Some Descendants of Henry Kilburn and Helen Cookingham

Rita’s Family: Ancestors of Helen Spencer
These pages are a compilation of my work and that of others. You are welcome to use anything on this page, but be aware that although I have been as careful and accurate as possible, I am not a professional genealogist. I have been working on our genealogy for over 25 years, and started the website in 2005. Some of the lines I have researched myself; some, especially on Rita’s side, we inherited the research of other family members over the past 75 years. Still, the majority of these pages are limited to compilations from published books and what I could find on the internet. The target audience was and remains our family, so the family pages are limited to our own ancestors. I have set it up so that each page is one set of ancestors, with their descendants. For the most part I have limited my scope to their great-grandchildren (second cousins to us); in some cases I list sources which may continue further.		HOME
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Henry Clay Kilburn and Helen Cookingham

22. Henry Clay Kilburn {a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i} was born 31 Jul 1843 in New London (Huron) Ohio, and died 17 Feb 1897 in Carthage (Jasper) Missouri. He is buried in Carthage. He is a son of Abner Davis Kilburn [44] and Mary Ann Packard [45]. Henry married 10 Nov 1867 in New London,

23. Helen Cookingham {a,b,c,d,e,j}. Helen was born 24 Jul 1843 in Penn Yan (Yates) New York, and died in Feb 1933 in Racine (Racine) Wisconsin. She is buried in Carthage (Jasper) Missouri. She is a daughter of Michael Cookingham [46] and Betsy Ann Abernathy [47].

Henry and Helen were Methodist Episcopalian (at that time still considered a branch of Episcopalian or Anglican, today they would be United Methodist). They knew each other from childhood, as the Kilburn and Cookingham families were close friends.

Henry grew up in the upper flat of a house in an area called “bloody run” (present-day North Railroad St) -- they watched trains go by from their porch. He worked as an apprentice painter in his grandfather’s chair factory, and also as a clerk in the store owned by his uncle Levi. He was listed as a teacher in the New London school in 1861 when the Civil War started.

Henry served in the Civil War, in the 12th Battery Ohio Light Artillery, from August 1862 to June 1865. Henry’s brother Herbert and Helen’s brother Horace were in the same battery. Henry started as a Corporal, was later promoted to Sergeant, First Sergeant, Sergeant Major, and 2nd Lieutenant. He was released from service on 18 Jun 1865, a month before the battery was dissolved, due to ill health.
There is an incorrect family legend that Henry was a major in the army. This error is due to the fact that after the war, Henry was tagged with the nickname “the Maje”, from his serving for a time as Sergeant Major.

After the war Henry worked for Helen’s father, doing light bookkeeping and selling shoes. Henry and Helen were married on 10 Nov 1867 by Rev J.A. Killam [family records say 1868 {a}, but that is just the date when the certificate was recorded]. Helen was active in church groups and often hosted the Methodist Episcopalian Women’s Mite Society meetings. Henry was a founder and first “dictator” of the Knights of Honor lodge 237 in 1874. They met in the New London Odd Fellows hall every Monday.

While in the Army, Henry had contracted rheumatic fever in the fall of 1864. This affected his heart and joints for the rest of his life. In June 1867 he applied for an invalid pension from the Army. He had problems with the application because of the fact that several months after the illness (April 1865) he received a commission as 2nd Lieutenant. He was discharged as a Sergeant and readmitted as an officer, at which time he was declared to be in good health. This caused the Army to deny his initial claim. There followed several years of letter writing and sworn statements from many people concerning his health -- he was said to be unfit for any manual labor and often had to walk with crutches or a cane. He was finally awarded a pension in June 1870 of $8 per month (his Army pay had been $12), but after a few years he stopped claiming his monthly payments, and was dropped from the pension rolls in Dec 1873. Sometime around 1878 he was severely burned by hot steam during treatments for rheumatism. At that point he decided he had to give up indoor work and about Jan 1879 they moved to Missouri, believing it might be better for his health. He taught school for five years, then when the boys became old enough to help, he took up farming near Carthage, Missouri. Helen often worked in the fields as well. Although he was not really able to do the work, he thought it was essential to his health that he try to do as much as he could.

After some years his condition apparently worsened. In Jan 1889 the pastor of their church visited them and found Henry almost unable to move due to the pain. That same month Henry applied for reinstatement of his disability pension. In his application he states the reason that he stopped collecting the pension: that “in the fall of 1871 I suffered a severe nervous prostration from which I was 2 years in recovering. My dislike to being a pensioner came up together with the idea that if I could get along without it I ought to do so, so without consulting wife or friends I quit applying for it.” He asked for restoration based on “physical and mental disability produced by rheumatism and nervous prostration, the latter I believe to have been induced by arduous labor while suffering great distress from the former.” Apparently this claim was rejected, but a new Pension Act was passed in Jun 1890, and Henry applied once more in July.

Henry’s pension was restored in October 1890, with back pay to 1873 -- he should have received about $1600 [worth about $32,000 today]. In his periodic examination of January 1891, malaria and diabetes have been added to the list of his problems.

Henry was only 54 when he died, the cause of death being given as heart disease. The following article was printed in the New London Record on 25 Feb 1897, on page 5:

“Friends in this place received word a few days ago of the death of Mr. H. C. Kilburn, of Carthage, Mo. Mr. Kilburn was a former New Londoner and a son-in-law of Mr. Michael Cookingham. He leaves a widow and four children. Mr. Kilburn was one of the charter members of the Knights of Honor, organized in this place twenty-three years ago, and his wife will receive $2000 insurance.“

Helen was awarded a widow’s pension after Henry’s death, starting at $12 per month, and being raised several times reached $40 per month in 1928. She moved to Wisconsin sometime after Henry died, and lived in Racine with her son Henry Jr. She died there, but was brought back to Carthage for burial.

In addition to their own children, there is one reference to a foster son also working on the farm, the son of someone who had been killed in the War. I have not found his name, or any other references to a foster son.

22.1. Grace Kilburn [11] (1869 OH - 1902 MO) and Napoleon Cicero Spencer are direct ancestors, separate page.

22.2. Henry Clay Kilburn Jr. {a,c,j} was born 25 Sep 1871 in New London (Huron) Ohio, and died 17 Jan 1949 in Racine (Racine) Wisconsin. He never married. Henry worked on the family farm, but at some point moved to Racine, Wisconsin. Henry worked in education, and was the principal of Lincoln Jr. High School in Racine, Wisconsin. He was cremated, and his ashes were brought back to Springfield, Missouri.

22.4. Homer Kilburn {c,d,k} was born 19 Apr 1876 in New London (Huron) Ohio, and died of whooping cough on 12 Jun 1877 in New London, age 14 months.

22.5. Francis Herbert Kilburn {a} was born 30 Jun 1880 in Carthage (Jasper) Missouri, and died 1 Dec 1957 in Hutchinson (Reno) Kansas. He married on 27 Dec 1909 in LaJunta (Otero) Colorado, Louise Barngrover. Louise was born in 1887.
Francis and Louise had two children (first cousins to us):

22.3. Collins Kilburn {a,c} was born 17 Sep 1874 in New London (Huron) Ohio, and died 12 Jan 1960 in Springfield (Greene) Missouri. He was cremated, and his ashes are interred in Springfield. He married 9 Feb 1899 in Carthage (Jasper) Missouri, Mary Laura Stanley, the daughter of Ira Stanley (1842 NC - 1911 MO) and Hannah Ann Lester (1846 IN - 1930 MO). She went by the name Laura. They were Methodist.

22.3.1. Helen Kilburn {a} was born sometime around 1900 in Missouri, and died in infancy.

22.3.2. Ruth Jeanette Kilburn {a} was born 9 Feb 1900 in Carthage (Jasper) Missouri, and died 17 Sep 1990 in Bremerton (Kitsap) Washington. She married Marcus Hanna Anderson. Marcus was born 15 Feb 1896 in Hancock (Pulaski) Missouri, and died 20 Oct 1992 in Poulsbo (Kitsap) Washington.
Ruth and Marcus had five children (Mark, Barbara, Helen, Norma, James), living, details omitted.

Rita’s Family: Ancestors of Helen Spencer

Henry Clay Kilburn and Helen Cookingham