BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, BELMONT COUNTY, OHIO "History of the Upper Ohio Valley" Vol. II, 1890. Presented by Linda Fluharty from hard copies provided by Mary Staley & Phyllis Slater. Pages 537-538. ROBERT KIRKWOOD, the subject of the following sketch, was born near Newark, Del., in 1756. His ancestors were Scotch, but in the latter part of the seventeenth century a branch of the family removed to the north of Ireland. In this Scotch settlement, near Derry, about 1731, lived two brothers, William and Robert Kirkwood, both born in Ireland. These are the first names in the connection that have come down to us. William, some ten or twelve years the senior, died in Ireland, leaving a widow with two children. Robert, the younger brother, the father of our subject, when a very young man, concluded to emigrate to America. He set sail about 1732, with the widow and children of his brother William, and landed in Newcastle, Del., some time in the year. They soon made their way to a farm two miles northwest of Newark. Mr. Kirkwood, though in reduced circumstances at the time of his arrival, by dint of industry and economy became in a few years the owner of this farm on which he had found his first American home. He married a Miss McDowell, a member of the Society of Friends. Their family contained an only son, and he was given his father's name - Robert. With a view to his preparation for the Christian ministry he was given a classical training in the Newark academy. But the commencement of hostilities with Great Britain aroused the patriotism of the youthful student; he enlisted in the Delaware regiment commanded by Col. Hazlett, and was made a lieutenant at the early age of twenty. Kirkwood was with the army of Washington at New York, participated in the Long Island campaign, and was in the battles of Princeton, Trenton and Brandywine. After the death of Col. Hazlett, who fell at Princeton, he was appointed captain, an office in which he served until the close of the war. It has been asked why a soldier of Capt. Kirkwood's merit was never promoted to a higher rank. Suffice it to say that in the disastrous battle of Camden the Delaware regiment was reduced from eight to two companies, and required, therefore, no higher office than a captain. The soldiers who had been under Hazlett's command were taken to South Carolina by Gen. Gates in 1780. Capt. Kirkwood bore an honorable part in the battles of Camden, the Cowpens, Guilford, and others. "During all that southern campaign," it has been said, "he was the first in the British lines, and also in their works. Nine of the enemy's fortifications were successively taken, and in them our hero was always the first to place a foot. For his great services he repeatedly received thanks from Generals Greene, Morgan, and Smallwood. His individual exertions obtained a peculiar renown for what remained of the Delaware regiment. At the close of the war, Capt. Kirkwood, through the influence of Washington, was brevetted a major. He returned to his native state, and was received by his fellow-citizens with distinguished honors. His friends in Delaware numbered almost the entire population." Major Kirk- wood married a Miss England, and their residence was for some time at Cantwell's Bridge, now Odessa, Del. About 1788 or '89, he removed to Ohio, immediately west of Wheeling, Va. He was said to have been the first white man to fix his home in that section of what was then the north- western territory. His house, built chiefly by his own hands, was a log cabin, covered with bark. He was exposed to the attacks of neighboring Indians, who, as he soon learned, were designing to make him a captive. On being informed of their intentions, he secured the assistance of a few soldiers from Wheeling. Armed with muskets, they awaited the attack, which was made near midnight. The Indians, finding the door barred, set fire to the bark roof. At Kirkwood's order the roof was knocked off with the butts of their muskets, the assailants, seen by the light of the burning roof, were fi,red upon and pursued. Several Indians were killed, the rest fled, and the major with his party escaped unhurt. During the first years of Washington's administration great depredations were com- mitted by the Indians in many parts of the northwest territory. To repel these savages and afford protection to settlers, an army was raised in 1791 and placed under the command of Gen. St. Clair. In the memorable defeat of that year (November 4), Kirkwood fell, mortally wounded. All we know of his last moments is stated by Col. Slough, a fellow officer, is a letter written thirty. years after the event. He said: "Capt. Kirkwood had been sick for several days previous to the 4th of November, but was always ready for duty. At the dawn of day, that morning, after the advanced guard was attacked and driven in.. I saw him cheering his men, and by his example, inspiring confidence in all who saw him. When he received the wound, I cannot say. I was at a distance from him, and busily engaged in attending to my own duty. About 8 o'clock, I received a severe wound in my right arm, just above the elbow. As it bled very much, and our surgeon was in the rear, I was advised to go and have it dressed. On my way to re-join my company, I found my friend Kirkwood, lying against the root of a tree, shot through the abdomen, and in great pain. After calling to the surgeon, and commending him to his care, I saw no more of him until the retreat was ordered, I then ran to him, and proposed having him carried off. He said, "No, I am dying; save yourself, if you can, and leave me to my fate. . . . I see the Indians coming, and God knows how they will treat me." Some weeks after the battle, the ground was visited by American soldiers, to make such disposition as was possible, of the killed, left on the field. The body of Maj. Kirkwood was recognized by a pair of Indian moccasins, known to have been in his possession. Many years afterward, as the present writer was informed by Hon. John M. Clayton, the people of Delaware would have given his remains an honorable burial in his native state, but their identification was no longer possible. Maj. Kirkwood left but two children, a son, Joseph R., and a daughter, Mary. The latter married Mr. Whitely, of Delaware. Her son, Robert Kirkwood Whitely, was educated at West Point, and became a captain in the United States army. The son, Joseph R. Kirkwood, married Miss Gillespie, a descendant of Rev. George Gillespie, the first pastor of White Clay Creek, and head of Christiana churches near Newark, Del. They removed at an early day, to Bridgeport, Ohio. Their only son died in infancy, so that the name of Kirkwood, in this branch of the family, is now extinct. The name in another branch is by no means rare. The numerous descendants of daughters, however, bearing the names of Alexander, Allen, Large and McConahey, are well-known and highly respected in the upper Ohio valley.