Charles J. Sinsel, a wholesale fruit dealer of Boise and ex-county treasurer of Ada County, was born in Grafton, West Virginia, July 13, 1867, and is descended from Holland ancestry. Three brothers of the Sinsel family came from the little Dutch kingdom to America to aid Great Britain in her subjugation of the colonies, but were so well pleased with the land that they resolved to make their home in the new republic and located in Virginia. They and their descendants were planters and were Baptists in religious faith. The father of our subject, William F. Sinsel, was born in Grafton, West Virginia, and after arriving at years of maturity married Miss Fannie A. Holden, a daughter of Rev. Charles Holden, a Baptist minister. Through many years of his active business career Mr. Sinsel engaged in railroad contracting, but is now engaged in the stock business in Nebraska, where he is living at the age of sixty years. For a long period he has been a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity.
Charles J. Sinsel is the eldest of a family of four sons, all of whom are living. In 1875 he went with his parents to Central City, Nebraska, where he attended school for a time, and then engaged in teaching in order to gain the means whereby he might secure a more advanced education. Subsequently he attended the Wesleyan University of Central City. He then spent some years traveling for a wholesale house in Omaha, and in 1891 he came to Boise, where for five years he was connected with the Idaho Saddlery Company. On the expiration of that period he embarked in the wholesale fruit business, and from the beginning his trade has rapidly and constantly increased. In 1897 he shipped two hundred carloads to various markets. His reliability, the excellent Hne of fruits which he carries, and his enterprising business methods have brought him an excellent trade and made him one of the prosperous merchants of the capital city.
Mr. Sinsel early became identified with the Populist Party and is one of its most active and enthusiastic supporters. In 1892 he was the nominee of his party for state senator, but was defeated by the Republican candidate, Hon. George Stewart. In 1894 he was nominated for county treasurer, but again met defeat. In 1896, however, he was again awarded the nomination for that office, was elected and served his term most acceptably.
On the 4th of August 1892, Mr. Sinsel was united in marriage to Miss Emma J. Young, a native of Salem, Ohio, and they now have two children, Alma and Frederick. The parents hold a membership in the Baptist Church and take an active and laudable interest in its work and upbuilding. Mr. Sinsel also belongs to the Uniformed Rank, Knights of Pythias, and has filled all the offices in that order. He is a young man of marked business and executive ability and Boise numbers him among her leading representatives.
