When John P Kirkland was born about 1831, in Indiana, United States, his father, Alexander Kirkland, was 38 and his mother, Gertrude Charity Debaun, was 29. He lived in Fairbanks Township, Sullivan, Indiana, United States in 1850. He died on 12 November 1851, in Sullivan, Indiana, United States, at the age of 21, and was buried in Fairbanks Township, Sullivan, Indiana, United States.
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Convinced that a group of Native American tribes were hostile, The United States formed a frontier militia to stop them in their tracks. Even though Black Hawk was hoping to avoid bloodshed while trying to resettle on tribal land, U.S. officials opened fire on the Native Americans. Black Hawk then responded to this confrontation by successfully attacking the militia at the Battle of Stillman's Run and then left northward. After a few months the militia caught up with Black Hawk and his men and defeated them at the Battle of Wisconsin Heights. While being weakened by hunger, injuries and desertion, Black Hawk and the rest of the many native survivors retreated towards the Mississippi. Unfortunately, Black Hawk and other leaders were later captured when they surrendered to the US forces and were then imprisoned for a year.
The Massive Internal Improvements Act of 1836 loaned Indiana $10,000,000 to create infrastructure such as canals, railroads, and roads across the state. The act was signed by Whig Governor Noah Noble and passed by the Indiana General Assembly. However, the financial crisis known as the Panic of 1837 thwarted these plans as costs ballooned. Construction on the infrastructure was not completed and the state debt rapidly increased.
The State of Indiana was near bankruptcy in 1841 due to the inability to repay interest incurred for the Massive Internal Improvement Act. The state liquidated much of its public works. Many of the projects were handed over to the state’s creditors as a way to reduce debt. Only two of the eight proposed infrastructure projects were completed by the creditors.
English: habitational name from any of several places called Kirkland (Cumbria, Lancahires; Ayrshire, Dumfriesshire, Lanarkshire), all named with Old Norse kirkja ‘church’ + land ‘land’, except for the Lancashire placename, which derives from kirkja + lúndr ‘small wood, grove’.
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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