Individual Details
Jay Franklin Kirkpatrick
(17 Mar 1880 - 7 Dec 1956)
Jay Kirkpatrick was born on the family homestead about thirty miles southeast of Spokane, near Mount Hope in Spokane County, Washington on 17 March 1880. His father died when he was only thirteen years old. When he was about fifteen years old he and another boy were accused of breaking a window in a house under construction. He was sent to a reform school for boys in Chehalis, Washington, where he was kept for about four years.
After his release, Jay went to Seattle, where he signed onto a square rigged, four masted lumber schooner which was bound for Cape Town, South Africa, with a load of lumber, for a trip that was about 16,000 miles at sea. The ship made only one stop on the trip, at Pitcairn Island to take on provisions. From there the ship sailed southeast and rounded the Cape Horn at the tip of South America, even as Jay's father had done in the opposite direction nearly fifty years before, on his way to California's gold fields.
When the ship arrived in Cape Town, the Boer War was in progress. Jay and some other sailors from the ship, while on shore leave, apparently got drunk and said something about the war which offended the British. Jay was arrested and spent the night in jail. When he appeared before the Magistrate the next day he was released because "he was a dumb Yankee."
Later, he returned to his ship drunk and fell through an open hatch, breaking several ribs and cutting himself up badly. The first mate was going to sew him up with a sail needle, but fortunately a Salvation Army lady came to his aid instead. This was Jay's first contact with the Salvation Army. Whether because of this contact or for some other reason, Jay apparently left his ship and stayed in South Africa for some years, traveling around the country, sometimes by bicycle. At some point during this period he joined the Salvation Army and became an officer.
During his travels he met Edith Jane ("Jenny") White of King Williams Town, near East London on the southeast coast of South Africa. Jenny was born in King William Town on 26 August 1887. She entered the Salvation Army School for Officer Training in 1905. A year later, in 1906, she and Jay Kirkpatrick were married. Their oldest child, a daughter, was born in South Africa.
Jay returned to Washington in 1909 and acquired a homestead in an area called Cougar Gulch, Idaho, near Mica Peak, a few miles from Coeur d'Alene. Jenny soon followed him with their daughter, and six months pregnant with their second child.
Jay and Jenny served intermittently as officers in the Salvation Army in many western cities. During World War II Jay gave travelogue lectures about South Africa in the Los Angeles area. About 1965 Jenny was selected "Queen for a Day." Her request was for a trip to Africa to see family members last seen 54 years previously. This three month adventure brought a joyous reunion with sisters and a brother whose only contact had been through letters for so many years.
Jay and Jenny spent their last years in Sacramento, California. Jay and Jenny both died in Sacramento, he in 1956 and she on 7 March 1969.
There were seven (7) children born of the marriage.
On the 1920 U. S. Census of Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah, Jay F. appears alone as a lodger. He is working as a photographer for Dion Studio. His family is not with him.
On the 1930 U. S. census of Ventura, Ventura Co., California Jay F. and his wife Edith are clergymen in the Salvation Army. Their children Thelma, Herbert and Jay are with them.
The Sacramento Bee, Sacramento, California, Monday, December 1956, Page 8, Col. 5: Jay Kirkpatrick Rites Are Set For Tomorrow. Last rites will be held tomorrow for Jay F. Kirkpatrick, 76, treasurer of the Salvation Army Church at 2219 Alhambra Avenue for the last three years. He also taught Bible classes in the church.
Kirkpatrick died Friday in his home, 6000 4th Avenue, of a heart ailment. He was a retired Salvation Army officer. Born in Spokane, Wash, he was a sailor when he was a young man. He joined the Salvation army in 1901 in Kingwilliamtown, Union of South Africa and married in that city in 1907. He returned 1909 to Spokane where he was employed in lumber mills until 1920 when he rejoined the Salvation Army in Idaho. Later he served in Utah; Modesto; Reno, Nev; Eureka, Humboldt County; Sacramento, Huntington Park and Ventura. He was an adjutant in the army in 1933 when he retired because of his health. He returned to Sacramento four years ago.
Surviving are his wife, Edith, children, Arthur and Jay B. Kirkpatrick, Mrs. Joy Rickard, Mrs. Dorothy McDougald and Mrs. Thelma Lucas, all of Sacramento, and Mrs. Jessie Overholt of Elk Grove. He also leaves a brother, Irving Kirkpatrick of Sacramento, and 12 grandchildren.
The services will begin at 1:30 PM in the Salvation Army Church Chapel. Burial will be in East Lawn Cemetery.
After his release, Jay went to Seattle, where he signed onto a square rigged, four masted lumber schooner which was bound for Cape Town, South Africa, with a load of lumber, for a trip that was about 16,000 miles at sea. The ship made only one stop on the trip, at Pitcairn Island to take on provisions. From there the ship sailed southeast and rounded the Cape Horn at the tip of South America, even as Jay's father had done in the opposite direction nearly fifty years before, on his way to California's gold fields.
When the ship arrived in Cape Town, the Boer War was in progress. Jay and some other sailors from the ship, while on shore leave, apparently got drunk and said something about the war which offended the British. Jay was arrested and spent the night in jail. When he appeared before the Magistrate the next day he was released because "he was a dumb Yankee."
Later, he returned to his ship drunk and fell through an open hatch, breaking several ribs and cutting himself up badly. The first mate was going to sew him up with a sail needle, but fortunately a Salvation Army lady came to his aid instead. This was Jay's first contact with the Salvation Army. Whether because of this contact or for some other reason, Jay apparently left his ship and stayed in South Africa for some years, traveling around the country, sometimes by bicycle. At some point during this period he joined the Salvation Army and became an officer.
During his travels he met Edith Jane ("Jenny") White of King Williams Town, near East London on the southeast coast of South Africa. Jenny was born in King William Town on 26 August 1887. She entered the Salvation Army School for Officer Training in 1905. A year later, in 1906, she and Jay Kirkpatrick were married. Their oldest child, a daughter, was born in South Africa.
Jay returned to Washington in 1909 and acquired a homestead in an area called Cougar Gulch, Idaho, near Mica Peak, a few miles from Coeur d'Alene. Jenny soon followed him with their daughter, and six months pregnant with their second child.
Jay and Jenny served intermittently as officers in the Salvation Army in many western cities. During World War II Jay gave travelogue lectures about South Africa in the Los Angeles area. About 1965 Jenny was selected "Queen for a Day." Her request was for a trip to Africa to see family members last seen 54 years previously. This three month adventure brought a joyous reunion with sisters and a brother whose only contact had been through letters for so many years.
Jay and Jenny spent their last years in Sacramento, California. Jay and Jenny both died in Sacramento, he in 1956 and she on 7 March 1969.
There were seven (7) children born of the marriage.
On the 1920 U. S. Census of Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., Utah, Jay F. appears alone as a lodger. He is working as a photographer for Dion Studio. His family is not with him.
On the 1930 U. S. census of Ventura, Ventura Co., California Jay F. and his wife Edith are clergymen in the Salvation Army. Their children Thelma, Herbert and Jay are with them.
The Sacramento Bee, Sacramento, California, Monday, December 1956, Page 8, Col. 5: Jay Kirkpatrick Rites Are Set For Tomorrow. Last rites will be held tomorrow for Jay F. Kirkpatrick, 76, treasurer of the Salvation Army Church at 2219 Alhambra Avenue for the last three years. He also taught Bible classes in the church.
Kirkpatrick died Friday in his home, 6000 4th Avenue, of a heart ailment. He was a retired Salvation Army officer. Born in Spokane, Wash, he was a sailor when he was a young man. He joined the Salvation army in 1901 in Kingwilliamtown, Union of South Africa and married in that city in 1907. He returned 1909 to Spokane where he was employed in lumber mills until 1920 when he rejoined the Salvation Army in Idaho. Later he served in Utah; Modesto; Reno, Nev; Eureka, Humboldt County; Sacramento, Huntington Park and Ventura. He was an adjutant in the army in 1933 when he retired because of his health. He returned to Sacramento four years ago.
Surviving are his wife, Edith, children, Arthur and Jay B. Kirkpatrick, Mrs. Joy Rickard, Mrs. Dorothy McDougald and Mrs. Thelma Lucas, all of Sacramento, and Mrs. Jessie Overholt of Elk Grove. He also leaves a brother, Irving Kirkpatrick of Sacramento, and 12 grandchildren.
The services will begin at 1:30 PM in the Salvation Army Church Chapel. Burial will be in East Lawn Cemetery.
Events
| Birth | 17 Mar 1880 | Spokane Co., Washington | |||
| Marriage | 7 Jul 1907 | King William's Town, Eastern Cape, South Africa - Edith Jane White |  | ||
| Death | 7 Dec 1956 | Sacramento, Sacramento Co., California | | ||
| Burial | East Lawn Cemetery, Sacramento, Sacramento Co., California | |
Families
| Spouse | Edith Jane White (1887 - 1969) |
| Child | Joy Edith Kirkpatrick (1908 - 1957) |
| Child | Arthur Franklin Kirkpatrick (1910 - 1998) |
| Child | Dorothy May Kirkpatrick (1912 - 1976) |
| Child | Jessie Mary Kirkpatrick (1914 - 2009) |
| Child | Thelma D'Alene Kirkpatrick (1916 - 2004) |
| Child | Herbert Edward "Bing" Kirkpatrick (1917 - 1951) |
| Child | Jay Bramwell Kirkpatrick (1920 - 1994) |
| Father | Evan Augustus Kirkpatrick (1833 - 1893) |
| Mother | Arminta Nail (1862 - 1934) |
| Sibling | Lindsay Evan Kirkpatrick (1881 - 1938) |
| Sibling | Ira Scott Kirkpatrick (1883 - 1884) |
| Sibling | George Everett Kirkpatrick (1884 - 1943) |
| Sibling | Rosie Ellen Kirkpatrick (1887 - 1890) |
| Sibling | Emma Letha Kirkpatrick (1889 - 1933) |
| Sibling | Irvin Jean Kirkpatrick (1892 - 1968) |
Endnotes
1. Ancestry.com.
2. California Death Records.
3. Ancestry.com.