Kimbol, Mrs.

The Mrs. Kimbol mentioned in the Mason family manuscript account book was most likely Catherine Kimbol (variously spelled Kimball or Kimble), a resident of Frederick, Maryland. She was born Catharina Margaretha Grosch in Mainz, Germany, on 10 September 1745 to Johann Conrad Grosch and Maria Sophia Gutenberg. In 1748, the Grosch family immigrated to America and settled in Frederick, Maryland. After Mrs. Kimbol’s father’s death in 1794, she bought a house valued at $1,500 from his estate. 

Sometime before 1763, Catharina (or Catherine) Grosch married William Kimbol. They had at least one daughter named Maria Barbara, who was born on 13 February 1763 and was baptized in the Frederick Evangelical Lutheran Church. Not much is known about William Kimbol.  

Although it is not known exactly when her husband died, Catherine Kimbol was listed as the head of her family in the 1800 U.S. census and she received a license to operate an “ordinary,” or tavern, in her own name in 1798. Kimbol’s establishment was one of the most prominent taverns in Frederick County. In 1791, George Washington likely stayed there; the tavern also hosted a number of events, such as a performance by a company of French dancers in June 1796.  

In 1820, when she was seventy-five years old, Catherine Kimbol leased her tavern to Joseph Talbott, who purchased it from her in 1828 and renamed it the City Hotel. The Francis Scott Key Apartments building, constructed as a hotel in 1923, stands on the site of Kimbol’s tavern at the corner of North Court and West Patrick streets in Frederick.  

Like many widows, Mrs. Kimbol might have also made money by renting out enslaved people. Her appearance in the Mason family manuscript account book referred to a lawsuit against Armistead T. Mason on behalf of the Douglas estate, George Rust Jr., and Sherriff James Cunningham. This suit dealt with the unpaid use and subsequent seizure of Kimbol’s enslaved people Fiza, Gust, Gale, Davy, and Peter. At the time of the judgement on 2 September 1817, the enslaved individuals were being held by High Sherriff Wilson C. Seldon, and Rust, Mason, and Cunningham were bound to pay Kimbol a combined sum of $1,023.34. 

Catherine Grosch Kimbol died on 18 May 1831.  

 

By Timmia King