Indiana Historical Society - Manuscripts & Archives
User Information
Biographical Sketch
Scope and Content Note
Box and Folder Inventory
Cataloguing Information
Processed By
Hilary J. Adams
August 1987
VOLUME OF COLLECTION: 1 manuscript box
COLLECTION DATES: 1815-1887
PROVENANCE: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Herman Gooding, Cutler, Indiana, 13 July 1987
RESTRICTIONS: None
REPRODUCTION RIGHTS: Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained in writing from the Indiana Historical Society
ALTERNATE FORMATS: None
OTHER FINDING AIDS: None
RELATED HOLDINGS:
ACCESSION NUMBER: 1987.0480
NOTES:
The Kidd Family originated in Ireland. Samuel Kidd was born in County Armagh in 1782. It is not known when he emigrated from Ireland, but he was in the United States by 1808, when he married Pamela A. Sampson in Baltimore. Samuel and Pamela moved around a good deal: their eldest son James Hargrave was born in Norfolk, Virginia in 1808; Samuel Cummings Kidd was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1813; and George Hugh Kidd was born in Butler County, Ohio in 1815.
George Hugh Kidd, son of Samuel and Pamela Kidd, moved about the country for many years, eventually ending up in Texas during one of the flare-ups between Texas and Mexico. He served in the army while in Texas and died there of yellow fever in 1844. His wife Ellen and their son also died during the same epidemic.
Samuel Cummings Kidd married Sarah Martha Chauncey (1816-1888), daughter of George and Francis Chauncey, in Madison, Indiana in 1839. They had three sons of whom only one lived past age six: John Dorsey Kidd (b. 1845). John Dorsey's birth prompted Samuel Cummings and Sarah Martha to leave Ohio to settle in Brewersville, Jennings County, Indiana, in 1849. When the Civil War broke out, both John Dorsey and his father enlisted. John Dorsey was mustered into Company H, 120th Indiana Volunteer Infantry, where he served from 1864 to 1866. Samuel Cummings served in Company B, 137 Indiana Volunteer Infantry, from May to September 1864 when he was discharged due to ill health (he was 51 when he enlisted).
After the war John Dorsey returned to Jennings County, where he married Sarah Jane Stewart. John Dorsey and Sarah Jane had five children, of whom four survived infancy. John Dorsey served as township assessor and township treasurer for a number of years, his final term ending in 1890.
For further information about the Kidd Family see the materials in the collection. There are many other family members excluded from the biographical sketch because they make no contribution to the collected materials.
This collection consists of the correspondence, business papers, and documents of three generations of the Kidd family. The earliest materials are the letters and documents of Samuel Kidd dealing with property in Ireland. Included with these papers is one letter to James Hargrave Kidd relating to property in Ireland.
The letters of George Hugh Kidd cover the period 1837-1844. They were written during his travels to his brother Samuel Cummings Kidd. They include discussions of the situation in Mexico as well as two letters from George's wife Ellen to Samuel Kidd written after George's death. Ellen Kidd remained in Texas and took over George's financial matters until her death six months after her husband's.
The largest section of the collection includes the letters of John Dorsey Kidd to his parents during his army service. John Dorsey wrote to his relatives on the average four times a month, so this section of the collection is rather bulky. The letters detail his experience with his company's travels through Tennessee, Georgia, North and South Carolina and Virginia.
Also included in the collection are one folder of documents and one folder of genelogical information and miscellaneous correspondence. The correspondence is sorted by author. The documents are in chronological order where possible: many of them are not dated.
Folder 1: Samuel Kidd Papers, 1815-1838.
Folder 2: George Hugh Kidd Letters, 1837-1844.
Folder 3: John Dorsey Kidd Letters, 1864.
Folder 4: John Dorsey Kidd Letters, 1865.
Folder 5: Geneology and miscellaneous correspondence.
Folder 6: Documents and contracts.
MAIN ENTRY: Kidd family
SUBJECT ENTRIES: Kidd, Samuel, b. 1782
Kidd, George Hugh, 1815-1844
Kidd, John Dorsey, b. 1845
United States. Army. Indiana Infantry Regiment, 120th (1863-1865)
United States. Army. Indiana Infantry Regiment, 137th (1861-1865)
Soldiers--Indiana--Jennings County
Soldiers--Indiana--Jennings County--Family relationships
Emigration and immigration
Real property--Ireland
Irish Americans--Indiana
Irish Americans--Kentucky
Irish Americans--Texas
Irish Americans--Ohio
Irish Americans--Genealogy
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
Indiana--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
Georgia--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
Tennessee--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
North Carolina--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
South Carolina--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
Ireland
Texas--History--Republic, 1836-1846
Genealogies
END