History of Bucks
County, Pa Volume 3 by William H. Davis
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EDWARD R. KIRK |
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EDWARD R. KIRK, justice of the peace and a prominent business man of Lower Buckingham, was born in Buckingham, on the farm on which he now resides, January 22, 1869, and is a son of Amos W. and Mary H. (MAHAN) KIRK. The pioneer ancestor of the KIRKS of Buckingham was John KIRK, who migrated from Alfreton, Derbyshire, England, in 1687, and settled in Upper Darby, Chester (now Delaware) county, Pennsylvania. He married at Darby Meeting, in 2 mo. 1688, Joan ELLIOT, daughter of Peter ELLIOT, by whom he had eleven children; Godfrey; John; Samuel; Mary, married John WARNER; Elizabeth, married John TWINING; Joseph; Sarah, married Nathaniel TWINING; William; Isaac; Thomas, and Anne. Isaac KIRK, tenth child of John and Joan (ELLIOT) KIRK, was born in Darby, 2 mo. 23, 1703, and on arriving at manhood settled in Buckingham township, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, where he made his first purchase of one hundred acres of land in 1729. He subsequently purchased considerable other land in that township, a portion of which is now in the tenure of the subject of this sketch. Isaac KIRK was twice married, his first wife being Elizabeth TWINING, daughter of Stephen and Margaret (MITCHELL) TWINING, the former a native of New England, and the latter of Marsden Lane, Lancashire, England. Elizabeth TWINING was born at Newtown, 9 mo. 4, 1712, and was married to Isaac KIRK at Wrightstown, 10 mo. 9, 1730. They were the parents of six children: Mary, who died unmarried in 1755; Isaac, who died unmarried in 1756: Stephen, who married Phebe FELL; Margaret, who married John SCARBOROUGH; William, who married Mary MALONE; and Joseph, who married Patience DOAN. Elizabeth (TWINING) KIRK died in 1744, and Isaac married 9 mo. 4, 1746, Rachel (FELL) KINSEY, widow of John KINSEY, of Buckingham, and daughter of Joseph FELL, the pioneer ancestor of the family by his second marriage with Elizabeth DOYLE. Isaac KIRK died in 1780. Thomas KIRK, only child of Isaac and Rachel (FELL-KINSEY) KIRK, was born in 1748 on the old homestead in Buckingham, a portion of which he inherited at his father’s death, and lived thereon his whole life, dying 4 mo. 15, 1815. He was twice married, first in 1781 to Ocea KINSEY, who died 7 mo., 1793, and (second) on March 24, 1794, to Mary RICE, daughter of John and Rachel (WORTHINGTON) RICE, by whom he had five children. Amos KIRK, only surviving child of Thomas and Ocea (KINSEY) KIRK, was born on the old homestead in Buckingham, 2 mo. 10, 1782, and died 9 mo. 24, 1863. He married, September 29, 1803, Charity DOAN, who bore him six children and died in 1837. Charles KIRK, eldest son of Amos and Charity, was born 5 mo. 11, 1804, and died 5 mo. 10, 1856 in Buckingham. He married, 12 mo. 1, 1825, Mary WALTON, born 9 mo. 3, 1802, in Moreland township, son (sic) of Amos and Cynthia (KIRK) WALTON, the former being a lineal descendant of John and Joanna (ELLIOT) KIRK, before mentioned, and of William WALTON, one of four brothers who landed at New Castle in 1675, and later settled in Byberry, Philadelphia county, and the latter being a granddaughter of Isaac and Elizabeth (TWINING) KIRK, above mentioned. Charles and Mary (WALTON) KIRK had four children: Amos Walton, George D., Miranda S. and Ellen Walton KIRK. Amos W. KIRK, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Upper Makefield township, 2 mo. 2, 1827. His parents settled in Warwick township when he was a child, and he was reared on a farm in that township. When he was about twenty years of age his parents removed to the present residence of the subject of this sketch, where Amos W. has since resided. He has been twice married, first on 10 mo. 19, 1859, to Jane S. WORTHINGTON, who died the following year, and (second) to Mary H. MAHAN, daughter Cornelius and Mercy (DEPUY) MAHAN, by whom he has two children-Edward R. and Anna W. residing with her brother. The KIRK family have been members of Wrightstown Meeting of Friends for many generations, Isaac KIRK having become a member of that meeting on his settlement in lower Buckingham. He was for many years an overseer of the meeting. Edward R. KIRK was born and reared on the Buckingham farm, and acquired his elementary education at the public schools. He later became a student at Doylestown Seminary, where he also took a course in surveying and civil engineering. He took his first practical lessons in surveying under Charles F. MEYERS, of Doylestown, and has since done considerable work in that line in middle and lower Bucks. He served as county surveyor from 1895 to 1901. In 1896 he was appointed and commissioned a justice of the peace and has served in that position ever since. In connection with his profession and official duties he took up conveyancing and a real estate and general business agency, and, these duties absorbing his entire time, he abandoned farming five years ago and devoted himself entirely to professional and official duties, though still residing on the farm. In politics he is a Republican, and has taken an active interest in his party’s councils. He is a director in the Doylestown National Bank, and in the Wrightstown and Newtown Turnpike Company, and president of the Pineville Protective Association. He married, January 22, 1891, Anna HOLCOMBE, daughter of Oliver H. and Cynthia (SCARBOROUGH) HOLCOMBE, of Wrightstown, and they are the parents of three children. Amos, Harold and Hannah.
Text taken from page 551 to 552 of:
Davis, William W. H., A.M., History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania [New York-Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1905] Volume III Transcribed August 2006 by Joan Lollis as part of the Bucks Co., Pa., Early Family Project, www.rootsweb.com/~pabucks/bucksindex.html Published August 2006 on the Bucks County, Pa., USGenWeb pages at www.rootsweb.com/~pabucks/
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Page was last edited:
11/15/2008