Thomas Newton Kirkpatrick (1766 - 1821)
Founder of Edwardsville
KIRKPATRICK, THOMAS NEWTON
(November 9, 1766 – December 16, 1821)
Founder of Edwardsville
Thomas Newton Kirkpatrick was born in York County, South Carolina,
on November 9, 1766. He was the son of James Franklin (1743-1781)
and Susannah Gillham (1746-1831) Kirkpatrick. James’ father (James
Kirkpatrick Sr.) emigrated from Belfast, Ireland in 1736, and lived
in Pennsylvania prior to South Carolina, where he received land
grants for his service in the American Revolutionary War with the
South Carolina militia. The family moved to Georgia in 1784. Thomas
was appointed one of Jackson County, Georgia’s first Justices of the
Peace, on August 4, 1797. That same year, Thomas married Mary Ann
Lane (1777-1839), and they had seven children:
Polly Kirkpatrick Morse (1798-1820); James Harrison Kirkpatrick
(1798-1876); John Lane Kirkpatrick (1799-1869); Joseph Lane
Kirkpatrick (1803-1884); William P. Kirkpatrick (1806-1885); Thomas
Milligan Kirkpatrick (1813-1886); and Francis Asbury Kirkpatrick
(1815-1878).
In about 1803, Thomas Kirkpatrick and his family settled in what
would become Edwardsville, Madison County, Illinois. Accompanying
Thomas were two of his brothers and a large clan of the Gillhams,
all of whom immigrated from South Carolina. Thomas built his log
cabin on a militia claim of one hundred acres on the Cahokia Creek,
originally granted to Pierre Lejoy, a Frenchman who had been
enrolled in the U.S. militia in 1790. This claim covered the
northwest part of the present town of Edwardsville. The original log
cabin of the Kirkpatrick’s was made of two log cabins, with a
covered space between them. It stood along the high bank on Cahokia
Creek, in the north edge of what would become Edwardsville, between
Main Street and the Springfield Road (now Liberty Street).
Kirkpatrick built several other log cabins in the same neighborhood,
one located at 1712 North Main Street, which was still standing in
1934. This cabin was later owned by Orville Woods, and was remodeled
extensively.
Preceding the War of 1812-14, a block house was constructed for the
protection of several families which had settled in the vicinity.
This structure was known as Thomas Kirkpatrick’s Fort, and was an
important link in the chain of military stations which guarded the
Illinois frontier. The block house stood to the north of the old
courthouse, about 300 yards from the banks of Cahokia Creek. It is
said to have been built by a military company, of which John G.
Lofton was Captain, William Jones First Lieutenant, and Daniel G.
Moore Second Lieutenant.
The county of Madison was organized in 1812, and the Kirkpatrick
homestead was selected by Governor Ninian Edwards as the best
location for the seat of justice. On April 5, 1813, the Court of
Common Pleas for Madison County held its first session in the
Kirkpatrick cabin. At this term of court, Kirkpatrick obtained
license to keep a public house.
Thomas Kirkpatrick erected a water mill, located on the Cahokia
Creek. It was the first manufacturing enterprise in Edwardsville.
In 1816, a town was surveyed and platted by Kirkpatrick, and named
Edwardsville, in honor of Ninian Edwards, then the Territorial
Governor of Illinois. In a few years Edwardsville attained a
population of several hundred. Governor Edwards made it his
residence, and a bank was established. The town became the seat of
the U.S. Land Office, and enterprising and talented men flocked to
the new town.
Thomas Kirkpatrick died December 16, 1821, in Greenville, Bond
County, Illinois, and is buried in the Moody Cemetery in Bond
County.