Johannes Kinsinger b. 21 Oct 1815 Contwig, Zweibrücken, GR d. Oct 1900 Tremont, Tazewell Co., IL: The Schrock-Birkey Connection
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Johannes Kinsinger

Male 1815 - 1900  (84 years)


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  • Name Johannes Kinsinger  [1, 2] 
    Birth 21 Oct 1815  Contwig, Zweibrücken, GR Find all individuals with events at this location  [3, 4, 5] 
    • Heckenaschbacherhof
    Christening 21 Oct 1815  Contwig, Zweibrücken, GR Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Death Oct 1900  Tremont, Tazewell Co., IL Find all individuals with events at this location  [3] 
    Burial Groveland, Tazewell Co., IL Find all individuals with events at this location  [5, 6] 
    • Landes Mennonite Cemetery, Plot #4 on cemetery map dated 8/12/2013
    Person ID I411  Schrock-Birkey Connection
    Last Modified 26 Dec 2021 

    Father Christian Kinsinger,   b. 22 Feb 1794, Weisenheim-am-Berg, Palatinate, GR Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1840, Davis Co., IA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 45 years) 
    Mother Magdeleine Schrag,   b. 8 Apr 1798, Zweibrücken, Rheinland-Pfalz, GR Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 9 May 1824, Contwig, Zweibrücken, GR Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 26 years) 
    Marriage 1 Nov 1814  Contwig, Zweibrücken, GR Find all individuals with events at this location  [3] 
    Family ID F1897  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 1 Barbara P. Smith,   b. 1817, Schwartzwold, Black Forest, GR Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1851, Butler Co., OH Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 34 years) 
    Marriage 1834  Butler Co., OH Find all individuals with events at this location  [7] 
    Children 
     1. John Kinsinger,   b. Abt 1842, Butler Co., OH Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Bef 1850 (Age ~ 7 years)
     2. Magdalena Kinsinger,   b. 19 Feb 1840, Hamilton, Butler Co., OH Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 26 Jul 1931, Big Horn, Sheridan Co., WY Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 91 years)
     3. Barbara Kinsinger,   b. Abt 1841, Butler Co., OH Find all individuals with events at this locationd. May 1921, Butler Co., OH Find all individuals with events at this location (Age ~ 80 years)
     4. Jacob Kinsinger,   b. Abt 1842, Butler Co., OH Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1900 (Age ~ 58 years)
     5. John Kinsinger
     6. Anna Kinsinger
     7. Elizabeth Kinsinger,   b. 3 May 1852, Butler Co., OH Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 18 Nov 1913, Bloomington, McLean Co., IL Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 61 years)
    Family ID F1905  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 5 May 2009 

    Family 2 Barbara Wagler,   b. 19 Feb 1837, Butler Co., OH Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 9 Oct 1902, Tremont, Tazewell Co., IL Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 65 years) 
    Marriage 10 Mar 1861  Groveland, Tazewell Co., IL Find all individuals with events at this location  [5] 
    Children 
     1. Katharina Kinsinger,   b. 27 Dec 1862, Elm Grove Twp., Tazewell Co., IL Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 7 Oct 1903, Deer Creek Twp., Tazewell Co., IL Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 40 years)
     2. Jacobine (Phoebe) Kinsinger,   b. 11 Jan 1864, Tremont, Tazewell Co., IL Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 20 Jul 1953, Chicago, Cook Co., IL Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 89 years)
     3. Fannie Kinsinger,   b. 16 Oct 1866, Pekin, Tazewell Co., IL Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 19 Jun 1927, Union Twp., Benton Co., IN Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 60 years)
     4. Sarah Kinsinger,   b. 11 Feb 1870, Groveland, Tazewell Co., IL Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 21 Jun 1891, Groveland, Tazewell Co., IL Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 21 years)
     5. Samuel Kinsinger,   b. 28 Jul 1873, Tremont, Tazewell Co., IL Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 20 Apr 1924, Morton, Tazewell Co., IL Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 50 years)
     6. Jonnie Kinsinger,   b. 23 Mar 1875, Groveland, Tazewell Co., IL Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 26 Jan 1880, Groveland, Tazewell Co., IL Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 4 years)
     7. William Daniel Kinsinger,   b. 21 Apr 1876, Groveland, Tazewell Co., IL Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 20 Jul 1936, Flanagan, Livingston Co., IL Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 60 years)
     8. Carrie Kinsinger,   b. 3 Jun 1880, Groveland, Tazewell Co., IL Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1 Aug 1945, Mineral, Bureau Co., IL Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 65 years)
    Family ID F179  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 1 Sep 2007 

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBirth - 21 Oct 1815 - Contwig, Zweibrücken, GR Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsChristening - 21 Oct 1815 - Contwig, Zweibrücken, GR Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsMarriage - 1834 - Butler Co., OH Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsMarriage - 10 Mar 1861 - Groveland, Tazewell Co., IL Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDeath - Oct 1900 - Tremont, Tazewell Co., IL Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBurial - - Groveland, Tazewell Co., IL Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Notes 
    • The oldest child of Christian Kinsinger was Johannes Kinsinger, who came to be known as John Kinsinger in America. He was born on October 21,1815 in Contwig, Germany. He was considered to be a very bright young man. At the age of 19 years, he determined that his future lay in coming to America and he traveled with a small group of Mennonite immigrants by ship from the Netherlands to New York, and on through Pennsylvania to Butler County, Ohio , a center of Amish and Mennonite life in the Midwest. John (Jean) Kinsinger (19) is listed on page 1 of the Passenger List of the ship "Sully" which arrived in New York from Le Havre on November 5, 1834. 

      In Ohio, he was a hired laborer on Amish and Mennonite farms. In a few short years, the frugal John had saved enough money to operate his own farm. He continued the family tradition of leasing land. In 1836, he met another recently-arrived Mennonite immigrant, Barbara Smith and they were married in 1837. 

      In 1840, the family (as John Kensinger) was living in St. Clair Township, Butler County, Ohio and consisted of 1 male and 1 female (John and Barbara) age 20-30 years, and 1 male and 1 female under 5 years (John Jr. and Magdalena). St. Clair Township in Butler County is in the far southwestern corner of Ohio surrounding the village of Overpeck.
      1840 US Census, Ohio, Butler Co., St. Clair Township, Sheet #4.

      In 1850, the family was living in Fairfield Township, Butler County, Ohio and consisted of John (34), Barbara (34), Malinda (12), Barbara (10), Jacob (8), John (6), Anna (4), and Elizabeth (3 months) along with two laborers: John Reddigel (Rediger) and Wendel Greaser. It is unclear whether the family moved slightly south, or whether the township line moved north.

      They had seven children when Barbara died in 1860. Shortly after Barbara's funeral, the devastated widower loaded his children into a wagon and left for Illinois, stopping near Groveland in Tazewell, County. He knew some of the residents of Groveland (Christian Bechler) who had lived in Butler County before coming to Illinois and was able to lease some farmland almost immediately. 

      One of those Groveland families was the Christian Wagler family. John knew Christian and his wife Catherine Ulrich Wagler and their children well. The Wagler's and John had all came to America around the same time and had been members of the same congregation in Ohio. Even so, it was a surprise to many when the 41 year-old widower with seven children married the 21 year-old daughter of Christian and Catherine Wagler, Barbara Wagler, in 1861.

      John and Barbara Wagler Kinsinger had eight children. John became a highly successful farmer in Tazewell County. In addition to raising a total of 15 children, the couple opened their home to several orphans. John was gregarious, articulate, and well-informed. He was very interested in politics and business. He also taught himself to read and write English. That made him an important man in the largely German-speaking Mennonite community. He often served as a translator or go-between for transactions between the German-speaking Amish and Mennonites, and the English-speaking locals. For this reason, he was frequently called to court. It is said that he provided this service free of charge and earned much good will among his brethren. 

      John Kinsinger died in October, 1900 at the age of 85. Barbara Kinsinger died two years later. Both are buried in the Landes Cemetery, one mile southeast of Groveland. Of the 15 children of John Kinsinger, almost all grew to be successful. They spread from Pennsylvania to Wyoming and John Kinsinger's descendents are now present in every state of the Union. (Copied from FindAGrave website) [5]

  • Sources 
    1. [S716] Descendants of Johannes Kinsinger.

    2. [S689] Pedigree Chart for Rodger Allen Salzman.

    3. [S218] Barbara Jeane Purdy Lorenz, Kinfolk (Schrock/Garber/Kinsinger families).

    4. [S40] Hermann Guth, Amish Mennonites in Germany: Their Congregations, The Estates Where They Lived, Their Families (English edition), (Masthof Press, Morgantown, PA).

    5. [S398] Joseph Staker, Amish Mennonites in Tazewell Co.

    6. [S1060] Find-A-Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/32268929/johannes-kinsinger.

    7. [S218] Barbara Jeane Purdy Lorenz, Kinfolk (Schrock/Garber/Kinsinger families), Gives date as about 1836.


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