Samuel Jordan Kirkwood (December 20, 1813 – September 1, 1894) was an American politician who twice served as

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, twice as a

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

from Iowa, and as the U.S. Secretary of the Interior.

Early life and career

Samuel Jordan KirkwoodClark, Dan Elbert
''Samuel Jordan Kirkwood''
Iowa City, Iowa: Iowa State Historical Society, 1917, p. 8. was born on December 20, 1813, in

Harford County, Maryland Harford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 260,924. Its county seat is Bel Air, Harford County, Maryland, Bel Air. Harford County is included in the Wa ...

. At age 17, he began teaching school and had as one of his pupils his cousin Daniel Kirkwood, who later achieved prominence as a

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

and

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

. Samuel spent part of his youth in Washington, D.C., then joined his father in moving to

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

in 1835. There he became a well-known anti-slavery Democrat. He was elected to several state offices and worked closely with Thomas Bartley, the future governor of Ohio, in the 1840s. Kirkwoods 1852

In 1855 Kirkwood moved to Iowa, living northwest of

Iowa City Iowa City is the largest city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. At the time of the 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's fifth-most populous city. The Iowa City metropolitan area, which enc ...

, and became involved with the Clark family, also from Ohio, in a milling venture, and then with the Clark and Lucas families in land speculation. Kirkwood married Jane Clark, the sister of Phoebe Ann Clark, and thus became the brother-in-law of Edward Lucas, son of Iowa's first Territorial Governor Robert Lucas and his second wife Friendly Ashley (Sumner) Lucas. Although Kirkwood intended to leave politics behind him in Iowa, he took an interest in the newly founded Republican Party. Summoned from his mill at Coralville and still coated in flour dust, Kirkwood gave a rousing speech at the founding meeting of the

Iowa Republican Party The Republican Party of Iowa (RPI) is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in Iowa. The State Central Committee is chaired by Jeff Kaufmann. The RPI operates the Republican side of the Iowa caucuses and previously sponsored the ...

in February 1856. Many people credited Kirkwood’s speech and subsequent work with the success of the Republican Party in Iowa; that year he was elected to the

Iowa Senate The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly. There are 50 seats in the Iowa Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the Iowa, state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, . Each Senat ...

serving from 1856 to 1859.

Governorship: Coppock incident and the Civil War

In 1859, Kirkwood was nominated for governor and defeated Augustus C. Dodge after a bitter campaign which focused on the slave issue. In 1860, Kirkwood’s first year in office, the John Brown raid on

Harpers Ferry Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 269 at the 2020 United States census. Situated at the confluence of the Potomac River, Potomac and Shenandoah River, Shenandoah Rivers in the ...

further polarized the nation over slavery, and Kirkwood was clearly on the side of the militant abolitionists. When Barclay Coppock, a youth from Springdale, who was part of Brown’s raid, fled to Iowa, Kirkwood refused to accept extradition papers for him from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, and allowed Coppock to escape. During the Civil War, Kirkwood gained national attention for his extraordinary efforts to secure soldiers and supplies from Iowa for the Union Army. A strong supporter of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

's policies during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, he was active in raising and equipping dozens of

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s for the Union Army. In 1862, he attended the Loyal War Governors' Conference in

Altoona, Pennsylvania Altoona ( ) is a city in Blair County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 43,963 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Altoona Metropolitan statistical area, metropolitan area, w ...

, which ultimately gave Lincoln support for his

Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War. The Proclamation had the eff ...

Senate and Secretary of the Interior

After he left office in 1864, Kirkwood moved to a new house on Wyoming Road in Iowa City (now Kirkwood Avenue) and practiced law. About this time Kirkwood sold his share of the mill, part of it to his brother, William, and part to Valentine Miller. In 1865-1867, he served the remainder of James Harlan’s term in the U.S. Senate, and served in the Senate again from 1877 to 1881. Between his separate terms as a Senator, he was again the Governor of Iowa from 1876 to 1877. He resigned as governor in 1877 to begin his second term as U.S. Senator. In 1881, Kirkwood resigned his Senate seat to become Secretary of the Interior under

James A. Garfield, a position he would continue to serve in under President Chester A. Arthur after the Assassination of President Garfield. He served as Interior Secretary until 1882. He unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 1886. Kirkwood died on September 1, 1894, in

, and is buried in Oakland Cemetery.

Memorials

Monuments

* Kirkwood's sculptured likeness by sculptor Vinnie Ream is maintained among the two coveted statues apportioned to each state on display under the rotunda in the

National Statuary Hall Collection The National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol is composed of statues donated by individual states to honor persons notable in their history. Limited to two statues per state, the collection was originally set up in the old Hal ...

in the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...

in Washington, D.C. * A bust of Kirkwood is in the

Vicksburg National Military Park Vicksburg National Military Park preserves the site of the American Civil War Battle of Vicksburg, waged from March 29 to July 4, 1863. The park, located in Vicksburg, Mississippi, flanking the Mississippi River, also commemorates the greater ...

. *A memorial plaque is in front of Iowa City High School.

Educational institutions

* Kirkwood Community College is named for the former Iowa Governor and Senator it has several campuses in eastern Iowa. Its mascot is an eagle named "Sammy". *Kirkwood Elementary School is located in Coralville, the town where Kirkwood ran his mill.

Places

* The town of Kirkwood, Illinois. *Kirkwood Avenue in

. *Kirkwood Avenue in

Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

. *Kirkwood Boulevard in Davenport. *The Kirkwood House in Iowa City is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. *The Hotel Kirkwood in Des Moines, which is named in his honor, is also listed on the National Register.

References

Bibliography

*Aurner, Charles R. (1912)''Leading Events in Johnson County, Iowa, History.'' Western Historical, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. *Parish, John C. (1921) The Miller of Coralville. In ''Yearbook of the Old Settlers Association: 1920–1921'', pp. 6–18. Johnson County Old Settlers Association, Iowa City, Iowa. *Dan E. Clark (1917) ''Samuel Jordan Kirkwood'', Iowa City *Henry W. Lathrop (1893), ''The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirkwood, Iowa's War Governor'', Chicago

External links

* , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirkwood, Samuel Jordan 1813 births 1894 deaths 19th-century American railroad executives 19th-century Iowa politicians Governors of Iowa United States secretaries of the interior Republican Party Iowa state senators Iowa lawyers Ohio lawyers Union (American Civil War) political leaders Politicians from Harford County, Maryland Politicians from Mansfield, Ohio Politicians from Iowa City, Iowa People of Iowa in the American Civil War Family of Robert Lucas (governor) American abolitionists Ohio Republicans Republican Party governors of Iowa Republican Party United States senators from Iowa Garfield administration cabinet members Arthur administration cabinet members Union (American Civil War) state governors 19th-century United States senators 19th-century members of the Iowa General Assembly