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 Tract No 58. 
 
 OCT '^^ ^,^ 
 
 ^*"*'^°*'^GRAPHY OF EpHRAIM KiRBY, 
 
 O ^ ^^'^s / Cleveland, Ohio, January, 1883. 
 
 T71 
 
 Diructor in the Coiiiiei.'ti(;iit Laiul Coiupaiiv in ITOri 
 
 BY DR. TH^OOATUS GAnLICK, 
 
 Member of the .Societj'. 
 
 Dear Sir: In accordance with your often 
 expressed vvisii, I herewith present your 
 society with a very brief biography of the 
 Hon. Ephraim Kirby, of Connecticut. I re- 
 gret that It is not more full and complete, 
 but it embraces the more jjrominent events 
 of his life. During my mother's lifetime 
 she had in her possession a large package of 
 papers and letters relating to Ephraim Kir- 
 by. After my mother's death they were taken 
 by Mrs Ann Kirby Barnum, of Baltimore, 
 (my mother's and E. Kirby's sister,) and sent 
 to St. Augustine for .Niajor Belton to compile, 
 but they never reached him, being lost at 
 sea. I shall therefore have to depend main- 
 ly on other sources than family records and 
 family correspondence for information and 
 facts. 
 
 And, first. I find in Drake's Biograi)hical 
 Dictionary, the following notice of Ephraim 
 Kirby: "Ephraim Kirby, born in Litchfield. 
 Connecticut," (this is an error, Kirby was 
 born in AV'oodbury, Conn.) "J''ebruary 23, 
 1757; died at Fort Stoddard, Mississippi, 
 October 2, 1804; appointed United States 
 District Judge 1804 by President Jefferson; 
 was in the battle of Bunker Hill, and con- 
 tinued in the service to the end of the war. 
 He was in nineteen battles and skirmishes, 
 receiving thirteen wounds, seven of which 
 were saber cuts, and left on the field for dead. 
 The degree of Master of Arts was conferred 
 on him by Yale College in 1787; a lawyer of 
 eminence in Litchfield in 1789; first reporter 
 of the Supreme Court of E)rrors in the State 
 of Connecticut; in the State Legislature from 
 1791 to 1801. His son, R. M. Kirby, a major 
 in the war of 1812." 
 
 The following biographical sketcli w^is 
 written some twenty or more years since by 
 an old lawyer of Litchfield for Mrs. Ann Kir- 
 by Barnum, and sent by her to Hon. Sammd 
 Starkweather, of Cleveland. The name of 
 the writer is missing with the date: 
 
 "Hon. Ephraim Kirby was born in Judea 
 Society, Woodbury, Conn., on a farm now 
 owned by Andrew Hines, Esq. The cellar, 
 over which the house stood still remains. It 
 is situated about eighty rods from General 
 Daniel B. Brinsinade's dwelling iiouse, and 
 to this day is known as the Kirby farm. His 
 father was a farmer in moderate circum- 
 stances, and Ephraim was employed on the 
 farm during his boyhood. At the age of six- 
 teen, fired with the patriotism which burst into 
 a flame throughout the country on the news of 
 the battle of Lexington, he shouldered iii.s 
 musket and marched with the volunteers to 
 tlie sceneof confiictintimeto beat the battle of 
 Bunker's Hill, and remained in the field un- 
 til independence was achieved, with only a 
 few intervals, when driven from it by severe 
 wounds. He was in nineteen battles and 
 skirmishes, among which were Brandy- 
 wine, Monmouth, and Germantown, and 
 received thirteen wounds, seven of 
 which were saber cuts on the head, 
 inflicted by a British dragoon at German- 
 town, where he was left for dead on the field. 
 These honorable scars he carried with him 
 through life. At the close of the Revolution 
 he rejected with indignation the oft'er of 
 assistance to speculate in soldiers' certificates 
 by which he might have amassed wealth 
 without labor, but preferring to be penniless 
 as he was than bv thus taking advantage of 
 
184 
 
 Biography of Ephrainv Kirhy. 
 
 the necessities of his comrades in arms. 
 By the labor of his own hands he earned the 
 price of his education. He was for some 
 time a member of Yale College and in 1787 
 the honorary degree of master of arts was 
 conferred on him by that college. Mr. Kirby 
 studied law in the office of Reynold Marvin, 
 Esq., of Litchfield, who had been King's 
 attorney before the war and who relin- 
 quished that office for the purpose of en- 
 gaging in the great struggle for independence. 
 After Mr. Kirby was admitted to the bar 
 he married Miss Ruth Marvin, the accom- 
 plished daughter of his distinguished pre- 
 ceptor and patron. In 1791 Colonel 
 Kirby was elected for the first time a 
 representiitive to the Legislature, a post 
 of honor and responsibility to which he 
 was subsequently re-elecied at thirteen 
 semi-annual elections. As a legislator he 
 Mas always distinguished for the dignity of 
 his deportment, for his comprehensive and 
 enlightened views, for the liberality of his 
 sentiments, and for his ability, firmness, and 
 decision. On the election of Mr. Jefferson 
 to the Presidency in 1801, Colonel Kirby was 
 appointed supervisor of the National Reve- 
 nue of the State of Connecticut. About this 
 period he was for several years the Demo- 
 cratic candidate for (iovernor, but as a 
 matter of course, he was always beaten. 
 Upon the acquisition of Louisiana. Mr. 
 Jefferson appointed him district judge of 
 the newly acquired territory of Orleans. 
 Having accepted the office, he set out for 
 New Orleans, but he was not destined to reach 
 that place. Having reached Fort Stoddard in 
 the Mississippi Territory, he was taken sick 
 with yellow fever, and died October 2, 1804, 
 aged forty-seven years, at a period when a 
 wide political career seemed opening upon 
 him. His remains were interred there with 
 the honors of war and other demonstrations 
 of respect. While engaged in the practice 
 of law at Litchfield, in 1789, he published a 
 volume of reports of the decisions of the 
 Superior Court and Supreme Court of Errors 
 of Connecticut. This was a novel under- 
 taking, being the first volume of law reports 
 ever published in America. It was execu- 
 ted with ability and faithfulness, and is still 
 regarded as authority in all our courts. 
 Colonel Kirby was a man of the highest 
 moral as well as physical courage, devoted 
 in his feelings and aspirations, warm, gen- 
 erous, and constant in his attachments, and 
 of indomitable energy, ^ttfe^ was withal 
 gentle and winning in his manners, kindly 
 in his disposition, and naturally of an 
 ardent and cheerful temperament, though the 
 
 last few years of his life were saddened by 
 heavy pecuniak*y misfortunes. 
 
 "As a lawyer, he was remarkable for frank- 
 ness and downright honesty to his clients, 
 striving to prevent litigation and effecting 
 compromises. He enjoyed the friendship of 
 many of the sages of the Revolution; his cor- 
 respondence with whom would form inter- 
 esting materials for the history of his times, 
 but unfortunately almost all of it was lost at 
 sea between New York and St. Augustine 
 some twenty years sincfe. A few letters to 
 and from President Jefferson are still pre- 
 served by his son. Colonel Edmund Kirby, of 
 Brownsville, N. Y., which are interesting as 
 showing the relations of confidence existing 
 between that great statesman and the subject 
 of this sket'cli. 
 
 "Mrs Ruth Kirby, the widow of Ephraim 
 Kirby, died at Litchfield in October, 1817, 
 aged fifty- three years." 
 
 The foregoing sketch is in error as to 
 Kirby's being left for dead on the field at the 
 battle of (lermantown. The place where he 
 was so badly.wounded and left for dead was at 
 Elk River, in the month of September, 1777, 
 previous to the battle of Germantown. Kirby 
 was engaged in a great many battles and 
 skirmishes, and received many wounds, 
 but his worst wounds, the saber cuts in 
 his head and arms, were received in a skir- 
 mish at Elk River, if butchering surrendered 
 prisoners of war without arras in their hands 
 can be called a skirmish. In all other re- 
 spei;ts the foregoing sketch, I have no doubt, 
 is entirely correct. The circumstances at- 
 tending Kirby's entering the army and being 
 so terribly wounded have been so often re- 
 lated to me by my mother and by my aunt, 
 Mrs. Barnum, that I cannot be mistaken 
 about the time when, and the place where, 
 he received those saber cuts in his head. 
 Many years ago Mrs. Barnum and myself 
 were going to Havre de Grace on a steam- 
 boat, and as we were passing the mouth of 
 Elk River, my aunt called my attention to 
 that river, saying: "Doctor, there is the 
 place where your uncle Ehpraim Kirby was 
 so terribly wounded, and left on the field for 
 dead." She then related *to me all the cir- 
 cumstances of the affair, as my mother had 
 often done before. Ephraim Kirby, 
 with other young men of Litchfield 
 county, formed a company of cavalry, and 
 equipped themselves, and furnished their 
 own liorses, and went into the service as vol- 
 unteers. I do not remember at what place 
 they joined the army, but that company of 
 cavalry was engaged in several battles and 
 a great many skirmishes, one of which being 
 
Biography of Ephraim Kirhy. 
 
 185 
 
 when Kirby was wounded and left for dead. 
 Nearly all the members of this company lost 
 their lives before the close of the war. At 
 the time when our army lay somewhere south 
 of Philadelphia, periiaps on or near the 
 Brandywine, the British under Lord Howe 
 sailed up the Chesapeake and landed a little 
 south of Elk River on the 25th of August, 
 1777. Some of our troops were left in the 
 rear of the main army north of Elk River for 
 the purpose of keeping Waslnngton advised 
 as to the whereabouts of the British army 
 under Lord Howe. Among the troops so 
 left was the company of cavalry of which 
 Kirby was a member. A portion of 
 this company, 1 do not recollect how many, 
 were ordered to cross Elk River fur the pur- 
 pose of reconnoitering, and to ascertain, if 
 possible, the whereabouts of Lord Howe's 
 array. This was in the fore part of Septem- 
 ber. They had to swim the river, and after 
 crossing, dismounted, and were engaged in 
 getting the water out of tlieir boots. Many 
 of them had drawn oft their boots for that 
 purpose when they were surprised by a large 
 force of British dragoons and captured. Af- 
 ter giving up their arms they were robbed of 
 what little money they had, and also 
 of their watches, and every man 
 except Kirby and a man by the name of 
 Lewis were killed in cold blood. Kirby was 
 supposed to be dead, and Lewis, like old 
 Jack Falstaff, fell on the ground in the 
 melee, and feigned death so well that he 
 escaped. Kirby stood by and under his 
 horse's head, while a British dragoon was 
 beltinir away at his head with his sword, 
 Kirby dodging the blows as best he could, 
 and fendiijg o3 with his arms, which were 
 badly wounded. The wounds on his head 
 were fearful, cutting through both tables 
 of the skull and into the brain, a 
 portion of which was lost. Thirty odd pieces 
 of hie skull were removed by the surgeon. 
 After the British dragoons left, Jjewis got 
 up, and after examining his comrades, he 
 found everv one dead except Kirby, who was 
 breathing, but unconscious. Not far from 
 the place where this happened was a log 
 cabin, in which resided an aged widow, who 
 consented to let Lewis bring Kirby to her 
 house, and leave him there until a surgeon 
 could be sent to dress his wounds. VVord 
 was immediately sent to his father at Litch- 
 field, that his son was mortally wounded, but 
 contrary to all expectations, his wounds 
 healed kindly, and rapidly, though he still 
 remained unconscious. In the month of De- 
 cember following his father went after him 
 (a great journey in those days), and 
 
 took him home to Litchfield. His 
 wounds had all healed, but he still 
 remained unconscious, and no one supposed 
 he would ever recover his mental faculties. 
 But some time in the following May he sud- 
 denly sprung from his bed, exclaiming, 
 "Where is Eagle!" meaning his horse. From 
 that moment he vvas all right in his mind, 
 and remained so until his death. Very soon 
 after this he re-entered the army, and re- 
 mained in it until the close of the war. 
 Kirby could not have been in the battles of 
 Brandywine and German town, as he was ly- 
 ing insensible from his wounds received at 
 p]lk River at the time these battles were 
 fought, remaining so until the following 
 month of May. The battle of Brandywine 
 was fought September 11, 1777; the battle of 
 Germantown, October 4, 1777; the battle of 
 Monmouth, June 28, 1778. I have no doubt 
 he was engaged in this last battle, as he re- 
 entered the army very soon after he recov- 
 ered from his wounds. 
 
 Ephraim Kirby's children were Major 
 Reynolds Marvin Kirby, and Major Edmund 
 Kirby, both of whom held commissions in the 
 United States Army, and died during our war 
 with Mexic6. being with our army at that 
 time. Kirby had two daughters, the eldest, 
 Catherine, married Major Joseph Smith, of 
 the United States Army, afterwards Judge 
 Smith, of St. Augustine, Fla., the father of 
 E. Kirbv Smith, the rebel general in our late 
 Rebellion. The youngest daughter, I forget 
 her name, married Colonel Belton, of the 
 United States Army, and both are still liv- 
 ing, as I understand, in Florida. Tt will be 
 seen by referring to the Early History of 
 Cleveland, that Ephraim Kirby was one of 
 the original thirty-five proprietors of our 
 Western Reserve, of which we are all so 
 proud. This company was known as the 
 "Connecticut Land Company," Kirby being 
 a member of the first board of directors, and, 
 I believe, the company's legal adviser. The 
 names of all the members of ihis company 
 will be found in Whittlesey's Early History 
 of Cleveland, and the amount of each sub- 
 scription. 
 
 The foregoing sketch .contains the most 
 prominent events in the life of Ephraim 
 Kirby. I will, however, add the following 
 extract from a letter from my friend, the 
 Hon. Samuel Starkweather, of Cleveland, as 
 it relates to the genealogy of the Kirby fam- 
 ily: 
 
 "Clevel.\nd, January 2, 1874. 
 
 "Dr. T. Garlick: 
 
 "Dear Sir: I have received your letter say 
 ing you were about to write a short biog- 
 
^ihXi 
 
 186 
 
 Biography ^of Ephraim Kirby. 
 
 rapliy of Judfje Ephraim Kirby, and 
 asking for some facts ia relation 
 to the genealogy of the family. 
 His mother was Eunice Starkweather, the 
 youngest child and daugiiter of Joiin Stark- 
 weather, who settled in Stonington, Conn., 
 about the year 1717, where he lived and died, 
 and where he raised a family of eight chil- 
 dren, his son Epnraim, uiy grandfather, be- 
 ing his youngest son, and Eunice, 
 as I have said, his youngest daugh- 
 ter and child. Ephraim, my grandfatlier, 
 was born September 1, 1733. Eunice, your 
 grandmother, his sister, was born September 
 19, 1735. In what year she married Abraham 
 Kirby, I don't know. It appears that she 
 namtd one of her sons, tie first-born I pre- 
 sume, after her favorite brother, Epliraim. 
 I have heard him say that he could never 
 have coinileted his studies at Yale College, 
 where he graduate! in 1755, without ilie lieJp 
 of his beloved sister Eunice. The said John 
 Starkweather, of Stonington, the father of 
 Ephraim and Eunice, was a descendant of 
 Robert Starkweather, in the third generation, 
 who emigrated to Boston, Mass., about the 
 year 1()3U. From the John Stark weatlier, of 
 Stonington, have descended all of the name 
 of any note. The Kirby family have been 
 the most distinguished. It is singular that I 
 never heard my grandfather Ephraim speak 
 in the way of boasting of any of his rela- 
 tions, e.xcept the Kirbys— the husband and the 
 children of his sister Eunice. 
 
 "Of Ephraim Kirby and of his' life and 
 times, a most interesting paper could be writ- 
 ten if all the facts could be procured. He 
 was certainly one of tlie most prominent men 
 in Connecticut. He was the champion of 
 Jefferson, and brought down ujiou himseli 
 the whole weiglit of the Federal power, then 
 dominant and overwhelming. On fast days, 
 the magistrates and clergy of Connecticut 
 would fulminate against Jetferson and his ad- 
 herents — that day being a privileged day for 
 them, and the clergymen in Litchfield would 
 sometimes be so personal that all eyes in the 
 meeting-house would be turned towards 
 Kirby, as he sat in his pew, as being the one 
 hit, and as he could not talk back, and 
 unable to bear it longer, he left the church, 
 and was one of the principal founders of the 
 Episcopal church in Litchfield, now one of 
 the strongest churches there, and the best 
 
 endowed ; so true it is, that the blood of the 
 martyrs is the seed of the church. I often 
 detailed these facts to old Mrs. Barnum, 
 your aunt. The part taken by Judge Kirby 
 in ihe Revolutionary War would be most in- 
 teresting if it could be written out. Yours 
 truly, Samuel Starkweather." 
 
 The progenitors of the Kirby family, of 
 Connecticut, emigrated from Warwickshire, 
 England, in the sixteenth century. 
 
 I have attemj^ted to write out the above 
 biographical sketch of Ephraim Kirby, while 
 lyinsf on my lounge and suftering severely 
 most of the time. I am fully aware of its 
 imperfections of style, but tlie statements, as 
 corrected by myself, may be relied on, and 
 accepted as historical facts. 
 
 Theodatus Garlick. 
 
 Bedford, CurAHooA Cudktt, Ohio, 
 January 16th, 1S74. 
 
 Note. — The late Dr. Jared P. Kirtland 
 had recollections of an enthusiastic State 
 Democratic Convention held at Wallingford, 
 Connecticut, at which Judge Kirby was 
 nominated for Governor. It was held in the 
 meeting house, and the crowd was so great 
 that the galleries showed signs of giving way. 
 Some rails were brought in as props, and the 
 Convention proceeded to finish its work. 
 
 His name apjtears frequently on the U. S. 
 Army Registers, generally through the de- 
 scendants of the daughters. Major Edmund 
 Kirby, an ofiicer of the war of 1812, was his 
 son; also Major R. M. Kirby, who died in 
 1842. Ephraim Kirby Barnum, who died in 
 1849, with the rank of Major in the Regular 
 Army, was a grandson on the side of his 
 mother. Ephraim Kirby Smith was another, 
 a graduate of West Point; and a Major killed 
 at Molino Del Rey, in Mexico. His son, 
 J. L. Kirby Smith, graduated from the U. S. 
 Military Academy as Lieutenant of Topo- 
 graphical Engineers, and was engaged on the 
 Government surveys ofthe Lakes. He was 
 Colonel of the 43rd Regiment of Ohio Volun- 
 teers, and killed at Corinth, Mississippi. His 
 uncle, Edmund Kirby Smith, also graduated 
 at West Point, entered the Army and served 
 with credit in the Mexican war. In the 
 Rebellion he turned traitor to his country, 
 joined the Confederate Army, and rose to the 
 rank of Lieutenant-General. 
 
EJa'l2