My Genealogy Hound

CHARLES MILTON KINNEY, a retired marble and monument dealer of Northampton, was born in the town of Sunderland, Bennington County, Vt., in 1818. He traces his descent to Sir Thomas Kinney, a nobleman of England.

His grandparents were Benjamin and Martha (Harris) Kinney. Benjamin, who was a carpenter and joiner, came from England to this country, settling in Connecticut; and his wife was a native of Norwich, Conn. Their union was blessed by the birth of a son and daughter. The son, whose name was Joel Kinney, received a mechanical education from his father. He took an interest in public affairs, was a Democrat in politics, was for thirty years a Justice of the Peace, served acceptably as a member of the legislature of Vermont, and held many town offices. He married Miss Clarissa Ford, a daughter of Charles and Annie (Harris) Ford. Though both of Mr. Kinney’s grandmothers bore the name of Harris, they were not related. His parents were married January 15, 1814. They lost their first-born, a son, and two other children. They reared three sons and two daughters, of whom two sons and a daughter are now living: F. J., Charles Milton, and Laura. Benjamin Kinney, deceased, born in 1820, became a sculptor, and won for himself quite a reputation in his art. His specialty was the cutting of busts, both in marble and in cameo. He was also a man of literary talent, besides possessing a natural gift for his chosen profession. F. J. Kinney, who resides in Worcester, Mass., is one of the leading market gardeners and florists of that city, and also devotes considerable attention to fruit-growing. One of his sons, Lorenzo F. Kinney, is Professor of Horticulture in the Agricultural College of Rhode Island. He went to Europe to complete his education, and ranks high as a teacher in that branch of study. Laura Kinney, who never married, is now upward of eighty years of age, and is living on the old farm on which their parents spent their lives.

Charles Milton received a good, practical education in the common schools. When in his eighteenth year, he taught school for one winter in Mexico, N.Y. He then learned the trade of a marble cutter in Pittsfield, Mass., where, when he had served an apprenticeship of six months, he was engaged at two dollars per day. He seems to have inherited his father’s skill; for he made such progress in his chosen avocation that some years later, in 1845, he was able to open his shop in Northampton. Here he conducted a thriving business for thirty years, and then retired from active participation in mercantile life. He is a member of the Northampton Grange, and he and his wife are members of the Unitarian Society.

He was married on June 1, 1842, at Barre, Mass., to Miss Submit Walker, of that place. Her mother was a cousin of General Samuel Lee, of Revolutionary fame. Six sons and two daughters were born of their union. Two sons died in infancy. Martha Ann, the wife of Thomas L. Irwin, died in 1882, leaving one son, Phillip L. Irwin, who is now a lad of thirteen years, and has lived with his maternal grandparents since his mother’s death. His father died December 19, 1892, at thirty-nine years of age.

A brief account of the living children follows: Albert is a successful dealer in monumental work in Milford, Mass. Charles Walker, who was born in Northampton on August 15, 1845, succeeded his father at the head of the firm. He is President of the City Water Board, and has served with honor on the Common Council. He was married in 1872 to Miss Eva M. Collins, of Springfield, Mass., who died in 1879. He was again married in 1880 to his present wife, who was Miss Harriet J. Annable, by whom he has one son, Charles M., a youth of thirteen years, who is attending school. Fred Kinney is a piano tuner and a performer on the flute. Edward is a book-keeper in Holyoke, Mass.; and Ella Lee, the wife of William H. Abbott, of Holyoke, has three sons and three daughters.

Mr. Kinney erected a home on Phillips Place, where he resided for fifteen years; and in 1860 he purchased a farm of thirteen acres on Prospect Street, near Dickinson Hospital, where he built a fine brick house and outbuildings, and set out some choice fruit and shade trees, which have now grown into an orchard that produces a good variety and quantity of apples, pears, grapes, and other fruits. He lived there for thirty-two years, celebrating with his wife their golden wedding on June 1, 1892. Among the many tokens of regard left them by their numerous friends and acquaintances on this occasion were a gold-headed cane from the Northampton Grange and a side-board from their children. Mr. Kinney sold his farm in the September following, and purchased his present home at 134 King Street.