Biography - William McKittrick
WILLIAM MCKITTRICK. The name at the head of this sketch is that of one who was a compatriot with the poet Moore, and even yet his heart rebounds at the words of the old song,
"The harp that once thro' Tara's hall
The soul of music shed
Now hangs as mute on Tara's wall
As if that soul were fled —
So sleeps the pride of former days.
So glory's thrill is o'er.
And hearts, that once beat high for praise.
Now feel that pulse no more."
However successful a native of that unhappy land may be in his adopted
country he cannot but be saddened at the thought that Ireland is no more
what it was in the days of the Kings.
Our subject is in the meridian of life and the best of his successes are before him. He is of Irish parentage as well as birth, his father having been William McKittrick, who was a native of the Emerald Isle, and his mother, Margaret (Quarrel) McKittrick, also of Ireland. They emigrated to the United States in 1858, and the father died after locating in Moultrie County, this State. The mother passed away in this county. They were the parents of thirteen children of whom our subject was one of the youngest; he was born in Ireland September 29, 1849, and was about nine years of age when, with his parents, he came to America. They at once located in Madison County, this State, where our subject lived for seven years and then they removed to Shelby County where he has ever since been a resident. He has always been engaged in farming, and has followed this pursuit with a reasonable degree of success.
The marriage of the original of our sketch took place in this county, March 22, 1877. The lady to whom he was united was in her maiden days Laura A. Patton, a daughter of James H. and Lydia (Friezner) Patton, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Ohio. The father's death occurred in this county and he left to his bereaved wife ten children, of whom Mrs. McKittrick was the third; she was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, April 15, 1853. Our subject and wife are the parents of six living children, whose names are as follows: Lydia A., William C., James F., Milo E., Margaret E. and Mark N. The deceased children were taken away in infancy.
A short period of our subject's early married life was spent in Cold Spring Township, after which they settled on section 26, of Tower Hill Township, where they owned two hundred acres of good, arable land. Mr. McKittrick is in his political tastes and favors a follower of the Republican party. He has been a School Director for some time. Neither our subject nor his wife are united by membership to any church, being liberal in their religious belief, still they do their part toward the support of the Gospel and exert and wield a good influence in the community.
Extracted 07 Apr 2017 by Norma Hass from 1891 Portrait and Biographical Record of Shelby and Moultrie Counties Illinois, pages 234-235.
