Biography of John Morrison Kimsey, pages 635/636/637.  
History of DeKalb County, Indiana; B. F. Bowen & Company, 
Inc., Indianapolis, 1914.



Among the men of a past generation who impressed their 
personality on the civic and public life of DeKalb county 
was John M. Kimsey, who for many years was an influential 
and potent factor in the welfare and development of this 
locality. He was born in Carroll county, Ohio, on October 
9, 1833, and he was a son of Dr. Thomas Boland and Sarah 
(Carr) Kimsey. Dr. Thomas B. Kimsey was born on December 7, 
1906, probably in the state of Virginia, while his wife, 
Sarah Carr, was born on February 18, 1807, in Anneskillin, 
Ireland. Thomas B. Kimsey  was the son of John Kimsey, who 
was born in England and came to America as an officer in 
the British army, but, when he realized what the American 
colonies were fighting for, he left the British army, and 
later, at the request of General Washington, became an 
officer in the American army, being killed during the 
progress of the war. He had brought his wife to this 
country and located in Baltimore. He left one son, John 
Kimsey, who married Lydia Boland, and they were the parents 
of Dr. Thomas B. Kimsey. The latter’s wife Sarah Carr 
Kimsey, died in Waterloo, Indiana, on September 9, 1875, 
having made her home with her son, Dr. Thomas B.  The 
latter became a well known and successful physician, being 
engaged in practice at Carrollton, Ohio, and later moved to 
Monmouth, Adams county, this state, and in 1852 came to 
Auburn, Indiana, where he was numbered among the pioneer 
physicians of that community.  His death occurred on May 6, 
1856, and his passing away was considered a distinct loss 
to the community.  His children were as follows: John M., 
Aseneth, Lydia, William T., James Boland and Robert 
Ferguson.  John M. Kimsey was reared to manhood at Auburn 
and early in life became a clerk in the Sanders dry goods 
store. In September, 1858, he and his brother started the 
first Republican paper published in this county, the DeKalb 
County Times, but there were so few Republicans in this 
Democratic county at that time the paper lacked proper 
support and went out of business in about three months 
after its establishment.  Mr. Kimsey continued his services 
in the Sanders dry goods store at Auburn until 1860, when 
he came to Waterloo to accept a position in the store of 
Reuben J. Lent. In 1861 Mr. Kimsey enlisted as a private in 
Company K, forty-fourth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer 
Infantry, and was in the military service of his country 
for eighteen months.  He was made principal musician of his 
regiment and was mustered out of the service when the bands 
were dispensed with.  After his return to peaceful 
pursuits. Mr. Kimsey became an employe in the store of Amos 
& Marshall Hale, of Angola, and later he went into business 
for himself in partnership with Myron Hester.  A few years 
later he moved to Waterloo and resumed his old position 
with Mr. Lent.  Then for a time he ran a transfer line and 
was subsequently appointed postmaster at Waterloo by 
President Hayes.  His administration of the office was very 
satisfactory and he held the position through the 
administration of President Garfield and one year under 
President Cleveland, a total of service of nine years. 
About 1890 Mr. Kimsey removed to Toledo and there spent the 
remainder of his days.  On July 28, 1861, Mr. Kimsey 
married Harriet E. Lent, the daughter of Reuben J. and 
Almira (Forsythe) Lent. Her parents were natives of New 
York state, the father born at Utica and the mother at 
Cooperstown. The latter was the daughter of John Kimball 
and Mary (Bailey) Forsythe, while John K. Forsythe’s 
father, Oliver Forsythe, was a general in the war of the 
Revolution.  Mary Bailey’s father, Joel Bailey, was also a 
soldier in the war of the Revolution. Harriet Lent was born 
in DeKalb county, Indiana, her parents having come here 
from New York state in about 1837. Her grandfather, John K. 
Forsythe, had come here in 1833, locating in Otsego 
township, Steuben county, Indiana, when there were only 
five families in the locality.  Reuben Lent settled at 
Hamilton and built the first hotel in that place. Finally 
he moved to Auburn and ran the Ohio House in 1855, and the 
following year he and Miles Waterman laid out the town of 
Waterloo. Here he established a dry goods store, ran a 
hotel and, for a time, he and T. R. Dickinson ran the 
Waterloo Press, Mr. Dickinson being editor, Mrs. Dr. 
Broughton, of Waterloo, has in her possession the first 
copy of the first issue of this paper.  In 1863 Mr. Lent 
moved to Toledo and spent the rest of his life there, dying 
at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Kimsey. His wife died on 
July 17, 1859. Mr. John Kimsey died  on November 14, 1911, 
and was survived by his widow, who still lives at Toledo.  
To them were born six children, namely: Lola M., the wife 
of Dr. Broughton, of Waterloo; Jessie Almira, who died at 
the age of seventeen years; Birdie E., the wife of Ora O. 
Brown, of Toledo; Reuben Thomas, of Toledo; Rose Ellen, the 
wife of A. T. Bonneau, and John Forsythe, of Toledo.

Submitted by:

Arlene Goodwin

Auburn, Indiana

Agoodwin@ctlnet.com