US Congressman, Lawyer, Entrepreneur. He was a United States Representative from the State of Indiana. He was born one of eight children to Obadiah Kilgore (1771-1853), and his wife Rebecca Cusick Kilgore (1778-1842), in Harrison County, Kentucky, on April 3, 1804. He was educated locally and attended the local common public schools before studying law. He was then admitted to the bar in 1830 and commenced his practice of law in Yorktown, Indiana, shortly thereafter. He then became interested in politics and served as a Member of the Indiana State House of Representatives from 1833 to 1836, 1838, 1839, and again in 1855. He also served as Presidential Elector from the State of Indiana in 1848, as Speaker of the Indiana State House of Representatives in 1855, as President Judge of the Yorktown, Indiana, Circuit from 1839 to 1846, and as a Delegate to the Indiana State Constitutional Convention in 1850 and again in 1851. He then decided to run for a seat in the United States Congress and was elected to succeed the outgoing United States Representative David Pierson Holloway (1809-1883), on March 4, 1857. A Member of the Republican Party, he then served Indiana's 5th District (Thirty-Fifth Congress and Thirty-Sixth Congress), in the United States House of Representatives from March 4, 1857, to March 3, 1861. In total, he was elected in 1856, reelected in 1858, and then retired in 1861. Following his term in the United States Congress, he was succeeded in office by the incoming United States Representative George Washington Julian (1817-1899), on March 4, 1861. After leaving the United States Congress, he served as a Delegate to the Union National Convention which met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 14, 1866. A lifelong Methodist, he also served as one of the pallbearers for the funeral procession of President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was also a prominent businessman having been one of the longtime Directors of the Indianapolis and Bellefontaine Railroad Company and Director and large shareholder of the Citizens' National Bank in Muncie, Indiana. He passed away following a long illness in Yorktown, Indiana, on January 22, 1879, at the age of 74, and he was buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Daleville, Indiana. Following his death, he was remembered by his family, friends and colleagues as, "He was a wise counselor, a fine judge of human nature, cool and deliberate in the transactions of all business, clear in his decisions, quick and discern the drift of public events and their outcome, an ardent lover of his country, and strictly honorable in all business transactions. In his private life, he was genial, pleasant, and hospitable." He was married twice, first to, Elizabeth Clark (1804-1830), in Madison, Ohio, on November 24, 1818. The couple's children include, George W. Kilgore (1825-1902), and James I. Kilgore (1826-1884). He married for second time to, Mary G. VanMatre Kilgore (1814-1882), in Adams, Indiana, on July 14, 1831. The couple's children include Henry C. Kilgore (1831-1831), Alfred Kilgore (1833-1871), Obed Kilgore (1835-1890), Absalom V. Kilgore (1837-1866), Tecumseh Kilgore (1839-1876), Mary Louisa Kilgore (1841-1914, last name later Remington), and David Kilgore (1841-1917). Four of the couple's sons served in the American Civil War, two with the rank of captain and two with the rank of lieutenant including Alfred Kilgore (1833-1871), an Indiana politician who also served as a Member of Indiana State House of Representatives from 1863 to 1865, and as the Attorney for the State of Indiana from 1866 to 1869. His second wife Mary survived him passing away in Mount Pleasant Township, Indiana, on April 9, 1882, at the age of 67, and she is also buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Daleville, Indiana. He was also a great-grandfather of Bernard "Barney" Kilgore (1908-1967), the editor and publisher of The Wall Street Journal from 1941 to 1965.
US Congressman, Lawyer, Entrepreneur. He was a United States Representative from the State of Indiana. He was born one of eight children to Obadiah Kilgore (1771-1853), and his wife Rebecca Cusick Kilgore (1778-1842), in Harrison County, Kentucky, on April 3, 1804. He was educated locally and attended the local common public schools before studying law. He was then admitted to the bar in 1830 and commenced his practice of law in Yorktown, Indiana, shortly thereafter. He then became interested in politics and served as a Member of the Indiana State House of Representatives from 1833 to 1836, 1838, 1839, and again in 1855. He also served as Presidential Elector from the State of Indiana in 1848, as Speaker of the Indiana State House of Representatives in 1855, as President Judge of the Yorktown, Indiana, Circuit from 1839 to 1846, and as a Delegate to the Indiana State Constitutional Convention in 1850 and again in 1851. He then decided to run for a seat in the United States Congress and was elected to succeed the outgoing United States Representative David Pierson Holloway (1809-1883), on March 4, 1857. A Member of the Republican Party, he then served Indiana's 5th District (Thirty-Fifth Congress and Thirty-Sixth Congress), in the United States House of Representatives from March 4, 1857, to March 3, 1861. In total, he was elected in 1856, reelected in 1858, and then retired in 1861. Following his term in the United States Congress, he was succeeded in office by the incoming United States Representative George Washington Julian (1817-1899), on March 4, 1861. After leaving the United States Congress, he served as a Delegate to the Union National Convention which met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 14, 1866. A lifelong Methodist, he also served as one of the pallbearers for the funeral procession of President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was also a prominent businessman having been one of the longtime Directors of the Indianapolis and Bellefontaine Railroad Company and Director and large shareholder of the Citizens' National Bank in Muncie, Indiana. He passed away following a long illness in Yorktown, Indiana, on January 22, 1879, at the age of 74, and he was buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Daleville, Indiana. Following his death, he was remembered by his family, friends and colleagues as, "He was a wise counselor, a fine judge of human nature, cool and deliberate in the transactions of all business, clear in his decisions, quick and discern the drift of public events and their outcome, an ardent lover of his country, and strictly honorable in all business transactions. In his private life, he was genial, pleasant, and hospitable." He was married twice, first to, Elizabeth Clark (1804-1830), in Madison, Ohio, on November 24, 1818. The couple's children include, George W. Kilgore (1825-1902), and James I. Kilgore (1826-1884). He married for second time to, Mary G. VanMatre Kilgore (1814-1882), in Adams, Indiana, on July 14, 1831. The couple's children include Henry C. Kilgore (1831-1831), Alfred Kilgore (1833-1871), Obed Kilgore (1835-1890), Absalom V. Kilgore (1837-1866), Tecumseh Kilgore (1839-1876), Mary Louisa Kilgore (1841-1914, last name later Remington), and David Kilgore (1841-1917). Four of the couple's sons served in the American Civil War, two with the rank of captain and two with the rank of lieutenant including Alfred Kilgore (1833-1871), an Indiana politician who also served as a Member of Indiana State House of Representatives from 1863 to 1865, and as the Attorney for the State of Indiana from 1866 to 1869. His second wife Mary survived him passing away in Mount Pleasant Township, Indiana, on April 9, 1882, at the age of 67, and she is also buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Daleville, Indiana. He was also a great-grandfather of Bernard "Barney" Kilgore (1908-1967), the editor and publisher of The Wall Street Journal from 1941 to 1965.
Bio by: The Silent Forgotten
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