Frederick Douglass Kilburn (July 25, 1850 – December 2, 1917) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.

Life

Kilburn was born on July 25, 1850, in

Clinton County, New York Clinton County is the northeasternmost county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 79,843. Its county seat is the city of Plattsburgh. The county lies just south of the border with the Cana ...

, the son of Henry G. Kilburn and Sophronia Evans. When he was young, he moved with his family to

Fort Covington Fort Covington is a town in Franklin County, New York, United States. The population was 1,531 at the 2020 census. The name is derived from a War of 1812 fortification. The original name of the town was ''French Mills''. The town is on the cou ...

, where his father began practicing law. In 1870, the family moved to

Malone Malone () is an Irish surname. From the Irish "''Mael Eóin''", the name means a servant or a disciple of Saint John. People * Gilla Críst Ua Máel Eóin (died 1127), historian and Abbot of Clonmacnoise, Ó Maoil Eoin * Adrian Malone (1937 ...

. Kilburn attended Fort Covington Academy and Franklin Academy. He began studying law in the office of Judge Taylor. He then secured a legislative clerkship in Albany and graduated from

Albany Law School Albany Law School is a private law school in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1851 and is the oldest independent law school in the nation. It is accredited by the American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary ...

. After graduating, he practiced law with Taylor. He later became a member of the law firm Gilbert, Badger & Kilburn, followed by the firm Hobbs & Kilburn. In 1885, he left his law practice and became vice-president and manager of the Peoples National Bank of Malone. He also served as town clerk, clerk of the board of supervisors, and county treasurer. From 1891 to 1892, Kilburn was a member of the

New York Republican State Committee The New York Republican State Committee, established in 1855, is the New York (state), New York State affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), United States Republican Party (GOP). The party has headquarters in Albany, New York, Albany ...

. In 1893, he was elected to the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

as a Republican, representing

New York's 21st State Senate district New York's 21st State Senate district is one of 63 districts in the New York State Senate. It has been represented by Democrat Kevin Parker since 2003. Geography 2020s District 21 covers central and southern Brooklyn. It contains most or all of ...

. He served in the State Senate in

1894 Events January * January 4 – A military alliance is established between the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire. * January 7 – William Kennedy Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film in the United States. * Ja ...

and

1895 Events January * January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island (off French Guiana) on what is much later admitted to be a false charge of tr ...

. He introduced a large number of bills in the State Senate related to

Adirondack Park The Adirondack Park is a park in northeastern New York (state), New York protecting the Adirondack Mountains. The park was established in 1892 for "the free use of all the people for their health and pleasure", and for watershed protection. At , ...

. In 1896, Governor Morton appointed him Superintendent of the

New York State Banking Department The New York State Banking Department was created by the New York Legislature on April 15, 1851, with a chief officer to be known as the Superintendent. The New York State Banking Department was the oldest bank regulatory agency in the United Stat ...

. He resigned from office in January 1907, after

Charles Evans Hughes Charles Evans Hughes (April 11, 1862 – August 27, 1948) was an American politician, academic, and jurist who served as the 11th chief justice of the United States from 1930 to 1941. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

became Governor. He then president of the Fidelity Realty Company. He also served as head of the Malone Light and Power Company from 1907 to 1914. Kilburn was a member of the

National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

, serving as lieutenant of the 27th Separate Company for several years. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Kilburn was chairman of the Home Defense Committee of Franklin County and the Franklin County

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

chapter. Both of his sons fought in the War. In 1875, Kilburn was married to Clara Berry. They had three children, James, Clarence, and Mrs. Ward B. Castle. He was a member of the

Freemasons Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

and the

Elks The Embeddable Linux Kernel Subset (ELKS), formerly known as Linux-8086, is a Linux-like operating system kernel. It is a subset of the Linux kernel, intended for 16-bit computers with limited processor and memory resources such as machines pow ...

. He was a member of the Centenary

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, th ...

. Kilburn died of a

brain hemorrhage The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

at the

Clifton Springs Sanitarium Clifton Springs Sanitarium is a historic sanitarium building located at the village of Clifton Springs in Ontario County, New York. Construction of the sanitarium building began in 1892 as a five-story ell-shaped brick structure in the Richar ...

on December 2, 1917. He was buried in Morningside Cemetery.

References

External links

*
The Political Graveyard
'
Frederick D. Kilburn
at '' Find a Grave'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Kilburn, Frederick 1850 births 1917 deaths People from Clinton County, New York People from Fort Covington, New York People from Malone, New York Albany Law School alumni New York (state) lawyers 19th-century American lawyers American bankers Republican Party New York (state) state senators New York National Guard personnel American Freemasons Members of the Methodist Episcopal Church Deaths from subarachnoid hemorrhage 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature