Person:William Kilpatrick (4)

Obituary for W.B. Kilpatrick Sr.

From: Warren Tribune Chronicle
Issue: Mon., 2 May 1960 1:2 & 5:1

W.B. Kilpatrick Sr., 4-Term Mayor, Dies

William B. Kilpatrick Sr., 82, four-term mayor of Warren, a lawyer here for 52 years until his retirement in 1957, and one of the city's best known citizens, died peacefully in his sleep at 2:30 a.m. Sunday at his home, 808 North Park Ave. He had been ill for several weeks, and was recently a patient in Trumbull Memorial Hospital.
He was for years chairman of the Trumbull County Democratic Central Executive Committee; a trustee of the Trumbull County Children's Home and president of the Trumbull County Humane Society for over a half century, and widely known in area civic, legal and political circles.

Private Rites Wednesday

Private funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday at the Roberts Memorial Home. The Rev. Merrill L. Cadwell, pastor of the Central Christian Church will officiate. Friends will be received Tuesday afternoon and evening at the funeral home. The family requests that material tributes take the form of contributions to the Trumbull County Humane Society.
Mr. Kilpatrick had lived his entire life in Warren. In his very long and distinguished career, he had been personally acquainted with a vast number of Warren citizens of each generation. He was born here on Sept. 5, 1877, a son of William and Grace (Hull) Kilpatrick.

Mayor at 23

A councilman at 21, Mr. Kilpatrick was elected to his first term as Warren mayor when he was 23. He served three other terms, the last one in 1928-29 when the city started its greatest march of progress. He was the first Democrat from Trumbull County to be elected to the Ohio House of Representatives. He served two terms in the legislature and in 1912 was a delegate to the Ohio Constitutional Convention.
An active lawyer and member of the Trumbull County Bar for over a half century, he was active in civic affairs. Having watched Warren grow from a small community to one of the large cities in Ohio, Mr. Kilpatrick could always be counted on to lend a helping hand in any worthwhile civic enterprise.
Often called the "father of the Democratic Party in Trumbull County," Mr. Kilpatrick was chairman for many years. The Democrats made their greatest progress under his leadership. In 1936 they swept almost every county office for the first time in history. He was held in high esteem in party circles in the state and nation and his counsel was often sought by governors and other high office holders. He was a director of the Trumbull Savings & Loan Co.; a post he held for over 50 years.

Farmer At Heart

Neither the law nor politics could keep him from spending a part of his time at his little farm in Mesopotamia. "I am really a kind of farmer at heart" he once remarked to friends visiting him at the farm.
When Mr. Kilpatrick retired and closed his office in Jan. 1, 1957, he said simply: "Well, that's that !" As he quietly closed his desk, he said to friends in his office: "Yes, I am retiring. After 52 years in the practice of law in Warren, it is hard for me to do that, but I shall go forward in my reading as I have done in the past."
After his retirement, Mr. Kilpatrick enjoyed fairly good health and did spend much of his time reading. He did not become seriously ill until two weeks ago.
After Mr. Kilpatrick had served two terms as mayor of Warren and several years in the Ohio Legislature, he fully expected to devote as much time as possible to his private legal business.
But such was not to be the case. He was to serve two more terms as mayor, one of them during World War I, when a multitude of burdens were added to the mayoral duties.
Up until the tenure of Mayor William C. Burbank, Mr. Kilpatrick was the only mayor in Warren's history to serve four terms. All three of Warren's bridges were built during his administrations.

Speaks for Woman's Suffrage

He served as Trumbull County's delegate to the 1912 Constitutional Convention, along with A. Vic Donahey and Robert Croeser. Never before or since were so many important issues debated and adopted. He espoused the cause of Woman's Suffrage at the convention and was a pillar of support of the Workmen's Compensation act. He made the speech on the floor in favor of Woman's Suffrage which ultimately led to state adoption of the plan to allow women to vote culminating in its later adoption as a national constitutional amendment.
As president of the County Humane Society for a half century, Mr. Kilpatrick in good times and bad performed a most worthy service in the community. A thousand and one different problems came before the Humane Society and Mr. Kilpatrick and his assistants had to solve them. By his wise counsel, many families were kept intact when they might have otherwise been broken up; and in cases where wives and children had been deprived of the necessities of life because of marital troubles, Mr. Kilpatrick worked diligently until proper adjustments were made and the children provided with the comforts of home.
The Humane Society, under his leadership became one of the best known and efficient organizations of its kind in Ohio. Organized in 1891, the agency was first interested in the welfare of horses and other animals. It later branched out to look after the welfare of people, providing services not furnished by the regular legal agencies. Among the early members of the organization who worked with Mr. Kilpatrick in building up the agency were Zell Hart Deming, for 25 years publisher of the Tribune; Mary C. Iddings and Elizabeth Hauser of Girard, a writer on The Tribune for many years.

Way With Children

Mr. Kilpatrick had much to do with the progress of the Children's Home. Other trustees and officials associated with him in this endeavor often said: "He has a way with children."
He was president of the Child Welfare Board for 50 years.
He studied law under the late Atty. George P. Hunter and was admitted to the bar in 1902.
He was a charter member of the Warren Kiwanis Club and was a past president, and was a 50-year member of the Knights of Pythias.
His wife, Dorothy, to whom he had been married for 55 years; a daughter, Mrs. Walter Crider (Grace Kilpatrick) of New York City; three sons, Bishop, serving his ninth term in the Ohio House of Representatives; Page, member and attorney of the District Board of Claims, Ohio Industrial Commission; and W.B. Jr., Trumbull County commissioner, and a sister, Mrs. Jesse K. Dilworth, of Cortland, survive.

1. ↑ Ohio. Department of Health. Office of Vital Statistics. Certificates of death, 1908–present. (Salt Lake City: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1983–2005)
   Cert 39882.

   Name: William B. Kilpatrick
   Birth Date: 1878 [1877]
   Gender: Male
   Race: White
   Residence City: Warren
   Residence County: Trumbull
   Residence State: Ohio
   Residence Country: United States
   Death Date: 1 May 1960
   Hospital of Death: Home
   City of Death: Warren
   County of Death: Trumbull
   Certificate: 39882
   Age at Death: 82
   Marital Status: Married

2. ↑ Birth Records, in Trumbull County (Ohio). Probate Judge. Birth records, 1867-1908. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1972)
   Vol. 2 p.193.

   NAME: Killpatrick, W^m Bishop
   DOB: 1877, Sept 5
   POB: Ohio, Trumbull, Warren City (2nd Ward)
   SEX: Male
   Fa: W^m
   Mo: Grace S. Hull
   Residence: Warren City

3. ↑ WWI Draft Registration Card: 12 Sep 1918
   Name: William Bishop Kilpatrick
   Address: 401 N. Park Ave., Warren, Ohio
   Age: 41
   Date of Birth: Sept. 5, 1877
   Occupation: Lawyer, Self-employed, Warren, Ohio
   Wife: Dorothy R. Kilpatrick
   Height: Medium__ Build: Medium__ Eyes: Brown__ Hair: Black