Robert Crothers Kirk (February 26, 1821 – 1898) was an American politician who served as the fifth

lieutenant governor of Ohio The position of lieutenant governor of Ohio was established in 1852. The lieutenant governor becomes governor if the governor resigns, dies in office or is removed by impeachment. Before 1852, the president of the Ohio State Senate would serve as ...

from 1860 to 1862 under Governor William Dennison.

Biography

Robert Crothers Kirk was born February 26, 1821, in Mount Pleasant, Jefferson County,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. He attended the schools in Mount Pleasant and entered Franklin College in

New Athens, Ohio New Athens () is a village in Harrison County, Ohio, United States. The population was 320 at the 2010 census. History New Athens was platted in 1817. A post office has been in operation at New Athens since 1818. Geography New Athens is located ...

, but did not graduate. Other sources say he entered

Ohio University Ohio University is a public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation and subseq ...

in Athens, Ohio. He returned to his native town and studied medicine, and then took a course at

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

medical school in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

. Kirk moved to

Fulton County, Illinois Fulton County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 37,069. Its county seat is Lewistown, and the largest city is Canton. Fulton County comprises the Canton, IL Micropolitan Statistic ...

, and began a medical practice. Some years later, he returned to Ohio and was in the mercantile business in

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...

. He moved to

Winona, Minnesota Winona is a city in and the county seat of Winona County, Minnesota, Winona County, in the U.S. state, state of Minnesota. Located in bluff country on the Mississippi River, its most noticeable physical landmark is Sugar Loaf (Winona, Minnesota ...

, for a year and then returned to Mount Vernon.

Career

In 1855, he was elected to the Ohio State Senate, and in 1859 he was elected Lieutenant Governor on the Republican ticket, serving a two-year term. Three years later, President

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

appointed him Minister to the Argentine Republic. He resigned in 1866 and returned to Ohio. In 1869, President

Grant Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom * Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama * Grant, Inyo County, ...

appointed Kirk to be the Minister to Argentina and

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. He resigned in 1871. In 1873,

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Noyes appointed him Commissioner to represent Ohio at the Vienna Exposition. In 1875, he was appointed Collector of Internal Revenue for the Thirteenth Ohio District. He later returned to private life in Mount Vernon.

Family life

On December 11, 1843, Kirk married Eleanor Hogg, of Mt. Pleasant. They had four children. Kirk married a second time to Alice V. Hutchison on August 31, 1893. He was a Freemason and member of I.O.O.F. and the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...

Death

Kirk died in 1898 at age 77.

References

External links