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LAND: at least 300 acres in Cecil County. In his
will Kirk stated that he owned two tracts of land.
KIRKE (KIRK), JOHN (ca. 1670-1733). BORN:
ca. 1670, probably in Dorchester County. NA-
TIVE: second generation. RESIDED, in Dorchester
County. FAMILY BACKGROUND. FATHER: John Kirke
(?-ca. 1687) of Dorchester County, who prob-
ably came to Maryland as an indentured servant.
He became a substantial landowner, and owned
the tract upon which Cambridge was built. He
left an estate of £185.16.7. BROTHER: William Kirk
(?-1734). MARRIED by 1696 Sarah, daughter of
John Mackeele (?-1696) of Dorchester County,
a landowner. Her brothers were William; Thomas;
Edmond; and Charles. Her sisters were Eliza-
beth, who married (first name unknown) Davis;
Mary, who married (first name unknown) Dor-
sey; and Anne (?-1700), who married (first name
unknown) Hunt. CHILDREN. DAUGHTERS: Elinor,
who married by 1726 John Anderson; Anne, who
married James Phillips; and Margaret, who mar-
ried by 1734 (first name unknown) Maning. PRI-
VATE CAREER. EDUCATION: literate. RELIGIOUS
AFFILIATION: Protestant. SOCIAL STATUS AND AC-
TIVITIES: Gent., by 1690. OCCUPATIONAL PRO-
FILE: lawyer, admitted to Dorchester County court
in 1703. ADDITION AL COMMENT: In June 1717, the
Council ordered the Dorchester justices to disbar
Kirke for obtaining a verdict by "false sugges-
tions" and "misfeasance." Kirke's suspension,
however, was to last only until he made restitu-
tion to those harmed by his actions. PUBLIC CA-
REER. LEGISLATIVE SERVICE: Lower HoUSC, Dor-
chester County, 1725-1727, 1728-1731. LOCAL
OFFICES: coroner, Dorchester County, commis-
sioned 1709; land commissioner, Dorchester
County, in office 1728. WEALTH DURING LIFETIME.
LAND AT FIRST ELECTION: ca. 1,749 acres in Dor-
chester County, plus six lots in Cambridge; also
controlled 280 acres in Dorchester County during
the minority of his wife's nephew, Thomas Hunt.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Kirke was actively in-
volved in the buying and selling of land prior to
his first election. His holdings in 1725 were the
remainder of approximately 2,285 acres in Dor-
chester County, plus 12 lots in Cambridge (ac-
quired through patent, purchase, and inherit-
ance). SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN LAND BETWEEN
FIRST ELECTION AND DEATH: Sold 571 acres in
Dorchester County, plus 6 lots in Cambridge,
1725-1731; bought 80 acres in Dorchester County
by 1733. WEALTH AT DEATH. DIED: between July
11 and September H, 1733, in Dorchester County.
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PERSONAL PROPERTY: TEV, £140.2.8 sterling (in-
cluding 1 servant, 1 slave, and books); FB,
£22.9.11. LAND: ca. 1,258 acres in Dorchester
County.
KIRKMAN, LEVIN (by 1746-ca. 1790). BORN:
between 1736 and 1746 in Dorchester County.
NATIVE: at least third generation. RESIDED: in
Nanticoke Hundred, Dorchester County. FAMILY
BACKGROUND. FATHER: George Kirkman (ca. 1713-
ca. 1783) of Dorchester County, son of George
Kirkman (?-1749). BROTHER: James, Jr. SISTERS.
Esther; Elizabeth. MARRIED by 1787 Leah (?-ca.
1793), who subsequently married by November
1790 Thomas Walters. CHILDREN. SONS: Levin;
Robert, died young. DAUGHTERS. Peggy (Mar-
garet) Edwards; Nancy (Anne) Hicks. PRIVATE
CAREER. EDUCATION: literate. SOCIAL STATUS AND
ACTIVITIES: Gent., by 1783. ADDITIONAL COM-
MENT: subscribed £15 to Washington College. OC-
CUPATIONAL PROFILE: planter, by 1773; merchant
in partnership with Alexander Smith in a retail
store in Vienna, Dorchester County, from 1784
until approximately June 1785. Purchased a brig
in partnership with James Shaw (ca. 1747-ca. 1795)
in February 1785, and engaged in an illegal trad-
ing venture to the Caribbean. When the brig ar-
rived at the customs house on Montserrat Island,
the customs officials seized and condemned it on
the grounds that it was an American vessel that
had attempted to enter the port as a British bot-
tom. Both brig and cargo, valued by Kirkman at
nearly £1,600, were thus lost by the owners. Upon
hearing of the seizure, Kirkman filed and won a
judgment against his former store partner, Alex-
ander Smith, claiming that Smith had held a one-
fourth interest in the brig and was therefore liable
for one-fourth of the loss. After Kirkman's death,
Smith protested that he had not been involved in
the brig, but the case was dismissed and he was
ordered to pay. PUBLIC CAREER. LEGISLATIVE
SERVICE: Lower House, Dorchester County, 1781-
1782, 1782-1783, 1783 (elected, but did not at-
tend), 1785. LOCAL OFFICES: justice, Dorchester
County, by 1785-at least 1789; coroner, Dor-
chester County, 1785-ca. 1790; deputy naval of-
ficer, probably 5th District, in office 1785;
churchwarden, Great Choptank Parish, Dor-
chester County, elected 1788; justice, Orphans'
Court, Dorchester County, appointed 1785 ("re-
fused to qualify"). MILITARY SERVICE: 1st lieu-
tenant, Upper Battalion, Dorchester County Mi-
litia, commissioned 1778; captain, Upper Battalion,
Dorchester County Militia, promoted 1781.
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