COLONEL JAMES T. KIRK, who was born at Canonsburg, Penn., September 21, 1825, died at Washington, same county, December 7, 1886. He was reared and educated at Canonsburg, and there established a merchant tailoring house, which he carried on successfully until 1851, when he moved to Washington, and opened a similar business there, in a store which occupied the site of the present A. B. Caldwell store. Prior to the outbreak of the Civil war, he was a member of the "Jefferson Light Guards," of Canonsburg, which disbanded in 1860, or early in 1861. The call of April 15, 1861, for troops, led to the reorganization of the guards, and as Mr. Kirk was a lieutenant in the old command, so now he was elected captain of the new organization. Gov. Curtin accepted the company, and confirmed the selection of Mr. Kirk as captain; but on the arrival of the men at Pittsburgh, April 27, 1861, the quota of Pennsylvania was filled, and the guards were ordered to return. On May 7, following, the command was again ordered to Camp Wilkins, and there, on June 19, the members enlisted for three years, and the name "Jefferson Light Guards" was lost in that of Company D, Tenth Regiment of the Reserve Corps, which was mustered into State service June 19, and organized June 21, 1861, the date on which Capt. Kirk was promoted to lieutenant-colonel. On July 1 the regiment occupied Camp Wright, on the Allegheny river, proceeded to Harrisburg on the 18th, was received into the United States service on the 21st, moved to Baltimore on the 22d, and to Washington, D. C., on the 24th. On August 1 the advance to Tenallytown, Md., was entered upon, and from that date to muster-out, on June 11, 1864, the regiment participated in all the brilliant affairs of the brigades to which it was attached. On the resignation of Col. McCalmont, Lieut.-Col. Kirk was commissioned colonel May 15, 1862, and gallantly led the command from Mechanicsville, June 26, 1862, to Fredericksburg Church, April 30,1864. Before the regiment was ordered to the Peninsula, the people of Canonsburg presented their first citizen with a sword and horse in recognition of his services in the army. During the battle at Newmarket Cross Roads, Col. Kirk received a sunstroke; at the second Bull Run, the Colonel was shot through the side, while commanding the Third Brigade and at Gaines' Mills he was also wounded. After being sunstruck he returned home, but was again with the command at Manassas Junction the night before the battle. Owing to his wounds and the poor condition of his health, he resigned October 18, 1862, and retired with honor from the service. On returning to Washington, Penn., he served as assistant provost-marshal until the close of the war. Resuming a business life, Col. Kirk and his brother George became landlords of the old "Mansion House," on Main and Chestnut streets, which they conducted for several years. Subsequently he established a gents' furnishing and notion store, on Reed's corner (now occupied by the Pittsburgh Dry Goods Store), and carried on that business until 1876, when he sold his interests therein, and, practically retired from mercantile life. During the decade preceding his death he worked at his trade occasionally. He was the first captain of Company H, Tenth Regiment, Pennsylvania N. G., and that company turned out to take part in his funeral on December 9, 1886, which was carried out under direction of William F. Templeton Post, G. A. R., No. 120, the burial ritual being observed, Major Vankirk delivering the eulogy. Col. Kirk married Miss Mary Jane Swan, a sister of Editor William Swan, and both made their home at Canonsburg. The children born to that marriage are as follows: William N. (deceased); George W., residing at Tyrone, Penn.; James C., a resident of Washington, Penn.; Samuel W., residing at Johnstown, Penn.; and Edwin T., a resident of Pittsburgh, Penn. The mother, now seventy years old, resides with her son, James C., in Washington. George A. Kirk, the father of Col. Kirk, was the pioneer of the family in Washington county. To his marriage with Jane Bell Thompson eight children were born of which the following named are living: Harriet, now Mrs. Boyd Crumrine, in Washington; Mary and Lizzie, also in Washington; Robert T., in Canonsburg, and William H., a physician of Doylestown, Penn. Each member of the family fills a place in the history of the State, while the late Colonel fills one in the history of the Nation. The American ancestor of the family was married in Londonderry Ireland, in 1796, came to the United States shortly thereafter, and after a stay east of the mountains, arrived in Washington county and settled on the Pentecost lands. In 1811 he moved to Canonsburg, where he purchased a house and lot. In 1813 he and two neighbors went East with a band of horses, and at the "South Mountain House" disappeared. Some days after his body was found in the mountains; but it will never be known whether he was lured thither by robbers, or met death while pursuing his journey in the night time. One of his sons, George Kirk, was postmaster at Canonsburg, Penn., from 1851 to 1859, when he died.

Text taken from page 1269 of: Beers, J. H. and Co., Commemorative Biographical Record of Washington County, Pennsylvania (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1893). Transcribed February 1997 by Neil and Marilyn Morton of Oswego, IL as part of the Beers Project. Published February 1997 on the Washington County, PA USGenWeb pages at http://www.chartiers.com/.

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