Otillie Kinzley & Francis Kinzley Gunkel – St. Nicholas Cemetery, Edwards County, Kansas

St. Nicholas Cemetery was established in 1885. There are approximately 500 graves. The one on the left is for Otillie Kinzley and the one on the right is for Francis Kinzley Gunkel. The headstone in the middle is crumbling and the writing is illegible. However, cemetery records show it belongs to Anna Gunkel.

Otillie Schmid was born in Germany in 1809. In 1841, she married Barclay Kinzley and gave birth to three children. They were Thomas (1841-1893), Joseph (1845-??), and Francesca “Francis” Kinzley (1848-1889). The family emigrated to America in 1854 and settled in Baltimore, Maryland. The 1860 Federal Census has the family living in Pennsylvania.

While living in Pennsylvania, Francis married a hometown boy named, John Gunkel, in 1865. They were blessed with three children – William (1873-1943), Minnie (1876-1942) Clore, and Otilla Mathilda “Tillie” (1878-1941) Lancaster.

The exact date of death for Barclay is unknown, but it is between 1860 and 1873. A decision was made to head west. John took his wife, three young children, and his mother-in-law, Otillie, to Jackson Twp., Edwards County, Kansas. They arrived in 1878.

In July of 1889, Francis gave birth to her and John’s fourth child, a daughter, named Ann. Tragically, Francis passed away on July 4th, and Anna followed 14 days later. They are buried in St. Nicholas Cemetery.

Otillie was helping John raise her granddaughters but passed away in1894 at the age of 84. She is buried beside her daughter and granddaughter.

John did remarry to Rebecca Fitzgerald. She was also a widow with a son. John died in 1929. He is buried in Hillside Cemetery in Edwards County. His oldest child, William, and daughter, Minnie, both married and are also buried in Hillside.