OBIT: David KINCH, 1915, Blair County, PA

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Former Mayor of Altoona Dies

Altoona, Pa., March 31. - David Kinch, 81 years old, second Mayor of
Altoona, died yesterday of diseases incident to advanced years,
aggravated by a fall a year ago.  He came here after the war, and was
working as a blacksmith for the Pennsylvania Railroad when elected
Mayor.  As Mayor he inaugurated a system of sanitary improvements and
gave the city its first sewers.  For 54 years he served the railroad
company, and after being retired on a pension, was chosen a ward
alderman.  His widow and 11 children survive.

Start-Independent, Harrisburg, Pa., March 31, 1915

FORMER MAYOR DAVID KINCH PASSES AWAY
Well-Known Citizen Dies at Home in Second Ward at Advanced Age of
82 Years
A LONG TIME RESIDENT
A Public Official Closely Identified With Progress of the City
RODE ON THE FIRST PENNSY TRAIN

David Kinch, the second mayor of Altoona, former alderman of the
Second ward and one of the city's most prominent and respected
citizens, died shortly after noon yesterday at his residence, 1116
Fifth avenue.  He had been in failing health for a year or more and
death was due to diseases incident to age, the ailments being
aggravated by a fall which Mr. Kinch sustained about a year ago.  He
had been confined to his home throughout the winter, but he suffered
little and his condition was not regarded as serious until a few days
before his death.  The final summons came to the venerable man at
12.25 o'clock.

Mr. Kinch was a native of Huntingdon county and was born at Neff's
Mills on October 22, 1833.  On January 1, 1850, he started to learn
the trade of blacksmithing with his father at Huntingdon Furnace,
remaining with his father for a number of years, and afterwards
working at his trade in Centre and Blair counties.  He came to Altoona
on his birthday in 1867 and secured employment with the Pennsylvania
Railroad company at his trade, being thus engaged until his retirement
at the age of 70 on November 1, 1903, barring the periods when he was
mayor of the city and deputy sheriff of Blair county.  He was regarded
as an expert workman and for many years had charge of the tempering
fire in the spring shop.  He worked at his trade for a period of
fifty-four years.

Mr. Kinch was a resident of Altoona but six years when he was
nominated by the Republican party for the office of mayor and at the
election of 1873 was elected for a term of two years.  His Democratic
opponent was the late William Murray, sr., for many years one of
Altoona's leading drygoods merchants.  At that time Altoona was
overwhelmingly Democratic, but Mr. Kinch was very popular among the
shopmen and they rallied to his support, bringing about his election.
An unusual co-incidence was the fact that twenty-three years later the
elder Murray's son, the late w William W. Murray, was beaten in the
race for mayor by a shopmate of Mr. Kinch, Harry C. Barr.

Probably no man ever elected mayor of Altoona faced a more difficult
situation than did Mr. Kinch when he assumed office.  The city was
then nothing but an overgrown town with practically none of the city
conveniences.  There were no paved streets, few street lights and no
sewers, while almost every family maintained a pig sty, conditions
being anything but sanitary.  Mayor Kinch started to clean up the town
and before the end of his term he banished the pig pens and many
sewers were constructed.  He also had a difficult task before him in
enforcing the local option law which went into effect about the time
his term began.  His vigorous efforts in that respect cost him some of
his popularity, for he was defeated at the end of his term, although
by a very narrow margin.

Upon his retirement from the office of mayor Mr. Kinch was made deputy
sheriff, serving until 1875, when he again returned to the railroad
shops, working at his trade until his retirement.  In his thirty
years' service he was never reproved, displaced or suspended and lost
but two weeks from sickness.

At the February election in 1903, Mr. Kinch was elected alderman of
the Second ward, and upon his retirement? in November he opened an
office at Eighth avenue and Ninth street, serving one term of five
years and retiring on May 1, 1908.

Mr. Kinch had the distinction in his later years of being the only
survivor of those who rode on the first passenger train over the
middle division of the Pennsylvania railroad  on Sunday, September 17,
1850. At that time he was an apprentice at Huntingdon Furnace and when
the news was noised abroad that there would be a passenger train
passing Spruce Creek, he determined to become a passenger.  In company
with his brother, John, and a number of others, he went to Spruce
Creek and at about 10.30 in the morning boarded the train for Altoona.
The train consisted of a locomotive and two passenger coaches that
seated about forty passengers each, and on this trip it carried some
two dozen persons.  The name of the engineer was Shaffer; the
conductor, Whitsell?, and the fireman, Watts.  The road was still a
single track, but they made pretty good time and arrived at Altoona
some time before noon.  They had dinner at the Exchange hotel on
Seventh? Avenue, kept by Bowman and Snyder.

Mr. Kinch likewise had the distinction of having heard President
Abraham Lincoln deliver his celebrated Gettysburg speech, in November,
1863, on the occasion of the dedication of battlefield cemetery.  He
stood but a few feet from the famous emancipator and heard every word
of the address now regarded as one of the classics of the English
language

FORMER MAYOR DAVID KINCH PASSES AWAY
(Continued from page 1)

He was likewise in this vicinity in 1862, at the time of the
conference of the loyal war governors at the Logan house, and during
the semi-centennial celebration in 1912, was able to furnish those in
charge much valuable information regarding that historic event.  He
had a very retentive memory and could recall all the incidents of
these and other important events that came under his notice in his
early life.

A Republican in politics from the formation of the party, Mr. Kinch
always took a deep interest in political affairs and always supported
the candidates of his party by his voice and vote.  During the
campaign of 1912 he made several short addresses in the city on behalf
of the Republican national ticket.  At the first banquet held by the
former city officials in December, 1913, Mr. Kinch was one of the
speakers and delivered a most interesting address in which he related
his experiences as the second mayor of Altoona.  He had a great fund
of reminiscences with which he delighted to entertain his friends.

Mr. Kinch was married in early life and had he lived until July 3, he
and his wife would have celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of their
marriage.  Twelve children were born to the union, the family circle
being unbroken until last August, when William, the oldest son, died
in New York city.

The aged wife and mother, together with the following children
survive:  Mrs. Harry Schwartz, of Reading; L. E. and John Z., of
Pittsburg; Stewart V.. of Altoona; Blair, of Pittsburg: Mrs. Samuel M.
Irwin and Mrs. Herman C. Nagle, of Altoona; Mrs. Grace Haffley, of
Philadelphia, and Annie, Isabel and Alma, at home.  Several of the
children have attained considerable distinction, one, Blair, being
superintendent of the Frick interests in Pittsburg.

The funeral will take place on Thursday afternoon at 3 o'clock, the
services to be conducted by Rev. Dr. Henry Howard Stiles, pastor of
the Second Presbyterian church.  Interment will be made in Oak Ridge
cemetery.

Mr. Kinch was the last of the earlier mayors of Altoona, several of
whom have died in recent years.  Of his successors in the office, six
are still living.  They are Thomas Hurd, Theodore Burchfield,
Ellsworth F. Giles, Harry C. Barr, Samuel M. Hoyer and S. H. Walker.
Mr. Hurd, who resides in the country, some distance from Martinsburg,
is older than was Mr. Kinch at his death.  Mayor Walker and the former
mayors will attend the funeral in a body.

(Pittsburg papers please copy).

Altoona Tribune, Altoona, Pa., Wednesday, March 31, 1915, pages 1 & 16