, 1876, he is the son of John and Mary (Sweeney) Kiniry. His parents were born in Ireland and came to America when they were young people of about nineteen. The father first located in Montgomery county, where he worked as a farm hand for a few years, until he had saved enough capital to invest in land of his own. He bought a farm near Freysbush, which he operated the rest of his life. Death claimed him in October of 1922, in his eighty-second year. His wife, who still survives him, lives on the old home place and enjoys good health at the advanced age of seventy-six.

Frank Kiniry's boyhood was spent on the paternal farm, where he worked after school hours and during the long vacations. In the acquirement of his early education he attended the near-by district school and later became a student in the Fort Plain high school. Entering Cornell University after leaving high school he took the excellent course in agriculture offered by that institution and obtained his degree in the class of 1904. Returning to his native county, Mr. Kiniry located in Fort Plain, where he engaged in the plumbing business for a couple of years, after which he worked for the A. E. Tanner Hardware Company until 1916. In September of the latter year he accepted his present position as general manager of the Fort Plain Milk Company, in which he is one of the stockholders. The concern was organized in 1914 with R. Z. Smith as president. Under Mr. Kiniry's able management the business of the firm has grown steadily until in the fiscal year of 1923 it transacted seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars worth of business. Its product is entirely pasteurized milk, which is sold as Grade B in New York city. The milk is supplied by two hundred and sixty-five farmers and dairymen in the Mohawk valley and in the last year averaged eight hundred and sixty-five cans per day. It takes three milk cars to carry the daily shipment to the city and twenty-three people to handle the milk in the local plant. The pasteurizing and distributing station of the Fort Plain Milk Company represents the latest developments in this branch of the dairy industry. All of the machinery is of the most approved scientific type and every care is taken to provide the consumer with milk that is absolutely pure and free from all dirt and germs. It is here that Mr. Kiniry's training in agriculture is of great value to him, for it enables him adequately to supervise the production and handling of all his product as no "layman" could hope to do without years of study and experience. In addition to the big local plant the company maintains another establishment at Hallsville.

Mr. Kiniry was married in December of 1905 to Miss Louisa Miller. Mrs. Kiniry is the daughter of Carl and Martha (Sawyer) Miller, natives of Germany, who came to America in early life and took up their residence in this county. Like many another stranger in the United States, Mr. Miller was possessed of no great means when he arrived and for a time worked for farmers in the neighborhood to get a financial start. In time he bought his own farm and later made a great success of raising cucumbers for dill pickles, which he packed and shipped to the New York city market. Both Mr. and Mrs. Miller are dead, the mother having passed away in November, 1910, and the father on July 13, 1923. No children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Kiniry. Mr. Kiniry is a member of the Knights of Columbus, which indicates that his religious faith is of the Roman Catholic church. Politically he is affiliated with the democratic party.

Go to top of page | previous biography: Mrs. Laura Elizabeth (Heroth) Sitterly | next biography: John Kellogg

You are here: Home » Resources » MVGW Home » Biographies » Frank Kiniry

http://www.schenectadyhistory.org/resources/mvgw/bios/kiniry_frank.html updated June 10, 2018

Copyright 2018 Schenectady Digital History Archive — a service of the Schenectady County Public Library

Statcounter