Seth Kinman

Seth Kinman
Carte de visite of Seth Kinman in 1864
Born(1815-09-29)September 29, 1815
Union County, Pennsylvania, US
DiedFebruary 24, 1888(1888-02-24) (aged 72)
Table Bluff, California, US
Resting placeTable Bluff Cemetery, Loleta, California
40°38′58″N 124°12′33″W / 40.6495°N 124.2093°W / 40.6495; -124.2093 (Table Bluff Cemetery)
Occupations
  • Hunter
  • Prospector
  • Fur trapper
  • Hotel keeper
  • Saloon keeper
  • Chair maker
  • Musician
  • Entertainer
Known forPresidential chairs
Spouse
Anna Maria Sharpless
​
​
(m. 1840; died 1853)​
Children5
Signature

Seth Kinman (September 29, 1815 – February 24, 1888)[1] was an early settler of Humboldt County, California, a hunter based in Fort Humboldt, a famous chair maker, and a nationally recognized entertainer. He stood over 6 ft (1.83 m) tall and was known for his hunting prowess and his brutality toward bears and Indian warriors. Kinman claimed to have shot a total of over 800 grizzly bears, and, in a single month, over 50 elk.[2] He was also a hotel keeper, saloon keeper, and a musician who performed for President Lincoln on a fiddle made from the skull of a mule.

Known for his publicity seeking, Kinman appeared as a stereotypical mountain man dressed in buckskins on the U.S. East Coast and selling cartes de visites of himself and his famous chairs. The chairs were made from elkhorns and grizzly bear skins and given to U.S. Presidents.[3][4] Presidents so honored include James Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, and Rutherford Hayes. He may have had a special relationship with President Lincoln, appearing in at least two of Lincoln's funeral corteges, and claiming to have witnessed Lincoln's assassination.

His autobiography, dictated to a scribe in 1876, was first published in 2010 and is noted for putting "the entertainment value of a story ahead of the strict facts." His descriptions of events change with his retelling of them. Contemporary journalists and modern writers were clearly aware of the stories contained in the autobiography, "but each chooses which version to accept."[5]

  1. ^ Thrapp, Dan L. (1991). Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography: G-O. University of Nebraska Press. p. 785. ISBN 0-8032-9419-0.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYT1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "A Buck-Horn Chair for the President" (PDF). New York Times. May 20, 1857. p. 2. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
  4. ^ "Seth Kinman". Mr. Lincoln's White House. The Lincoln Institute. Archived from the original on December 12, 2008. Retrieved November 25, 2008.
  5. ^ Robert H. Roberts, 2010, Transcriber's Forward to Seth Kinman's Manuscript and Scrapbook, pp. i–ii, Ferndale Museum.