HEADER
Robert W Kirkpatrick
ROBERT W. KIRKPATRICK was born Sept. 5, 1862, on the farm where he now
resides in Cowanshannock township, and the family had been in Armstrong county
since 1798, when his great-grandfather, James Kirkpatrick, settled here.The Kirkpatricks are of Scotch-Irish origin. James Kirkpatrick was born in
Cumberland county, Pa., and thence in early life moved to Westmoreland county,
this State, where he lived a number of years. In 1798 he located on Cherry
run, near Elderton, in Plum Creek (now Cowanshannock) township. At that time
the settlers had many hardships to endure besides the ordinary privations of
pioneer life, and his house was attacked by Indians who killed two of the
inmates. A young child was also wounded, but the mother made her escape with
it, reaching Loyalhanna, Westmoreland county, where it afterward died. Not
long after this occurrence, James Kirkpatrick purchased a large tract of land
in what is now Cowanshannock township, cleared and improved his homestead, and
passed the remainder of his life there, engaging in farming. He was a
prominent member of the first Presbyterian Church organized at Glade Run, near
Dayton, in Wayne township, and served as elder of same. In politics he was a
Whig. To him and his wife Mary (Larimer) were born eight children, four sons
and four daughters. One of the sons, James was a soldier in the war of 1812.David Kirkpatrick, son of James and Mary (Larimer) Kirkpatrick, was born in
1778 in Westmoreland county, and was a young man when he came to Armstrong
county with his father. He became a prominent farmer of Cowanshannock township
in his day, and died in 1844 in his sixty-seventh year. In politics he was a
Whig, in religious connection a Presbyterian. By his first wife, Elizabeth (Varns),
he had two children, William and James N. To his second marriage, with Mary
Thompson, daughter of John and Jane (Riddle) Thompson, were born nine
children, namely: John; Moses; Robert B., who enlisted in 1861 in the 78th
Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and served for three years; Simon;
Martha; Mary, who married Archibald Findley; Margaret, who married Christian
Good; Lydia C., who married George F. Currie; and Martha (2).John Thompson, father of Mrs. Mary (Thompson) Kirkpatrick, was born in
Allegheny county, Pa., where his father settled on coming from Ireland. He was
a farmer by occupation. By his first wife Jane (Riddle), he had three
children, and eight children (three sons and five daughters ) were born to his
second marriage, to a Miss Breckenridge.Moses Kirkpatrick, son of David and Mary (Thompson) Kirkpatrick, was born
Nov. 30, 1829, on this father’s homestead farm, and lived and died on that
place, passing away Jan. 20, 1898. He married Anna Elder, who was born Nov.
22, 1824, near Clarksburg, Indiana county, daughter of Thomas Elder, and died
Dec. 26, 1892. They became the parents of four children: David, who died when
five years old; Rose, who died in1883, aged twenty-three; Robert W.; and Mary,
who died two months after her sister, when eighteen years old.Robert W. Kirkpatrick grew to manhood at the old homestead and received a
public school education in the locality. He has always lived on the home farm,
now owning and occupying part of the home place, having a tract of seventy
acres, which he keeps under excellent cultivation. He is a substantial citizen
of his neighborhood, progressive in his agricultural work and public-spirited
in his attitude on affairs of general interest to the community, a thoroughly
representative descendant of the sturdy Scotch-Irish stock which has played so
important a part in the development of the State of Pennsylvania. He is
Republican in politics and a Presbyterian in religions connections.In 1889 Mr. Kirkpatrick married Sarah Adams, daughter of Robert and Jane (McKelvey)
Adams of Westmoreland county. They have had three children, all sons, Ivan E.;
Robert Earl and Frank K. Ivan E. was married Oct. 18, 1912, to May Catherine
Hull, of New Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.Source: Pages 687-688, Armstrong County, Pa., Her People, Past and
Present, J.H. Beers & Co., 1914
Transcribed September 1998 by James R Hindman for the Armstrong County Beers
Project
Contributed for use by the Armstrong County Genealogy Project (http://www.pa-roots.com/armstrong/)Armstrong County Genealogy Project Notice:
These electronic pages cannot be reproduced in any format, for any presentation, without prior written permission.Return to the Beers Project
Â
Return to the
Armstrong County Genealogy ProjectÂ
Return to the
Armstrong County Genealogy Project
Return to the
Armstrong County Genealogy Project
(c) Armstrong County
Genealogy Project
About Author
