Timber Farms

Kirkwood Highway's name

When a Chicken Crossed the Road

Result: a Blue Hen on Kirkwood Highway

 By: Vanessa Spence

Robert Kirkwood, Sr. arrived at the port of New Castle as a three year old child in 1731.  He was born in Donegal, Ireland in 1728.  After his father, William Kirkwood died, his mother, Sarah, imigrated to New Castle along with Robert’s older sister.

Little Robert lived with his father’s brother in Mill Creek, where his uncle was born and was a member of White Clay Creek Presbyterian Church.  Robert later married Jane Henderson of Chritiana Preysbeterian Church.  

Together they had nine children, eight girls and one son.  Their son, namely Robert II was born in 1756 on a farm on polly drummond hill, an area that adjoined the White Clay Creek Preysbyterian Church.

At age 20 (1776), Robert II was commissioned a Lieutenant in the 1st Delaware Regiment with the Continental Army.   He was promoted to Captain in December of 1776.   The casualties of war and short terms of enlistment often expidited rank at this time.   In 1783 Kirkwood was appointed Major and returned to Newark, DE.   In recognition of his service during the Revolution, Delaware gave Kirkwood 100 pounds (Delaware was using British currency at the time.)

In 1788 the state of Virginia gave Kirkwood 1,920 acres of land in Belmont County which was in the north west territory.   The north west territory had a confederation of the Shawnee, Delaware, Ottowa, Iriquois, Chippewa, Miami, and Pottawotami tribes.  Major battles ensued.   Apparently, the British encouraged the Indians who inhabited the area to fight the new settlers following the end of the Revolutionary war.

In March of 1791, Robert Kirkwood was commissioned a Captain in the 2nd Regiment of U.S. Infantry (one company of which was raised in Delaware.)  Their direction was an effort to secure the north west territory with a line of forts.  The effort failed and on November 4th, 1791, Kirkwood was shot and scalped on a battlefield near Fort Recovery, Ohio near the Indiana border.  He was 35 and in his 33rd battle.

Captain Robert Kirkwood was with the regiment from the first battle of the Revolutionary War on Long Island, NY, in August 1776.  He saw it through to its last battle in the South, Eutaw Springs, SC in Sept 1781.   Captian Kirkwood participated in a total of 32 battles without injury – including that with George Washington in the pursuit of Cornwallis until his surrender.   Following the Battle of Camden in South Carolina, in 1780, Kirkwood’s troops won fame and were later nicknamed the Blue Hen’s, a popular gamecock being bred by Jonathan Caldwell of Kent County.   The University of Delaware would later choose the Blue Hen as their mascot to honor Captain Kirkwood and it became the state bird in 1939.

Captian Robert Kirkwood married Sarah England, from Chester County.  Their only son, Joseph Kirkwood was raised in Delaware and married Margaret Emily Gillespie.  She was a descendant of Rev. George Gillespie, the first pastor of White Clay Creek, and head of Christiana churches near Newark, DE.   Joseph and Margaret moved to Belmont, Ohio in 1806 where they had eight daughters and a son.  Today, The name Kirkwood is a very distinguished name in that area of Ohio.

References: 

www.sar.org/dessar/ about/kirkwood.htm

wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Kirkwood

kirkwoodhighway.com/history.html

www.personal.kent.edu/~rfaehnle/Kirkwoods%20and%20Their%20Kin.pdf