He was a descendant of Patriot Descendant of Sergeant Jacob Kilbourn, of Massachusetts. He was the son of Dr. Alpheus Kilbourn and Philena Farnsworth Kilbourn (died 1838). According to the 1900 Census for the District of Columbia he married in 1857.
The Evening Star April 14, 1903
Washington, D.C., Page 3
Hallet Kilbourn
Death of a Well-Known Citizen.
The End Came Today.
Was Prominent in Many Local Matters
Hallet Kilbourn, one of the best known citizens of the District and who has resided here for nearly half a century, died this morning at 10:45 o’clock at St. Elizabeth’s where he had been since last May. His health had quickly declined during the last three months and the end has been expected since he was stricken with paralysis less than a week ago. When the end came the daughters of Mr. Kilbourn were with their father, having passed most of the last week near him, as did his wife.
The deceased is survived by a widow, two daughters, Mrs. Frank Gordon and Mrs. B.K. Bourgeat and a grandson, Master Kilbourn Gordon, all of whom reside at the Plaza, Washington Circle.
The funeral arrangements had not been decided upon this afternoon, but it will probably be held Thursday. The interment will be at Oak Hill Cemetery in the family burial plot.
His Long and Active Career.
Hallet Kilbourn was the son of Dr. Alpheus Kilbourn and was born in Rochester, New York, seventy-two years ago. He received a good education and came to this city first when Buchanan was President. His acquaintances then among the honored old families of the District brought him in contact with public men and measures. His great courtesy of manner was noted in his early manhood and continued throughout his active life. In the years of his prominence in this city it caused his sobriquet among his inmates of “Prince Hal.” In 1849 he went to California. He outlived nearly all the men who began then to acquire the famous fortunes of the Pacific coast. George C. Gorham being the best known of them now living here. His associations with such men as Sharon, Mackay, etc. were the closest. They shared the hardships and privations of the pioneer together. Coming east again, he married at Akron, Ohio and went to live at Davenport, Iowa, where he engaged in banking. Habits of study clung to him and after a course of law he was admitted to the bar in Indiana. He was made a Lincoln Presidential Elector to fill a vacancy caused by death.
His Departmental Life.
Shortly after President Lincoln’s taking office he was made Chief Clerk of the Census and then Chief Clerk of the Interior Department. He also served as special cotton agent in Florida. President Johnson afterward sent his name to the Senate for the Office of Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, but on account of private interests, which did not make it possible for him to accept the honor, his name was withdrawn.
Decline in Health.
Mr. Kilbourn’s health began visibly to decline ten years ago and markedly so the past six years. His brilliantly endowed mind first gave way, followed by a settled melancholy and an avoidance of his old friends and pursuits. The last two years the steady progress of disease was complicated by the growing infirmities of age. There came frequently to him, however, flashes of the old-time vigor and mental activity, when he enjoyed conversations with his family and friends, as well as knowledge of what was going on in the world. His philosophical contentment with his lot and acceptance of the constraint necessary because of his disorder greatly simplified what was done for his relief. He spent eight months at the Government Hospital for the Insane six years ago and was last admitted there in May 1902.
Mr. Kilbourn then entered the real estate business with Mr. Latta and at one time the firm of Kilbourn & Latta was the most prominent in the District. He became greatly interested in the affairs of the national capital and was a constant contributor to the local newspapers of suggestions for the general good. He was a member of the Committee of 100 that framed the territorial bill and was a warm friend and supporter of the late Governor Shepherd.
The Real Estate Pool.
In January 1876, Representative John M. Glover of Missouri introduced in the House of Representatives a resolution which was passed providing for the appointment of a special committee of five to investigate the nature and history of what was known as the real estate pool and the character of the interest which the firm of J. Cooke & Co. had in the property involved and the character of settlement made by Edward M. Lewis, trustee, of the effects of J. Cooke & Co., made with the associations of said firm and the amount paid, or to be paid in settlement, with the power to send for persons and papers and report to the House.
The committee, which was designated as the real estate pool and J. Cooke indebtedness committee, was composed of Messrs. Glover, Chairman and J.D. New of Indiana, B.B. Lewis of Alabama, H.L. Pratt of Iowa and A. Herr Smith of Pennsylvania. The committee issued a summons on Mr. Kilbourn, commanding him to bring with him and produce at the committee room on March 4, 1876, deeds and deeds of trust and other papers relating to property purchased or sold by him as trustee for either the real estate pool, in which J. Cooke & Co., or Messrs. Stewart, Hillyer or Sunderland, or either of them, had and interest.
Mr. Kilbourn appeared before the committee at that time and declared on oath that the real estate pool was purely a private affair and had no relation in the remotest degree to any public interest whatsoever. He maintained that it was a private partnership, relating entirely to private business and that no public money was invested in it by anybody. He further said under oath that it was not in any way connected with any act of any officer of the United States or District governments. He said that no one was interested in the affair but the firm of Kilbourn & Latta and that the only reason he had for answering questions about it was that it was purely private business.
Jeremiah Black, the eminent Pennsylvania lawyer, was Mr. Kilbourn’s attorney. Mr. Black stated for Mr. Kilbourn that the latter was entirely willing to answer any interrogatories that the committee might put to him concerning the nature and history of the so-called real estate pool, provided that any member of the committee would express his conviction grounded on any fact known to him that there was any connection whatever with any public man that Congress had a right to investigate or found any legislation upon. The committee on March 13 again asked Mr. Kilbourn if he would answer the questions he had declined to answer a week before. Mr. Kilbourn’s reply was: “I have nothing further to say but that I respectfully decline to answer for the reasons heretofore stated.”
Arrested on Speaker’s Warrant.
The following day the committee, with the exception of Mr. Pratt of Iowa, reported Mr. Kilbourn as being in contempt of the House and the Sergeant-at-Arms appeared at the bar of the House with Mr. Kilbourn, whom he had arrested on a warrant issued by Speaker Kerr in response to a resolution of the House.
When Mr. Kilbourn was arraigned he presented a statement to the House which was read by the clerk. It was a remarkable document and closed as follows: “I am far from desiring to stand in the way of any investigation you may please to make concerning public affairs. On the contrary, I will freely give you all the aid I can. But I cannot submit to examination of my private business unless some reason be assigned for it. If the House insists I must take the consequence. I solemnly trust that the whole House will see the gross injustice of either certifying me to the District Attorney for prosecution or else convicting me here.
Speaker Kerr then asked Mr. Kilbourn if he was prepared to answer upon the demand of the committee where each of the five members of the real estate pool resided. A resolution presented by Mr. Glover declaring Kilbourn in contempt of the House was then passed. Mr. Kilbourn was thereupon taken, on the afternoon of March 14 to the District jail and imprisoned. After much excitement, debate, etc., he was released upon a writ of habeas corpus, issued by Chief Justice Cartier of the District Supreme Court.
Mr. Kilbourn then brought a suit for false imprisonment against Sergeant-at-Arms John G. Thompson, Speaker Kerr and members of the Glover committee for false imprisonment for having had him confined in the District jail forty-five days. Subsequently Mr. Kilbourn received $20,000 for the indignity put upon him.
Mr. Kilbourn was an incorporator of the Washington Market Company and of the Washington Railway Company. He was interested at one time in the newspaper known as the National Republican. After severing his connection with the Republican he was for several years president of the company that published the Critic. Mr. Kilbourn was one of the small but determined body of men of whom the late Governor Alexander R Shepherd afterward became leader and the instrument to make Washington worthy of its distinguished position among critics. He was an ardent believer of the future of the national capital and bent all his purposes to accomplishing the reform and changes which made this achievement possible. He was an ardent friend of everything that would redound to the credit of Washington.
The Evening Star April 14, 1903
Washington, D.C., Page 3
Hallet Kilbourn
Death of a Well-Known Citizen.
The End Came Today.
Was Prominent in Many Local Matters
Hallet Kilbourn, one of the best known citizens of the District and who has resided here for nearly half a century, died this morning at 10:45 o’clock at St. Elizabeth’s where he had been since last May. His health had quickly declined during the last three months and the end has been expected since he was stricken with paralysis less than a week ago. When the end came the daughters of Mr. Kilbourn were with their father, having passed most of the last week near him, as did his wife.
The deceased is survived by a widow, two daughters, Mrs. Frank Gordon and Mrs. B.K. Bourgeat and a grandson, Master Kilbourn Gordon, all of whom reside at the Plaza, Washington Circle.
The funeral arrangements had not been decided upon this afternoon, but it will probably be held Thursday. The interment will be at Oak Hill Cemetery in the family burial plot.
His Long and Active Career.
Hallet Kilbourn was the son of Dr. Alpheus Kilbourn and was born in Rochester, New York, seventy-two years ago. He received a good education and came to this city first when Buchanan was President. His acquaintances then among the honored old families of the District brought him in contact with public men and measures. His great courtesy of manner was noted in his early manhood and continued throughout his active life. In the years of his prominence in this city it caused his sobriquet among his inmates of “Prince Hal.” In 1849 he went to California. He outlived nearly all the men who began then to acquire the famous fortunes of the Pacific coast. George C. Gorham being the best known of them now living here. His associations with such men as Sharon, Mackay, etc. were the closest. They shared the hardships and privations of the pioneer together. Coming east again, he married at Akron, Ohio and went to live at Davenport, Iowa, where he engaged in banking. Habits of study clung to him and after a course of law he was admitted to the bar in Indiana. He was made a Lincoln Presidential Elector to fill a vacancy caused by death.
His Departmental Life.
Shortly after President Lincoln’s taking office he was made Chief Clerk of the Census and then Chief Clerk of the Interior Department. He also served as special cotton agent in Florida. President Johnson afterward sent his name to the Senate for the Office of Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, but on account of private interests, which did not make it possible for him to accept the honor, his name was withdrawn.
Decline in Health.
Mr. Kilbourn’s health began visibly to decline ten years ago and markedly so the past six years. His brilliantly endowed mind first gave way, followed by a settled melancholy and an avoidance of his old friends and pursuits. The last two years the steady progress of disease was complicated by the growing infirmities of age. There came frequently to him, however, flashes of the old-time vigor and mental activity, when he enjoyed conversations with his family and friends, as well as knowledge of what was going on in the world. His philosophical contentment with his lot and acceptance of the constraint necessary because of his disorder greatly simplified what was done for his relief. He spent eight months at the Government Hospital for the Insane six years ago and was last admitted there in May 1902.
Mr. Kilbourn then entered the real estate business with Mr. Latta and at one time the firm of Kilbourn & Latta was the most prominent in the District. He became greatly interested in the affairs of the national capital and was a constant contributor to the local newspapers of suggestions for the general good. He was a member of the Committee of 100 that framed the territorial bill and was a warm friend and supporter of the late Governor Shepherd.
The Real Estate Pool.
In January 1876, Representative John M. Glover of Missouri introduced in the House of Representatives a resolution which was passed providing for the appointment of a special committee of five to investigate the nature and history of what was known as the real estate pool and the character of the interest which the firm of J. Cooke & Co. had in the property involved and the character of settlement made by Edward M. Lewis, trustee, of the effects of J. Cooke & Co., made with the associations of said firm and the amount paid, or to be paid in settlement, with the power to send for persons and papers and report to the House.
The committee, which was designated as the real estate pool and J. Cooke indebtedness committee, was composed of Messrs. Glover, Chairman and J.D. New of Indiana, B.B. Lewis of Alabama, H.L. Pratt of Iowa and A. Herr Smith of Pennsylvania. The committee issued a summons on Mr. Kilbourn, commanding him to bring with him and produce at the committee room on March 4, 1876, deeds and deeds of trust and other papers relating to property purchased or sold by him as trustee for either the real estate pool, in which J. Cooke & Co., or Messrs. Stewart, Hillyer or Sunderland, or either of them, had and interest.
Mr. Kilbourn appeared before the committee at that time and declared on oath that the real estate pool was purely a private affair and had no relation in the remotest degree to any public interest whatsoever. He maintained that it was a private partnership, relating entirely to private business and that no public money was invested in it by anybody. He further said under oath that it was not in any way connected with any act of any officer of the United States or District governments. He said that no one was interested in the affair but the firm of Kilbourn & Latta and that the only reason he had for answering questions about it was that it was purely private business.
Jeremiah Black, the eminent Pennsylvania lawyer, was Mr. Kilbourn’s attorney. Mr. Black stated for Mr. Kilbourn that the latter was entirely willing to answer any interrogatories that the committee might put to him concerning the nature and history of the so-called real estate pool, provided that any member of the committee would express his conviction grounded on any fact known to him that there was any connection whatever with any public man that Congress had a right to investigate or found any legislation upon. The committee on March 13 again asked Mr. Kilbourn if he would answer the questions he had declined to answer a week before. Mr. Kilbourn’s reply was: “I have nothing further to say but that I respectfully decline to answer for the reasons heretofore stated.”
Arrested on Speaker’s Warrant.
The following day the committee, with the exception of Mr. Pratt of Iowa, reported Mr. Kilbourn as being in contempt of the House and the Sergeant-at-Arms appeared at the bar of the House with Mr. Kilbourn, whom he had arrested on a warrant issued by Speaker Kerr in response to a resolution of the House.
When Mr. Kilbourn was arraigned he presented a statement to the House which was read by the clerk. It was a remarkable document and closed as follows: “I am far from desiring to stand in the way of any investigation you may please to make concerning public affairs. On the contrary, I will freely give you all the aid I can. But I cannot submit to examination of my private business unless some reason be assigned for it. If the House insists I must take the consequence. I solemnly trust that the whole House will see the gross injustice of either certifying me to the District Attorney for prosecution or else convicting me here.
Speaker Kerr then asked Mr. Kilbourn if he was prepared to answer upon the demand of the committee where each of the five members of the real estate pool resided. A resolution presented by Mr. Glover declaring Kilbourn in contempt of the House was then passed. Mr. Kilbourn was thereupon taken, on the afternoon of March 14 to the District jail and imprisoned. After much excitement, debate, etc., he was released upon a writ of habeas corpus, issued by Chief Justice Cartier of the District Supreme Court.
Mr. Kilbourn then brought a suit for false imprisonment against Sergeant-at-Arms John G. Thompson, Speaker Kerr and members of the Glover committee for false imprisonment for having had him confined in the District jail forty-five days. Subsequently Mr. Kilbourn received $20,000 for the indignity put upon him.
Mr. Kilbourn was an incorporator of the Washington Market Company and of the Washington Railway Company. He was interested at one time in the newspaper known as the National Republican. After severing his connection with the Republican he was for several years president of the company that published the Critic. Mr. Kilbourn was one of the small but determined body of men of whom the late Governor Alexander R Shepherd afterward became leader and the instrument to make Washington worthy of its distinguished position among critics. He was an ardent believer of the future of the national capital and bent all his purposes to accomplishing the reform and changes which made this achievement possible. He was an ardent friend of everything that would redound to the credit of Washington.
He was a descendant of Patriot Descendant of Sergeant Jacob Kilbourn, of Massachusetts. He was the son of Dr. Alpheus Kilbourn and Philena Farnsworth Kilbourn (died 1838). According to the 1900 Census for the District of Columbia he married in 1857.
The Evening Star April 14, 1903
Washington, D.C., Page 3
Hallet Kilbourn
Death of a Well-Known Citizen.
The End Came Today.
Was Prominent in Many Local Matters
Hallet Kilbourn, one of the best known citizens of the District and who has resided here for nearly half a century, died this morning at 10:45 o’clock at St. Elizabeth’s where he had been since last May. His health had quickly declined during the last three months and the end has been expected since he was stricken with paralysis less than a week ago. When the end came the daughters of Mr. Kilbourn were with their father, having passed most of the last week near him, as did his wife.
The deceased is survived by a widow, two daughters, Mrs. Frank Gordon and Mrs. B.K. Bourgeat and a grandson, Master Kilbourn Gordon, all of whom reside at the Plaza, Washington Circle.
The funeral arrangements had not been decided upon this afternoon, but it will probably be held Thursday. The interment will be at Oak Hill Cemetery in the family burial plot.
His Long and Active Career.
Hallet Kilbourn was the son of Dr. Alpheus Kilbourn and was born in Rochester, New York, seventy-two years ago. He received a good education and came to this city first when Buchanan was President. His acquaintances then among the honored old families of the District brought him in contact with public men and measures. His great courtesy of manner was noted in his early manhood and continued throughout his active life. In the years of his prominence in this city it caused his sobriquet among his inmates of “Prince Hal.” In 1849 he went to California. He outlived nearly all the men who began then to acquire the famous fortunes of the Pacific coast. George C. Gorham being the best known of them now living here. His associations with such men as Sharon, Mackay, etc. were the closest. They shared the hardships and privations of the pioneer together. Coming east again, he married at Akron, Ohio and went to live at Davenport, Iowa, where he engaged in banking. Habits of study clung to him and after a course of law he was admitted to the bar in Indiana. He was made a Lincoln Presidential Elector to fill a vacancy caused by death.
His Departmental Life.
Shortly after President Lincoln’s taking office he was made Chief Clerk of the Census and then Chief Clerk of the Interior Department. He also served as special cotton agent in Florida. President Johnson afterward sent his name to the Senate for the Office of Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, but on account of private interests, which did not make it possible for him to accept the honor, his name was withdrawn.
Decline in Health.
Mr. Kilbourn’s health began visibly to decline ten years ago and markedly so the past six years. His brilliantly endowed mind first gave way, followed by a settled melancholy and an avoidance of his old friends and pursuits. The last two years the steady progress of disease was complicated by the growing infirmities of age. There came frequently to him, however, flashes of the old-time vigor and mental activity, when he enjoyed conversations with his family and friends, as well as knowledge of what was going on in the world. His philosophical contentment with his lot and acceptance of the constraint necessary because of his disorder greatly simplified what was done for his relief. He spent eight months at the Government Hospital for the Insane six years ago and was last admitted there in May 1902.
Mr. Kilbourn then entered the real estate business with Mr. Latta and at one time the firm of Kilbourn & Latta was the most prominent in the District. He became greatly interested in the affairs of the national capital and was a constant contributor to the local newspapers of suggestions for the general good. He was a member of the Committee of 100 that framed the territorial bill and was a warm friend and supporter of the late Governor Shepherd.
The Real Estate Pool.
In January 1876, Representative John M. Glover of Missouri introduced in the House of Representatives a resolution which was passed providing for the appointment of a special committee of five to investigate the nature and history of what was known as the real estate pool and the character of the interest which the firm of J. Cooke & Co. had in the property involved and the character of settlement made by Edward M. Lewis, trustee, of the effects of J. Cooke & Co., made with the associations of said firm and the amount paid, or to be paid in settlement, with the power to send for persons and papers and report to the House.
The committee, which was designated as the real estate pool and J. Cooke indebtedness committee, was composed of Messrs. Glover, Chairman and J.D. New of Indiana, B.B. Lewis of Alabama, H.L. Pratt of Iowa and A. Herr Smith of Pennsylvania. The committee issued a summons on Mr. Kilbourn, commanding him to bring with him and produce at the committee room on March 4, 1876, deeds and deeds of trust and other papers relating to property purchased or sold by him as trustee for either the real estate pool, in which J. Cooke & Co., or Messrs. Stewart, Hillyer or Sunderland, or either of them, had and interest.
Mr. Kilbourn appeared before the committee at that time and declared on oath that the real estate pool was purely a private affair and had no relation in the remotest degree to any public interest whatsoever. He maintained that it was a private partnership, relating entirely to private business and that no public money was invested in it by anybody. He further said under oath that it was not in any way connected with any act of any officer of the United States or District governments. He said that no one was interested in the affair but the firm of Kilbourn & Latta and that the only reason he had for answering questions about it was that it was purely private business.
Jeremiah Black, the eminent Pennsylvania lawyer, was Mr. Kilbourn’s attorney. Mr. Black stated for Mr. Kilbourn that the latter was entirely willing to answer any interrogatories that the committee might put to him concerning the nature and history of the so-called real estate pool, provided that any member of the committee would express his conviction grounded on any fact known to him that there was any connection whatever with any public man that Congress had a right to investigate or found any legislation upon. The committee on March 13 again asked Mr. Kilbourn if he would answer the questions he had declined to answer a week before. Mr. Kilbourn’s reply was: “I have nothing further to say but that I respectfully decline to answer for the reasons heretofore stated.”
Arrested on Speaker’s Warrant.
The following day the committee, with the exception of Mr. Pratt of Iowa, reported Mr. Kilbourn as being in contempt of the House and the Sergeant-at-Arms appeared at the bar of the House with Mr. Kilbourn, whom he had arrested on a warrant issued by Speaker Kerr in response to a resolution of the House.
When Mr. Kilbourn was arraigned he presented a statement to the House which was read by the clerk. It was a remarkable document and closed as follows: “I am far from desiring to stand in the way of any investigation you may please to make concerning public affairs. On the contrary, I will freely give you all the aid I can. But I cannot submit to examination of my private business unless some reason be assigned for it. If the House insists I must take the consequence. I solemnly trust that the whole House will see the gross injustice of either certifying me to the District Attorney for prosecution or else convicting me here.
Speaker Kerr then asked Mr. Kilbourn if he was prepared to answer upon the demand of the committee where each of the five members of the real estate pool resided. A resolution presented by Mr. Glover declaring Kilbourn in contempt of the House was then passed. Mr. Kilbourn was thereupon taken, on the afternoon of March 14 to the District jail and imprisoned. After much excitement, debate, etc., he was released upon a writ of habeas corpus, issued by Chief Justice Cartier of the District Supreme Court.
Mr. Kilbourn then brought a suit for false imprisonment against Sergeant-at-Arms John G. Thompson, Speaker Kerr and members of the Glover committee for false imprisonment for having had him confined in the District jail forty-five days. Subsequently Mr. Kilbourn received $20,000 for the indignity put upon him.
Mr. Kilbourn was an incorporator of the Washington Market Company and of the Washington Railway Company. He was interested at one time in the newspaper known as the National Republican. After severing his connection with the Republican he was for several years president of the company that published the Critic. Mr. Kilbourn was one of the small but determined body of men of whom the late Governor Alexander R Shepherd afterward became leader and the instrument to make Washington worthy of its distinguished position among critics. He was an ardent believer of the future of the national capital and bent all his purposes to accomplishing the reform and changes which made this achievement possible. He was an ardent friend of everything that would redound to the credit of Washington.
The Evening Star April 14, 1903
Washington, D.C., Page 3
Hallet Kilbourn
Death of a Well-Known Citizen.
The End Came Today.
Was Prominent in Many Local Matters
Hallet Kilbourn, one of the best known citizens of the District and who has resided here for nearly half a century, died this morning at 10:45 o’clock at St. Elizabeth’s where he had been since last May. His health had quickly declined during the last three months and the end has been expected since he was stricken with paralysis less than a week ago. When the end came the daughters of Mr. Kilbourn were with their father, having passed most of the last week near him, as did his wife.
The deceased is survived by a widow, two daughters, Mrs. Frank Gordon and Mrs. B.K. Bourgeat and a grandson, Master Kilbourn Gordon, all of whom reside at the Plaza, Washington Circle.
The funeral arrangements had not been decided upon this afternoon, but it will probably be held Thursday. The interment will be at Oak Hill Cemetery in the family burial plot.
His Long and Active Career.
Hallet Kilbourn was the son of Dr. Alpheus Kilbourn and was born in Rochester, New York, seventy-two years ago. He received a good education and came to this city first when Buchanan was President. His acquaintances then among the honored old families of the District brought him in contact with public men and measures. His great courtesy of manner was noted in his early manhood and continued throughout his active life. In the years of his prominence in this city it caused his sobriquet among his inmates of “Prince Hal.” In 1849 he went to California. He outlived nearly all the men who began then to acquire the famous fortunes of the Pacific coast. George C. Gorham being the best known of them now living here. His associations with such men as Sharon, Mackay, etc. were the closest. They shared the hardships and privations of the pioneer together. Coming east again, he married at Akron, Ohio and went to live at Davenport, Iowa, where he engaged in banking. Habits of study clung to him and after a course of law he was admitted to the bar in Indiana. He was made a Lincoln Presidential Elector to fill a vacancy caused by death.
His Departmental Life.
Shortly after President Lincoln’s taking office he was made Chief Clerk of the Census and then Chief Clerk of the Interior Department. He also served as special cotton agent in Florida. President Johnson afterward sent his name to the Senate for the Office of Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, but on account of private interests, which did not make it possible for him to accept the honor, his name was withdrawn.
Decline in Health.
Mr. Kilbourn’s health began visibly to decline ten years ago and markedly so the past six years. His brilliantly endowed mind first gave way, followed by a settled melancholy and an avoidance of his old friends and pursuits. The last two years the steady progress of disease was complicated by the growing infirmities of age. There came frequently to him, however, flashes of the old-time vigor and mental activity, when he enjoyed conversations with his family and friends, as well as knowledge of what was going on in the world. His philosophical contentment with his lot and acceptance of the constraint necessary because of his disorder greatly simplified what was done for his relief. He spent eight months at the Government Hospital for the Insane six years ago and was last admitted there in May 1902.
Mr. Kilbourn then entered the real estate business with Mr. Latta and at one time the firm of Kilbourn & Latta was the most prominent in the District. He became greatly interested in the affairs of the national capital and was a constant contributor to the local newspapers of suggestions for the general good. He was a member of the Committee of 100 that framed the territorial bill and was a warm friend and supporter of the late Governor Shepherd.
The Real Estate Pool.
In January 1876, Representative John M. Glover of Missouri introduced in the House of Representatives a resolution which was passed providing for the appointment of a special committee of five to investigate the nature and history of what was known as the real estate pool and the character of the interest which the firm of J. Cooke & Co. had in the property involved and the character of settlement made by Edward M. Lewis, trustee, of the effects of J. Cooke & Co., made with the associations of said firm and the amount paid, or to be paid in settlement, with the power to send for persons and papers and report to the House.
The committee, which was designated as the real estate pool and J. Cooke indebtedness committee, was composed of Messrs. Glover, Chairman and J.D. New of Indiana, B.B. Lewis of Alabama, H.L. Pratt of Iowa and A. Herr Smith of Pennsylvania. The committee issued a summons on Mr. Kilbourn, commanding him to bring with him and produce at the committee room on March 4, 1876, deeds and deeds of trust and other papers relating to property purchased or sold by him as trustee for either the real estate pool, in which J. Cooke & Co., or Messrs. Stewart, Hillyer or Sunderland, or either of them, had and interest.
Mr. Kilbourn appeared before the committee at that time and declared on oath that the real estate pool was purely a private affair and had no relation in the remotest degree to any public interest whatsoever. He maintained that it was a private partnership, relating entirely to private business and that no public money was invested in it by anybody. He further said under oath that it was not in any way connected with any act of any officer of the United States or District governments. He said that no one was interested in the affair but the firm of Kilbourn & Latta and that the only reason he had for answering questions about it was that it was purely private business.
Jeremiah Black, the eminent Pennsylvania lawyer, was Mr. Kilbourn’s attorney. Mr. Black stated for Mr. Kilbourn that the latter was entirely willing to answer any interrogatories that the committee might put to him concerning the nature and history of the so-called real estate pool, provided that any member of the committee would express his conviction grounded on any fact known to him that there was any connection whatever with any public man that Congress had a right to investigate or found any legislation upon. The committee on March 13 again asked Mr. Kilbourn if he would answer the questions he had declined to answer a week before. Mr. Kilbourn’s reply was: “I have nothing further to say but that I respectfully decline to answer for the reasons heretofore stated.”
Arrested on Speaker’s Warrant.
The following day the committee, with the exception of Mr. Pratt of Iowa, reported Mr. Kilbourn as being in contempt of the House and the Sergeant-at-Arms appeared at the bar of the House with Mr. Kilbourn, whom he had arrested on a warrant issued by Speaker Kerr in response to a resolution of the House.
When Mr. Kilbourn was arraigned he presented a statement to the House which was read by the clerk. It was a remarkable document and closed as follows: “I am far from desiring to stand in the way of any investigation you may please to make concerning public affairs. On the contrary, I will freely give you all the aid I can. But I cannot submit to examination of my private business unless some reason be assigned for it. If the House insists I must take the consequence. I solemnly trust that the whole House will see the gross injustice of either certifying me to the District Attorney for prosecution or else convicting me here.
Speaker Kerr then asked Mr. Kilbourn if he was prepared to answer upon the demand of the committee where each of the five members of the real estate pool resided. A resolution presented by Mr. Glover declaring Kilbourn in contempt of the House was then passed. Mr. Kilbourn was thereupon taken, on the afternoon of March 14 to the District jail and imprisoned. After much excitement, debate, etc., he was released upon a writ of habeas corpus, issued by Chief Justice Cartier of the District Supreme Court.
Mr. Kilbourn then brought a suit for false imprisonment against Sergeant-at-Arms John G. Thompson, Speaker Kerr and members of the Glover committee for false imprisonment for having had him confined in the District jail forty-five days. Subsequently Mr. Kilbourn received $20,000 for the indignity put upon him.
Mr. Kilbourn was an incorporator of the Washington Market Company and of the Washington Railway Company. He was interested at one time in the newspaper known as the National Republican. After severing his connection with the Republican he was for several years president of the company that published the Critic. Mr. Kilbourn was one of the small but determined body of men of whom the late Governor Alexander R Shepherd afterward became leader and the instrument to make Washington worthy of its distinguished position among critics. He was an ardent believer of the future of the national capital and bent all his purposes to accomplishing the reform and changes which made this achievement possible. He was an ardent friend of everything that would redound to the credit of Washington.
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