Fourth Generation

73. John Kirkpatrick was born on 24 April 1786 in Chester Co., South Carolina.¹² He died on 19 August 1859 at the age of 73 in Franklin Co., Illinois.¹³ He was buried in Reid Cemetery, Franklin Co., Illinois.¹³

John Kirkpatrick was born in Chester Co., SC 24 April 1786. He was named in the will of Francis Kirkpatrick and being a minor, Matthew Rogers was appointed his guardian. John moved to Jackson County, TN, but the year is uncertain. He married there but his first wife has not been identified. Two children were born to this union. John's wife died shortly after the birth of the second child on 20 Dec. 1810.

On 21 Feb. 1811, John married in Fayetteville, TN, Sarah Tinsley in the home of her father. The marriage vows were performed by the Rev. Phillip Mulkey, a well-known South Carolina Baptist preacher.

John Kirkpatrick was a soldier in the war of 1812 in a campaign against the Creeks in Tennessee. This was apparently Andrew Jackson's campaign that resulted in the rout of the Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. John Kirkpatrick and then his widow Sarah received a pension for this service and the records are on file at the National Archives in Washington (File # WC5371).

Kirkpatrick seems a little unclear as to the leadership he was involved in and there seems to be uncertainty as to whether he achieved the rank of Sergeant that is alluded to in one paper. More likely he was a West Tennessee militia private who served 90 days or so in the campaign. In his own words, he "...declares that he is the identical John Kirkpatrick who was a private in the company commanded by Captain James Bennett 1st and afterwards by Captain (Samuel) Ashmore (in the 3d Regiment I think, uncertain) of West Tennessee Volunteers commanded by Col. Steel (Steele) firstly and 2nd by Col. Chuburn I think in the Creek war...that he volunteered in Jackson County, to the service of the United States at Fayetteville West Tennessee some time in first of February 1814 to serve three months in said War...and was honorably discharged at Fayetteville West Tennessee on or about the 10th or 15th of May 1814 by reason of the expiration of his Term of Service."

In the records is a handwritten paper, apparently a discharge, signed by Samuel Ashmore, Capt. and by B. Irwin, apparently a Major in the First Regiment: "I Certify that John Kirkpatrick a private in my Company of Militia has served on an Expedition against the Creek Indians under the Command of Major Gen. Andrew Jackson three months and fifteen (?) days and is Hereby Discharged May the 10 1814."
On a muster list Kirkpatrick is listed as being in Ashmore's Company of Col. Richard C. Napier's Regiment of West Tennessee Militia Infantry, for the period described above. In still another paper there is reference to Col. Copland and to Kirkpatrick as a sergeant. We think the above assertion--90 days, private, in Ashmore's company is correct. Beyond that, there seems some slight confusion.

Sarah (Tinsley) Kirkpatrick, John's widow was awarded a pension (cert. # 5371). According to Day Jewell, she may have been the daughter of William Tinsley, another Revolutionary War veteran serving from Virginia. Jewell supplies no evidence of this connection. Sarah was born in Kentucky 25 Jun 1794 and died in Fitzgerald, Illinois, 22 May 1883.

John Kirkpatrick removed to Illinois, probably about 1816 or 1817. he was living in Franklin County when Illinois was admitted as a state in 1818. John appears in the first census of Illinois with a family of seven besides himself. His residence is given as Big Muddy in Franklin County.

John Kirkpatrick died 19 August 1859 in Franklin Co., Illinois, and was buried in Reid Hill Cemetery, about four miles northwest of Mulkeytown.
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Day Jewell makes the assertions that both James Riley Kirkpatrick and Francis McDonald Kirkpatrick (John's sons) served with the Illinois troops in the Civil War. The state archives in Illinois do not have any record of such service, and we have been unable to locate any evidence to support the claim. We do not rule out such a possibility, however, as sometimes it is difficult to track Civil War musters.
William T. Kirkpatrick and Edmund Singleton Kirkpatrick both served in the Black Hawk War in 1832 under the command of Captain William J. Stephenson in the 1st Brigade, 2d Regiment, Illinois Mounted Volunteers. Both made claims for bounty land. Their records of service are on file at the National Archives. Both men apparently served three months and were awarded bounty land warrants in the 1850's. John Foster Kirkpatrick applied for a second warrant and Martha, Williams widow, applied for a second in 1879. It is unclear whether these grants were made.
(Kirkpatrick Genealogy, 2nd Ed.)

John Kirkpatrick and Sarah Tinsley were married on 21 February 1811 in Fayetteville, Lincoln Co., Tennessee. Sarah Tinsley, daughter of William Tinsley, was born on 25 June 1794 in Kentucky.¹² She died on 22 May 1883 at the age of 88 in Fitzgerald, Franklin Co., Illinois. On the 1880 census of Goode, Franklin Co., Illinois, Sarah is in the household of her son Francis.

John Kirkpatrick and Sarah Tinsley had the following children:

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i.
William Thomas Kirkpatrick.
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ii.
Hiram Kirkpatrick.
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iii.
Elizabeth P. Kirkpatrick.
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iv.
John Foster Kirkpatrick.
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v.
Wallace Kirkpatrick was born on 8 January 1820 in Franklin Co., Illinois. He died before 1830 at the age of 10.¹⁴ Death date not noted, but sources state he died as a child.
"Drowned as a child." (Kirkpatrick Genealogy, 2nd Ed.)
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vi.
George Kirkpatrick was born on 7 January 1822 in Franklin Co., Illinois. He died before 1830 at the age of 8.¹⁴

Death date is not noted, but is stated to have died as a child in the source, Kirkpatrick Genealogy, 2nd Ed.
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vii.
Eleanor V. Kirkpatrick.
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viii.
Mary Jane Kirkpatrick.
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ix.
James Riley Kirkpatrick.
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x.
Martha Kirkpatrick was born on 7 April 1835 in Franklin Co., Illinois.¹² She died in 1850 at the age of 15 in Franklin Co., Illinois.
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xi.
Francis McDonald Kirkpatrick.

John Kirkpatrick and Rebecca Singleton were married in Jackson Co., Tennessee. Rebecca Singleton was born (date unknown).

John Kirkpatrick and Rebecca Singleton had the following children:

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i.
Edmund Singleton Kirkpatrick.