[p. 848] a representative business citizen of Ellwood City, who, for the past fifteen years has been operating his coal mine, on the outskirts, is not only one of the early settlers but one of the most substantial residents of the borough. He was born in North Staffordshire, England, November 3, 1850, and is a son of John and Ann Kirkham.
Mr. Kirkham was reared in his native land which he left in 1879 and after reaching America, came to Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. He resided there for eighteen months and then went to Carbondale, Kansas, where he engaged in mining for fourteen months and then returned to Beaver Falls, where he continued to reside until he came to Ellwood City in 1893, when the infant town was but two years old. He opened up a coal bank on the edge of Ellwood City, which has proved of fine depth and quality and for the past thirteen years he has supplied coal to the Pittsburg Company and the Pennsylvania and Lake Erie Railroad Company. At his mine Mr. Kirkham gives employment to from seven to eight men.
In 1890, Mr. Kirkham was married to Mrs. Ellen (Richardson) Jones, who was a daughter of James and Sarah Richardson. Mr. and Mrs. Kirkham had one son, Joseph. By her former marriage, Mrs. Kirkham had three children: Alice, who is the wife of Samuel Alleman, of Hambridge; and Lucy and Enoch, both residing at home. Mrs. Kirkham died February 3, 1891. She was a most estimable woman. Mr. Kirkham attends strictly to his business and takes no very active interest in politics, his vote usually being cast for the best man according to his own judgment. He is well known and his business standing is high.
20th Century History of New Castle and Lawrence County Pennsylvania and Representative Citizens Hon. Aaron L. Hazen Richmond-Arnold Publishing Company, Chicago, Ill., 1908
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