Individual Details
Charles Jackson Kirk
(13 Oct 1858 - 29 May 1937)
This family changed from Kirkpatrick to Kirk.
New Castle News, New Castle, Pennsylvania, Tuesday, June 1, 1937, Page 1, Col. 2 and Page 2, Col. 3: C. J. Kirk Dies After Illness. Widely Known Business Man Dies At Age Of 78 Years. Was Founder of Local Industry.
[A photo of Mr. Kirk].
After two or three weeks of illness and an operation which failed to save his life, Charles Jackson Kirk, aged 78 years, of 308 Highland avenue, founder of the Universal Sanitary Manufacturing company, succumbed in the Jameson Memorial hospital on Saturday afternoon at ten minutes past two o'clock.
With his passing Lawrence county loses a lifelong resident, a man respected and admired for his sterling qualities of character and his remarkable abilities as a business executive. His death brings sadness alike to neighbors, his family and the men who worked in his employ.
It was in 1901 that Mr. Kirk founded the Universal plant at New Castle Junction, which has grown into one of the most important industries of the section and is known in the business world the country over. Mr. Kirk served the company as president and general manager. For the past ten years he had been retired and his son-in-law, William Keith McAfee, took care of his duties.
Mr. Kirk was born near Covert's Station, Lawrence county, on October 13, 1858, son of Henry M. and Margaret Sample Kirk. He passed his boyhood in that vicinity, coming to New Castle 60 years ago. Four years later he married Effie Peebles, who survives. He was a member of the Mahoning Lodge, F. & A. M.
Besides his wife he leaves two daughters, Mrs. Margaret Kirk Liggett, of Jenkinstown, Pa., and Mrs. Katherine Kirk McAfee, of New Castle; one son, Herbert S. Kirk, of New Castle; six grandchildren, and three brothers, Howard M. Kirk of New Castle, Thomas and Harris Kirk, of Bozeman, Mont.
Funeral services are being conducted at the residence this afternoon at 2:30 o'clock with Rev. Philip C. Pearson, rector of Trinity Episcopal church, in charge. Interment will follow in Greenwood cemetery.
His death certicate at ancestry.com states he was a manufacturer of pottery.
From Lawrence County Memoirs: In early 1901 a group of local industrialists took a gamble and provided the capital for Charles J. Kirk to start a small company known as the Universal Sanitary Manufacturing Company, which would make ceramic plumbing fixtures for bathrooms such as toilets and sinks. The company built a plant at New Castle Junction to take advantage of the railroad facilities and commenced operations with thirty employees in late 1901. A huge fire devastated the facility on July 15, 1911, and its future was in doubt. Kirk decided to rebuild at the same location and made a host of revolutionary changes in the coming years, including erecting a tunnel kiln system that cut production times in half. The company became a major success and its products were in use all over the country.
New Castle News, New Castle, Pennsylvania, Tuesday, June 1, 1937, Page 1, Col. 2 and Page 2, Col. 3: C. J. Kirk Dies After Illness. Widely Known Business Man Dies At Age Of 78 Years. Was Founder of Local Industry.
[A photo of Mr. Kirk].
After two or three weeks of illness and an operation which failed to save his life, Charles Jackson Kirk, aged 78 years, of 308 Highland avenue, founder of the Universal Sanitary Manufacturing company, succumbed in the Jameson Memorial hospital on Saturday afternoon at ten minutes past two o'clock.
With his passing Lawrence county loses a lifelong resident, a man respected and admired for his sterling qualities of character and his remarkable abilities as a business executive. His death brings sadness alike to neighbors, his family and the men who worked in his employ.
It was in 1901 that Mr. Kirk founded the Universal plant at New Castle Junction, which has grown into one of the most important industries of the section and is known in the business world the country over. Mr. Kirk served the company as president and general manager. For the past ten years he had been retired and his son-in-law, William Keith McAfee, took care of his duties.
Mr. Kirk was born near Covert's Station, Lawrence county, on October 13, 1858, son of Henry M. and Margaret Sample Kirk. He passed his boyhood in that vicinity, coming to New Castle 60 years ago. Four years later he married Effie Peebles, who survives. He was a member of the Mahoning Lodge, F. & A. M.
Besides his wife he leaves two daughters, Mrs. Margaret Kirk Liggett, of Jenkinstown, Pa., and Mrs. Katherine Kirk McAfee, of New Castle; one son, Herbert S. Kirk, of New Castle; six grandchildren, and three brothers, Howard M. Kirk of New Castle, Thomas and Harris Kirk, of Bozeman, Mont.
Funeral services are being conducted at the residence this afternoon at 2:30 o'clock with Rev. Philip C. Pearson, rector of Trinity Episcopal church, in charge. Interment will follow in Greenwood cemetery.
His death certicate at ancestry.com states he was a manufacturer of pottery.
From Lawrence County Memoirs: In early 1901 a group of local industrialists took a gamble and provided the capital for Charles J. Kirk to start a small company known as the Universal Sanitary Manufacturing Company, which would make ceramic plumbing fixtures for bathrooms such as toilets and sinks. The company built a plant at New Castle Junction to take advantage of the railroad facilities and commenced operations with thirty employees in late 1901. A huge fire devastated the facility on July 15, 1911, and its future was in doubt. Kirk decided to rebuild at the same location and made a host of revolutionary changes in the coming years, including erecting a tunnel kiln system that cut production times in half. The company became a major success and its products were in use all over the country.
Events
| Birth | 13 Oct 1858 | Covert Station, Lawrence Co., Pennsylvania |  | ||
| Marriage | Abt 1881 | Effie R. Peebles | | ||
| Death | 29 May 1937 | New Castle, Lawrence Co., Pennsylvania | | ||
| Burial | Greenwood Cemetery, New Castle, Lawrence Co., Pennsylvania | |
Families
| Spouse | Effie R. Peebles (1858 - 1946) |
| Child | Charles P Kirk (1882 - ) |
| Child | Margaret Kirk (1884 - 1980) |
| Child | Katherine Kirk (1894 - ) |
| Child | Herbert Kirk (1895 - 2001) |
| Father | Henry Manning Kirk (1820 - 1902) |
| Mother | Margaret Ann Sample (1836 - 1891) |
| Sibling | Mary Elizabeth Kirk (1854 - 1893) |
| Sibling | Thomas Sample Kirk Sr. (1856 - 1941) |
| Sibling | Harris Kirk (1863 - 1958) |
| Sibling | Howard Manning Kirk (1868 - 1952) |
Endnotes
4. 1900 Census Lawrence Co., Pennsylvania.
5. Obituary of Charles Jackson Kirk, New Castle News, New Castle, Pennsylvania, Tuesday, June 1, 1937, Page 1, Col. 2 and Page 2, Col. 3.