1. Abner Kirby ran that business for seven years, and while living there was appointed postmaster for three years.
22 Facts About Abner Kirby
1. 2.
Abner Kirby prospered in Skowhegan, and then brought his wealth west to the Wisconsin Territory in 1844.
3.
Abner Kirby arrived in Milwaukee on May 18,1844, and quickly bought all the land on the northeast corner of the intersection of Wisconsin and East Water Street.
4.
Abner Kirby built a sturdy brick building on this corner and operated a jewelry store out of the ground floor for the next ten years.
5.
Abner Kirby was involved in the lumber trade, operating a saw mill in Menominee, Michigan, and shipping the lumber to Milwaukee for sale.
6.
Abner Kirby used a portion of his lumber to establish a match factory in Milwaukee.
7.
Abner Kirby was the first to manufacture steam barges for use on Lake Michigan, naming his first steam ship the Cream City.
8.
Abner Kirby soon became the owner of one of the largest fleets of shipping vessels on Lake Michigan.
9.
Abner Kirby's shipping business shifted to carrying grain and starch.
10.
In 1862, Abner Kirby became the sole proprietor, at which time he enlarged and completely remodeled the building, renaming it the Abner Kirby House.
11.
Abner Kirby was often described as "eccentric" or a "live wire".
12.
Abner Kirby was always a member of the Democratic Party, but was a well known and vocal War Democrat during the American Civil War.
13.
Abner Kirby attempted to enlist in the Union Army but was supposedly refused because of his old age.
14.
Abner Kirby is said to have spent $12,000 to support the families of 40 men who he had solicited to enlist as a company for the war effort, and spent more of his own fortune for wounded and sick veterans.
15.
Abner Kirby was elected mayor of Milwaukee in 1864 without opposition.
16.
Abner Kirby's father served as a drummer boy during the American Revolutionary War, and later served in the Massachusetts militia during the War of 1812.
17.
The Abner Kirby family were descendants of Quaker colonists of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
18.
Abner Kirby died in 1849 after they had at least one child.
19.
In 1854, Abner Kirby married his third and final wife, Letitia Ramolina Chase, of Amsterdam, New York, possibly a cousin of his previous wives.
20.
Abner Kirby's second son, Oak, was named such because he was born while Kirby was awaiting a large shipment of oak lumber for his business.
21.
Abner Kirby died at his home in Milwaukee on September 23,1893.
22.
Abner Kirby was buried at Milwaukee's historic Forest Home Cemetery.