Dr. William Dodd Kirkpatrick1,2,3

Family Chart
ID# 1202, (1819 - 1901)
FatherJames Kirkpatrick4,5 (abt 14 May 1784 - 3 Nov 1873)
MotherJane Dodd4 ( - 1828)

Key Events:

Birth: 26 Nov 1819, Corydon, Harrison Co., Indiana6,7,8,9
Marriage: 29 Jan 1850, Caldwell Co., Kentucky, Aurelia Skinner Cobb (17 Oct 1819 - 10 Mar 1910)10,11
Death: 19 Jun 1901, Mullin, Mills Co., Texas12,13
Burial: 21 Jun 1901, Oakview Cemetery, Mullin, Mills Co., Texas14
ChartsDescendants of Gideon Cobb

Copyright Notice

Narrative:

     Dr. William Dodd Kirkpatrick was born on 26 Nov 1819 in Corydon, Harrison Co., Indiana.6,7,8,9
     He was probably one of the four males under age 10 listed in the household of his father, James Kirkpatrick, in the 1820 Federal Census of Harrison Co., Indiana.15
     His mother died in 1828, when William was about 10 years old.4
     He moved to Canton, Trigg Co., Kentucky, with his father shortly afterwards.4 He was probably the male age 10 to 15 listed in the household of his father in the 1830 Federal Census of Canton, Trigg Co., Kentucky.16
     He worked on the home farm until he was seventeen, and then went to Paducah. There he first clerked and subsequently ran a store-boat on the Ohio River. He next became deputy postmaster under Frank Harrison, and remained there until 1842.4

Becoming a Doctor --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---


     While in Paducah he read medicine under Drs. Lay and Brownell. At the completion of his training he returned to Fredonia and established a practice, continuing there for nearly 50 years.4,17,18,19 In addition to his medical practice, William engaged in farming. He eventually owned a farm of 150 acres.4
     William married Aurelia Skinner Cobb, daughter of Gideon Dyer Cobb and Modena Chittenden Clark, on 29 Jan 1850 in Caldwell Co., Kentucky.10,11
     William and Aurelia appeared on the 1850 Federal Census of District No. 1, Caldwell Co., Kentucky, enumerated 28 Aug 1850, reporting real estate of $100. Her late sister's daughter, Aurelia J. Hallick, was listed as living with them. There are also two slaves listed, age 1 and 19.20,21
     William and Aurelia appeared on the 1860 Federal Census of Fredonia, Caldwell Co., Kentucky, enumerated 9 Aug 1860, reporting real estate valued at $4,500 and personal estate of $9,200. Their children James, Moses and William were listed as living with them, as were four slaves, ranging in age from 5 to 48. His father and step-mother and their family were apparently living close by as their household appears next on the census record.22,23
Aurelia & Dr. W. D. Krikpatrick's tombstone
photo courtesy Marsha Cobb

     William and Aurelia appeared on the 1870 Federal Census of Fredonia, Caldwell Co., Kentucky, in the household of his father, with their sons Moses and William. William reported real estate valued at $6,000 and personal estate of $2,000.24
     No through search has been made for William's land transactions, but one parcel he owned has been identified. He purchased a 232-acre parcel in Crittenden Co. from Lewis Thomas 28 Feb 1860, and sold it 6 Jan 1871 to W. W. and Ann Eliza Walker for $1,200. If this was his farm, he did not live there as the family is consistently found in Fredonia, Caldwell Co., during this time.25
     William and Aurelia appeared on the 1880 Federal Census of Fredonia, Caldwell Co., Kentucky, enumerated 23 Jun 1880. Their children Moses and William were listed as living with them.26
     Kentucky passed its first laws regulating the practice of medicine 23 Feb 1874. That act made it unlawful for anyone to treat the sick or perform surgery unless they had graduated from a chartered school of medicine, been certified by a board established by the act, or had "been regularly and honorably engaged in the practice of medicine" for ten years.27 On 25 Apr 1888 the legislature amended the previous law, requiring each county clerk to purchase a book to be known as the "Medical Register" and record the registration of each physician. The board to certify practitioners were abolished, leaving a diploma from a medical school or ten years experience as the only two qualifications for practicing.28 William registered as a physician with the Caldwell Co. county clerk under the new law 29 Oct 1889, claiming as his qualification "having been regularly and honorably engaged in the practice of medicine for 47 years."29

Moving to Texas --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---


     William and Aurelia sold their farm in the fall of 1891 to Gid Dollar, and moved to Texas where their son Moses and his family had been living for some years. Their son James moved there about the same time.30 William and Aurelia appeared on the 1900 Federal Census of Mills Co., Texas, enumerated 13 Jun 1900, reporting that they owned their home, free of mortgage. Their son James was listed as living with them, as was Annie E. Anderson, an 18-year-old servant. They were living close by their son Moses and his family, who were the preceding family listed in the census record.31
     William in Mullin, Texas, donated the town site for Mullin, Texas, in exchange for construction of a railroad through the area in the late 1880's. A saloon and a hotel were established there in 1885, and the town had a population of 100 in 1890. The first permanent schoolhouse was built in 1984.32
     William died on 19 Jun 1901 in Mullin, Mills Co., Texas, at age 81.12,13 He was buried on 21 Jun 1901 in Oakview Cemetery, Mullin, Mills Co., Texas.14

Children:
     Children with Aurelia Skinner Cobb

William and Aurelia had two other children, names unknown, both of whom died before 1885.39,40

Citations

  1. [S2290] Eishen, "Descendants of William Bradford", shows name as William Dodd Kirkpatrick.
  2. [S4543] Battle, Perrin and Kniffin, Kentucky - A History of the State, pg 705, shows name as Dr. W. D. Kirkpatrick.
  3. [S627] Jas. Kirkpatrick household, 1870 U.S. Census, Caldwell Co., Kentucky, shows name as Wm. D. Kirkpatrick, and occupation as physician.
  4. [S4543] Battle, Perrin and Kniffin, Kentucky - A History of the State, pg 705.
  5. [S627] Jas. Kirkpatrick household, 1870 U.S. Census, Caldwell Co., Kentucky, shows both in same household, with ages suggesting father and son.
  6. [S4543] Battle, Perrin and Kniffin, Kentucky - A History of the State, pg 705, shows date, with year as 1819, town, and state.
  7. [S1666] W. D. Kirkpatrick household, 1900 U.S. Census, Mills Co., Texas, shows month, year as 1818, age 81, and state.
  8. [S2968] Aurelia S. Cobb and Dr. W. D. Kirkpatrick tombstone, Oakview Cemetery, shows date, with year as 1819.
  9. [S8564] Medical Register, Caldwell Co., Kentucky, pg 26, W. D. Kirkpatrick, shows town and state.
  10. [S727] Caldwell Co. Marriage Bonds, Book B, no. 207, William D. Kirkpatrick to Miss Aurilia G. Cobb, 28 Jan 1850, shows date of bond as 28th, but date in the return looks like the 21st, which would be unlikely, and it could be the 29th.
  11. [S4543] Battle, Perrin and Kniffin, Kentucky - A History of the State, pg 705, shows date.
  12. [S2290] Eishen, "Descendants of William Bradford", shows date, town, county, and state.
  13. [S2968] Aurelia S. Cobb and Dr. W. D. Kirkpatrick tombstone, Oakview Cemetery, shows date.
  14. [S2968] Aurelia S. Cobb and Dr. W. D. Kirkpatrick tombstone, Oakview Cemetery.
  15. [S8569] James Kirkpatrick household, 1820 U.S. Census, Harrison Co., Indiana.
  16. [S8570] Jas. Kirkpatrick household, 1830 U.S. Census, Trigg Co., Kentucky.
  17. [S1816] Wm. D. Kirkpatrick household, 1850 U.S. Census, Caldwell Co., Kentucky, shows occupation as physician.
  18. [S1694] W. D. Kirkpatrick household, 1860 U.S. Census, Caldwell Co., Kentucky, shows occupation as physician.
  19. [S627] Jas. Kirkpatrick household, 1870 U.S. Census, Caldwell Co., Kentucky, shows occupation as physician.
  20. [S1816] Wm. D. Kirkpatrick household, 1850 U.S. Census, Caldwell Co., Kentucky.
  21. [S2765] Wm. D. Kirkpatrick, owner, 1850 U.S. Census, Caldwell Co., Kentucky, slave schedule.
  22. [S1694] W. D. Kirkpatrick household, 1860 U.S. Census, Caldwell Co., Kentucky.
  23. [S2763] W. D. Kirkpatrick, owner, 1860 U.S. Census, Caldwell Co., Kentucky, slave schedule.
  24. [S627] Jas. Kirkpatrick household, 1870 U.S. Census, Caldwell Co., Kentucky.
  25. [S2793] Deeds, Crittenden Co., Kentucky, J:544-5, W. D. Kirkpatrick to W. W. Walker and Ann Eliza Walker, 13 Jan 1871.
  26. [S397] William D. Kirkpatrick household, 1880 U.S. Census, Caldwell Co., Kentucky.
  27. [S3175] Acts of the General Assembly of Kentucky, 1883, 1874, pp 55-57, "An Act to protect citizens of this Commonwealth from empiricism," approved 23 Feb 1874.
  28. [S3175] Acts of the General Assembly of Kentucky, 1883, 1888, vol 1, pp 97-8, "An Act to amend an act entitled An act to protect citizens of this Commonwealth from empiricism approved February 23 18743," approved 25 Apr 1888.
  29. [S8564] Medical Register, Caldwell Co., Kentucky, pg 26, W. D. Kirkpatrick.
  30. [S8545] "County Correspondence," The Chittenden Press, 24 Sep 1891, shows William sold farm and plans to move to Texas.
  31. [S1666] W. D. Kirkpatrick household, 1900 U.S. Census, Mills Co., Texas.
  32. [S869] The Handbook of Texas Online, online, citing Flora Gatlin Bowles, A No Man's Land Becomes a County (Austin: Steck, 1958).
  33. [S4543] Battle, Perrin and Kniffin, Kentucky - A History of the State, pp 705, 856.
  34. [S1694] W. D. Kirkpatrick household, 1860 U.S. Census, Caldwell Co., Kentucky, shows them apparently living as parent and child.
  35. [S2773] Frank Moses Clark Kirkpatrick, birth register.
  36. [S2293] Moses Clark Kirkpatrick, Standard Certificate of Death.
  37. [S500] Findagrave.com, online, memorial # 95643234, William D. Kirkpatrick, includes tombstone photo showing him as son of D W.D. & A. S. Kirkpatrick.
  38. [S2772] Daughter Kirkpatrick, birth register.
  39. [S4543] Battle, Perrin and Kniffin, Kentucky - A History of the State, pg 705, shows she was mother of six, with only James and Moses living.
  40. [S1666] W. D. Kirkpatrick household, 1900 U.S. Census, Mills Co., Texas, shows her the mother of six, with two living.