Notes for Samuel Jordan KIRKWOOD

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Notes for Samuel Jordan KIRKWOOD

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ohrichla/Obituaries/ObitsKA-KL.htm [accessed 3/7/12}:
Kirkwood, Samuel J. -- Our community will be pained to learn of the death of ex-Governor Samuel J. Kirkwood, which occurred at his home in Iowa City, Iowa, Saturday. Governor Kirkwood's father came to this county from Maryland when the deceased was a
mere child, and consequently his boyhood and early manhood was passed in this community. His father settled near Newville, then a thriving little hamlet, where his gifted son went to school and afterwards taught school. When quite a young man, Samuel
Kirkwood came to Mansfield, studied law, was admitted to the bar and became the law partner of Judge T.W. Bartley. He served as Prosecuting Attorney, and was a prominent member of the Constitutional Convention that framed the present State
Constitution, and was one of its very last surviving members. All those years he was a member of the Democratic party, and it was ever ready to thrust honors upon him, for he was always popular with the masses. Upon the passage of the Kansas and
Nebraska bill he took issue with his party, became a strong opponent of the extension of slavery in the territories that were just budding into statehood, and soon thereafter moved to the new state of Iowa, which was ever afterward his home. When a
resident of Ohio Mr. Kirkwood took a deep interest in our public school system, and he made his first campaign in Iowa on this very vital question in a new state. He was successful in so molding public option as to give his adopted state an advanced
system of public instruction, and was known as the "Father of the Public Schools of Iowa". The citizens of Iowa were not slow in finding out his great ability for public affairs, nor was his rapid rise to eminence a surprise to his old Mansfield
friends. He served two terms as Governor of Iowa, was its war Governor; two or three terms as U.S. Senator, and was a member of President Garfield's cabinet, all of which positions he served with singular ability and fidelity. Honest, plain Sam
Kirkwood, was a power before a jury or on the hustings. His very plainness and simplicity of speech made him a most forceful speaker and he was skilled in the logic that convinces the masses, if not so learned in the more cultured logic of the school.
He perhaps never set logic on fire, but he always made it very hot for his opponents. He will be mourned by his state and the entire country as well. -- [Richland Shield & Banner: 08 September 1894, Vol. LXXVII, No. 17] Note: An additional
article regarding Samuel J. Kirkwood appears in the 15 September 1894 issue of the Richland Shield & Banner (p. 3) as re-printed from the Cincinnati Commercial Gazette. Researchers may wish to contact the Sherman Room at the Mansfield/Richland Co.
Public Library to order photocopies of this lengthy article.
Kirkwood, Samuel Jordan -- THE HONORED WAR GOVERNOR PASSES AWAY. Full of Years, the Love of all Iowans and the Respect of the Nation, He peacefully Reposes at his Iowa City Home. At 1:15 o'clock Saturday afternoon the end of all earthy things came to a
man, than whom none in all Iowa's history will be remembered with more affection, admiration and respect - ex-Gov. S. J. Kirkwood. The grand old man, for he was one of the grandest old men in all the nation, had been weakening gradually, without any
particular disease. He did not take to his bed finally till the first of the week, but when he did, dissolution came quickly, though he retained his consciousness to the last. Samuel Jordan Kirkwood, fifth governor of the state of Iowa, was born in the
county of Hartford, Md., December 13, 1813, and was subsequently in the 81st year of his age. In his early years he taught Latin in a private school in the city of Washington. In early manhood he removed to Mansfield, Ohio, where he entered upon the
practice of law. In 1851, he was a member of the convention which drafted the present constitution of the state of Ohio, and took a leading part in the convention. In 1853, Mr. Kirkwood removed to Iowa, settling at Iowa City, then the capital of the
state, which has been his home ever since. In the following year at the close of a fierce contest, he was elected to the senate of the state. In that body his natural leadership was promptly and willingly acknowledged. When the time came to select the
gubernatorial nominee in 1859, eyes seemed to turn to Kirkwood as the man for leader in that critical time. He was nominated, and canvassed the state with his rival, the then most eminent Democrat in the state, Augustus C. Dodge, a man who had often
been before the people before and had never been beaten. It was a memorable campaign. Kirkwood had a little more than 3,000 majority. His election at that time was about as providential as that of Abraham Lincoln a year later. Looking back over the
history of years, one is at a loss to think where could have been found another citizen of the state who could so well have filled the office of governor when the civil war broke upon us, as Samuel J. Kirkwood. He was emphatically the man for the
place. The people had confidence in him. They believed he would do the best thing to be done. His rugged honesty, his strong common sense, were of important service to Iowa and the country at that important epoch. In answer to his appeals forty-nine
regiments and four batteries of volunteers entered the service from our state. He was, moreover, constantly mindful of the interests of the men in the field, taking care to the extent of his authority, and even beyond, that their wants were attended
to. Neither were the state's domestic affairs overlooked. His recommendations to the legislature show the statesmanlike grasp of his mind; while his general intercourse with the other officials, civil and military, was of such a character as to make it
feel who came in contact with him that the master was there. Yet never was he self-asserting. His high office, while its duties were never neglected, was not by him paraded. It was not necessary it should be done in order to impress people that a man
of more than usual power was governor of Iowa when he was at the helm. Upon his retirement from the governorship his friends were desirous of electing him to the senate and he received a generous support in the body which chose Senator Harlan for the
third time, and Governor Kirkwood was chosen to fill an unexpired term in that body. After its expiration, he remained in retirement until in 1875 the Republican state convention without his knowledge called upon him again to lead the party. He
accepted with reluctance, but made a strong canvass and was chosen by a larger majority than he had been at either of his former elections. The day before he was inaugurated he received the Republican caucus nomination for the United Sates senate as
successor to Judge Wright, and was elected shortly afterward. On the first day of February, 1877, he resigned the office of governor, and on the fourth day of the following month re-entered the senate. Here he remained until invited by President
Garfield to a seat in his cabinet, which he accepted. After the death of the president, he remained in office only a few months; when he retired, this time finally. The deceased was married while yet in Ohio to a sister of Hon. Ezekiel Clark, who also
became a resident of Iowa City. Governor Kirkwood was very lovable to his private relations, being highly esteemed by all who were privileged to know him personally. The state, in his death, parts with one who did much to adorn the best period of its
history, and his family, friends and neighbors, one estimable in every way and highly cherished by them all. Submitted by Jean and Faye. [Davenport Tribune (Davenport, Iowa): 05 September 1894]
Possibly son of Jabez Kirkwood [1776-1855], who is buried in the same
cemetery.
See "Iowa Biographical Series" for a full account of Mr. Kirkwood's life.

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