1906 Historical Encyclopedia Of Illinois & History of Morgan County IL

KENDRICK, Thomas J., a well known, popular and influential citizen of Jacksonville, Morgan County, Ill., was born January 11, 1869, at Ferns, County Wexford, Ireland, the son of John and Kate (Redmond) Kendrick, both of whom were natives of that county-the former born in 1830, and the latter in 1837. The mother, who died in 1879, was a second-cousin of John Edward Redmond, the celebrated Irish leader. In the old country John Kendrick was a farmer by occupation. He came to this country in 1888, and lived with some of his relatives in Detroit, Mich., until his death, August 8, 1902.

Thomas J. Kendrick received a good mental training in the national schools of Ireland. After finishing his course in school he served an apprenticeship of five years with a dry-goods merchant. Having an ambition to improve his fortunes, he came to the United States in May, 1888, and proceeded direct to Jacksonville, where he worked for different persons until September 1, 1892. At that period he secured employment as a boiler maker and flue welder in the old Jacksonville Car Shops which were subsequently destroyed by fire. He was then engaged in the same occupation in the new shops of the Chicago, Peoria & St. Louis Railroad, where he still remains. He is Corresponding Secretary of the Jacksonville Boiler Makers' Union, Trustee of the Trades Assembly, a Director of the Chicago, Peoria & St. Louis Mutual Benefit Society, and President of the Trades and Labor Assembly of Jacksonville, being elected to the position last named on July 13, 1905.

On November 22, 1892, Mr. Kendrick was united in marriage with Mary Anne Ward, of Murrayville, Ill., a daughter of Martin and Mary (Needham) Ward. Two children have been born of this union, namely: John Edward Redmond, born August 28, 1893, and Maggie Mary, born September 27, 1896. In religion, Mr. Kendrick is a devout Catholic, and an active member of the church. Politically, he is an earnest and influential Democrat, and has always taken a lively interest in public affairs. In 1901 he was elected a member of the City Council of Jacksonville from the First Ward, and made a reputation as a valuable representative of the best interests of the city. In November, 1903, Mayor John R. Davis appointed him one of the first Board of Commissioners of the Morgan Lake Park System; and Mr. Kendrick made the original motion to change the name to Nichols Park, by which it is now known. In 1905 he was again elected Alderman, acquitting himself with equal ability and fidelity. Fraternally, Mr. Kendrick is a member of the third degree of the Knights of Columbus. He is also affiliated with the Eagles and A.O.H., and had the distinction of representing the latter organization in its Fortieth National Convention, held at Detroit, Mich., in 1896. In addition to these fraternal relations, he belongs to the M.P.L. Lodge No. 19, in which he has been a member of the Routt Club. He is a man of strict rectitude of character, and is high regarded by all who have the pleasure of his acquaintance.

KENNEDY, David Elvin, a well known, highly respected and prosperous farmer and stock-raiser in the vicinity of Jacksonville, Morgan County, Ill., and who is also successfully engaged in the livery business in that city, was born on Section 5, Township 16, Range 10, Morgan County, in July, 1864, a son of Naoman and Emily E. (Johnson) Kennedy, who are also natives of Illinois. At an early period his paternal grandfather, who was a farmer, with his wife and family, migrated from Ohio to Morgan County, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Naoman Kennedy, although a wagon-maker by trade, devoted his attention mainly to farming. He and his wife are living two miles north of Arcadia, Ill., in the home where their son David was born. The father owns 320 acres of land in Morgan County, devoted to general farming purposes. The parents are both members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which Naoman Kennedy has officiated as Steward and Trustee for many years. They are the parents of five children, namely: William A., of Mulvane, Kans.; Flora H. (Mrs. Dr. A. J. Ogram), of Jacksonville, Ill.; James H., who lives in Muskogee, I. T.; David E.; and John Edward, who is with his parents.

In his boyhood David E. Kennedy received his mental training in the district schools, and in 1881 entered the Jacksonville Business College, from which he was graduated February 13, 1883. He was reared as a tiller of the soil and a caretaker of the fine stock which his father raised, continuing in this occupation until he had the misfortune to lose his left arm in a shredding machine, November 29, 1901. After his recovery he went into the livery business in Jacksonville, in partnership with S. Thomas Erickson. The firm conducted a good business, but in a short time Mr. Kennedy purchased his partner's interest and is still its sole proprietor. He has a well equipped establishment of twenty-five horses, and caters to the light livery custom, being one of the best concerns of the kind in this section of the State.

Mr. Kennedy is the owner of 262 acres of fine farming and stock-raising land, divided into two farms, one of 140 and the other of 122 acres. One of these is rented, and the other devoted to the raising of fine road-horses. He has twenty-one colts, ranging to the age of three years, and of this number eighteen are as black as coal. They are "Nutwood" stock from the famous stallion "Oneida Nutwood," and represent one of the finest trotting breeds in the country. He also owns the noted saddle horse, "Dick Yates," famous for his numerous saddle progeny. In all, Mr. Kennedy has on his stock farm about thirty head of fine and blooded horses. He made the place his home until 1902, when he came to Jacksonville, where he has since resided. Besides his farms in Illinois, he is the owner of 160 acres of land in Gove County, Kans., which he devotes to grain-raising, and which, in 1903, yielded 3,174 bushels of wheat.

On August 11, 1887, Mr. Kennedy was married to Rosalind Heigold, a daughter of Charles Augustus and Harriet (James) Heigold. Their union has resulted in one child, Mamie Augusta, born February 7, 1899. In Politics, mr. Kennedy is an earnest and active Republican, and takes a lively interest in his party's success. In 1902 he was nominated for Assessor and Treasurer, but the Republican ticket was defeated. Religiously, he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. In fraternal circles, he is identified with the M.W.A. and M.P.L. He is one of the prominent citizens of the county, and is everywhere regarded as an intelligent honorable and useful member of the community.

KENNEDY, Noaman L., for many years a successful farmer in the vicinity of Arcadia, Morgan County, Ill., and one of the most prominent citizens of this section, was born in Mercer County, Pa., May 1, 1831, the son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Stibbey) Kennedy, who moved to Trumbull County, Ohio, about the year 1837, the father being a cabinet maker by trade. N. L. Kennedy attended the public schools in Ohio, where he grew to manhood. When a boy, he began working by the day and month, and, upon reaching the age of nineteen years, entered upon an apprenticeship at the wagon-maker's trade, continuing for two years. The first year he received $36 and board, and the second year $48. Soon afterward he started a wagon shop at Jared, Ohio. When he came to Illinois in 1853, traveling by canal and river, he brought with him three buggies and a two-horse wagon, which he had made in his Ohio shop. Upon his arrival in Morgan County he sold two of the buggies for $100 each. Shortly after locating here he was employed in a wagonshop in Arcadia, being thus engaged for two years, when he moved to the farm on which he now lives, and of which he had been the owner since 1853. It consisted of 80 acres which he purchased at $6.50 per acre, with three years' time in which to pay for it. A hewed log house and barn then stood in the same yard of 20 acres in which is now his present residence, and the property was called the John Bramer Place. In this log cabin Mr. Kennedy lived for years. He built the fine home which he now occupies in 1867, and the present farm consists of 310 acres, in a compact body of land, on which he has been engaged in general farming and stock-raising, with marked success.

On March 8, 1855, Mr. Kennedy was married to Emily E. Johnson, a sketch of whose family appears elsewhere in this volume. Five children resulted from this union, namely: William Z., who is a carpenter, and lives in Kansas; Flora H., wife of Dr. A. J. Ogram, of Jacksonville; James, who lives on the farm with his father; David E., who conducts a livery stable in Jacksonville; and John E. who operates a portion of the home farm. The parents celebrated their golden wedding anniversary March 8, 1905. On political issues, Mr. Kennedy has always been an unswerving Republican. Religiously, he and his wife have been members of the Methodist Episcopal Church for more than fifty years. As a farmer, he has met with deserved success, is a man of the highest character, and, wherever he is known, is regarded with great respect and cordial esteem.



KEPLINGER - The Keplingers seem to have come to this country from Bavaria before the Revolutionary War, since one Peter Keplinger served in a Pennsylvania regiment during that war. The Keplingers have been regarded as among the worthiest citizens of Morgan County, both in pioneer and later times.

JOHN KEPLINGER and wife Elizabeth ruble, and ten children, came to Morgan County from Tennessee in 1828 in covered wagons; one wagon drawn by five horses, another by four, and with a one-horse gig. Mr. Keplinger's family consisted of eight sons, Jacob, Samuel, Isaac, Peter, John E., George, Michael Shunk, and Richard (the last two by a second wife) and four daughters - Mrs. T. J. Harris, Waverly, Ill.; Mrs. James York, of Macoupin County, Ill.; Mrs. B. B. Harris; and Mrs. Wilburn Rohrer, Waverly, Ill. All lived to maturity, most of them living to a good old age.

SAMUEL KEPLINGER married Permelia Green in 1833. After his marriage he followed the blacksmith trade in Jacksonville four years, when he entered and bought land near Franklin, and, erecting a shop on his farm, followed his trade, in that way earning the money to pay for his land, which amounted to 400 acres. That place continued to be his home until his death, which occurred in 1886, at the age of seventy-seven years. His wife died in 1883, aged seventy-two years. Eight of their children lived to adult age: Mrs. Gen. John Irving Rinaker, Carlinville, Ill.; Hardin Green, Franklin, Ill.; Lewis W., Kansas City, Kans.; M. Luther, Carlinville, Ill.; Mrs. M. A. Smith, of California; Mrs. John W. Smith, of DeGraff, Kans.; and Mrs. Alex. VanWinkle, who died in Wisconsin in 1870.

PETER KEPLINGER lived and died in Macoupin County, Ill.

JOHN E. KEPLINGER died at Waverly, Ill., in 1890.

The Keplingers, on their mother's side (Ruble), are related to the Borings and Pitners, who also were among the early and valuable pioneer immigrants to Morgan County. The chief motive that led the original family to come to Illinois was the desire to remove the presence and influence of slavery. The patriotic record of the family is truly noble. One, Peter Keplinger, served in a Pennsylvania regiment in the Revolutionary War. Two sons of John Keplinger, John E. and Michael Shunk, served in the War of the Rebellion. Two sons of Samuel Keplinger, Hardin G., and Lewis W., and two sons-in-law - Gen. John I. Rinaker and Alex. VanWinkle, all that were of military age - and two sons of Peter Keplinger, served in the Civil War.

KEPLINGER, Hardin G. - The first settlers in a new country or city, independently of any intrinsic qualities which they possess, are objects of peculiar interest to succeeding generations; and to have the honor of pioneer parentage is to suggest in a man the possession of qualities of understanding and will, of enterprise and perseverance, of foresight and sagacity, characteristic of region and race from which he sprang. Hardin G. Keplinger was thus blest by a pioneer ancestry, his birthplace being on his father's farm, located a mile northwest of Franklin, and his birthday November 25, 1839. His parents were Samuel and Permelia (Green) Keplinger, both of whom were descended from early settlers of Illinois, John Green coming to Morgan County in 1822, and Samuel Keplinger following him in 1829. Samuel Keplinger was born in Washington County, Tenn., June 2, 1809. Although reared in the South, Samuel Keplinger soon accustomed himself to Northern methods of agriculture, accumulated a large estate, became known for his successes along that line of labor, and died June 20, 1886. He was the father of twelve children, of whom Hardin G. was the fourth born. The surviving members of this large family are: Clarissa, wife of General J. I. Rinaker of Carlinville, Ill.; Hardin G.; Lewis W.; M. L.; Alice, widow of William Smith; and Ella, wife of J. W. Smith.

After leaving the public schools Hardin G. Keplinger entered Illinois College at Jacksonville, and had reached his senior year when the Civil War broke out. Not pausing long enough to procure the desired diploma (which was afterward granted), in April, 1861, the youth enlisted in the "Hardin Light Guards," which was later attached to the Tenth Illinois Infantry as Company B. He served in this company for ninety days and subsequently was assigned successively to the Thirty-second Regiment Illinois Infantry and the One Hundred Twenty-second Regiment, serving as Adjutant of the latter until the close of the war. He had the honor to participate in such glorious engagements as the battles of Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Corinth, Nashville, Mobile and Fort Blakeley, and the misfortune to be wounded at the battle of Shiloh, and during the siege of Corinth. At the close of the war he settled on a farm of his own near the old homestead and for a time engaged in agriculture. Although other interests have since claimed his attention, he still retains 380 acres of land.

On October 3, 1867, Mr. Keplinger was married to Mattie, daughter of Jeremiah Bell, a prominent citizen and early settler of Jersey County, Ill., and of this union three children were reared to maturity: Maurice Bell; Lulu, wife of William T. Dodsworth, a farmer living near Franklin; and Ada, wife of J. M. Shepherd, a merchant at San Francisco, Cal.

Seeking some avenue through which to enter a business career, in 1886 Mr. Keplinger decided to organize and establish a bank, which, in association with Mr. W. H. Wright, he proceeded to do; but the death of his partner, in 1891, caused him to purchase Mr. Wright's interest and take into the business his own son, Maurice B. The institution has paid-up capital of $20,000, and is well patronized. In his political connections Mr. Keplinger is a stanch Republican, and at the present time is a member of the Town Board. He belongs to the Masonic order, and before its disbandment on account of depleted ranks by death and removals, was Commander of the G.A.R. Post.

KETNER, Joseph Francis, whose residence is on South main Street, just beyond the limits of the city of Jacksonville, was born in Morgan County, Ill., six miles north of Jacksonville, September 9, 1838, the son of Henry and Mahala (Crouse) Ketner, who came from their native State of North Carolina, in 1836, bringing with them their baby girl, Elizabeth. They made the journey by road in a wagon drawn by one horse. The father of Joseph F. located as a farmer in the timber land six miles north of Jacksonville and, after spending years of labor in clearing it, removed to the prairie three miles southeast of the city. There he accumulated a large estate, his farming land aggregating about 500 acres, which he thoroughly improved, and upon which he made a specialty of breeding choice Black Berkshire hogs.

Henry Ketner and his wife were the parents of six children, viz.: Elizabeth, born in North Carolina; J. F.; Andrew J.; Mary M.; William H., and Edward N. Mr. Ketner died August 18, 1890, and his wife, March 7, 1893, both being buried in Diamond Grove Cemetery.

Joseph F. Ketner was raised on his father's farm and attended the district schools near his home, which was a log cabin with puncheon floor and slabs for seats. He was married September 5, 1861, to Eliza J. Harney, daughter of John R. and Eliza A. (Wilson) Harney, who were both natives of Lexington, Ky., and came to Morgan County in 1832. For eight years after their marriage the young couple lived in the Ketner homestead, but in 1860 the husband had purchased 80 acres of land near Woodson, Morgan County. He has since added to his tract and now owns 200 acres, besides a half interest in his deceased father's estate. Mr. Kitner retired from active business in 1890, and his present home, nicely situated, is surrounded by five acres of ground.

To Mr. and Mrs. Ketner four children have been born, viz.: Melissa M., wife of William Crow; Nettie V., wife of Amos Megginson; Anne M., wife of C. C. Self; and Ida C., wife of William Crawley. The last named are living on the old homestead of the Ketners, and C. C. Self and Amos Megginson reside on the farm of Mr. Ketner near Woodson. Mr. Ketner is a School Director, having served for ten years in his present district and twenty years at Woodson. He is a Democrat, a member of the Masonic order, and one of the most substantial and respected residents of Morgan County.

KILIAN, Joseph, who, together with his son, George D., is engaged in the manufacture of fine carriages and buggies, in Jacksonville, Morgan County, Ill., under the firm style of J. Kilian & Son, is a native of Germany, where he was born March 1, 1850. He is a son of Adam and Catherine (Gasner) Kilian, also of German nativity, being brought by his parents to the United States when he was seven months old. The family remained about ten months at Salem, N.J., removing thence to Jacksonville, where they have since resided. Adam Kilian, who was a stone-mason by trade, died in 1874, and his widow passed away in 1882.

After attending the public school of his neighborhood, Joseph Kilian learned the carriage maker's trade with the firm of Hellenthal & Richards. For a time he then conducted a restaurant, and carried on farming for four years. In 1903 he engaged in the manufacture of carriages and buggies, and is located at Nos. 229 and 231 East Morgan Street. The firm handles both factory and hand-made vehicles of various kinds, and does an annual local business amounting to nearly $9,000.

On September 4, 1876, Mr. Kilian was united in marriage with Bridget Redman, a daughter of Daniel and Ellen (Delaney) Redman, and their union resulted in nine children, as follows: George D., his father's business partner; Helen, (Mrs. William C. Thornbarrow), Rockford, Ill.; Grace, (Mrs. J. H. Mallen), Jacksonville, Ill.; May, who is a member of the family circle; Lillian; John; Edward and Leo, who are engaged in study, and Joseph Jr., who died at the age of three years. Mrs. Kilian died on April 6, 1903.

In politics, Mr. Kilian is a supporter of the Democratic party. Fraternally he is affiliated with the K.O.T.M. and the Knights of Illinois. Mr. Kilian is a man of energetic and persevering disposition, devotes himself diligently to his business, and is regarded as strictly upright in his dealings.

KING, Allen Mason, M. D., physician and surgeon, Jacksonville, Ill., was born in that city August 12, 1876, the son of Dr. William H. H. and Louise (Allen) King. After attending the public schools and Whipple Academy, he entered Illinois College, pursuing his studies in that institution until his junior year. Having determined upon a career in medicine, in 1897 he entered the Barnes Medical College, St. Louis, from which he graduated, and for one year following studied and practiced in the Milwaukee (Wis.) City Hospital. Going thence to Philadelphia, he spent one year in post-graduate work in the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania, which conferred upon him a post-graduate degree. Since June, 1903, he has been engaged in the practice of his profession Jacksonville, occupying his father's old office on West State Street.

In connection with his private practice, Dr. King is an instructor in the Passavant Memorial Hospital Training School for Nurses. He is identified with the Morgan County Medical Society, the Illinois State Medical Society, the American Medical Association and the Jacksonville Medical Club.

Early in life Dr. King manifested a distinct predilection for surgery, and for a number of years before entering the medical college assisted his father and read medicine and surgery under his painstaking direction. To these causes may be attributed the success which already attended his practice, particularly as a surgeon, and his early recognition by his older and more experienced contemporaries.

KING, William Henry Harrison, M. D., (deceased), physician and surgeon, Jacksonville, Ill., was born in Chicago, Ill., November 6, 1842, and died in the sanitarium at Battle Creek, Mich., November 14, 1897. His parents were Willis and Abigail (Taylor) King, his father, who was born in Sheffield, Conn., in 1800, removing to Chicago in 1838, and in 1845 locating at Jacksonville, where he engaged in the lumber business. His death occurred in Chicago in 1849. His wife was a niece of Gen. Zachary Taylor, the twelfth President of the United States.

The genealogical record of the King family shows that James and William King, the founders of the family in America, were sons of William King, of Uxborough, County of Devonshire, England, who, during his last fishing voyage, was cast away and drowned on the Banks of Newfoundland. The record of the descendants of William King is not known positively. James King, the first American ancestor, married Elizabeth Emerson, a descendant of an honorable English family. He settled in Ipswich, Mass., where his eldest son, James, was born about 1692. The records of the town of Suffield, Conn., show that James King, the elder, received a grant of land in that town in October, 1678; and he may have located there some time prior to that date. On June 23, 1698, James King married Elizabeth Hurley, and one of their sons, Ebenezer, who was born December 8, 1706, married Abigail Seymour, March 30, 1727. His descendants are the most numerous of any branch of the family. Amos King, the seventh son of the second James King, was born May 6, 1715, and was educated to "the practice of physic." He died in 1745, leaving no family.

It was the hope of Dr. King's mother that he might become a minister of the Gospel, but his tastes lay in a different direction. After attending one of the public schools of Jacksonville, in 1859 he entered Illinois College, with the expectation of taking the complete course. But the study of natural history, the investigation of the structure, food and habits of animals and birds, created in him a profound interest in medicine and surgery. When the Civil War broke out, however, nothing could prevent him from leaving college at once and offering his services to the Federal Government. On January 15, 1862, at Jacksonville, he enlisted in Company E, Thirty-second Illinois Volunteer Infantry, but on account of his youth he was at once made Hospital Steward. Having secured a furlough for the purpose, he attended lectures at Rush Medical College, Chicago, during the winters of 1862 and '63; and, both during the intervals between terms and after being graduated January 24, 1865, he returned to the front. On February 3, 1865, he was promoted to the post of Assistant Surgeon; and September 2d, of that year, he received a commission as Surgeon. He accompanied General Sherman on the memorable "March to the Sea," and participated in the Grand Review at Washington. The sole casualty he suffered occurred while he was in camp at Holly Springs, Miss., where his leg was fractured by a falling tree. This injury was the cause of the limp in his walk, and gave him considerable trouble during the years immediately following the war. At its close he was detailed for service in the Wyoming Indian campaigns; but, being mustered out at the end of the year 1865, he returned to Jacksonville to begin the practice of his chosen profession.

Dr. King began his professional career badly handicapped, but undaunted. Having no means of his own, he made with his own hands, the furniture necessary for the equipment of his office on East State Street. After a short season of discouragement, during which he was an interne at the Indiana State Insane Asylum, at Indianapolis, in 1873 he became Assistant Physician in the Sanitarium of Dr. David Prince, Jacksonville, and having established a growing private practice, located on West State Street. In 1877 he opened an office in his residence on West State Street (now occupied by his son, Dr. Allen M. King), where he practiced during the remainder of his life. It was not long before his skill and kindness of heart earned him an extensive general practice and a special patronage in the department of surgery. In 1875 his public spirit as a citizen and his foresight as a surgeon led him to recognize in the humble beginning of the Jacksonville Hospital (now the Passavant Memorial Hospital), an institution of great future advantage to the town and to the medical profession. For several years from its inception he was the only physician in the city who exhibited any practical interest in its welfare, or gave any attention to the needs of its inmates, many of whom he treated without any hope or expectation of financial reward. Notwithstanding his laborious and frequently exhausting private practice, Dr. King soon found himself in a position where he was able to indulge his taste for natural science and American archaeology, and during his life he accumulated a splendid museum illustrating those branches, and representing an expenditure of fully $25,000, besides untold labor.

Dr. King's excessive labors finally resulted in a general breaking down of his health, and necessitated the abandonment of his professional duties for nine months, during which he made a tour around the world in company with two of his intimate friends. Upon his return, his desire to increase the facilities of the hospital which he had founded led him to take up the work immediately, and its successful accomplishment appeared to have become the absorbing passion of his life. He was chairman of the committee which had in charge the erection of its new building, and not only threw himself into the work with characteristic energy, but even contributed of his private means to the extent of $14,000. The commodious new building was opened to the public January 1, 1897, after which Dr. King was prevailed upon to take a Colorado trip for the benefit of his nervous troubles. Returning, somewhat benefited, he was seized with paralysis, while performing a surgical operation, and afterward removed to the Battle Creek (Mich.) Sanitarium where, as stated, he died November 14, 1897.

Dr. King was a charter member of the Morgan County Medical Society, organized in 1866, in which he served as Treasurer from 1871 to 1881, with the exception of the year 1873, when he was its President. He was also Surgeon for over twenty years of the Chicago & Alton system, acting in the same capacity, at various times, for the Chicago, Peoria & St. Louis, the Jacksonville, Louisville & St. Louis and the Wabash Railroad Companies, and was Local Examiner for about twenty life insurance companies. In politics he was a stanch Republican, and especially during the years of presidential elections took an active interest in the promotion of his party's interests. He was the author of innumerable charities; but none ever knew of them from his own lips, as he despised notoriety and self-aggrandizement.

Dr. King was united in marriage May 25, 1875, with Louise Allen, daughter of John and Emily (Chandler) Allen. Her father, a graduate from the medical department of Dartmouth University, and for many years a physician and surgeon of Petersburg, Ill., was born in Chelsea, Vt., March 30, 1801; removed to Illinois in the early days, and died at Petersburg in April 1863. He was a son of Sluman Allen, who was born October 24, 1760, served in the Fourth Connecticut Regiment during the Revolutionary War and died in 1834. Isaac Allen, the father of Sluman, was also a soldier of the Patriot army.

The children of Dr. King and his wife are: Allen M. King, M. D., a practicing physician and surgeon, of Jacksonville; Abigail and Harrison-all of whom reside at home.

The most faithful labors of Dr. King's life, and those which leave behind him the fragrance of a blessed memory, were devoted to the foundation and building of an institution of the highest utility for his fellow-men. Aside from the beneficences incidental to the work he performed in connection with Passavant Memorial Hospital, his private charities were incessant and manifold. Underneath his bluff and independent exterior there reposed a heart so kind, so gracious, so thoroughly attuned to the spirit of the Golden Rule, that he could not resist the impulse to perform a kindly act for one in distress whenever the occasion arose. Few men are so absolutely free from cant, hypocrisy and selfishness. Hundreds of the poor and needy of Jacksonville will revere his memory while they live, for it was to such as they that he proved the greatest friend in need. He was the good Samaritan who poured oil upon the wounds of the stricken traveler, not pausing to criticise or to inquire through whose fault he had fallen by the wayside. He entered into the lives of those in distress with the sympathy and personal help which the claims of common humanity exact from kind and generous souls.

KINMAN, Edward M., engaged in the practice of law and the abstract business at Jacksonville, Ill., was born on his father's farm three miles northwest of that city, April 2, 1856, the son of William and Ann (Shinn) Kinman - the father born near Vincennes, Ind., in 1812, and the mother a native of Camden, N. J. In 1820 William Kinman moved with his parents from Indiana to Pike County, Ill., passing through what was then the small settlement of Jacksonville. In 1851 he returned to that locality and settled upon the farm near jacksonville, where E. M. Kinman was born. William Kinman saw service in the Black Hawk War; was a Captain in Col. Bissell's Regiment (Second Illinois Volunteers) in the Mexican War; was Lieutenant-Colonel of the One Hundred and Fifteenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War and was killed at the battle of Chickamauga. His sons, Capt. Cyrus L. Kinman and Newton D. Kinman, were in the Civil War, the latter also dying in the service. There were eleven children born to Col. William and Kinman and wife, and E. M. Was the youngest member of the family. In 1864 the mother and family removed from the homestead farm to the city of Jacksonville.

E. M. Kinman graduated from the High School of Jacksonville in 1873, and from the Northwestern University, at Evanston, in 1878. He read law with William Brown, of Brown, Kirby & Russell, Jacksonville, passed his examination before the Supreme Court, and was admitted to the bar in 1880, since that year having practiced his profession in that city alone. He was a Representative from Morgan County in the State Legislature for one term (Thirty-third General Assembly 1882-84), has served in the City Council, and has been one year on the Carnegie Library Board. In 1885 he was appointed by President Cleveland Postmaster of the city of Jacksonville, holding that office for one year. Mr. Kinman was married October 10, 1883, to Nellie C. Springer, daughter of John T. Springer, and sister to John W. Springer, of Denver, Colo., and they have one daughter, Ruth, now attending school. He is a member of the Board of Stewards of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of the I. O. O. F., and in politics a Democrat.


KIRBY, Edward Payson, Hon., attorney-at-law, Jacksonville, Ill., was born near Hadley, Will County, Ill., October 28, 1834, a son of Rev. William and Hannah McClure (Wolcott) Kirby. (For detailed ancestral history, see sketch of Rev. William Kirby.) His education was obtained in the private schools and Illinois College, at Jacksonville, whither he had removed with his parents in 1845. Having been graduated from this institution in 1854, he was engaged for three years in teaching a private school in St. Louis, Mo. In the fall of 1857 he began teaching in the West Jacksonville District School (which was located on the site of the present High School in Jacksonville), as assistant to Dr. Newton Bateman. Two years later he succeeded Dr. Bateman as Principal of the school, a post which he filled until the summer of 1862. On October 28, 1862, he married Julia S., youngest daughter of Joseph Duncan, the fifth Governor of the State of Illinois, and shortly afterward began the study of the law in the office of Morrison & Epler. In February, 1864, he was admitted to the bar, and has since been continuously engaged in the practice of his profession in Jacksonville.

An earnest and consistent Republican and a man who has always exhibited a deep interest in affairs of public utility, Judge Kirby has been called upon to serve upon the county bench and in the State Legislature. In 1873 he was chosen County Judge of Morgan County, having been elected in the face of a normal Democratic majority, and upon the expiration of his term of four years, was reelected for a term of five years - the change in the length of term having been caused by the law reorganizing the courts of the State. In 1890 he was the nominee of the Republican party for Representative in the State Legislature, and was elected, serving one term of two years. With the exception of these years, he has devoted his time entirely to his private practice. For thirty years he has been a member of the Board of Trustees of Illinois College, and for twenty-four years of that period served as its Treasurer. For eight years he acted as Secretary and Treasurer of the Board of Trustees of the Illinois Central Hospital for the Insane, and for nearly twelve years after relinquishing the office was a member of the Board of Trustees of that institution. Since its organization he has been a director in the Ayers National Bank of Jacksonville, and for some years has also been its Attorney. Other local enterprises with which he is identified include the Illinois Telephone Company, of which he is President, and the Whitehall Sewer-pipe and Stoneware Company, in the organization of which, in July, 1903, he took an active part, and in which he has since been a Director. Though the plant of this concern is located at Whitehall, Ill., the stock is largely held by residents of Jacksonville. Judge Kirby is a member of the Congregational Church of Jacksonville, of which he has been a Trustee for several years; is a Past Master of Harmony Lodge No. 3, A.F. & A.M., and a member of Jacksonville Lodge No. 682, B.P.O.E.

The first wife of Judge Kirby dying in July, 1896, in October, 1898, he was united in marriage with Lucinda Gallaher, daughter of Rev. William G. Gallaher, one of the pioneer Presbyterian clergymen of Illinois, who came to this State from Tennessee, and for many years as located in Morgan County.

KIRBY, William, Rev., (deceased), one of the founders of Illinois College and a pioneer congregational clergyman, was born July 2, 1805, in what is now Middletown, Conn., the son of Elisha and Betsey (Spencer) Kirby. On both sides of the family the ancestry may be traced for many generations. Elisha Kirby, his father, a resident of Middletown for many years, and afterward of New Haven, Conn., was a son of Jonathan, who was a son of John, who was a son of Joseph. The latter was a son of John Kirby, who came from Warwickshire, England, sailing from London on the ship "Hopewell", September 11, 1635, and becoming the founder of this branch of the family in America. His final location in this country was at Middletown, Conn., where several generations of the family resided. The name Kirby is probably of Danish origin, and was originally spelled Kirkby, from "kirke", meaning church, and "bye," meaning dwelling.

Early in life William Kirby decided to enter the Christian ministry, and all the early years of his life were spent in earnest preparation for the work. In 1827 he was graduated from Yale College with one of the high honors. The following year he entered Yale Divinity School, from which he was also graduated. On March 22, 1831, he was ordained to the ministry at Guilford, Conn., and thence at once started overland for Illinois for the purpose of assisting in the foundation of Illinois College. On November 28, 1832, he was joined in matrimony with Hannah McClure Wolcott, who was born June 7, 1811, at East Windsor, Conn. She was a daughter of Elihu Wolcott, a lineal descendant of a brother of Oliver Wolcott, who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Elihu Wolcott was a son of Samuel and Jerusha Wolcott. Samuel Wolcott was a son of Gideon and Abigail (Mather) Wolcott; Gideon was a son of Henry; Henry was a son of Simeon, who was five years of age when his father, Henry Wolcott, Jr., an English merchant, emigrated to Boston, where he became prominent in the early public affairs of Massachusetts Bay Colony. He was born January 21, 1610 (Old Style), and was admitted as a freeman of the colony in 1634. Elihu Wolcott married Rachel McClintock, the youngest daughter of Rev. David McClure, D. D., of South Windsor, Conn.

Soon after taking up the work of teaching in Illinois College, ill health impelled Mr. Kirby to abandon his labors and resume the ministry. In the spring of 1833 he began preaching at Union Grove, Putnam (now Whiteside) County, and soon afterward was placed in charge of the church at Hadley or Blackstone's Grove, Will County, Ill. In May, 1836, he was installed as pastor of the congregational Church at Mendon. While officiating at that place he was chosen a delegate to the first anti-slavery convention in Illinois, held at Upper Alton, October 26, 1837, and helped to draft the constitution of the State Anti-Slavery Society then organized. In 1845 he resigned the charge at Mendon and became General Agent of the American Home Missionary Society, continuing in the work incidental to this post until his death, which occurred at Winchester, Ill., December 20, 1851, while he was engaged in the establishment of a Presbyterian Church near Naples, Scott County, Ill. At this time he was still a resident of Jacksonville, however, which had been his home since 1845.

William Kirby was regarded as one of the strong men of the Congregational Church in Illinois. Although for many years in comparatively feeble health, he gave unremittingly of his time and labor to the work which he had elected as his life's career, and his all too brief life was characterized by the greatest devotion to the high calling of the ministry. He was a pioneer, a missionary, a preacher and a teacher at a period in the history of Illinois when practically the only reward he could expect was the consciousness of having assisted in the work of erecting a firm foundation for the super-structure which his successors have been able to build.

KITNER, Edward N., whose residence is 438 East College Avenue, Jacksonville, was born August 25, 1854, on his father's farm, situated three miles southeast of Jacksonville, on the old Vandalia Road. His parents were Henry and Mahala (Crouse) Kitner, who were both natives of North Carolina, and Edward N. was the youngest in a family of six children.

Henry Kitner, with his wife and an infant child, Elizabeth, came from North Carolina in the year 1836, making the journey to Morgan County, Ill., by means of a one-horse wagon. The family at first settled on a farm north of Jacksonville, on Indian Creek, but later located on the farm where Mr. Kitner was born. Henry Kitner followed general farming and lived an uneventful life, but was a successful man of business, acquiring an estate of nearly 500 acres of land. His death occurred August 18, 1890, his wife following him to the grave March 7, 1893. Edward N. Kitner was reared to farming, attended the country schools and lived at home until he was forty years of age. In the meantime, August 25, 1885, he married Mollie Letton, daughter of Caleb and Mary (Laytham) Letton, formerly of Bourbon County, Ky., who came to Morgan County, Ill., in the early fifties. Caleb Letton served in the Civil War as a member of Company D, One Hundred and First Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry.

Mr. Kitner and wife have three children: Elizabeth M., Henry and Dorothy D.

The old family homestead is managed by Edward N. Kitner and his brother, Joseph, but the estate is not yet divided. In 1894 Edward N. became proprietor of a livery stable at Jacksonville, operated it for five years, and sold it in 1899. He is the owner of several residences in Jacksonville, and for the past few years has devoted his time and attention to these properties. He is a member of the Christian Church, and in politics, like his father, is a Democrat.

KNOWLES, Thomas S., one of the oldest and most prominent and substantial citizens of Jacksonville, Morgan County, Ill., was born in Menard County, Ill., near Petersburg, December 9, 1844, a son of Allen and Rachael (Hill) Knowles, the former a native of Georgia and the latter of Charleston, S.C. Allen Knowles settled in Morgan county in November, 1863, and was a farmer until his death.

Thomas S. Knowles was nineteen years old when his parents arrived in Morgan County. On reaching maturity, he had become thoroughly familiar with the business of buying and selling cattle, in which he became very successful and accumulated considerable means. On June 9, 1870, Mr. Knowles was united in marriage with Ellen F. Fry, a daughter of Joseph V. and Elizabeth (Allyn) Fry, of Jacksonville. In politics he is an earnest and influential worker. He has served five terms as a member of the City Council of Jacksonville, and held the office of Mayor of the city from 1891 to 1893. Fraternally, he is affiliated with Harmony Lodge No. 3, A.F. & A.M.

KREIDER, Edmund Cicero--In the passing of Edmund Cicero Kreider, September 8, 1905, Jacksonville lost a citizen who had contributed largely to its wealth of character and purpose, and who, while conducting a milling business for more than thirty-five years, lent his practical support to the political, mercantile, religious, benevolent and general upbuilding of the town. Mr. Kreider was a doer of deeds and not an idle dreamer; a practical, energetic, capable man of affairs; one who inherited a good name, ambitious tendencies, a sound constitution, and an earnest desire to be of genuine use to his fellowmen. Born in Lancaster, Ohio, February 23, 1835, he was a son of Dr. Michael Zimmerman Kreider, born in Huntingdon, Pa., November 7, 1803, and Cidna (Rees) Kreider, born in Virginia in 1800.

Michael Zimmerman Kreider was descended on his mother's side from Dr. Henry Carpenter, who was born in the Canton of Berne, Switzerland, in 1673, and came to America in 1698, settling in the State of Pennsylvania. Two years later Dr. Carpenter returned to Switzerland, and in 1704 brought his family to share his uncertain fortunes in Pennsylvania. He died in 1749, and the impetus growing out of his successful life resulted in many of his descendants adopting the profession of medicine. The Kreiders were millers in the pioneer days of both Pennsylvania and Ohio, and it was John Kreider who, in 1750, took the first flat-boat down the Susquehannah River to Baltimore, loaded with flour of his own manufacture. Dr. Kreider was a member of the Lower House of the Ohio Legislature in 1832, and from 1833 until 1840 was Clerk of the Court of Fairfield County, his deputy, for a time, being John Sherman, later U. S. Senator and Secretary of State, but who then received $1 per day for his services. Dr. Kreider was a Mason of exalted rank and great influence, and in 1843 served as the first Grand Commander of the Knights Templar of Ohio. He was the Grand Master of Masons of Ohio for three terms (from 1848 to 1850 inclusive), and while on his death bed, in 1855, was elected Eminent Commander of the Lancaster Commandery. In addition to holding an extensive practice, the Doctor was identified with various financial concerns, more especially with the stage lines of Ohio before the advent of the railroads. The natural deduction is that he was a man of great force of character, initiative and personal influence. He had the faculty of reaching out, and on all sides touching and utilizing the opportunities by which he was surrounded.

Owing to the illness of his father, young Edmund Cicero Kreider was recalled from the University of Ohio, at Athens, and at the age of twenty was confronted with the responsibility of settling the paternal estate and managing the stage lines. He was better fitted for the tasks than might at first seem apparent, for he had ever learned more from observation than from books, and, being his father's constant companion, had profited, through the prominence of the older man, by traveling extensively and forming acquaintances throughout the State of Ohio. The estate and stage line business adjusted, in 1857-8 he engaged in banking and real estate at Cedar Rapids, Iowa; but the panic of those years made success impossible, and resulted in his return to Ohio, where, at Logan, he engaged in the milling business, continuing thus from 1865 until 1869. With the thought of making that city his permanent residence, he spent a year in St. Louis, Mo., but in 1870 arrived at Jacksonville, which, though not then a town of great promise, seems to have offered satisfactory milling inducements. From a small beginning the milling enterprise grew apace, until it became a monument to the sagacity and good management of a man with definite aim, and with sufficient patience and perseverance to await the development of his plans. According to the traditions of his family Mr. Kreider should have remained a Jacksonian Democrat, but he had the courage to form his own political opinions, and espouse the cause of Republicanism after the Civil War. His service in that memorable campaign was brief, owing to defective eyesight, although he went out with the "squirrel-hunters," and served for a time on the Sanitary Commission. He was Postmaster of Jacksonville from February, 1898, until his death, and also served as Alderman of the Fourth Ward. The securing of the postoffice appropriation for a new building in Jacksonville was almost entirely due to his efforts, and he won for the city against tremendous odds. For many years he was active in the Jacksonville Merchants' Association. He was prominent in the Masonic order, being a member of the Hospitaler Commandery, Knights Templar, of which he was Eminent Commander in 1877, and Prelate from the early '90s until 1905. In early manhood he joined the Methodist Episcopal denomination, and for many years was a Trustee of Grace Church, of Jacksonville.

The first marriage of Mr. Kreider was solemnized in Ohio, July 20, 1855, with Mary Gates, who was born in Lancaster, Ohio, in 1835, a daughter of James Gates, of that Maine family of Gateses which sent representatives to Marietta, Ohio, about 1796, and who were among the first settlers of the Buckeye State. James Gates engaged in the jewelry business in Lancaster from 1826 until 1864. Mrs. Kreider died in November, 1861, leaving two children--Dr. George Noble Kreider, now of Springfield, Ill., and Miriam Ballard. In Portsmouth, Ohio, January 3, 1866, Mr. Kreider married Mary McDowell, who survives him and who was born in Portsmouth, Ohio. John McDowell, father of Mrs. Kreider, came of an old Virginia family, he being a merchant in Portsmouth at a very early day. Of the second marriage of Mr. Kreider there were six children: Thalia L., John McDowell, Phebe Jefferson, Edmund C. Kreider, Jr., William J., and Mary Rees. The first and the last child died in infancy.

Many qualities of mind and heart contributed to the good will and popularity which brightened the life of Mr. Kreider. His good nature and sympathy seemed inexhaustible, and his quick, clear grasp of a situation, whether of a business nature or the immediate concern of a friend, made him a counselor whose advice was both received and heeded. He had that invaluable gift in business and society of never forgetting a face, and always followed the fortunes of his friends-rejoicing in their successes and grieving at their sorrows. Hovering always over his life was the great spirit of humanity which makes the whole world kin, and during his sojourn in Jacksonville there were few houses of mourning which he did not enter to tender his sympathy or offer practical help. That his deeds were as bread cast upon the waters was apparent at the ceremony which preceded his final disposition, for rarely has the city of his adoption witnessed keener manifestation of grief. The great gathering in Grace Methodist Episcopal Church, September 10, 1905, was swayed by a sense of loneliness and loss. Presiding were Reverends O'Neil, W. F. Short, Wilder, and Musgrove, and at the vault, the Knights Templar, with their imposing regalia-their militant, century-worn belief in the dignity and honor of manhood-invested the occasion with their beautiful and impressive ceremonial. Almost invariably had he been chosen to preside at the festivals of the great brotherhood of Masons, and his wit and adaptability had placed everyone on excellent terms with themselves and the world in general. In his home he had cared for orphaned relative children, and for others not relatives, and a pathetic reflection of this kindliness and generosity to the young was a beautiful floral design sent to grace his mute surroundings by the colored boy who conducted a shoe-shine stand near his residence. Mr. Kreider was of that rare class whose memory lives and works for the same high ends that were unwaveringly pursued by the man himself.

KUMLE, Alves L., a well known, popular and progressive farmer of Alexander, Morgan County, Ill., who also officiates as Deputy Sheriff of the county, was born in Alexander, November 25, 1863. He is a son of Sebastian and Gertrude (Rush) Kumle, natives of Germany, the father being born in Baden, January 20, 1830, and coming to the United States at the age of twenty years. The mother emigrated to this country with her brother in 1850. After spending two years in St. Louis, Sebastian Kumle settled in the vicinity of Alexander, Ill., where he secured employment as a farm hand and afterward conducted a rented farm. In 1853 by hard work, perseverance and economy he had saved sufficient money to buy a farm, which he improved and increased, until at the time of his death, July 28, 1901, he was one of the most prosperous agriculturists and substantial stock-raisers in Morgan County.

Alves L. Kumle attended the district schools in his boyhood and subsequently took a course in the Jacksonville Business College. From 1880 to 1885 he served as bookkeeper for the Central Illinois Banking and Savings Association of Jacksonville, known as the Central Bank. In 1856 he began operating the farm on which he has since lived. He and his wife are the owners of 225 acres, situated in Section 25, Town 15, Range 9, the tract being in a high state of cultivation, neatly fenced and improved with a fine group of buildings.

On November 9, 1886, Mr. Kumle was united in marriage with Alice G. Coultas, a daughter of Hon. Oliver and Margaret (Headen) Coultas. Mrs. Kumle is a woman of rare talents and many accomplishments. Four interesting children have blessed this union, namely: Harry C., born in 1887; Sebastian, in 1890; Margaret Emily in 1891; and Fannie Belle, born in 1904, who died in July, 1905.

In politics, Mr. Kumle is a firm adherent of the Democrat party. In 1902 he was appointed Deputy Sheriff of Morgan County, by Sheriff H. J. Rodgers, whose duties he is capably and faithfully performing, in addition to ably managing his farm.

Fraternally, he is affiliated with Jacksonville Lodge, No. 152, K. of P., and with the Modern American Fraternal Order, No. 43. He and his wife are earnest and consistent members of the Christian Church at Antioch. Mr. Kumle has been identified with Morgan County all his life, and is highly regarded as an honorable, upright man, and a citizen of high repute.

KUMLE, Sebastian, (deceased), formerly a prosperous farmer near Alexander, Morgan County, Ill., was born January 20, 1830, in the Grand Duchy of Baden, Germany, where he spent the first twenty years of his life. At the end of that period, having had a good mental training in the public schools, and being reared to agricultural pursuits, he came to the United States to begin an independent career. Soon after arriving in this country he went to St. Louis, where he remained two years. He then made his home in Morgan County, Ill., where he secured employment as a farm laborer, subsequently renting land and beginning agricultural operations on his own account. By perseverance, industry and economy, he had accumulated sufficient money by the year 1863 to purchase a farm, which, through the same diligence and frugality, was rapidly increased and improved. Besides general farming, he entered largely into the raising and selling of fine horses, cattle and hogs, and in this became very successful. He was a man of untiring energy and rigid honesty. His busy life reached its termination July 28, 1901.

In 1852, Mr. Kumle was united in marriage with Gertrude K. Rush, a native of Germany who emigrated to the United States with her brother in 1850. Of the family of children born to them, five survive, namely: Joseph, a farm and stock-raiser of Alexander, Ill.; Alves L., a farmer and Deputy Sheriff of the same place, a sketch of whose life appears in this connection; William F.; John Emil; and Mary, wife of Hardman Seller, a farmer of Morgan County. The deceased was one of the old residents of Morgan County, whose rugged virtues and sterling worth developed the region to its present condition.




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