The Kinum family of Schenectady, New York, descend from a long line of German ancestors, Protestants and patriots. The earliest record herein is of Hans, born September 13, 1686, but he was of the sixth generation of the family in Baden, Germany.
(I) Hans Kinum was born September 13, 1686, at Nimburgh village, Baden-Oberamt, Emendingen, Baden, Germany, died very old. He came of an agricultural family, long native in the district, and was himself a farmer. He married Anna Margaret Blatten, born February 18, 1682. He was a Protestant in religion.
(II) Frederick, son of Hans and Anna Margaret (Blatten) Kinum, was born in the same village, province and duchy of Germany as his father, September 5, 1735, died in his native village very old. He was a member of the Evangelical Reformed church. He married in his native place, January 16, 1759, Salome Negler, born in Fearstaden, Germany.
(III) Frederick (2), son of Frederick (1) and Salome (Negler) Kinum, was born in the same village, February 17, 1774. He was by trade a cooper and a wine farmer, owned land and vineyards, becoming very prosperous. He was a leader, and served as hoffmaster (mayor), an office at that time of much more importance than now, combining several offices in one. He was a member of the Evangelical church. He married (first) January 8, 1799, Marie Barbara Schreck, of Bottining, a near-by village. Children:
- Frederick (3), born in 1801, died 1871, married a Miss Schreck and had issue; he was a cooper.
- Mary Salome, lived, married and died in Germany; she married Christain Anghler, a cracker manufacturer; of their three daughters, Christiana came to the United States, Magdalena and Salome died in Germany.
- Andrew, born 1805, died in his native land, 1882; he was a cooper; he married (second) Salome Schmidt, born in 1817. She survived her husband, came to the United States and died in Schenectady, New York, 1907, at the extreme age of ninety years. Children of first wife:
- Frederick, came to the United States, where there is no further trace;
- Barbara, died in Germany, unmarried.
- Salome, twice married; resides in Schenectady and has a daughter Salome;
- Rosa, married and lives in Switzerland;
- Ludwig Kinum, unmarried, a veteran of the Franco-German war, now resides in Schenectady;
- Louisa, married and lives in Switzerland;
- Caroline, married and lives in Switzerland;
- Lena, married Franz Heckman, and resides in Schenectady;
- Carl, lives in Amsterdam, New York;
- Andrew (2), killed in a saw mill accident in Cuba, West Indies. His widow lives in Schenectady.
- George Jacob, see forward.
(IV) George Jacob, son of Frederick (2) and Marie Barbara (Schreck) Kinum, was born at the ancestral home in Germany, June 26, 1816. He was a cooper and a farmer. He came to the United States in 1880 to join his kinsmen, many of whom had settled in Schenectady, New York. He died six weeks after his arrival, February, 1881. He married, February 19, 1839, Maria Catherine Schmidt (a sister to his brother Andrew's wife), born September 18, 1821, at Eickstaten-Baden, Germany, died in Schenectady, 1882, daughter of Jacob and Salome (Schumacher) Schmidt. Jacob died in Germany. His wife, born 1783, after becoming a widow came to the United States, where she died in Boston, Massachusetts, at the age of eighty-three years. She had four children:
- Salome, married Andrew Kinum.
- Maria Catherine, married George Jacob Kinum.
- Andrew, went to St. Louis, Missouri; he was a baker. He married Kate Ruske and had two children: Valentine, killed in the civil war, and Kate.
- Mary, married a Mr. Wekley, of Boston, Massachusetts, and had a daughter Lena, who married (first) a Mr. Fauss, and removed to Atlanta, Georgia, and has children: William and Emma. Lena married (second) a Mr. Oetter, of Atlanta, Georgia, and has three children: Alice, Rudolph and Lena.
Children of George Jacob and Maria Catherine Kinum, all born in Germany:
- Maria C., February, 1840; married John B. Schumacher, retired merchant, Schenectady county, New York. They had a large family.
- Andrew, see forward.
- M. Barbara, born 1843; married Albert Redlich, of Montreal, Canada; children: Charles and Joseph.
- Jacob Frederick, born 1846; now living a quiet retired life in Schenectady. For many years he was head of a department of the General Electric Company. He married (first) Barbara Clure, married (second) Catherine Clure, sister of his first wife. Children: Frederick, Henry, Robert. All are married and residents of Schenectady.
- Godfried, born 1854; came to the United States and settled in Chatham, New York. He was killed on the street, pierced by the shaft of a fast driven carriage in September, 1888. He married Dora Christopher, now a resident of Scotia, Schenectady, New York; children: Lillian and Charles, both married.
- Sophia, born 1858; married John Doring. She died in Schenectady, April, 1883, leaving three children:
- George,
- John, died 1909, and
- Amelia, married William Messmer.
- George, born 1860; a resident of Schenectady. He married Catherine Schaff. Children: Laura, Katharine, Harriet, Lena, George, Paul, Walter, Helen, Emily. They all survive their parents and live at home.
(V) Andrew, eldest son and second child of George Jacob and Maria Catherine (Schmidt) Kinum, was born in Germany at the ancestral village at Nimburgh, the home of his forefathers for three centuries, October 14, 1842. He learned the trade of stone cutter and mason and attended a trade school. He became an expert workman. He was possessed of native mechanical genius, which with his technical knowledge and practical understanding of stone cutting made him a valuable and much sought for mechanic. He followed his trade in Germany until 1867, when he came to the United States, sailing from Bremen in the sailing ship "Freihandle" and after a voyage of thirty-nine days arrived in New York City. He settled in Schenectady, where he engaged at his trade, later becoming a contractor and builder. At one time he was employed on the State Capitol at Albany, New York, as foreman of stone cutting and a great deal of this work and laying of same was done under his supervision. He also erected many of the largest buildings of the General Electric Company, Schenectady, New York. He erected many of the buildings in Schenectady and vicinity, gaining both reputation and wealth in the form of valuable real estate in Schenectady, including a beautiful home. He is a member of the German Methodist Episcopal church, of which he has been trustee for the past twenty-five years. He is a member and active worker in the Young Men's Christian Association, and a member of the Schenectady Board of Trade. He is a Republican. He married, in Schenectady, October 14, 1876, Mary Fagel, born in Hille, Minden, Germany, July, 1854; she came with her mother and brothers to the United States in 1871, joining her father, Carl Fagel, who had preceded them in 1868. Carl Fagel was a shoemaker in his native land, and after his removal to the United States settled in Schenectady, where he followed his trade until his death, in 1897, at the age of seventy-four years. He married Mary Schlensker, of the same village, who died at Schenectady, in 1904, aged seventy-six years. They were members of the German Methodist church. Their children were:
- Christian, married Caroline Lathrop, of Schenectady.
- Frederick, married Mary Brinkman.
- Charles, married Augusta Eckerich.
- Mary, married Andrew Kinum.
Children of Mr. and Mrs. Kinum:
- Mary Katherine, born July 17, 1877; married Charles W. Shannon; children: Dorothy and Andrew Shannon.
- Laura Louise, June 15, 1879, died June 25, 1899.
- Edward Andrew, August 15, 1881; he is superintendent of the contracting firm of Andrew Kinum & Sons; he is an active worker in the Young Men's Christian Association, a member of the German Methodist Episcopal church, and a Republican in politics.
- William George, June 6, 1883, died April 4, 1901; unmarried.
- John Jacob, June 24, 1885; member of Andrew Kinum & Sons, contractors; he is a member of the German Methodist Episcopal church and a Republican; he married Elizabeth Weekes; son Glen.
- Clara Caroline, December 6, 1886; resides with her parents.
- Albert Godfrey, November 16, 1888; graduate of Troy Academy, class of 1910; now a student of dentistry at Maryland University, Baltimore, Maryland, class of 1913.
- Louis Augustus, April 11, 1890; student at Irving School at Tarrytown-on-the-Hudson.
- Pauline Augustine, April 4, 1892.
- Ruth Eleanor, February 4, 1894.
- Helen Faustina, August 31, 1895.
The adults of the family are active members of the German Methodist Episcopal church. They were all educated in Schenectady common and high schools, except the two mentioned. The sons are all Republicans, as is their father, Andrew Kinum.