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Archiver > PAALLEGH > 1999-02 > 0919735746


From: Pat Friend <>
Subject: [PAALLEGH-L] Re: Kim and Mauer
Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 21:09:06 -0500


I've copied the list on this one in hopes that someone else might happen
to be interested in these surnames.

There were three Kim families in Pittsburgh by the 1830s/1840s and I
have done a lot of research on them.

The three "patriarchs" were Melchior (from whom I'm descended); Martin,
and Sebastian. The Swiss spelling of the name is "Kym". There's an even
older spelling in Thurgau of "Khym". In the census, and other records
you'll see: "Kim", "Kimm", even "Kuhm".

I think there was at least one other Kim man of the same generation as
those three; doesn't appear he had any descendants in Pittsburgh.

Melchior and his family settled Southside; his sons were glassworkers. I
haven't been able to confirm if he was or not. I submitted a paper on
this line to the NGS Quarterly a few years ago; it won their annual
contest and was published. If you have access to that journal you'll
find a summary of much of my research. I have the passenger list where
they immigrated; many other Swiss surnames, some of which I've seen in
the Pittsburgh area on various census listings.

Martin and his family settled Northside. That family came in several
groups; I have a passenger list with one group. There were actually two
Martins, father and son. The father buried two wives in Switzerland;
children from both wives ended up in the Pittsburgh area.

Both Melchior and Martin were from Moehlin, Canton Aargau. They are
related about 3 or 4 generations back, if I remember correctly. (Doing
this from memory; it's been a while since I've done this research.)

Sebastian had a farm. His will is very brief and in German (yes, in an
Allegheny County will book; there's a contemporary translation with it).
The farm was east of Pittsburgh.

All three families were Catholic. Keep in mind that to this day the
Canton of Aargau is 45% Catholic. The area got caught up in the
Napoleonic politics of the early 19th century. Classic case of wars and
religious upheaval. No doubt why they left in my mind.

I think I have every baptismal, marriage, and death record the Catholic
Diocese has with the name Kim in it before 1870. I also have every
naturalization record the county has, and some from the federal courts.

I have a fair amount on the Martin Kims but not many wills; that wasn't
my direct line so I didn't pursue it. He had a descendant named Lewis
who seems to have been quite successful; had a tin business of some
sort. Enough income that he made it to the income tax rolls during the
Civil War. (That took some doing.) Haven't pursued the Ohio connection.
Do you know where it was? Along the Ohio River, perhaps? Yes, Martin and
Elizabeth are from Moehlin. Think I have them mentioned in a letter from
one of the record offices in Switzerland, if I remember correctly.

Have you looked at the Billeter films the LDS has?

If you dig you'll see that some of the Sebastian Kim descendants found
their way to West Virginia; haven't tracked them down yet. Along the
Ohio River, I think. His son Ambrose worked on river boats.

Hope this is of some use.

Pat (Kim) Friend

wrote:
>
> I just saw your reply to an inquiry by Barbara Becker on PAALLEGH dated 14
> July 1997. The family you describe sounds almost exactly like the Pittsburgh
> Kim family my daughter is researching.
>
> Martin Kim and his wife Elizabeth were living in the fifth ward,Pittsburgh in
> 1850 with children: Sophia b. 1832 in Ohio, Mary Ann b. 1834 in Ohio,
> Elizabeth b. 1836 in PA, Jane b. 1838 in PA, Gracey b.1837 in PA, Philomena
> b.1842 in PA and Albert b. 1844 in PA.
>
> Mary Ann's death certificate gives her mother's maiden name as MAUER.
> Is this the family that came from Mohlin?
>
> There were many Kims from Switzerland living in Pittsburgh at that time. Do
> you know whether they are all related?
>
> I sent for copies of Sebastian's and Mary Ann's will. Martin was not named in
> either, so I concluded he was not connected with that Kim family (although he
> named a daughter Mary Ann.)
>
> I would appreciate any information you can give me about the origins of the
> family. If you do not already have a copy of the wills , I would be glad to
> send them.
>
> Clemma Gilchrist McCawley
> Edmond, Oklahoma (born McKeesport, PA)

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