Ruth Barrett Mystery Solved

By Darrin Lythgoe

For a long time we have known that Andrea's 4th great grandfather, Roger Kinne, Jr., married a Ruth Barrett. Several DAR sources confirm this and give the date as 27 Dec 1798, but nowhere could we find anything else about this mysterious Ruth. When and where was she born? Who were her parents? With such common first and last names, it was impossible to nail anything down.

A while back I thought I had found the answer. In Connecticut there was a Ruth Barrett born in 1770, approximately the right time to be matched with Roger, whose family was also originally from Connecticut. The wrinkle here was that the Kinnes had relocated to a small community in New York's Otsego County called Butternuts. At first glance it appeared that the Connecticut Ruth was too much of a stretch to be connected to our Roger Kinne. There was one very big fact in my favor, however — this Ruth's father died in, you guessed it, Butternuts, NY.

Despite this huge piece of evidence, however, there still wasn't enough to proof here to put all doubts to rest. That is, until now.

While searching the Internet somewhat haphazardly for names a few months ago, I stumbled upon something I hadn't seen before: a message sent from one Kinne researcher to another that contained quite a few names and dates. Here's what it said:

"Subject: Hiram Enoch Kinne
Posted by: Edward Kinne Parker

Message: I believe I have something useful for you. I have a letter and some data from Linn Kinne (architect, Herkimer, NY) to my grandfather, Clarenc E. Kinne, Watertown, NY dated Nov. 8, 1905. He says in part, "My Father's name is Hiram E., born in town of Butternuts, Otsego Co. My Grandfather's name was Chas. P. whose father was Roger Kinne Jr. I think perhaps this Roger Jr. is the man you want information regarding." Then There is a letter, from Stanley S. Kinne of Hartwich Seminary, NY dated Jan 27, 1934 which contains a listing that goes:

Roger Kinne born April 3, 1771
Ruth " " June 14, 1770

Jonathan Kinne " November 12, 1799
Phebe " " October 9, 1802
Lois " " August 17, 1804
Roger P. " " September 1, 1806
Ruth " " June 4, 1809
Charles P." " April 11, 1811
Hiram E. " " February 3, 1839
J. Levi " " October 15, 1841

Marriages

Roger Kinne and Ruth Barrett were married December 27, 1798
Jonathan Kinne and Lydia Haynes " " December 14, 1828
Phebe Kinne and Charles Camp " " March 23, 1834
Roger P. Kinne and Polly H. Cogswell " November 2, 1835
Ruth Kinne and Judson Millard were " December 1, 1834
Charles P. Kinne and Betsy Lawrence " May 9, 1837
Hiram E. Kinne and Julia Ann P. Lull " May 30, 1870
Lee Kinne and Mary Emeline Spencer " March 10, 1897
Linn Kinne and Jessie Elizabeth Ostrander June 30, 1898
Dorr Westcott McLaury and Florence Lull Kinne June 17, 1903
Robert Lawrence Kinne and Edith Mary Snyder May 25, 1912
Stanley Spencer Kine & Dorothy Belle Clark September 30, 1926

Births

Lee Kinne born February 12, 1871
Linn Kinne " May 12, 1873
Florence Lull Kinne " January 12, 1879
Hiram Earl Kinne " March 4, 1882

I've got more births for Lee and McLaury and Stanley K. but think I should get to deaths (before supper).

Deaths

Ruth Kinne May 12, 1835
Roger Kinne February 23, 1848
Phebe Camp October 15, 1842
Lois Kinne June 24, 1826
Roger P. Kinne August 25, 1841
Ruth Millard September 5, 1879
Jonathan Kinne March 5, 1879
Charles P. Kinne February 11, 1889
Betsy Kinne May 22, 1873
J. Levi Kinne July 5, 1864
Hiram Enoch Kinne November 16, 1921"

That was exactly what I needed. Mystery solved! With those dates, I was able to positively identify my Ruth Barrett as one and the same with the Connecticut Ruth. That done, I set about tracing her roots and found that a substantial compiled genealogy already existed. Not only that, but she was only 5 generations removed from George Soule, a passenger on the Mayflower!

See the genealogy of Roger Kinne Jr.
See the genealogy of Ruth Barrett