Picturing The Kirk Family's Westward Movement: Ohio to Iowa

On March 8, 1827, Vachel Kirk and Jane Delzell married in Licking County, Ohio. The young couple - my fourth great-grandparents - started their lives together on the rugged Ohio frontier.

Licking County, Ohio Marriage Register recording nuptials of Vachel and Jane (Delzell) Kirk

Soon, the family began to grow. On February 22, 1828, Jane gave birth to a daughter named Sarah. Two years later, on January 2, 1830, the family welcomed the birth of a boy named James, my third great-grandfather.

In March 1832, tragedy struck the growing Kirk family. Vachel died when he was just 26 years old, leaving his young widow - who was four months pregnant - alone to raise their family.

Less than four months later, on August 16, 1832, Jane - now a single mother - gave birth to a son named Vachel Jr. in honor of the family's recently departed patriarch.

Probate Settlement and Resettlement in Iowa 

The settlement of Vachel's estate dragged on for several years. Finally, on April 11, 1835, the proceedings of the Licking County Court of Common Pleas awarded legal guardianship of the three Kirk children to their mother Jane.

Jane Kirk awarded guardianship, Licking County Court of Common Pleas 1835

During her widowhood, Jane (Delzell) Kirk was one of those rare examples of a woman appearing on a pre-1850 census by name because she was now the de facto head of household. The 1840 US Federal Census gives a sense that, although she was a single mother, she had the support of her family. Jane and her three children were enumerated living between her brothers Robert and James Delzell.

1840 US Federal Census, Licking County, Ohio

In the ensuing decades, the Kirk children would grow, marry, and begin families of their own in Ohio.

• On March 3, 1847, Sarah Kirk married Francis Eaton, son of Oren Eaton who was enumerated in the 1840 census just two doors down from Jane Kirk.

• On September 22, 1851, James Kirk married Hester Griffith.

• On March 20, 1858, Vachel Kirk Jr. married Mahala Lawrence.

Eventually, the allure of westward expansion piqued their curiosity. That comes as no great surprise since many of Jane's late husband's siblings had already moved to Crawford County, Illinois. Her children, though, opted to move further west from Ohio to the farmlands of Iowa.

James was the first to move. An 1880-published history of Polk County, Iowa, featured a biographical sketch of his life. While in Ohio, "he learned the cooper's trade, and followed it until the spring of 1858, when he came to this county [Polk County, Iowa]."

Next up was Sarah (Kirk) Eaton's family. Years later, her obituary would recall that, "In 1865 they removed to Iowa, and in 1870 came to Leon..." Her family was enumerated in West, Montgomery County, Iowa in the 1870 US Federal Census enumeration.

In 1866, Vachel Jr's wife, Mahala, passed away in Ohio when she was about 30 years old. His obituary noted that, "Mr. Kirk then came west with his two little children, bringing his mother [Jane Delzell Kirk] with him to care for them." By 1870, he was settled in Morning Sun, Louisa County, Iowa.

With Vachel Jr.'s move, the widow Jane and her three children and their families were now all settled in Iowa.

Kirk children's location in Iowa for the 1870 US Federal Census

Picture This: 20th Century Ancestors

I'm particularly interested in the Iowa branch of my Kirk family because each of Jane's children lived well into the age of photography:

• Sarah (Kirk) Eaton passed away on November 23, 1912 at the age of 84. She was survived by four daughters: Mrs. Emma Harvey, Mrs. Len Hamilton, Mrs. W.A. Hunt, and Mrs. Sam Rush.

• Vachel Kirk Jr. passed away on October 13, 1916 at the age of 84. He was survived by two children: Mr. Frank Kirk and Mrs. Flora Jarvis. 

• James Kirk passed away on August 29, 1917 at the age of 87. He was survived by four sons: William, Henry, James, and Charles Kirk; and three daughters: Mary Scovel, Jennette "Nettie" Seibert, and Bessie Clarke.

Despite living during the first part of the 20th century, I've never seen a photo of any of them.

Is there a photograph of James Kirk, my third great-grandfather, tucked away in a dusty Iowa attic? Or maybe a picture survives of one of his siblings or even their mother Jane, who passed away in 1886?

I'm putting it out into the universe and we'll see what the internet turns up. The search is on for descendants with more of the Iowa Kirk story. Stay tuned!

Land Records Reveal Family and Sizable Estate

Land records can be a treasure trove for genealogy. Take for example two transactions for property once belonging to my 5th great-grandfather Thomas Kirk. These deed transfers identified a lost great-aunt and revealed the size of Thomas' estate at the time he died in 1846.

Land Records
Readers of this blog know that I am trying to learn who Thomas Kirk's parents were. It's been an arduous ordeal due to spotty record keeping and burned courthouses.

As I examine all existent record sets, I've come to one last area of focus - the land records held in the Licking County Recorder's Office. I am baffled as to how these survived when all other courthouse records - marriages, probates, etc. - went up in smoke. But I am grateful that anything remains.

About a month ago, I submitted a very broad request for all land records mentioning Thomas Kirk. A kindly clerk in the office indulged me and took the time to entertain my unfocused request. She returned copies of a handful of land records. Many were not for my Thomas, but two were gems.

Land Transaction #1
On May 11, 1848, two of Thomas' sons, William and Thomas Jr., along with their wives sold 33 acres of land in Monroe Township, Licking County, Ohio for $310 to a William Gossage.

What's particularly exciting about this record is that it infers they inherited the land from their deceased father Thomas. "Know all men by these presents that we William Kirk and Nancy his wife, Thomas Kirk and Hester his wife heirs at law of Thomas Kirk deceased of the County of Licking and State of Ohio..."

Thomas' last known location - as enumerated in the 1840 census - was in Monroe Township. It appears - as heirs at law - that his sons have inherited some of his property in Monroe Township following his death in 1846 and are selling their stake.

Land Transaction #2
The next genealogy gem came by happenstance. On the second page of the above-mentioned land transaction, there were the beginnings of a new transaction. The Licking County clerk had crossed it out since it was separate and seemingly unrelated to the record involving Thomas' sons.

I casually glanced at the record, which outlined the sale of 5 1/2 acres of land in Monroe Township on May 12, 1848 by Francis X. Eaton to the very same William Gossage. Recognizing the same name and township, I read the record more closely. "Know all men by these presents, that we Francis X. Eaton and Sarah wife of said Francis X. Eaton heirs at law of Thomas Kirk deceased of the County of Licking and State of Ohio..."

Now wait just a minute! Who were Francis and Sarah Eaton that were also heirs of the deceased Thomas Kirk and selling what appeared to be inherited property?

Who Was Sarah Eaton?
I searched the census records for Licking County and found a Francis X. Eaton in the 1850 census with a Sarah (presumably his wife). Sarah was born in Ohio and her age was enumerated as 22 years old, suggesting she was born in approximately 1828. She was born too late to realistically be a daughter of Thomas' wife Sarah Bonar who would have been about 44 years old at that time.

I traced Sarah and Francis Eaton through decades of census enumerations, following their move from Ohio to Iowa. In the 1880 census, their relationship as husband and wife was confirmed.

From 1850 to her final enumeration in 1910, Sarah Eaton's census appearances revealed she and her father were born in Ohio and her mother was born in Pennsylvania.

A brief synopsis of her death certificate (on FamilySearch.org), showed that Sarah Eaton died November 23, 1912 in Des Moines. A burial index indicated she was buried in Leon Cemetery in Decatur County, Iowa.

The real kicker came from her death certificate synopsis (also on FamilySearch.org), which provided her father's surname (not his full name, mind you. Just his surname. We wouldn't want to make this too easy!): Kirk.

Sarah (Kirk) Eaton death record synopsis from FamilySearch.org

Of course, I plan to order her death certificate from Iowa to see if the parents' full names are included. But in the meantime I turned to Chronicling America to see if I could locate an obituary. Sure enough, I did!

Disappointingly, it didn't mention her parents names. However, it provided a clue that helped me resolve the mystery of Sarah and position her on the appropriate branch of the Kirk family tree. The link was confirmed thanks to the mention of her two brothers.

Sarah (Kirk) Eaton obituary, Leon Reporter, Iowa 28 November 1912

Thomas Kirk (1778-1846) had no children who settled in Iowa. However, his widowed daughter-in-law and her children moved to Iowa following the death of Thomas' eldest son Vachel in 1832. Vachel Kirk (born in Ohio) and Jane Delzell (born in Pennsylvania) had two sons: James (my 3rd great-grandfather) and Vachel Jr.

I knew Vachel and Jane had a daughter, but I lost track of her because she was not enumerated with her mother or brothers in the 1850 census. She either died or was married by that time. Her obituary confirmed that she married in 1847. Sarah (Kirk) Eaton born in 1828 was the lost daughter of Vachel and Jane Kirk. Land records had rediscovered my 4th great-aunt!

Thomas Kirk's Estate Wealth
It appears that following Thomas Kirk's death, each of his children received 16.5 acres of land. Sons William and Thomas Jr. collectively sold 33 acres (divide that amount by two sons and each son had 16.5 acres).

Sarah (Kirk) Eaton sold 5.5 acres. From that sale we can deduce that 16.5 acres were inherited by Vachel's three living heirs and split evenly (16.5 split between three children is 5.5).

We know Thomas Kirk had a large family - at least 9 children who survived him. Did they each inherit 16.5 acres? Unfortunately, no probate record has been found to answer this question (since it was likely destroyed by fire in the Licking County Courthouse).

But if each of his 9 children and the grandchildren of his deceased son Vachel inherited 16.5 acres, we're looking at an estate of 165 acres. A decent size for the 1840s. In 1848, each of those acres was sold for approximately 11 cents. While land was cheap, I'm sure that this was still a considerable sum for a farmer of that era.

These land records are particularly important given the scarcity of information on Thomas Kirk. They tell me two important things about him:

1. He owned land, and 
2. He likely owned a lot of land; enough so that his living heirs each inherited 16.5 acres.

Thomas' sizable estate and his granddaughter - my 4th great-aunt - emerged from obscurity thanks to land transactions, reinforcing the important role these records can play in genealogy, and the need to include them in a reasonably exhaustive search.