“[FROM the IOWA STATESMAN — JAN. 3, 1850]
OBITUARY.
HENRY W. KILBOURNE, of Fort Madison, Iowa, died on the 23d of October last, at Sacramento City, California, aged 20 years.
Such is the brief record gathered from an eastern paper, of the death of the eldest son of David W. Kilbourne, Esq., of this place, who left his father's house in the month of May last, for the shores of the Pacific.
No letters were received from him after his arrival in the valley of the Sacramento, and the first direct information his friends had about him is, that he is dead! They have learned nothing of the details of his sickness, or suffering — they only know that he is no more!
His bereaved parents and brothers are overwhelmed by the mournful intelligence of his decease, and crushed down by a great sorrow, which He only who orders all things for His own wise, inscrutable, yet merciful purposes, can assuage.
No young man ever stood fairer, or was more popular, in the community, where he was known, than Henry Kilbourne. Agreeable in his manners, kind in his intercourse with acquaintances and most fervently and affectionately attached to the inmates of his own home, he was a general favorite with all. All therefore, who knew him, deeply mourn for his loss, and feel it perhaps more keenly, when they remember that he died far away from his home, and in the very bloom and springtime of his youth.
The desire of gathering gold had but little, if anything, to do with his journey over the plains; he was rather carried away by that irrepressible spirit of adventure, and travel, so common to the youth of our country, and especially those residing in the Mississippi Valley.
From books and papers, which he left behind him, his parents find consolation in discovering that he was fully impressed with the uncertainty of life, and the necessity of preparing for another state. They are consoled to know that his mind was not wholly engaged in seeking riches on earth, but that he was also employed in laying up treasures in that place where 'neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.' And they will doubtless find solace in the well-founded hope that his spirit passed away from the Valley of the Sacramento, rich in earthly gold, to walk in that city whose 'streets are pure gold'-— the New Jerusalem.”
Taken from: Kilbourne, Payne K., The History and Antiquities of the Name and Family of Kilbourn (New Haven, Durrie and Peck, 1856). Pg. 333.
Note: Henry's father was a well-known lawyer and the family was quite wealthy.
Henry was my third cousin, four times removed.
Note: Henry's father was a well-known lawyer and the family was quite wealthy.
Henry was my third cousin, four times removed.