Elisha Kirk (1757 - 1790)

Born 25 Dec 1757 in Chester, Pennsylvania

Ancestors

Husband of Ruth (Miller) Kirk — married 4 Mar 1780 in Pipe Creek, Frederick, Maryland

Descendants

Died 11 Apr 1790 at age 32 in York, York, Pennsylvania, United States

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Biography

Descendant of Thomas and Joan Mildenhall.

Elisha was a Friend (Quaker)

The birth of Elisha Kirk is registered in the Philadelphia Yearly meeting on 25 Dec, 1757 ^[1]

He married Ruth Miller March 4, 1780, Pipe Creek Meeting as recorded in the New Garden Monthly Meeting.^[2][3] They had 2 children Aquila and Priscilla Kirk who married Charles Townsend.

He was a clockmaker and silversmith. Aquila followed in his footsteps^[4]."Elisha Kirk’s “touch-mark” says “ELISHA KIRK. YORKTOWN.” "^[5]

In 1784 Ann Jessop after the death of her husband, moved with her Jessop children to York, Pennsylvania, where she apprenticed her 14 year-old son, Jonathan Jessop, to Elisha Kirk, a clockmaker in York.^[6]

He is mentioned in several books about clocks and clockmakers. Pennsylvania Clocks and Clockmakers contains a paragraph biographical sketch on him^[7].

NAWCC Bulletin article Index^[8]

American Clockmakers & Watchmakers by Sonya L. & Thomas Spittler and Chris H. Bailey. (apprentice of Isaac Jackson; tall clock, walnut case, one weight, "no. 12" attributed to him. See pg.177

Watchmakers & Clockmakers of the World by Brian Loomes Vol 2

Chester County Clocks and Their Makers - Arthur James. LULU Press, 2010 .

" A Testimony from York Monthly Meeting concerning our esteemed friend, Elisha Kirk, deceased." Baltimore Yearly Meeting minutes: pages 50-54 give an accounting of his life, his passing and interment^[9]. He was 33 years of age at his death and also a Quaker Minister. [Digital Image]

He died 11 Apr 1790 in York, York, Pennsylvania^[10] and is buried in the Friends Burial Ground in York, Pennsylvania^[11]

Residence:

Date: 1783

Place: York, Pennsylvania^[12]

Date: 1789

Place: York, York, Pennsylvania^[13]

Gibson, John. History of York County Pennsylvania From the Earliest Time to the Present, F.A. Battey Publishing Co., Chicago. 1886. [Digital image] By John Gibson. Chicago. 1886. (772, 207p.):281, 284-285, 518, 562, 564, 612, 625)

Will: Elisha Kirk, Decedent, Digital image

York Borough,

Date: 7 Mar 1790

Prove Date: 24 Apr 1790

Remarks:Kirk, Elisha. Mar. 7, 1790.

Executor: William Welsch. York Borough.

Wife: Ruth Kirk.

Children: Aquila and Priscilla. ^[14]

Elisha Kirk, 1780-1790 York, Pennsylvania, USA Occupation: Pewterer^[15]

Mendenhall Person: I779

Sources

1. ↑ Yearly Meeting: Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, Title: Records of the Births, Page 10. Swarthmore College; Swarthmore, Pennsylvania; Quaker Meeting Records; Call Number: RG2/Ph/B71 3.8.
2. ↑ Hinshaw, William Wade. William Wade Hinshaw's Index to Unpublished Quaker Records. Swarthmore, Pennsylvania: Friends Historical Library, Swarthmore College
3. ↑ The Mendenhalls, IV. Third generation, page 14, Beeson, Henry Hart. The Mendenhalls : a genealogy. Houston, Tex.: unknown, 1991.
4. ↑ 1795, York, Pennsylvania, USA. Card File of American Craftspeople, 1600-1995. The Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, Inc. Winterthur, Delaware.
5. ↑ http://thehuntmagazine.com/arts-antiques/2008/09/pennsylvania-pewter/#axzz3Khh42Q42
6. ↑ Memorial souvenir, commemorating the 150th anniversary of York as the capital of the United States of America 1777-1778 A brief history of the society of the people called Quakers of York Town: York, Pa., October thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth, 1927.. York, Pa.: The Society, 1980.
7. ↑ Pennsylvania Clocks and Clockmakers: An Epic of Early American Science, Industry, and Craftsmanship, George H. Eckhardt, Devin-Adair Company, 1955
8. ↑ Bulletin # ### page 561 "Pennsylvnia Watchmaker" Bulletin # 200 page 312 " Quaker Clockmaker" Bulletin # 300 page 14 "York PA clockmaker, trained J. Jessop"
9. ↑ Haverford College; Haverford, Pennsylvania; Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Minutes; Call Number: 1116/26.
10. ↑ Biography Index. A cumulative index to biographical material in books and magazines. Volume 1: January, 1946-July, 1949. New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 1949. (BioIn 1)
11. ↑ Page 54, Haverford College; Haverford, Pennsylvania; Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Minutes; Call Number: 1116/26.
12. ↑ Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission; Records of the Office of the Comptroller General, RG-4; Tax & Exoneration Lists, 1762-1794; Microfilm Roll: 343.
13. ↑ Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission; Records of the Office of the Comptroller General, RG-4; Tax & Exoneration Lists, 1762-1794; Microfilm Roll: 344.
14. ↑ Lineages, Inc., comp.. York County, Pennsylvania Wills, 1749-1819 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000. Original data: York County Wills. Originals housed at the York County Archives
15. ↑ Delaware, Craftperson Files, 1600-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Original data: Delaware, Craftperson Files, 166-1995. Card File of American Craftspeople, 1600-1995. The Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, Inc. Winterthur, Delaware.