F. M. Kinsman

14 Nov 2021, last revised 05 May 2026

F. M. Kinsman was known to have ABM bottles, so it was quite surprising when a hand-finished bottle was discovered after the publication of Old Copper Country Bottles in 1978. This bottle marks the very end of the hand-blown era. Kinsman's operation was the successor of H. Larsen & Co.

Frank McCabe Kinsman was born on 14 Oct 1880 in Calumet (1,2). His father was born in Cornwall, England (3) and his mother was born in New York (4). Frank was a harnessmaker in his father's saddlery and carriage business (5). In Feb 1906, he and Charles Wagner took over the business (6) and his father, William C. Kinsman, announced his retirement (7).

Kinsman, who was president of the village of Red Jacket and who had recently left the firm Kinsman & Wagner, purchased an interest in the firm H. Larsen & Co. in Jun 1916 and would promptly assume the duties of manager (8,9). Shortly after, on 01 Aug 1916, Kinsman purchased the remaining interest and became sole owner (10). The bottling works would then be known as the "F. M. Kinsman pop factory" (10). Howard Larsen would continue to be in charge of the preparation of beverages (10). The bottling works had four employees in 1917, 1918, and 1919 (11,12,13). The 1917 Sanborn map showed the bottling works on the southeast corner of 9th St. and Portland St.

Kinsman was still a manufacturer of soft drinks when he registered for World War I draft on 12 Sep 1918 (1). Rudolph Beiswanger, previously of the Jos. James' bottling works, was employed by Kinsman when he registered for the draft (1). In Oct 1919, Kinsman sold the bottling works to Fred Demarais, and the business would then be known as the Sanitary Bottling Works (14).

Kinsman operated the bottling works for three years. The 1920 U.S. Federal Census then recorded him as a watchman in an auto factory in Flint, MI (4). Frank Kinsman then died on 22 Aug 1932 at the age of 51 in Flint (2). He was a clerk at the Buick Motor Co. at the time of his death (2).

Citations

1. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 (accessed on ancestry.com)
2. Michigan Department of Community Health, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics; Lansing, Michigan; Death Records (accessed on ancestry.com).
3. anonymous. 1883. History of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The Western Historical Company. Chicago, IL.
4. U.S. Census Bureau. 1920 United States Federal Census. accessed on ancestry.com.
5. R. L. Polk & Co. 1905. Houghton County Directory 1905-06. R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers. Detroit, MI.
6. anonymous. (1906, Feb 01). New harness firm has taken hold of business. The Copper Country Evening News (Calumet, MI). p. 5.
7. anonymous. (1906, Jan 26). Kinsman decides to retire from business. The Copper Country Evening News (Calumet, MI). p. 8.
8. anonymous. (1916, Jun 27). Frank Kinsman takes interest in Larson Co. The Evening Copper Journal (Hancock, MI). p. 6.
9. anonymous. (1916, Jun 27). Kinsman joins new firm. The Daily Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 9.
10. anonymous. (1916, Aug 02). Sole owner of firm. The Daily Mining Gazette (Houghton, MI). p. 6.
11. Michigan Bureau of Labor and Industrial Statistics. 1918. Thirty-Fifth Annual Report of the Department of Labor of the State of Michigan. Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Co., State Printers. Lansing, MI.
12. State of Michigan Department of Labor. 1919. Thirty-Sixth Annual Report of the Department of Labor of the State of Michigan. Fort Wayne Printing Co. Fort Wayne, Indiana.
13. State of Michigan Department of Labor. 1920. Thirty-Seventh Annual Report of the Department of Labor of the State of Michigan. Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Co., State Printers. Lansing, MI.
14. anonymous. (1919, Oct 27). Purchases bottling works. The Calumet News (Calumet, MI). p. 2.