Individual Details
Francis Asbury Kirkpatrick
(3 Jun 1815 - 22 Sep 1879)
Francis was born 3 Jun 1815, in Madison Co., Illinois before the family removed to Bond Co., Illinois. On 3 Dec 1835 he married Catherine Bradbury near Naples, Scott Co., Illinois, at her parents' home. Catherine was the daughter of Jacob and Patience (Rounds) Bradbury. She was born 19 Sep 1817 in Brown Co., OH, near Ripley, in a "large hewed log house of two rooms and an ell besides". The Bradbury family came to Illinois via a trip down the Ohio River and up the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers on a flatboat in 1827. There they settled on an 80-acre farm about four miles from the village of Naples. In a memoir dictated to her son Edwin Asbury Kirkpatrick in 1902 or 1903, she tells a great deal about her ancestry, her parents and her family. Both compilers of this record have a copy, which may be consulted by anyone interested.
After their marriage, Francis and Catherine farmed first in Scott County (which was then still a part of Morgan County) and then in Pike County, Illinois. They continued to live on their 120 acre farm in Pike County until 1849. Francis was licensed by the Methodist Episcopal Church to preach in 1848, and in the spring of 1849 the family sold it's holdings and moved to Iowa, crossing the Mississippi on a stream ferry at Montrose. They settled first at Richland, a small village in the southeastern corner of Keokuk County. Francis hauled goods from Burlington for merchants and preached on Sundays, organizing a Methodist Church in Richland. In the fall of 1849 he went to the Methodist Conference at Tipton and accepted the assignment to the Winchester circuit. Winchester was a small town in Van Buren County, Iowa, which no longer exists. He travelled by horseback over a large district covering two circuits, a circuit which took four weeks to complete.
The family lived for two years in Winchester. In 1851 they moved to Bloomfield, in Davis County, Iowa, and then the following spring to Troy, a nearby town. There they bought a small farm of 51 acres, where they lived in a log house. They remained on this farm for five years. In 1858 Francis was appointed to a circuit in Louisa County, Iowa and decided to move his family. In 1859 Francis was appointed to the Peoria circuit, Peoria being a small town in Mahaska County, Iowa. They stayed there for two years until a new assignment in Poweshiek County, Iowa, meant another move, this time to Montezuma.
That spring, shortly after the Civil War began, their oldest son, William Tragen Kirkpatrick who was eighteen years old, enlisted in the 2nd Regiment of Iowa Volunteer Infantry, against his mother's wishes. Many years later Catherine stated that "I told him when he started, that I could only look on him as dead, and he said there would be more room for the rest." Her words were prophetic, for William was killed at the Battle of Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River in Tennessee on 15 Feb 1862. His mother claimed a pension for her son's services based on the fact that he had been responsible for much of the support of the family due to his father's disabilities. The pension was granted.
In 1862, while Francis was attending a rally in Peoria, he was assaulted by a rebel sympathizer. He had made a speech and went across the road when a "copperhead" (southern sympathizer) named Craven came up to him and said, "You called me a Copperhead". Francis said "If you believe (so and so) you are". The southern sympathizer then struck him with a sling shot and ran into his house. The situation began to get ugly. A peddler in the crowd had some revolvers which he began to hand out, telling the men to use them. However Craven's wife came out of her house and begged them not to do anything. Francis was taken to a friend's house where he remained partly unconscious that night. Craven was arrested and fined $2.50, but nothing more serious was done to him.
Francis had had a serious fall from a horse in 1859, and suffered from physical disabilities from that date. After his encounter with Craven he also suffered from headaches whenever he was under stress, and apparently was increasingly incapacitated from functioning either as a circuit rider or as a farmer.
In 1863 the family moved back to Peoria and Francis worked as a butcher. He was elected President of the Methodist Conference that fall. During these and following years, it seems that Catherine increasingly held the family together and made the hard decisions. During this time they had to move frequently because they could not find a house to rent permanently. Catherine comments in her memoir, "When we would have to leave a house and there seemed none to be got, Francis would be taken with the headache and could do nothing. I would have to see to everything and look out for a place to live. Those years were very hard one for me."
In 1864 or 1865 Francis received an assignment in Warren County, Iowa, and the following year they were transferred to Hopeville. Later still he served the Decatur Circuit in Decatur County, Iowa, and then once again returned to Peoria. After several other assignments Francis and Catherine in 1875 purchased a small farm near Rhodes, in Marshall County, Iowa. This farm was worked and improved by their younger sons while Francis preached in nearby places. Here Francis died on 22 September 1879 and is buried in the Eden Township Cemetery in Rhodes. Catherine remained on the farm for about a dozen years with her younger sons, and then lived with Edwin until her death, although occasionally she visited her other children. It was on one of those visits that she died on 13 August 1904 in Carney, Oklahoma.
After their marriage, Francis and Catherine farmed first in Scott County (which was then still a part of Morgan County) and then in Pike County, Illinois. They continued to live on their 120 acre farm in Pike County until 1849. Francis was licensed by the Methodist Episcopal Church to preach in 1848, and in the spring of 1849 the family sold it's holdings and moved to Iowa, crossing the Mississippi on a stream ferry at Montrose. They settled first at Richland, a small village in the southeastern corner of Keokuk County. Francis hauled goods from Burlington for merchants and preached on Sundays, organizing a Methodist Church in Richland. In the fall of 1849 he went to the Methodist Conference at Tipton and accepted the assignment to the Winchester circuit. Winchester was a small town in Van Buren County, Iowa, which no longer exists. He travelled by horseback over a large district covering two circuits, a circuit which took four weeks to complete.
The family lived for two years in Winchester. In 1851 they moved to Bloomfield, in Davis County, Iowa, and then the following spring to Troy, a nearby town. There they bought a small farm of 51 acres, where they lived in a log house. They remained on this farm for five years. In 1858 Francis was appointed to a circuit in Louisa County, Iowa and decided to move his family. In 1859 Francis was appointed to the Peoria circuit, Peoria being a small town in Mahaska County, Iowa. They stayed there for two years until a new assignment in Poweshiek County, Iowa, meant another move, this time to Montezuma.
That spring, shortly after the Civil War began, their oldest son, William Tragen Kirkpatrick who was eighteen years old, enlisted in the 2nd Regiment of Iowa Volunteer Infantry, against his mother's wishes. Many years later Catherine stated that "I told him when he started, that I could only look on him as dead, and he said there would be more room for the rest." Her words were prophetic, for William was killed at the Battle of Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River in Tennessee on 15 Feb 1862. His mother claimed a pension for her son's services based on the fact that he had been responsible for much of the support of the family due to his father's disabilities. The pension was granted.
In 1862, while Francis was attending a rally in Peoria, he was assaulted by a rebel sympathizer. He had made a speech and went across the road when a "copperhead" (southern sympathizer) named Craven came up to him and said, "You called me a Copperhead". Francis said "If you believe (so and so) you are". The southern sympathizer then struck him with a sling shot and ran into his house. The situation began to get ugly. A peddler in the crowd had some revolvers which he began to hand out, telling the men to use them. However Craven's wife came out of her house and begged them not to do anything. Francis was taken to a friend's house where he remained partly unconscious that night. Craven was arrested and fined $2.50, but nothing more serious was done to him.
Francis had had a serious fall from a horse in 1859, and suffered from physical disabilities from that date. After his encounter with Craven he also suffered from headaches whenever he was under stress, and apparently was increasingly incapacitated from functioning either as a circuit rider or as a farmer.
In 1863 the family moved back to Peoria and Francis worked as a butcher. He was elected President of the Methodist Conference that fall. During these and following years, it seems that Catherine increasingly held the family together and made the hard decisions. During this time they had to move frequently because they could not find a house to rent permanently. Catherine comments in her memoir, "When we would have to leave a house and there seemed none to be got, Francis would be taken with the headache and could do nothing. I would have to see to everything and look out for a place to live. Those years were very hard one for me."
In 1864 or 1865 Francis received an assignment in Warren County, Iowa, and the following year they were transferred to Hopeville. Later still he served the Decatur Circuit in Decatur County, Iowa, and then once again returned to Peoria. After several other assignments Francis and Catherine in 1875 purchased a small farm near Rhodes, in Marshall County, Iowa. This farm was worked and improved by their younger sons while Francis preached in nearby places. Here Francis died on 22 September 1879 and is buried in the Eden Township Cemetery in Rhodes. Catherine remained on the farm for about a dozen years with her younger sons, and then lived with Edwin until her death, although occasionally she visited her other children. It was on one of those visits that she died on 13 August 1904 in Carney, Oklahoma.
Events
| Birth | 3 Jun 1815 | Madison Co., Illinois |  | ||
| Marriage | 3 Dec 1835 | Morgan Co., Illinois - Catherine Bradbury | | ||
| Death | 22 Sep 1879 | Rhodes, Marshall Co., Iowa | | ||
| Burial | Eden Cemetery, Rhodes, Marshall Co., Iowa | |
Families
| Spouse | Catherine Bradbury (1817 - 1904) |
| Child | Richard Baxter Kirkpatrick (1836 - 1837) |
| Child | Martha Jane Kirkpatrick (1838 - 1920) |
| Child | Mary Ann Kirkpatrick (1840 - 1911) |
| Child | William Tragen Kirkpatrick (1842 - 1862) |
| Child | Melissa Emily Kirkpatrick (1844 - 1918) |
| Child | Sarah Carthena Kirkpatrick (1846 - 1899) |
| Child | Oliver Thomas Kirkpatrick (1848 - 1923) |
| Child | Elizabeth "Eliza" Esther Kirkpatrick (1850 - 1916) |
| Child | Laura Elvira Kirkpatrick (1853 - 1875) |
| Child | Francis Marion Kirkpatrick (1855 - 1917) |
| Child | Charles Anson Kirkpatrick (1858 - 1943) |
| Child | Edwin Asbury Kirkpatrick (1862 - 1937) |
| Father | Thomas Newton Kirkpatrick (1766 - 1821) |
| Mother | Mary Ann "Polly" Lane (1777 - 1839) |
| Sibling | James Harrison Kirkpatrick (1798 - 1876) |
| Sibling | John Lane Kirkpatrick (1799 - 1869) |
| Sibling | Isaac Gillham Kirkpatrick (1801 - 1810) |
| Sibling | Joseph Lane Kirkpatrick (1803 - 1884) |
| Sibling | Richard Henry Kirkpatrick (1804 - 1834) |
| Sibling | William P. Kirkpatrick (1806 - 1885) |
| Sibling | Susan Emily Kirkpatrick (1808 - 1883) |
| Sibling | Winnifred P. Kirkpatrick (1810 - 1839) |
| Sibling | Jesse Walker Kirkpatrick (1810 - 1857) |
| Sibling | Sarah Louisa Kirkpatrick (1811 - 1885) |
| Sibling | Thomas Milligan Kirkpatrick (1813 - 1886) |
| Sibling | Polly D. Kirkpatrick (1817 - 1819) |
| Sibling | Charles Alford Kirkpatrick (1820 - 1896) |
| Sibling | Jonathan Hart Kirkpatrick (1822 - 1838) |
Endnotes
1. A Kirkpatrick Genealogy; Melvin Kirkpatrick & David Hudson, 1995.
2. Illinois Marriages On-line, Vol. A, Page 38.
3. A Kirkpatrick Genealogy; Melvin Kirkpatrick & David Hudson, 1995.
4. A Kirkpatrick Genealogy; Melvin Kirkpatrick & David Hudson, 1995.