Furniture Man

Today's genealogy prompt, hosted by Genealogy Girl Talks, is #occupation. It took me half of the day before I thought of an ancestor that wasn't listed as a 'farmer'. My 2nd great grandfather, on my mother's side was Kinchen Leroy Bynum. I have written about him briefly, here.

Kinchen was the oldest child born to John Thomas Bynum and Laura "Lou" Elmer Reynolds. He was born 9 November 1893.

Here is the Bible page listing the birth (and death) of the children born to John and Lou. My Aunt Diane is in possession of this treasure.



Here is a family portrait taken when Kinchen was about 10. He is the young man standing on the right. His brother Sidney is standing on the left, and little Grace is sitting on Papa's lap.

Because I love old family pictures and am blessed to have family that shares them on this side of my family, here are a few more of him.

I would guess him to be about 15-17 here:

And here he is with his beautiful bride, Ludia Belle Moore.

Now for the picture that prompted this post, Kinchen's WW1 Registration Card. It even gives his street address. 2004 North 10th Street, Fort Smith, AR. This could quite possibly be where my great grandmother Bondell was born the following year. I also love that it has his signature.

Kinchen says he is employed by the Ballman-Cumming Furniture Co. as a laborer. In the 1920 census, he is still living in Fort Smith, earning a wage, as a laborer for a furniture company.

City Directories from Fort Smith tell me that in 1925, widowed and remarried, Kinchen now works for Ward Furniture Manufacturing Company as a finisher and by 1928 he had worked his way up to inspector.





In 1930 he is found living in Tulsa, OK where he rents his home and is now earning a wage as a shipping clerk for a furniture company. The Tulsa City Directory from 1931 shows that he worked for the E M Brown Furniture Company.

The thing I want to point out, and hopefully someone can tell me, is that here in my home town, when I was growing up, was a furniture store called Bynum Home Furnishings. My mom used to tell me we were related somehow on my grandma Bondell's side. If you're reading this and know the answer, please let me know the connection.


Until next time,
Becky Drake

Since publishing this, I was informed that my Aunt Michelle has a wardrobe that was built by Kinchen. Below is a picture: