IT'S TIME TO RSVP!

𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐰𝐢𝐬 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐳𝐢𝐞, 𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐛 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐡, 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟐, 𝟏𝟖𝟔𝟑, 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐛 𝐂. 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐳𝐢𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐡 𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬⁣. 𝐇𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟕, 𝟏𝟗𝟑𝟓. 𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝟕𝟏 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐥𝐝. 

David had six siblings and was twelve years old when his mother died. His father married a widow with seven children of her own, bringing the siblings to now total thirteen. This overwhelming sense of responsibility forced David to navigate life on his own from a young age, and as a result, he had to mature quickly.

⁣⁣⁣⁣

David Lewis married Eudora “Belle” Austin in February of 1887.  They had six children:⁣⁣

⁣⁣

1. Oliver Delmore Kinzie⁣⁣

2. Rena Maude Kinzie⁣⁣

3. William Caleb Kinzie⁣⁣

4. Charles Owen Kinzie⁣⁣

5. Nellie Belle Kinzie⁣⁣

6. Beulah Fern Kinzie⁣⁣

⁣⁣

Soon after Oliver’s birth they set off for Texas on a missionary mission with Belle's father. Their passion for community led them to establish a church and later, to Oklahoma, where they built a cozy log cabin on homesteaded land—an official title signed by none other than President Theodore Roosevelt himself. The home was completed in 1906.

⁣⁣⁣⁣

Both David and Belle were the epitome of hardy pioneers, never shying away from hard work. David took on the role of secretary of the Oklahoma & Indian Territory Mission Board, while Belle devoted herself to teaching Sunday school.

⁣⁣⁣⁣

A memorable family reunion took place in 1925 when David promised to cover the expenses if all his children attended. True to his word, all his children attended and David covered their expenses. The reunion was hosted at the home of Charles & Lydia Alexander. David’s family stayed in two tents, and church pews were moved to the Alexander home to seat them all. According to family lore, this gathering marked the very first Caleb C. Kinzie family reunion!

David hosted five of his own reunions, the first one held in September of 1973 with an impressive eighty-three attendees. The following year, they reunited over the Labor Day weekend, welcoming sixty-nine enthusiastic relatives to the festivities. At this reunion, they voted to meet every other year, interspersed with the Caleb Kinzie reunion. Reunions were held again in 1976, 1978, and 1980 when over one hundred family members joined.

Eudora Belle was in failing health leading up to her death, suffering a stroke from which she never recovered. She passed on February 18, 1929. She left her entire inheritance from her father's estate toward the project of building a church at Cushing, Oklahoma.⁣⁣

⁣⁣⁣⁣

In May of 1930, David Lewis remarried Mary Filmore. Tragically, Mary passed away just five years later, in May 1935. 

David Lewis Kinzie’s life came to a close on August 7, 1935, a poignant four months after losing his wife.

Based on excerpts from the Christian Küntzi genealogy documents and the 1981 Kinzie Book of Anecdotes. Please contact us with any corrections or updates.

David Lewis and Eudora Belle were laid to rest at the Church of the Brethren Cemetery Cushing, Payne County, Oklahoma, USA.

Click HERE for more information about David and Belle's burial site.