Earl Benson KINNEY
1884 - 1953 (69 years)-
Name Earl Benson KINNEY Birth 15 Mar 1884 West Union, Doddridge Co, WV 
[1, 2, 3] - His 1950 marriage record gives his birth date as 15 March 1885, age 65.
Gender Male Census 1910 (APR 23) West Union, Doddridge Co, WV Census 1910 (APR 15) Cumberland, Allegany Co, MD Residence 1906 Doddridge Co, WV [2] Occupation 1910 [4] railroad detective Occupation 1913 [5] special officer for B & O Railroad Occupation From 1915 to 1916 [6, 7] West Union chief of police/town sergeant Residence 1918 Hominy, Osage Co, OK [8] Census 1920 West Union, Doddridge Co, WV Occupation 1918, 1920 [8, 9] driller in oil field Census 1930 Fredericktown, Washington Co, PA Occupation 1930 [10] deputy sheriff, Washington Co, PA Census 1940 West Union, Doddridge Co, WV Occupation 1940 [11] owner/manager of filling station Physical Description 1942 [12] 5'5", 130 lbs, brown eyes, black hair, dark brown complexion Occupation carpenter [1] Occupation 1948 [13] owner/operator of K-W Tourist Home at c/o Neely Ave & Rt 50 Residence West Union, Doddridge Co, WV [1, 3, 12, 14] Death 15 Jul 1953 Charleston, Kanawha Co, WV [1, 3] Burial Blockhouse Hill Cemetery (IOOF section), West Union, Doddridge Co, WV [1, 3] - Complete readings of this cemetery have not included an entry for Earl Kinney. His grave may be unmarked, or his marker may have become overgrown and obscured.
Person ID I41935 Doddridge County Roots Last Modified 8 Jul 2023
Father David W. KINNEY, b. 17 Nov 1834, Tyler Co, (W)VA d. 9 Nov 1901, Clarksburg, Harrison Co, WV (Age 66 years)Mother Harriet GATRELL, b. 1843, Tyler Co, (W)VA d. 1 Jun 1911, Doddridge Co, WV (Age 68 years)Family ID F12705 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family 1 
Jessie S. BRANNON, b. CA 1883, Ritchie Co, WV d. 3 Jan 1908, Doddridge Co, WV (Age ~ 25 years)Marriage 20 Aug 1906 West Union, Doddridge Co, WV [2] Children 1. Lawrence Earl KINNEY, b. 11 Oct 1907, West Union, Doddridge Co, WV d. 14 Jun 1994 (Age 86 years)Family ID F37872 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family 2 Esta M. WILLIAMS, b. 8 Dec 1889, Doddridge Co, WV d. 29 Jan 1949, West Union, Doddridge Co, WV (Age 59 years) [14, 15, 16]Marriage 17 Aug 1913 Harpers Ferry, Jefferson Co, WV [17] Notes - Earl Kinney was enumerated twice in the 1910 Census: His first wife, Jessie Brannon, had died in 1908, leaving Earl and their one-year-old son Lawrence.
1910 Census, Allegany Co, Maryland (City of Cumberland), enumerated on Apr 15 1910:
Listed as one of several apparently unrelated boarders was Earl Kinney, 27, widower, b. W.Va., railroad detective.
1910 Census, Doddridge Co, WV (Town of West Union), enumerated on Apr 23 1910:
Harriet Kinney, 65, widow, mother of 11 children (10 still living); son Earl, 25, widower, railroad detective; grandson Laurence, 2.
Earl Kinney married Esta Williams in Harpers Ferry, Jefferson County WV, in 1913.
News item, "West Union Record," Thursday, July 22 1915, in its entirety:
EARL B. KINNEY IS NEW CHIEF OF POLICE
At the meeting of council Monday night, the resignation of W. D. Brown as town Sergeant was accepted, and Earl B. Kinney was appointed to fill the vacancy.
We understand that Mr. Brown has had a better position tendered him, which he will probably accept.
Local news item, "West Union Herald," Thursday, May 25 1916, in its entirety:
"Thomas Hickman, the veteran town pumper, and Earl B. Kinney, town sergeant, tendered their resignations to the town council last Monday night at the regular session. Both resignations were accepted, and D. B. Knight, better known as "Chick," was appointed pumper and Bailey Knight appointed town sergeant."
Local news item, "West Union Herald," Thursday, Oct 10 1918, in its entirety:
"Earl Kinney and wife, who have been visiting her parents Mr. and Mrs. Floyd M. Williams on Israels Fork, left Saturday for their home at Hominy, Okla., which is 85 miles from the city of Tulsa. Mr. Kinney holds a position as driller and gets $11 per day for his services straight time. He informs us that rig builders in that section are paid $15 to $18. They were in town Friday bidding good bye to their many friends here."
1920 Census, Doddridge Co, WV (Town of West Union), enumerated in Jan 1920 at 107 Neely Avenue:
Earl B. Kinney, 36, driller in oil field; wife Esta, 30; son Lawrence, 12.
1930 Census, Washington Co, Pennsylvania (Town of Fredericktown), enumerated on Apr 29 1930:
Earl Kinney, 42, b. WVa, deputy county sheriff; wife Esta M, 40, b. WVa.
In 1930, their son Lawrence was listed as a Seaman at the US Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, Virginia.
Esta may not have been physically present with Earl in this census, since she was also enumerated in West Union.
1930 Census, Doddridge County, WV (Town of West Union), enumerated on April 9, 1930 at 202 Marie Street:
Esta M. Kinney, 40, married, manager of restaurant, value of home $2,000; nephew Robert [sic] B. Allen, 4; father Floyd N. Williams, 73, widowed; servant/employee Ophia Z. Knight, 22, single, waitress in restaurant.
Note: Robert's name should have been entered as Ralph. He was a son of Esta's sister Blanche Williams Allen and was raised by Esta and Earl Kinney to adulthood, as he was age 1 when his father died.. Her obituary listed Ralph as a foster son. Ophia Knight was a daughter of Esta's cousin Nora B. Williams.
1940 Census, Doddridge Co, WV (Town of West Union), enumerated on May 25 1940 at 202 Marie Street:
Earl Kinney, 54, owner/manager of filling station; wife Esta, 50, owner/manager of restaurant; nephew Ralph Allen, 14; servant Fanny Bland, 50, widow, clerk in restaurant.
Esta died on 29 January, 1949.
Documents 
41935_KW-TouristHome_DestroyedByFire_WUHerald_Thurs17Jun1948.jpg 41935_EarlBKinney_EstaMWilliamsPowell_MarriageRecord_17Aug1913.jpg Family ID F16867 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family 3 Olive Lorene ORENDORF, b. 24 Sep 1904, Oakland, Garrett Co, MD d. Oct 1978 (Age 74 years)Marriage 3 Jun 1950 St. Clara, Doddridge Co, WV [18] Family ID F60554 Group Sheet | Family Chart
-
-
Sources - [S1853] WV State Dept of Health, Div of Vital Statistics, Death Certificate, (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_dcsearch.aspx).
- [S1554] Doddridge County Marriage Records, West Union, WV.
- [S14] Obituary.
- [S1813] 1910 Census.
- [S2006] Mineral County Marriage Records, Keyser, WV.
- [S1897] West Union Record, 7/22/1915.
- [S1897] West Union Record, 5/25/1916.
- [S691] West Union Herald, 10/10/1918.
- [S2027] 1920 Census, Doddridge County, WV (West Union District).
- [S1898] 1930 Census.
- [S2635] 1940 Census, Doddridge County, WV (Town of West Union).
- [S2508] National Archives and Records Administration, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942, (Ancestry.com online database).
- [S691] West Union Herald, 6/17/1948.
- [S692] Obituary of wife.
- [S1588] Death record of wife.
- [S83] Susie Davis Nicholson, Davis - The Settlers of Salem, West Virginia, (Gordon Printing Co, Strasburg OH, 1979 (Revised & Enlarged) < www.wvgenweb.org/harrison/books.htm >), p. 361.
- [S2006] Mineral County Marriage Records, Keyser, WV, MR p. 285 : www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=124249&Type=Marriage.
Identified as Earl B. Kinney, widower, 28, b. Doddridge Co, res. Keyser WVa, son of David W. & Harriett Kinney, occupation Special Officer for B & O RR Co; and Esta M. Powell, widow, 23, b. Doddridge Co, res. ditto (unclear if Doddridge Co or Keyser was intended), dau of Floyd & (blank) Williams. Married Aug 17 1913 in Harpers Ferry. - [S2263] Monongalia County Marriage Records, Morgantown, WV, https://archive.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=11353773&Type=Marriage.
- [S1853] WV State Dept of Health, Div of Vital Statistics, Death Certificate, (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_dcsearch.aspx).