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Austin Kilbourn
American, 1794 - 1872
BiographyAustin Kilbourn was born in 1794 to Hannah Sellew Kilbourn (1767-1826) and Joseph Kilbourn (1765-1851) in Glastonbury, Connecticut. He is a descendant of King James II of Scotland through his mother. His siblings included Sophia Kilbourn Whiting (1796-1867), Ogden Kilbourn (1798-1871), Eliza Kilbourn (1803-1854), and Horace Kilbourn (1809-1867).
He moved to Hartford at age 16 to begin a clerkship at Daniel Bunce, Jr. & Co., and stayed with these merchants until 1814 when the business dissolved due to Bunce’s death. The following year he earned the status of youngest clerk at the Phoenix Bank in Hartford where he moved up through the ranks. He opted to transfer to the branch in Litchfield; shortly after, he was promoted to cashier there. While in Litchfield he attended the Litchfield Law School, though he would never practice law.
Beginning in 1820, newspapers ran ads stating that Horace Hayes, Jr. and Austin Kilbourn purchased the firm of the late Horace Hayes; this would be a cutlery and hardware store on the corner of Main Street and Asylum Avenue, across from the Court House (today: the Connecticut Old State House). In 1825, the business would dissolve, with Horace Hayes in charge of handling outstanding accounts. It is unclear how this enterprise worked with Austin in Litchfield, other than with him functioning as a silent partner. In 1826, however, Austin returned to Hartford where he created Kilbourn & Co. at the Main and Asylum location. This hardware and kitchen goods store operated on site until 1840, and then for a time at a North Main Street location.
He began serving as the Recording Secretary for the Hartford Agricultural Society, a role he remained in for ten years. He became a Notary Public in 1847. He was the Recording Secretary for The Kilbourn Meeting held at Astor House in New York in 1848. He published a Treatise on Agriculture.
Then, after his father died, Austin returned to the family home and farm in Glastonbury, which he would take over. In 1860, he was living there with his brother Horace, Mary F. Kilbourn (age 20), and his aunt (Hannah Sellew Kilbourn’s sister) Dorothy “Dolly” Sellew Tibbals (age 80). In another ten years, records show he had ten acres that had been cleared and two there were woodland. There were ten horses. He died at his Glastonbury home in 1872 and was buried in Green Cemetery near family members.
Sources: Connecticut Courant; The Family Memorial: A History and Genealogy of the Kilbourn Family in the United States and Canada by Payne Kenyon Kilbourn; Hartford Daily Courant; Litchfield Historical Society; New York Tribune; Non-Population Schedules: Productions of Agriculture in Glastonbury; United States Federal Census
He moved to Hartford at age 16 to begin a clerkship at Daniel Bunce, Jr. & Co., and stayed with these merchants until 1814 when the business dissolved due to Bunce’s death. The following year he earned the status of youngest clerk at the Phoenix Bank in Hartford where he moved up through the ranks. He opted to transfer to the branch in Litchfield; shortly after, he was promoted to cashier there. While in Litchfield he attended the Litchfield Law School, though he would never practice law.
Beginning in 1820, newspapers ran ads stating that Horace Hayes, Jr. and Austin Kilbourn purchased the firm of the late Horace Hayes; this would be a cutlery and hardware store on the corner of Main Street and Asylum Avenue, across from the Court House (today: the Connecticut Old State House). In 1825, the business would dissolve, with Horace Hayes in charge of handling outstanding accounts. It is unclear how this enterprise worked with Austin in Litchfield, other than with him functioning as a silent partner. In 1826, however, Austin returned to Hartford where he created Kilbourn & Co. at the Main and Asylum location. This hardware and kitchen goods store operated on site until 1840, and then for a time at a North Main Street location.
He began serving as the Recording Secretary for the Hartford Agricultural Society, a role he remained in for ten years. He became a Notary Public in 1847. He was the Recording Secretary for The Kilbourn Meeting held at Astor House in New York in 1848. He published a Treatise on Agriculture.
Then, after his father died, Austin returned to the family home and farm in Glastonbury, which he would take over. In 1860, he was living there with his brother Horace, Mary F. Kilbourn (age 20), and his aunt (Hannah Sellew Kilbourn’s sister) Dorothy “Dolly” Sellew Tibbals (age 80). In another ten years, records show he had ten acres that had been cleared and two there were woodland. There were ten horses. He died at his Glastonbury home in 1872 and was buried in Green Cemetery near family members.
Sources: Connecticut Courant; The Family Memorial: A History and Genealogy of the Kilbourn Family in the United States and Canada by Payne Kenyon Kilbourn; Hartford Daily Courant; Litchfield Historical Society; New York Tribune; Non-Population Schedules: Productions of Agriculture in Glastonbury; United States Federal Census
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