He married Lucinda Lane on 12 May 1830 in Randolph County, North Carolina. Together, they had at least eight children:
- Mary Kirkman, born about 1836
- Rebecca Kirkman, born about 1836
- Tabitha Kirkman, born about 1838
- Nancy Kirkman, born about 1840
- Isabel C Kirkman, born 21 April 1844
- John W Kirkman, born about 1847
- William Alfred Kirkman, born 18 November 1850
- James Monroe Kirkman, born 17 August 1855
Robert was a farmer, as most of the people in Randolph County were. One thing I found interesting when looking at his census records was the value of his real estate. For most people, real estate values rise over the years even with the divisions amongst sons, except of course for the years immediately after the Civil War.
In Robert's case, however, he went from $1216 in real estate in 1850 to $1200 in 1860. Personal estate values were not recorded until 1860 though, and his personal estate was listed at $3700. In 1870, after the Civil War, Robert's real estate stands still at $1200. Only his personal estate was affected it seems having dropped from $3700 to $800 in 1870.
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| Clipping from 1870 census of Robert Kirkman's household |
Robert's ability to maintain his real estate values post-War is not the only thing fairly unique about him. Randolph County, being comprised mostly of poor farmers with no standing or position, was not a place where slavery was common. Robert is listed in the 1840 census as having a male and a female slave both aged 10-23. His neighbor in 1840 (and his suspected father) Thomas Kirkman has the most in the area at 12.
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| Clippings from 1840 census of Robert and Thomas Kirkman's slaves |
As anyone who has researched slave ancestors knows, it is difficult to place names to the tick marks in census records or to the genders and ages listed in slave schedules, but it is something I strive to do whenever I find families that had slaves. More investigation will be required to find out who these men and women may be and how long the family kept slaves, but it is an investigation I think worth undertaking. Hopefully I can post my findings in a future post.
Robert and Lucinda are supposedly buried at Bethany United Methodist Church Cemetery in Franklinville, Randolph County, North Carolina. I have not yet found proof of the date of Robert's death, but his Find-A-Grave page lists his date of death as 5 May 1882. There is no photo shown to corroborate this date, and I have taken photos myself at the cemetery a couple of times, but I have no photo of their tombstones in my personal collection either. Either their graves are unmarked or I somehow missed them the last time I was there. Until someone posts one or until I can make it back to the cemetery myself, the search for a tombstone continues.
Sources:
- 1840 Randolph County, North Carolina U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
- 1850 Randolph County, North Carolina U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
- 1860 Sandy Creek, Randolph County, North Carolina U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
- 1870 Liberty, Randolph County, North Carolina U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
- 1880 Liberty, Randolph County, North Carolina U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
- Find-A-Grave memorial #149695684
- North Carolina Death Certificate, Isabel C Kivett (accessed on Ancestry)
- North Carolina Death Certificate, James Monroe Kirkman (accessed on Ancestry)
- North Carolina Death Certificate, William Alfred Kirkman (accessed on Ancestry)
- North Carolina County Marriage Registers, Randolph County (accessed on Ancestry)
