Joseph Kirkland was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

  novelist. Born in Geneva, New York

Geneva, New York

Geneva is a city in Ontario and Seneca counties in the U.S. state of New York. The population was 13,617 at the 2000 census. Some claim it is named after the city and canton of Geneva in Switzerland. Others believe the name came from confusion over the letters in the word "Seneca" written in cursive...

, he was a businessman in Chicago, then served in the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 during the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, reaching the rank of major. After the war he became a lawyer while also pursuing writing. He is remembered as the author of two realistic novels of pioneer life in the Far West, Zury: The Meanest Man in Spring County and The McVeys. Other works are The Captain of Company K and The Story of Chicago. He was also the literary editor of the Chicago Tribune

Chicago Tribune

The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...

. Kirkland died in Chicago in 1894, at the age of 64.

External links

• Joseph Kirkland - bibliographical overview, links to works online
• Joseph Kirkland Papers at the Newberry Library