Individual Details
James Cochran Kirkpatrick
(4 Dec 1824 - 26 Dec 1910)
James Cochran Kirkpatrick was born 4 December 1824 at Mine-A-Breton, Missouri (known today as Potosi, the county seat of Washington County). He died 26 December 1910 near Roberts, Wisconsin.
He married Mary A. Mundon, 25 February 1846, a native of Jackson County, Illinois. Mary was born 18 October 1827 and died at Mifflin, Wisconsin, 25 January 1895. She was the daughter of Frederick Mundon, who died of smallpox in the winter of 1843-44. Mary and James are both buried in the Kirkpatrick Cemetery, Rewey, Wisconsin.
James Cochran arrived in Wisconsin with his family on 4 April 1827 when the state was part of Michigan Territory. He was involved in lead mining and farming with his father, being specially interested in his adult years in breeding fine horses and cattle. In the time he acquired and operated the Kirk House Hotel in the village of Rewey, Wisconsin.
In 1850 Jimison (as he was called) was seized with Gold Fever along with many others in his area. On 6 March 1850, he departed with his partner Wilson McGee for an overland trek to California. The outfit consisted of two wagons, one drawn by two horses and the other by four horses and a number of extra horses as spares. In the party as far as is known were Hugh Livingston, Samuel Livingston, Judson Warner, Jimison's uncle William Kirkpatrick, A. W. Moore, and perhaps a few others. By August 1, the party had reached Weavertown, California, where they sold their wagons and commenced to seek gold. This plains crossing was recorded by Kirkpatrick in a small diary. A transcription of the diary is on file at the libraries of the Wisconsin Historical Society and the Minnesota Historical Society *.
Jimison found no gold and departed from San Francisco by sea 6 October 1851 for the trip home. After twenty-seven days he arrived in Panama and took another ten days to cross the isthmus by foot. From the isthmus he took a boat for Havana, then New Orleans, and from New Orleans to Mifflin, Wisconsin, partly by boat and partly by a newly purchased team and wagon.
James C. Kirkpatrick's education was limited to the winter terms he attended in early boyhood. But he was an extensive reader. For some years he gave considerable attention to the breeding of horses and Galloway cattle. Among his horses were some of the progeny of a horse named "Selim", a famous stallion captured from the British during the Revolution and brought to Illinois by relatives of Mr. Kirkpatrick. In the fall of 1887 Kirkpatrick took sixty head of Galloways to the state fair in Denver, Colorado, selling the entire herd in that state. After 1894, he was proprietor of the Kirk House Hotel in Rewey.
He was a Democrat and a member of the Masonic Lodge, joining at Platteville in 1858 and also at Mifflin. In 1893 he was intiated into the Oriental Order of the Palm and Shell. In religion he was "a liberal, believing that God not man would be our righteous judge".
An obituary in the Platteville paper in 1911 said: "No man in southwestern Wisconsin enjoyed a wider circle of friends and acquaintances; his friendships extended far beyond the boundaries of this state. He always retained in a large degree the warm hearted and open hospitality of his Southern Ancestors. It was his delight to entertain friends at his home; here many a weary traveler found a warm welcome and no one ever left his door cold or hungry."
There were eight children born of the marriage.
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* "A Diary of James Cochran Kirkpatrick of Rewey, Wisconsin, on the California Trail, Beginning April 29, 1850 at St. Joseph, Missouri, to Wevertown, California, August 1, 1850", edited and with notes by Melvin E. Kirkpatrick.
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1901 Biographical Sketch Book, Grant County Genealogical Society, 955 Williams Street, Platteville, WI 53818 (with editor's notes - John P. Kirkpatrick)
James Cochran Kirkpatrick is one of the oldest surviving pioneers of the Wisconsin lead region, having lived there for nearly three quarters of a century. He has witnessed the remarkable development of that locality from a frontier wilderness, inhabited chiefly by Indians, and has always been ready to assist in promoting the cause of progress and improvement, while he deplores the moral degeneracy and other follies of the present age.
Mr. Kirkpatrick was born in Mina Burton (Mine A Breton, now Potosi-ed), Washington County, Missouri, on December 4, 1823 (1824-ed), the second son of Francis Creswell and Frances (Sparks) Kirkpatrick, natives of Georgia and Tennessee, respectively, who were married in Illinois. The grandfather (actually great-grandfather-ed) of Francis C. Kirkpatrick sprang of a Scottish Jacobite family, which was exiled from Great Britain after the war of 1745, when the Duke of Cumberland was obliged to abandon the hanging of the so called "rebels". This gentleman came to America with six of his brothers all of whom were over six feet in height. They settled in Georgia (actually South Carolina prior to the Revolutionary War, then went to Georgia briefly-ed), where they became distinguished for bravery and patriotism, as well as for physical prowess. All of them did valuable service under Gens. Washington and Marion, and after the Revolution they scattered to different States, some of them settling in Ohio. The grandfather of Francis C. Kirkpatrick was betrayed while at home on a furlough by a Tory neighbor whom he had befriended, and the Tories gathered and shot him in his own house (buried in Bullock's Creek Cemetery at York, South Carolina-ed). His wife, formerly a Miss Gilham of Scottish descent, bore him four sons. Her brother Isaac Gilham, also served in the Continental Army, and was once left for dead upon the field; he always bore the saber scares upon his head, though he attained on vigourous old age in Illinois. The subject of this sketch well remembers a visit which he paid to Iowa county in 1836, at which time he was over one hundred years of age. During the Revolution, some children of the Gilham family were captured by Indians and taken to the "Illinois Country." Afterward, members of the family heard of them through some traders and went from Georgia to bring them home. From Illinois they were traced to Kentucky and rescued. This party was so much pleased with the country that they formed a colony of over two hundred people among their relatives and neighbors, and migrated to what is now Bond County, Illinois. James Kirkpatrick, father of Francis C., joined this colony early in the nineteenth century. In 1834 he came to Wisconsin, and his death occurred in the town of Mifflin, Iowa County, when he was aged seventy-seven years. His wife, Sarah (Pettijohn) Kirkpatrick, died in the same place at the age of seventy-four years.
In 1827 Francis C. Kirkpatrick father of the subject of this sketch, with his family located at Galena, Illinois. The Indian title to southwestern Wisconsin then a part of Michigan Territory, having been extinguished, the following year he came to Iowa County, and engaged in smelting in what is now the town of Lima, Grant County. With a wooden plow he broke up the first ground ever cultivated in the county, though he gave but little attention to agriculture for some years; this plow was made from a crotched tree, combined with a miner's pick. As most of the provisions for the lead region were brought to Galena by steamer, supplies sometimes became very scarce before the opening of spring navigation, and at one time he and his family were without food for three days. He took part in the Winnebago war, and with his brother William, served under Captain Strode through the Black Hawk war during which time he sent his family to Galena for protection. He was one of the commissioners appo8inted to locate the seat of Grant County, and also one of the first commissioners of Iowa County. He departed this life in Lima, Grant County, at the age of seventy-six years, most of which had been spent upon the frontier. His wife was born in 1804, near Nashville, Tennessee, and died at Lima, Grant County, January 15, 1881. Her father, Abel Sparks, came in 1838 to Iowa County where he attained the age of nearly one hundred years. Her mother, whose maiden name was Sarah Cochran, was born in New Jersey. Mr. and Mrs. Kirkpatrick were the parents of seven sons and four daughters. The eldest, George A. died in infancy. George W., and Sarah J. are also deceased. The names and locations of the others besides James C. are as follows: William D. lives in Mifflin township, Iowa County, Wisconsin; Elizabeth A. (Mrs. Jesse Jones) of Platteville, Grant County, Wisconsin; Vance L., at Livingston, Grant County, Wisconsin; Martha E. (Mrs. D. Bull), in California; Elvira (Mrs. H. Pauley), in Grant County, Wisconsin; Francis M., at Edmund, Iowa County, Wisconsin; and Frederick C., in Colorado.
James C. Kirkpatrick spent most of his boyhood in Iowa County. In March 1850, he started for California, and drove a team across the Plains, reaching his destination on the last day of July, a quicker trip than was made by most of the overlanders. After spending two years there he returned by way of the Isthumus, where he took a boat to Havana, reaching that city a few days after the execution of the notorious filibuster, Lopez. Considerable excitement prevailed there but he and his companions were allowed to continue their journey without serious interruption. Since his return he has been extensively engaged in mining and farming in Mifflin township. For some years he gave considerable attention to standard bred horses and Galloway cattle. Among his horses were some of the progeny of "Selim," the famous stallion captured from the British by McDonald, an officer under Gen. Marion's command. The stock was brought to Illinois by relatives of Mr. Kirkpatrick. Live stock bred by him have been exhibited at many fairs, and have captured many premiums. In the fall of 1887 he took sixty head of Galloways to the State fair at Denver, Colorado, finding a ready sale for the entire number in that State. Since 1894 he has kept a hotel, "The Kirk House" at Rewey, Iowa County, Wisconsin.
Though his early educational advantages were quite limited, Mr. Kirkpatrick has been an extensive reader and a close observer. For many years past he has been collecting historical relics, geological specimens, and other curiosities, and now has quite a museum, gathered from all parts of the world, but no objects more curious than some which he has exhibited near his home. These include the gigantic tooth of a mastodon and a piece of the tusk of another, found near Anderson's Mill, Grant County, the skeleton of which is preserved in the Historical Museum in Madison. He also has shark's teeth taken from a mound near Avoca, and several hundred specimens of ore and minerals. He has become familiar with several Indian dialects, and understands much of the lore and legends of the aborigines. Soon after the Black Hawk war the neighborhood of Mifflin was visited by a party of peaceable Indians. Most of the men were away at work, and, though a small boy, he felt himself called to defend the home, and would have shot at them had he not been restrained by the ladies of the house. His hostility disappeared, however, as he became more acquainted with the race, and he never had any serious trouble with them, though spending much of his time in their midst.
In political sentiment our subject, is a Democrat. He was made a member of the Masonic Fraternity September 6, 1858, at Melody Lodge, No. 2, Platteville, and in 1865 became a charter member of Mifflin Lodge, No. 153, which has since removed to Rewey. In 1893, he was initiated in the Oriental Order of the Palm and Shell, at Dodgeville, by H. R. Coleman, of Louisville, Kentucky.
On February 25, 1846, Mr. Kirkpatrick was married to Mary Mundon, who was born in Jackson County, Illinois, October 18, 1827, and died at Mifflin, Wisconsin, January 25, 1895. Of their six sons, three are living. Frederick is one of the most extensive farmers of southwestern Wisconsin, operating over 700 acres in Iowa and Grant Counties; James lives in Kossuth County, Iowa; and Frank Leslie is connected with the hotel at Rewey.
He married Mary A. Mundon, 25 February 1846, a native of Jackson County, Illinois. Mary was born 18 October 1827 and died at Mifflin, Wisconsin, 25 January 1895. She was the daughter of Frederick Mundon, who died of smallpox in the winter of 1843-44. Mary and James are both buried in the Kirkpatrick Cemetery, Rewey, Wisconsin.
James Cochran arrived in Wisconsin with his family on 4 April 1827 when the state was part of Michigan Territory. He was involved in lead mining and farming with his father, being specially interested in his adult years in breeding fine horses and cattle. In the time he acquired and operated the Kirk House Hotel in the village of Rewey, Wisconsin.
In 1850 Jimison (as he was called) was seized with Gold Fever along with many others in his area. On 6 March 1850, he departed with his partner Wilson McGee for an overland trek to California. The outfit consisted of two wagons, one drawn by two horses and the other by four horses and a number of extra horses as spares. In the party as far as is known were Hugh Livingston, Samuel Livingston, Judson Warner, Jimison's uncle William Kirkpatrick, A. W. Moore, and perhaps a few others. By August 1, the party had reached Weavertown, California, where they sold their wagons and commenced to seek gold. This plains crossing was recorded by Kirkpatrick in a small diary. A transcription of the diary is on file at the libraries of the Wisconsin Historical Society and the Minnesota Historical Society *.
Jimison found no gold and departed from San Francisco by sea 6 October 1851 for the trip home. After twenty-seven days he arrived in Panama and took another ten days to cross the isthmus by foot. From the isthmus he took a boat for Havana, then New Orleans, and from New Orleans to Mifflin, Wisconsin, partly by boat and partly by a newly purchased team and wagon.
James C. Kirkpatrick's education was limited to the winter terms he attended in early boyhood. But he was an extensive reader. For some years he gave considerable attention to the breeding of horses and Galloway cattle. Among his horses were some of the progeny of a horse named "Selim", a famous stallion captured from the British during the Revolution and brought to Illinois by relatives of Mr. Kirkpatrick. In the fall of 1887 Kirkpatrick took sixty head of Galloways to the state fair in Denver, Colorado, selling the entire herd in that state. After 1894, he was proprietor of the Kirk House Hotel in Rewey.
He was a Democrat and a member of the Masonic Lodge, joining at Platteville in 1858 and also at Mifflin. In 1893 he was intiated into the Oriental Order of the Palm and Shell. In religion he was "a liberal, believing that God not man would be our righteous judge".
An obituary in the Platteville paper in 1911 said: "No man in southwestern Wisconsin enjoyed a wider circle of friends and acquaintances; his friendships extended far beyond the boundaries of this state. He always retained in a large degree the warm hearted and open hospitality of his Southern Ancestors. It was his delight to entertain friends at his home; here many a weary traveler found a warm welcome and no one ever left his door cold or hungry."
There were eight children born of the marriage.
============================
* "A Diary of James Cochran Kirkpatrick of Rewey, Wisconsin, on the California Trail, Beginning April 29, 1850 at St. Joseph, Missouri, to Wevertown, California, August 1, 1850", edited and with notes by Melvin E. Kirkpatrick.
============================
1901 Biographical Sketch Book, Grant County Genealogical Society, 955 Williams Street, Platteville, WI 53818 (with editor's notes - John P. Kirkpatrick)
James Cochran Kirkpatrick is one of the oldest surviving pioneers of the Wisconsin lead region, having lived there for nearly three quarters of a century. He has witnessed the remarkable development of that locality from a frontier wilderness, inhabited chiefly by Indians, and has always been ready to assist in promoting the cause of progress and improvement, while he deplores the moral degeneracy and other follies of the present age.
Mr. Kirkpatrick was born in Mina Burton (Mine A Breton, now Potosi-ed), Washington County, Missouri, on December 4, 1823 (1824-ed), the second son of Francis Creswell and Frances (Sparks) Kirkpatrick, natives of Georgia and Tennessee, respectively, who were married in Illinois. The grandfather (actually great-grandfather-ed) of Francis C. Kirkpatrick sprang of a Scottish Jacobite family, which was exiled from Great Britain after the war of 1745, when the Duke of Cumberland was obliged to abandon the hanging of the so called "rebels". This gentleman came to America with six of his brothers all of whom were over six feet in height. They settled in Georgia (actually South Carolina prior to the Revolutionary War, then went to Georgia briefly-ed), where they became distinguished for bravery and patriotism, as well as for physical prowess. All of them did valuable service under Gens. Washington and Marion, and after the Revolution they scattered to different States, some of them settling in Ohio. The grandfather of Francis C. Kirkpatrick was betrayed while at home on a furlough by a Tory neighbor whom he had befriended, and the Tories gathered and shot him in his own house (buried in Bullock's Creek Cemetery at York, South Carolina-ed). His wife, formerly a Miss Gilham of Scottish descent, bore him four sons. Her brother Isaac Gilham, also served in the Continental Army, and was once left for dead upon the field; he always bore the saber scares upon his head, though he attained on vigourous old age in Illinois. The subject of this sketch well remembers a visit which he paid to Iowa county in 1836, at which time he was over one hundred years of age. During the Revolution, some children of the Gilham family were captured by Indians and taken to the "Illinois Country." Afterward, members of the family heard of them through some traders and went from Georgia to bring them home. From Illinois they were traced to Kentucky and rescued. This party was so much pleased with the country that they formed a colony of over two hundred people among their relatives and neighbors, and migrated to what is now Bond County, Illinois. James Kirkpatrick, father of Francis C., joined this colony early in the nineteenth century. In 1834 he came to Wisconsin, and his death occurred in the town of Mifflin, Iowa County, when he was aged seventy-seven years. His wife, Sarah (Pettijohn) Kirkpatrick, died in the same place at the age of seventy-four years.
In 1827 Francis C. Kirkpatrick father of the subject of this sketch, with his family located at Galena, Illinois. The Indian title to southwestern Wisconsin then a part of Michigan Territory, having been extinguished, the following year he came to Iowa County, and engaged in smelting in what is now the town of Lima, Grant County. With a wooden plow he broke up the first ground ever cultivated in the county, though he gave but little attention to agriculture for some years; this plow was made from a crotched tree, combined with a miner's pick. As most of the provisions for the lead region were brought to Galena by steamer, supplies sometimes became very scarce before the opening of spring navigation, and at one time he and his family were without food for three days. He took part in the Winnebago war, and with his brother William, served under Captain Strode through the Black Hawk war during which time he sent his family to Galena for protection. He was one of the commissioners appo8inted to locate the seat of Grant County, and also one of the first commissioners of Iowa County. He departed this life in Lima, Grant County, at the age of seventy-six years, most of which had been spent upon the frontier. His wife was born in 1804, near Nashville, Tennessee, and died at Lima, Grant County, January 15, 1881. Her father, Abel Sparks, came in 1838 to Iowa County where he attained the age of nearly one hundred years. Her mother, whose maiden name was Sarah Cochran, was born in New Jersey. Mr. and Mrs. Kirkpatrick were the parents of seven sons and four daughters. The eldest, George A. died in infancy. George W., and Sarah J. are also deceased. The names and locations of the others besides James C. are as follows: William D. lives in Mifflin township, Iowa County, Wisconsin; Elizabeth A. (Mrs. Jesse Jones) of Platteville, Grant County, Wisconsin; Vance L., at Livingston, Grant County, Wisconsin; Martha E. (Mrs. D. Bull), in California; Elvira (Mrs. H. Pauley), in Grant County, Wisconsin; Francis M., at Edmund, Iowa County, Wisconsin; and Frederick C., in Colorado.
James C. Kirkpatrick spent most of his boyhood in Iowa County. In March 1850, he started for California, and drove a team across the Plains, reaching his destination on the last day of July, a quicker trip than was made by most of the overlanders. After spending two years there he returned by way of the Isthumus, where he took a boat to Havana, reaching that city a few days after the execution of the notorious filibuster, Lopez. Considerable excitement prevailed there but he and his companions were allowed to continue their journey without serious interruption. Since his return he has been extensively engaged in mining and farming in Mifflin township. For some years he gave considerable attention to standard bred horses and Galloway cattle. Among his horses were some of the progeny of "Selim," the famous stallion captured from the British by McDonald, an officer under Gen. Marion's command. The stock was brought to Illinois by relatives of Mr. Kirkpatrick. Live stock bred by him have been exhibited at many fairs, and have captured many premiums. In the fall of 1887 he took sixty head of Galloways to the State fair at Denver, Colorado, finding a ready sale for the entire number in that State. Since 1894 he has kept a hotel, "The Kirk House" at Rewey, Iowa County, Wisconsin.
Though his early educational advantages were quite limited, Mr. Kirkpatrick has been an extensive reader and a close observer. For many years past he has been collecting historical relics, geological specimens, and other curiosities, and now has quite a museum, gathered from all parts of the world, but no objects more curious than some which he has exhibited near his home. These include the gigantic tooth of a mastodon and a piece of the tusk of another, found near Anderson's Mill, Grant County, the skeleton of which is preserved in the Historical Museum in Madison. He also has shark's teeth taken from a mound near Avoca, and several hundred specimens of ore and minerals. He has become familiar with several Indian dialects, and understands much of the lore and legends of the aborigines. Soon after the Black Hawk war the neighborhood of Mifflin was visited by a party of peaceable Indians. Most of the men were away at work, and, though a small boy, he felt himself called to defend the home, and would have shot at them had he not been restrained by the ladies of the house. His hostility disappeared, however, as he became more acquainted with the race, and he never had any serious trouble with them, though spending much of his time in their midst.
In political sentiment our subject, is a Democrat. He was made a member of the Masonic Fraternity September 6, 1858, at Melody Lodge, No. 2, Platteville, and in 1865 became a charter member of Mifflin Lodge, No. 153, which has since removed to Rewey. In 1893, he was initiated in the Oriental Order of the Palm and Shell, at Dodgeville, by H. R. Coleman, of Louisville, Kentucky.
On February 25, 1846, Mr. Kirkpatrick was married to Mary Mundon, who was born in Jackson County, Illinois, October 18, 1827, and died at Mifflin, Wisconsin, January 25, 1895. Of their six sons, three are living. Frederick is one of the most extensive farmers of southwestern Wisconsin, operating over 700 acres in Iowa and Grant Counties; James lives in Kossuth County, Iowa; and Frank Leslie is connected with the hotel at Rewey.
Events
| Birth | 4 Dec 1824 | Mine A Breton, Washington Co., Missouri | |||
| Marriage | 26 Feb 1846 | Iowa Co., Wisconsin - Mary Ann Mundon |  | ||
| Death | 26 Dec 1910 | Roberts, St. Croix Co., Wisconsin | |||
| Burial | Kirkpatrick Cemetery, Rewey, Iowa Co., Wisconsin | |
Families
| Spouse | Mary Ann Mundon (1827 - 1895) |
| Child | Frederick "Fred" M. Kirkpatrick (1847 - 1910) |
| Child | Jesse Kirkpatrick (1849 - 1849) |
| Child | Frances Kirkpatrick (1853 - 1873) |
| Child | James Dyer Kirkpatrick (1855 - 1939) |
| Child | John Kirkpatrick (1858 - ) |
| Child | Walter Kirkpatrick (1860 - 1881) |
| Child | George W. Kirkpatrick (1866 - 1892) |
| Child | Frank Leslie Kirkpatrick (1868 - 1936) |
| Father | Francis Criswell Kirkpatrick (1803 - 1877) |
| Mother | Frances K. Sparks (1804 - 1881) |
| Sibling | George A. Kirkpatrick (1823 - 1823) |
| Sibling | George W. Kirkpatrick (1826 - 1864) |
| Sibling | Sarah Jane Kirkpatrick (1828 - 1832) |
| Sibling | William Dennis Kirkpatrick (1831 - 1903) |
| Sibling | Elizabeth Ann Kirkpatrick (1831 - 1914) |
| Sibling | Vance Lust Kirkpatrick (1834 - 1902) |
| Sibling | Martha Ellen Kirkpatrick (1836 - 1919) |
| Sibling | Elvira "Vie" Kirkpatrick (1839 - 1934) |
| Sibling | Frances Kirkpatrick (1840 - 1917) |
| Sibling | Francis "Frank" Marion Kirkpatrick (1843 - 1910) |
| Sibling | Frederick C. Kirkpatrick (1845 - 1890) |
Endnotes
1. Wisconsin Marriage Index Pre-1907.
2. Grant County Genealogical Society, Platteville, Wisconsin.