When Johnny Comes Marching Home, Mitch Miller chorus
You know how I love history, especially, when I can connect family with those holidays on tap. For this President's Day I've chosen John Wickliffe Kitchell, a close friend of Abraham Lincoln to kick start this blog.
The Kitchell family donated the land that later became Kitchell Park in Pana, Il.
CAPTAIN JOHN WIKLIFFE KITCHELL Aged 79 Years, Friend of
Lincoln Dies.
Capt. John Wickliffe
Kitchell, born May 10, 1835, died Dec. 26, 1914. Capt. John Wickliffe Kitchell,
philanthropist, civil war veteran and friend of Abraham Lincoln, died Dec. 26,
1914, at his home in Pana, Illinois, aged 79 years. Business was suspended in
Pana during his funeral. Captain Kitchell, who gave Pana the Kitchell public
parks, state agricultural experimental station, Lincoln monument and
contributed liberally to many state institutions, was born in Palestine,
Crawford County, Illinois, May 10, 1835. He left an estate estimated to be
worth $1,000,000. Captain Kitchell died at 1 :15 o'clock and his death followed
an illness of five weeks. For several hours previous to his demise he had been
unconscious and three days ago all hope for his recovery was surrendered by his
physicians, who had given him minutest attention for the past fortnight. The
death of Captain Kitchell followed closely on the dedication of the Robert
Little, Rosemond road, the first brick paved roadway in Central or Southern Illinois.
This road was built by Captain Kitchell and his wife, Mrs. Mary Little
Kitchell, at a personal expense of $60,000, and was donated to Rosemond
township. The road was built as a testimonial to Mrs. Kitchell's father, Robert
Little, and is four miles in length. The dedication was held November 14, 1914,
and Captain Kitchell was able to be in attendance a few minutes and spoke a few
words from the platform to the assembled three thousand people. Captain Kitchell’s
illness at first was not thought serious, and a week ago there was a marked
improvement, and he was able to be up and about his room, while prior to that
time he was unable to obtain needed rest. A relapse came last Saturday and it
was necessary to operate as a carbuncle on his neck developed tumorous
symptoms. John Wickliffe Kitchell was the son of Wickliffe Kitchell and
Elizabeth Ross-Kitchell and was born in Palestine, Crawford County, Illinois,
May 10, 1835. His father was a native of New York and one of the original
founders of the Republican party. Wickliffe Kitchell came to Illinois in 1818,
and at the time of his death he owned a section of land near Pana, which he was
improving. This was in 1869. Wickliffe Kitch-ell, like his son, John W.
Kitchell, was one time a candidate of the Republican party for congress. He
attended and helped to organize the first Republican state convention at
Bloomington in 1856, and was well acquainted with Lincoln, Lyman, Trumbull,
Stephen A. Douglas, General James Shields, John M. Palmer and many other notables.
Captain Kitchell’s brother, Judge Alfred Kitchell, was formerly circuit judge
at Olney, Illinois, and another brother, Edward Kitchell, was internal revenue
collector of his district in this state and a one-time Republican candidate for
congress. John W. Kitchell at an early age began the study of law at Fort
Madison, Iowa, being associated with the late Judge Miller, for more than
twenty years supreme judge of Iowa. Captain Kitchell located in Hillsboro,
Illinois, in 1850, and lived there and practiced law with Judge E. Y. Rice,
against whom he made the race for congress in 1874, but was defeated by reason
of the district being largely Democratic. Captain Kitchell’s home was in
Hillsboro from 1850 to 1866, with the exception of one year when he was located
at Charleston, Illinois, and edited the Charleston Courier. He also edited the
Hillsboro Monitor and the Montgomery County Herald at Hillsboro. He came to
Pana with his wife in 1866, where he resided until his death. Captain Kitchell
from 1854 to 1861 was first assistant reading clerk in the Illinois legislature
and was the first clerk to ever receive pay for working after 12 o'clock at
night. He was reading clerk when the legislature 449 elected Lyman Trumbull to
the United States senate, and was also clerk when the late United States
Senator Shelby M. Cullom was speaker of the Illinois house. Captain Kitchell
had the good fortune to be one of those who assembled at Springfield to bid
farewell to President Lincoln when he took his departure for Washington and tor
hear from the platform of the car on which he stood, the memorable last words
which the president-elect uttered to the throng of anxious friends at his old
home. When the war broke out and Lincoln made his first call for 75,000 troops,
Captain Kitchell at once enlisted in the first company raised in Montgomery
County at Hillsboro. On arriving in Springfield, Captain Kitchell resigned his
position as reading clerk of the Illinois house and went with his company to
Camp Yates. He was chosen first lieutenant, was appointed adjutant of the
regiment and afterwards captain of Company H, and on the expiration of his term
was discharged. At the next pressing call for troops, in 1862, he was
principally instrumental in raising a company. Later Captain Kitchell served as
a private, and at the close of the war was mustered out with the rank of
lieutenant. Captain Kitchell married Miss Mary Frances Little, daughter of Col.
Robert Little, of Audubon, Montgomery County, Illinois, Feb. 27, 1862. They
made their home in Hillsboro until 1866, when they located in Pana, then a
small village of a few homes and a mere handful of people. Captain Kitchell
opened a law office at once and gave his time to the active practice of the
law. He was for a time associated with the late Judge A. C. McMillen, but the
majority of his time he practiced alone. From his earliest residence in Pana
Captain Kitchell had faith in her future prosperity, mineral wealth and rich
farming community. In 1882 he organized a company that prospected for and
located a rich vein of coal, 700 feet below the surface of the ground. The
borings and solid core taken out of the first hole were kept by Captain
Kitchell. The result of the finding of coal was the sinking of the four large
coal mines 450 now in this city. He was president of the Pana Improvement
Association. He was also president and treasurer of the Springside Coal
Company, which put down the Springside mine, the late David J. Overholt being
associated with him. He retired from its management in 1891. At the time of his
death he was probably the largest land owner in Central Illinois, having many
large farms in this section in the hands of a splendid corps of tenants. All of
these farms in later years Captain Kitchell personally super-intended. No
estimate can at this time be placed upon Captain Kitchell's wealth, but he is
rated a millionaire by many, his holdings being principally large farm lands.
Deceased has no near relatives as survivors other than his wife, Mrs. Mary F.
Little Kitchell. There are numerous cousins, nephews and nieces and more
distant relatives. The funeral services were held Monday afternoon at 1 o'clock
at the family residence on Quality Hill, and was for the public. Rev. Frank P.
Miller, of the Maroa Presbyterian church conducted the services, and burial was
made at Rosemond Grove cemetery. Mayor Corman, of Pana, issued a proclamation
calling attention to the death of Captain Kitchell, and asking that all
business be suspended from 1 to 3 o'clock, the hours of the funeral. President
Warren Penwell of the Commercial club, also issued a similar appeal to that of
Mayor Corman, calling for the suspension of all business.
The Battle Hymn of the Republic
Concluding the blog is Aaron Kitchell (Jeff is a direct descendent of Aaron's) and the Crane family (cousins of the Kitchell's) stories to show our families ties to George Washington. Happy reading!
Aaron Kitchell, Statesman & Friend of George Washington
From Kitchell Family Genealogy by Margaret Ellen Kitchell Whallon, 1932: Aaron Kitchel, cousin of Daniel Kitchel who came to Cincinnati in 1788, was one of the most notable members of the family. He was a U.S. Senator from New Jersey and a warm friend and counselor of General George Washington, on his staff and was one of his pall bearers. He is buried in the Churchyard Cemetery at Hanover, New Jersey. For 36 years he was a member of the state legislator, the national congress and the senate, on the commission of forfeited estates of Tories and on the commission that established the Northwest territory. He was the son of Joseph.
The Crane Family Mansion in Cranetown was once
used by Gen. George Washington as his headquarters
From The Genealogy of the Crane Family Vol. II by Ellery Bicknell Crane, 1900: WILLIAM CRANE-4, (Nathaniel-3, Azariah-2, Jasper-1), married 1st, _____ Wheeler, of Newark; 2d, Mary (or Mercy) _____. He resided in that part of Newark called for many years Cranetown, then West Bloomfield, now Mont Clair, NJ, and was a subscriber for the purpose of hiring a minister to preach the Gospel there. He was overseer of the poor from 1753 to 1756 inclusive, and of highways from 1760 to 1764; freeholder, 1767. He may have inherited property here from his father, and possibly succeeded to the home estate; of that, however, we are not certain, but the notable Crane mansion occupied by him or his family during the period of the war of the Revolution, still standing at the junction of Valley road and Clairmont avenue, was his home, and occupied about three weeks by Gen. Washington as his headquarters, Gen. Lafayette being with him. The time of occupation doubtless being from the later week in October to about the middle of November, 1780. While those two great generals were making Mr. Crane's house their home, he with four if not five of his sons were performing soldiers' duties in the army of which they were the commanders. It is related by Rev. Oliver Crane, D.D., LL. D., that on the arrival of Gen. Washington at the house, Mercy Crane then in charge, and causing supper to be prepared, discovered she had no tea to serve, and becoming quite disturbed about it offered an apology to the General for the lack of what might seem to him an important feature of his repast. "Never mind, my good lady," replied His Excellency, "please have a crust of bread toasted and use it for tea, that is good enough for me." Mrs. Crane's anxiety was thus dispelled, and supper was served. Night came on, and the capacity of the house for beds was overtaxed, the lower back room selected by the two generals for their use, had been used for the dining-room, the deficiency of beds then was thereupon made known to the General, who rejoined, "But there is plenty of straw in the barn, is there not?" The straw was soon brought in and spread in one corner of the room, and the two famous generals retired to rest, wrapped in their army blankets, on that bundle of straw. The British are Coming! (the Horseneck Version)
From The Genealogy of the Crane Family Vol. II by Ellery Bicknell Crane, 1900: ZADOC CRANE-5, (William-4, Nathaniel-3, Azariah-2, Jasper-1), b. 1758; m.; no children; d. 1841. Gen. Washington had an old gray horse which was almost as well known as its rider. Zadoc Crane, one of the Revolutionary Fathers, took care of the old gray when Washington was at Cranetown, in New Jersey. While Zadoc took care of the horse, the family entertained Washington, and waited upon him with a finely Japanned server. This server, though the Japanning is all worn off, was brought to the Fair to exhibit in Bric-a-brac, by Mrs. Emma Fasshaber, whose father was Zadoc Crane's uncle. Those were times famous for having tried men's souls, and it was absolutely necessary to exercise the greatest care and vigilance. The oats fed to Washington's horse were kept concealed under a stack of hay, and every time Zadoc got a mess from under it he replaced the hay nicely, and after feeding, he carefully picked up every scattered straw for fear the British might nose the oats and "cabbage" them. During the time Washington was occupying "Cranetown Gap," as he styled it, the alarm came that the British were about to make an attempt on the American lines in their somewhat insecure position, and desiring to be in readiness to meet such a movement should it be made, and not feeling at this critical moment that he had a man to spare from the ranks, he called for volunteers outside of those in the service to act as couriers to warn the minute-men living beyond the so called "first and second mountains," covering the region between the Passaic River and the second mountain, including Horseneck, Pine Brook, Swinefield, etc. Zadoc, a son of William, who had been lame from boyhood, offered to assume the difficult and perilous undertaking. Although lame, on leg being shorter than the other, was well able to ride on horseback, and soon appeared mounted on his own spirited horse, and armed with a heavy cutlass, this being his only weapon; just as the sun was disappearing behind the mountains, under special orders from the General, he set out on his important errand. It was a ride for the night, calling at every house and routing them from their slumbers. As the gray of the morning began to show itself, he was marching his men toward the Crane mansion, and just at daybreak drew up his squad in front of the doorstep, on which stood Gen. Washington for the purpose of inspecting them. "Well done, my man," was the salute of His Excellency. "Now come in and take a horn of whiskey, for you must need it."American Revolution War themed song
