KirkpatrickSamandEliz

Samuel & Elizabeth (Thurman) Kirkpatrick

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GIBSON COUNTY STAR

OWENSVILLE IND.,

SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 1910

 

Reminiscences of an

     Old Indianian.

      NUMBER XXXI

 

A REMARKABLE FAMILY

 

  While down in this locality we

must not forget to mention the fam-

ily of Samuel Kirkpatrick, Sr. Mr.

Kirkpatrick was a highly respect-

able citizen. He was born in Flem-

ingsburg, Fleming county. Ky., May

  24, 1798. He, with his brother James

 came to Evansville, Ind., Feb. 1820,

 on a flat boat. He then came up

 near to where the New Mt. Moriah

 Church now stands. There are still

 some old brick scattered around

 where the old log house stood. On

 January 18, 1821, he was married to

 Elizabeth Thurman, daughter of

 Henry and Sarah Thurman.  She was

 a sister to old Aunt Lucy Gudgel.

   Mr. Kirkpatrick then moved to

what is known as the old Joe Scott

place, now owned by Chas. Mason.

He then moved to a farm in Van-

derburg county, afterwards moved

to Stringtown and owned a tan-yard

for some time. He served an ap-

prenticeship of seven years in a tan-

yard. After this he moved back to

the farm until the civil war broke

out. Then he sold the farm and

moved to Owensville and died May

21, 1885, at the age of 87 years. Mr.

Kirkpatrick was thrown from a

horse at the age of 13 and his kneecap

dislocated, which left him a badly

crippled man for life. The older

people will remember him as sitting

in warm weather in front of Sam

Hudelson's store in the latter years

of his life.

  There was quite a family of these

  Thurmans. Besides Mrs Kirkpat-

   rick and Mrs. Gudgel there was

Nancy, who, married Peter La-

Grange, and Mary, wife of John

Leverton; Sarah, wife of Ahura

Jones; Caroline, wife of William

Buffin; John went to Arkansas and

Edward went to Illinois.

       There were fifteen children in the

   Samuel Kirkpatrick family; 14 of

   them lived to be grown and 13 of

   them to be married.  There were 72

   grandchildren, 69 great-grand-chil-

   dren, and 21 great-great-grand-chil-

   dren.  The names of the children

   were as follows:  John was born in

   1822 and was a very popular Cum-

   berland Presbyterian minister.  He

   made a profession in Sept. 1837, at

   the age of 15 years.  Taken under

   the care of the Presbytery in 1839,

   and licensed in 1841, ordained in

1843. He died June 14, 1854, on

what is now known as the Dave

   Marvel farm, and is buried in the

   old cemetery back of the old Regu-

   lar Baptist church in Owensville.  I

   am of the opinion that the C. P.

   church never had a more popular

   minister in the bounds of Owens-

   ville than John Kirkpatrick.  He

   was fine looking, stood erect, was

   talented and quite an orator.  He

   had excellent social qualities and

   was beloved by all Christian people.

   The writer remembers him as if it

   was only yesterday.  Alas, he died

   in the very prime of his useful life.

   He married Kittie, daughter of

   Judge Richards, already referred to.

   She lived at that time on the Hes-

   ter Lockhart farm.  She was a sis-

   ter to Aunt Julia Ann Montgomery.

   Their two oldest boys, John Frank-

   lin and Wm. David, died in the

   Federal Army.  Their daughter

   married Rice Anderson in Southern

   Illinois.  Their youngest son, Ben-

   jamin Hall, was named for a very

   able C. P. minister, who used to

   preach all over this part of the coun-

   try.  Hall Kirkpatrick made a very

   able General Baptist preacher and

   has spent the most of his life in the

   west.  John Kirkpatrick left a very

   valuable manuscript of his life and

   labors, but it was never published.

   He was quite a good writer and was

   engaged in the preparation of an

   able article for the press when death

   called him up higher.  Lucinda

   Kirkpatrick married Lewis Short.

   He was the father of the late John

   Short of Owensville, Ind.  He was

   a soldier in the 42nd Ind. Regt.,

   was captured and held in Libby

   prison for quite a while.  He never

   fully recovered from the exposures

   of his army life.

     Alfred Kirkpatrick married Han-

   nah Smith. I think most of his life

   was spent in or near Evansville; at

   least he had a son, William Henry,

   who served 35 years as superintend-

   ent of public schools in Evansville.

     Alfred Kirkpatrick was a soldier

   in the 1st Ind. Cavalry, Smith Gar-

   rett’s old regiment.

   Margaret, Alfred’s sister, married

   James Ruston and they moved to

   Illinois.  He was a soldier in an

   Illinois regiment.

      Alexander married Lydia Martin

   and he was a soldier in the 25th

   Ind. Regt.  I believe he lived in Ev-

   ansville for a good while and then

   moved up to Ft. Branch.

      Samuel H. Kirkpatrick married

   Ann Kennett and lived for many

   years in Owensville.  He was a

   shoemaker.

      Wm. D. Kirkpatrick first married

   Martha Richards, a sister to the

   wife of his brother John.  She only

   lived about one year.  His second

   wife was Margaret Massey, late of

   Owensville.  Their children were

   John, Fanny, Eddie, Hattie and

   Abram.  Wm. was a soldier in

   the 17th Ind. Regt. and was a sec-

   ond lieutenant when the war closed.

      Benjamin Franklin Kirkpatrick

   died at Evansville Ind., at the age

   of 26 years.  He was a reporter for

   several papers and was a natural

   born orator.  He could enthuse and

   captivate an audience at will.

      Madison B. Kirkpatrick married

   first a Forscyth, and she was the

   mother of Mrs. Fielding Keneipp

   and Mrs. Ellis Daugherty. His sec-

   ond wife was Ella Humphrey and

   she was the mother of John, now in

   the Regular Army, and of Owen

   and Hester.  Madison was in the

   126th Ind. Regt. And died several

   months since in the soldier’s home.

      Sarah married Edward Yates who

   was a soldier in the 9th Ind. Regt.

   He was the father of Rev. Alonzo

   Yates, Willard and others.  Mrs.

   Yates, I believe, now lives in Ft.

   Branch, Ind.

      Martha Jr. married Samuel Hud-

   elson, already referred to several

   times.  He was not in the army, but

   he made all arrangements to enlist

   in Capt. Gorman’s company in the

   17th Ind. Regt., but when he ap-

   proached Mr. Gorman he said,

   “Sam, you are the third man I have

   turned away.  My company is made

   up.”  Their children are Arthur,

   who died several years since, and

   who was a reporter for several large

   daily papers in the northwest, Rus-

   sel, now of Chicago, and George of

   Owensville.

      Julia A. married John B. Massey,

   who was a soldier in the 17th Ind.

   Regt.  He was struck with a club

   one night on his way home in

   Princeton by some unknown person,

   from the effects of which he died.

      Robt. B. was a soldier in the 25th

   Ind. Regt.  He has been dead sev-

   eral years.

      George M. married Carrie Newett. 

   He was a soldier in the 42nd Ind.

   Regt.  He looks entirely too young

   to have been in the army, yet he

   served in the old 42nd Ind. Regt.

   He now lives in Chicago, and makes

   his regular annual visits to Owens-

   ville to see his relatives.  He is a

   fine specimen of strength and agility

   of the Kirkpatrick family.  The

   whole family in their younger days

   were full of life and activity.  Ed-

   ward died when a baby.  You will

   observe that six of the boys and

   four of the sons-in-law of Samuel

   Kirkpatrick, Sr. were in the Federal

   Army, and three of his grand-chil-

   dren.

 

(Indiana Historical Society--Microfilm Reel #287298)

Available on Inter-Library loan from Indiana State Library.