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BIOGRAPHIES
Source:
History of Adams County, Ohio
from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time
by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers
West Union, Ohio
Published by E. B. Stivers
1900
Please note: STRIKETHROUGHS are
errors with corrections next to them.
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JEREMIAN KENDALL - See GENERAL WILLIAM
KENDALL Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W.
Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio -
Published by E. B. Stivers – 1900 – Page 285 |
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GENERAL WILLIAM KENDALL Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W.
Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio -
Published by E. B. Stivers – 1900 – Page 285
NOTE: CORRECTIONS
- Pg. 285. For "Central Park" in fifth line from
bottom read "central part." |
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CAPTAIN GEORGE S.
KIRKER, the youngest son of Gov.
Thomas Kirker, was born on the old
Kirker homestead in Liberty
Township, Adams Co.,
Ohio, Feb. 7, 1813. He was married in 1840 to
Mary M. Cunningham, daughter of
William and Ellen Doak Cunningham, of
Virginia descent.
Their children living are Sarah
Ellen, unmarried and residing at the old home;
Charles E.,
Mary F., wife of
A. P. McIntire; William C., who resides on the old homestead;
Ora, wife of
Edwin Morrison, of Pawnee City, Neb., and India A., residing at Axtell, Kansas.
Mr. and Mrs. Kirker lost six children
in infancy.
Mary M. Kirker was born Mar. 17,
1817, and died at Manchester, Ohio, Apr. 13, 1887.
George S. Kirker lived his entire life on the farm in Liberty Township
except the last four years, in which he made his residence in
Manchester. He died Sept.
15, 1879. He was highly respected
wherever he was known. HE was a man
of great public spirit. If any
measure was proposed or projected for the public benefit, he was always
favorable to it and always supported it with great enthusiasm. He was a manly man. Whatever was just, whatever was
upright, whatever was for good, he was for.
He was the means of having the pike from cherry Fork to Bentonville
built, and but for his influence, its construction would have been delayed for
years. From 1863
to 1871, he, Crockett McGovney and
Dr. D. M. McConaugh engaged in the
pork packing business at Manchester. It required a great deal of nerve and
capital to go into that business and carry it on, but
Kirker had both. It was the largest and most
important business carried on in
Adams County
while it lasted, and its being carried on was a great public benefit to the
county. True, the partners lost
money, but the people who dealt with them did not.
George S. Kirker was a prosperous and
successful farmer and stock raiser.
No man in the county took more pride in fine stock than he did and those who
knew him in his prime knew that he never was happier than when riding a fine
horse. He was always fond of
horseback riding and usually had a saddle horse with a fancy gait. At fifty years, he was a large man,
with very black hair and a full black beard.
He had a fine presence and impressed strangers as a man of importance. In his business dealings, he was
direct and straight to the point and was the soul of integrity and fair dealing. His industry and energy were
untiring.
When there was
any business to be done, Mr. Kirker
never rested until it was done. He
was a most jovial, agreeable companion.
He was full of humor and liked to give it play. He was fond of a good story. He was one of those whom others like
to ask to take the lead and when his judgment approved, he never hesitated to
take it. When he did take it, the
business went forward to a conclusion and usually to a successful one. He was always in good spirits and his
presence and manner put those about him in good spirits. He was always inclined to take a
cheerful view of things and to believe that a poor or bad condition of affairs
could be bettered. He was plain in
his dress, in his speech and in his manners, but he believed in getting at the
substance of things. He was a man of
strong will power and great tenacity of purpose.
He would not undertake any matter or enterprise unless it was within
reason that it could be carried through and that he could bring it to a
successful issue. He had excellent
judgment, and if it ever failed him, it was because of the influence of matters
upon which he had not calculated.
In the period of
his business activity, he was a most valuable element in the community. If any one was to lead in any
project, he was usually selected as the one, and he never failed, when called
upon, either to undertake the work placed upon him or to bring it to a fortunate
conclusion. He was a natural leader
in the circle of his acquaintances. It
was this fact which made him a Captain in the 141st O. V. I. He was a strong Republican in his
political views and could not have been anything else. He, however, unlike his distinguished
father, had no taste for political office, and he never held any but that of
Infirmary Director from 1863 to 1866.
He accepted this because his name added strength to the ticket on which
he was and because he lived in the same township in which the infirmary was
located. His known sympathy for the
poor and needy urged his candidacy and induced him to accept the office. Then again, his contest was made in
the middle of the war when patriots were discouraged and when strong men needed
to come forward and encourage the war.
There is no man risen up in Mr.
Kirker’s place with all his sterling qualities. He set the world an example of life
and character which ought to be remembered and perpetuated, and an example
which, if followed, would increase the sum total of pleasure and contentment
here, and happiness and hope for the future.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B.
Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published by E. B. Stivers – 1900 – Page 774
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Gov. Thomas Kirker
Second Governor of Ohio
1807-8 |
GOV. THOMAS KIRKER
was a native of Ireland. His father lived in Tyrone
County, and was a man of small means, but good standing.
Thomas was one of a large family, and was born in
1760. Until he was nineteen years old, he lived with
his parents in Ireland and endeavored with them to make a
living out of the poor soil and against the exactions of
oppressive landlords. His father concluded that was
too much of an undertaking, and moved to America, settling
in Lancaster County, Penn. After a few years of hard
work in that county, the father died, leaving behind him a
fragrant memory and a wife and five or six children.
By constant toil and good management the family made a
living and the children acquired some education. From
the death of his father in Lancaster County, until 1790
Thomas Kirker left no account of himself. At that
time, being thirty years of age and having acquired some
little money and seeing a hope for the future, he was
married to Sarah Smith, a young woman of excellent
family and great worth, eleven years his junior. They
remained in Pennsylvania for a short time when stories of
great wealth to be made in Kentucky came to them across the
mountains, and the perilous journey of moving to the Blue
Grass State was undertaken. Indians were on the way,
and they kept the small company in constant fear by
occasional arrow practice with them as targets.
Kentucky proved a failure so far as they were concerned, and
in 1794, Mr. Kirker and his wife crossed the
Ohio and settled in Manchester, this county. This
marked the beginning of his public career, and of his
financial success.
In 1796, our subject changed his residence from
Manchester to Liberty township in the same county, and
settled on a farm, which has ever since been known as the
Kirker farm, and on which he died in 1837, and in
the cemetery there the ashes of him and his wife now repose.
When he moved to Liberty township, his family consisted of
himself, wife and two children. They were the first
settlers to locate in the county outside the stockade in
Manchester, but the county was speedily covered with
settlements. The site selected proved a happy choice
and soon blossomed with crops that yielded an abundant
harvest. Within the next few years, Liberty township
was dotted with cabins and the s turdy settlers were tilling
the soil. He was a member of the first Court of
Quarter Sessions held in the county under the Territorial
Government at Manchester, in September, 1797. He was
also a county commissioner under the Territorial Government,
but the record of his service is lost. Mr.
Kirker was the leading man in that settlement, and was
usually the foremost in all public matters. By common
consent he settled quarrels among his neighbors and acted in
the capacity of judge and jury. All his neighbors
respected him and looked to him for counsel. His
reputation for good judgment in his township spread
throughout the county, and when delegates were elected to
the first Constitutional Convention in 1802, he was sent as
one of them, and at, once, on the opening of the convention,
Mr. Kirker took a prominent part in its
deliberations.
Thomas Kirker was a member of the lower house of
the Legislature from Adams County at the first legislative
session Mar. 1, 1803, to Apr. 16, 1803. He entered the
Ohio senate at the second legislative session, Dec. 5, 1803,
and served in that body continuously until the thirteenth
legislative session, closing Feb. 16, 1815. In that
time he was Speaker in that Senate in the fifth, sixth,
seventh, ninth, tenth, eleventh and thirteenth sessions.
From Nov. 4, 1807, to Dec. 12, 1808, he was acting Governor
of the State by reason of a vacancy of the office of
governor and his then being speaker of the senate. At
the fifteenth legislative session, Dec. 15, 1816, to Jan.
28, 1817, he was a member of the House and its speaker.
Then he took a rest from legislative honors for four years.
At the twentieth legislative session beginning Dec. 3, 1821,
he was again in the senate from Adams and served in it
continuously until Feb. 8, 1825. On Jan. 17, 1821, he
was appointed an associate judge from Adams county, and
served until Oct. 30, 1821, when he resigned. In 1824,
he was presidential elector, and voted for Clay. From
1808 until his death, he was a ruling elder in the
Presbyterian Church at West Union, and his son William
was also an elder in the same church from 1826, during his
father's lifetime.
Mr. Kirker was not a
brilliant man, but he was honest, conscientious and
possessed of sound judgment and integrity that was unselfish
and incorruptible. He was respected, esteemed, and
exerted an influence that was felt in the entire circle
of his acquaintance. No man served his state better or
with more credit than he. Called to high places, he
filled them well and went out of office carrying with him
the respect of all who knew him. His wife died Aug.
20, 1824. He died Feb. 20, 1837. He reared a
family of thirteen children, and has a host of descendants,
who are scattered in different parts of the United States.
A number of them are residing in Adams County, but most of
them are in other localities.
He succeeded Gov. Tiffin, Mar. 4, 1807, when he
resigned to enter the U. S. Senate and served to the end of
his term. In December, 1807, the election
of governor having failed by reason of Return J. Meigs
not being qualified and N. Massie declining, he
served as Governor one yar or to Dec. 12, 1808, when
Samuel Huntington succeeded him. The vote stood
Huntington 7,293; Worthington, 5,601; Kirker,
3,397.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W.
Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published
by E. B. Stivers – 1900 – Page 256 - Chapter XVI |
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COL.
WILLIAM KIRKER was born Jan. 24, 1791, in the
vicinity of Pittsburg, Penn., the son of Governor Thomas
Kirker and Sarah Smith, his wife. He was the
eldest son and child of a family of thirteen. He
married Esther Williamson and died Feb. 10, 1857.
His father moved to Manchester in 1792 and lived there until
1794 when the located on the well known Kirker farm
in Liberty Township. In the War of 1812, he was a
First Lieutenant and after the war, he was made a Colonel of
the Militia, which position he held until near the time of
his death. He was a First Lieutenant and after the
war, he was made a Colonel of the Militia, which position he
held until near the time of his death. He was County
Commissioner in 1825 and again in 1832. He was made an
elder in the Presbyterian Church at West Union in 1826, his
father being an elder in the same church. He was a
delegate to the Presbytery from his church from Sept. 19,
1826, many times, until Apr. 5, 1854. He was always
courteous and kind to everyone and was noted for his
philanthropy. Judge J. C. Coryell said of him
that he was the most useful man in his community, and that
the poor, the widow and the orphan lost their best friend
when he died.
His wife, Esther Williamson, was born on June 4,
1797, and died Jan. 4, 1880. He was a large family of
children whose descendants are scattered throughout the
United States.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W.
Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published
by E. B. Stivers – 1900 – Page
577 |
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FREDERICK
KNAUFF, of Blue Creek, was born May 14, 1848.
His ancestors were among the first of the pioneers of Blue
Creek Valley, settling there when the region abounded with
bear and deer, and when bands of marauding Indians paid
occasional visits to the settlements along Scioto Brush
Creek. The parents of Mr. Knauff, Michael
and Mary Wolfe Knauff, came from Germany to Butler
County, Pa., where Frederick was born, and thence to
Adams County. Mary Knauff died April 7, 1892,
and is buried at Liberty cemetery. Michael Knauff
is yet living at the age of eighty-three years.
Our subject was educated in the country schools in
which he has always taken much interest, being at present a
member of the Board of Education of Jefferson Township.
He was married March 30, 1869, to Elizabeth Lamb,
a daughter of John and Elizabeth Boehm Lamb, by whom
he has had eight children: John H., Luella A., William
D., Wylie C., Anna R., Mary A., Harry J., and Roy A.
He is a Republican in his political opinions but very
tolerant in his views. He was raised in the Lutheran
Church, but is not a member of any denomination at present.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W.
Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published
by E. B. Stivers – 1900 – Page 776 |
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PHILIP
KRATZER of Blue Creek, was born near Arnheim, Brown
County, Ohio, Oct. 7, 1839. His father was Simon
Kratzer, whose ancestors came from Pennsylvania, and his
mother was Elizabeth Lindsey, a descendant of an old
and respectable family of Brown County. Our subject
was reared on a farm and had the advantages of the country
schools. He enlisted from Georgetown, Ohio, August
128, 1862, and was mustered into the service of the United
States at Camp Dennison as a Private, Company D, Captain
Higgins, 59th Regiment, O. V. I., Colonel Fyfe,
for three years. Joined regiment at Cave City, Ky.,
and there promoted to Corporal. Served in Nelson's
Brigade, Wood's Division, Fourth Corps, Army of the
Cumberland, and took part in all the battles in which his
regiment participated including Stone River, Lookout
Mountain, Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain, Siege of Atlanta, and
was wounded at Mission Ridge. He was transferred to
Company K, Oct. 24, 1864, and served balance of time, and
was honorably discharged June 28, 1865.
Our subject was first married Jan. 18, 1865, to Miss
Mahala Stayton, of Brown County, by whom he had four
sons and four daughters: Robert, Rosetta, Jesse Lee,
Stella, John F., George E., Emma and Nellie.
Mr. Kratzer's second wife was Matilda J. daughter
of LEvi and Cynthia Lafara.
Philip Kratzer is one of the substantial citizens
of Churn Creek Valley. He is a faithful member of the
Christian Union Church, and in politics an old-fashioned
Democrat, and is an ardent admirer of that leader of
Democracy, William J. Bryan.
Source: History of Adams County, Ohio - by Nelson W.
Evans and Emmons B. Stivers – West Union, Ohio - Published
by E. B. Stivers – 1900 – Page
776 |
NOTES:
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