The Devil on Wheels ---
The Story of Kirkpatrick McMillan
By Norrie McLeish (A Reprint from THE HIGHLANDER)
 

It has been said that the bicycle is the most efficient means yet devised to convert human energy into propulsion, and certainly its effect on our civilization has been considerable. The bicycle provided a cheap means of transport for the industrial workers of 19th-century Europe and the United States. With it they could escape from the smoke and pollution of the city into the countryside.
 
In the 20th century it became the most common form of transport in the developing countries, particularly China. The "Tour de France" has become one of the major events in the world sporting calendar. This has led to the creation of a booming multimillion dollar industry in the development, design and manufacture of bicycles. Yet few of us have heard of the man who put together what is generally agreed to have been the first bicycle. He was a modest, religious Scottish blacksmith who lived, worked and died in the tiny Scottish parish where he was born.

Kirkpatrick McMillan was born in the parish of Keir about 12 miles northeast of Dumfries in 1813. He came from a talented family; two of his brothers were to become well-known academics, but Kirkpatrick or "Pate" as he was known, developed his talents in a different direction. From an early age he was always trying to find better ways of carrying out tasks around his father's blacksmith shop or in the farm. He put together a crank and peddle to lighten his father's work at the grindstone. Where his brothers had applied their talents to the world of books. Pate's keen intelligence was directed to matters mechanical. Such was the breadth of his interest that local folly thought him "no quite right." They could not understand his desire to constantly improve things; if it worked for their fathers then it was good enough for them.

After completing his village education, Pate, like his father, became a blacksmith. His first job was on the estate of the Duke of Buccleuch, but he was soon to set up in the fermtoun of Courthill where he was to remain for the rest of his life.

One day a local gentleman brought his "hobby horse" in for repair. The hobby horse was similar in looks to what was to become the bicycle, but had no pedals and the rider propelled himself along with, his legs. Pate and a fellow blacksmith were so intrigued, however, that they built a copy of it. At first they were happy enough to wheel down the country lanes. But eventually Pate was not content with the design and, as was his wont, decided to try to improve on it.

It took him four years of experimentation before he prodated his "velocipede." No doubt his earlier inventions with the crank and pedal in his father's smithy put the thought into his head of applying pedal power to the hobby horse. But in doing so, he built the world's first bicycle - no one had ever thought of doing such a thing before.

His "bicycle" had wooden wheels and iron tires with a frame consisting of a wooden bar, forked to carry the rear wheel. The wheels had iron band tires, fitted in place by beating. The velocipede was driven by cranks on the rear wheel, tamed by swinging rods operated by horizontally rocking pedals. At the front end of the steering wheel, Kirkpatrick placed the carved wooden head of a horse.

During the four years he was developing his new machine, he traveled through the country lanes of his home district.

In 1842 McMillan decided to ride to Glasgow to visit his brother who was the Rector of Hutcheson's Grammar School. It was to prove a sensation. As he approached the village of Gorbals, huge crowds turned out onto the streets, having been forewarned that "the devil on wheels" was corning.

So thick was the crowd that Pate was forced to mount the pavement, where he collided with a small girl who rustled out of a close to see what all the excitement was about. The girl only grazed her leg, but she was so shocked she began to howl. Soon the hapless Pate was surrounded by an angry mob of Gorbals' citizenry. Police constables came to the rescue, but under the urging of some local baillies who were present, young Pate and his machine were taken to the local police station.

It was a highly mortified Kirkpatrick McMillan who made his appearance in court the next morning, for he was a very religious and moral young man. His brother was summoned to identify Pate, and a little later Kirkpatrick stood in front of the magistrate, charged with obstructing the Queen's Highway and with having driven a "velocipede to the danger of her lieges."

The magistrate had no idea what a velocipede was and was told that it was a sort of hobby horse propelled by pedals and a crank. Kirkpatrick explained that he had traveled from Old Comnock to Glasgow in five hours the day before. The magistrate plainly did not believe him, declaring that it was quite impossible for someone to travel 40 miles in that time. He fined Kirkpatrick the sum of five shillings and declared that the highways of Britain had to be kept free of speedsters of his kind. Afterwards the magistrate mollified his opinions somewhat when he spent an hour with the young inventor examining the velocipede and discussing with him how it worked. It is reported that the magistrate was so impressed that he paid the young man's fine. The local paper, which reported the case in some detail, commented, "This invention will not supersede the railway."

It was a very humbled Kirkpatrick McMillan who made his way back to Courthill. It could have been that one of the aims of his trip to Glasgow had been to publicise his invention. If that was the case, as far as he was concerned it had all gone badly wrong. He had high moral standards and to return with a criminal record, no matter how trivial, must have been a matter of deep shame to him.

Perhaps he thought it was God's judgment on him for being too proud. He was, in fact, a man of remarkable modesty. He made no further effort to capitalise on his invention and made no objection to those people who asked if they could make a copy of his machine. Indeed it was this modesty and lack of ambition which resulted in the name of Kirkpatrick McMillan being unknown to the world at large for many years.

Until 1892 it was generally thought the first man to apply a driving gear to two wheels was a Lesmahagow cooper named Gavin Dalzell. In that year the secretary of the Glasgow Cycling Club was working on a paper on the history of the bicycle. He received a letter from the son of the Lesmahagow cooper which stated, "As the result of the enquiries you have made into the question of the earliest inventor of the bicycle or geared dandy horse, I have no hesitation in frankly admitting that you have proved that Kirkpatrick McMillan constructed his one before my father constructed his."

By this time, however, Kirkpatrick McMillan had been dead for 14 years. He died at the age of 65 in the little parish where he had lived all his life. Although he died unknown to the world at large, Kirkpatrick McMillan was a well-known person in his own parish. He was very much a "lad o' pains." In addition to being a skilled blacksmith, he also doubled up as a vet, he could play the harmonium and was wellknown at parties for his grand whistling and fiddling." He also pulled teeth at a time when dentists were not seen in country areas. He obviously took great pride in his dental work for he kept every tooth he ever pulled in ajar together with the details of their ex owners and the dates of the extraction. In addition, Kirkpatrick had a good sense of humour, read widely and had a very retentive memory.

Being six feet tall and very athletic, he was also quite popular with the local girls when he was younger. His method of courting was rather unique, but apparently effective. One day when he was working in one of the "big houses; " he went into the kitchen and announced to the half-dozen maidservants who were sitting there, "Is there ony yin here that'll mak a guid wife tae me." Young Elspeth Goldie blushed and said, "I will." They were married a few months later. Of their six children, only two were to survive to adulthood and Elspeth herself was to die in 1865 at the age of 32. Kirkpatrick was to remain a widower for the rest of his life.

Like all lives, his was a mixture of tragedy and fleeting happiness, of passing contentment and sometimes frustration. But the life of Kirkpatrick McMillan is lit up for us by the extraordinary mixture of inventive genius and personal modesty. A more worldly and sophisticated person would have cashed in on his invention and made himself a household name throughout the world. I suspect, however, that he would have been well-pleased with the words of the Lord-Lieutenant of Dumfries when he unveiled a memorial to Kirkpatrick McMillan at Courthill: "Among the hundreds of cyclists around me today, all of them will agree that the bicycle has made the world a happier place to live in."

FROM THE MEMBERS AND EDITOR, George M. Kirkpatrick

EDITOR QUALIFICATIONS -- The editor should be comfortable working with the various spellings of the family name: Gil/Kil/Kill/Kirkpatrick and shortened versions such as Kirk or Patrick. It is necessary to recognize that "family tradition" is important to many researchers but at the same time to work to replace tradition with documented data and to avoid jumping gaps with "tradition". A familiarity with E-mail & computers is certainly essential.

'99 MEMBERSHIP -- The '99 membership is down from last year with 135 paid members as of December '99. The decrease in membership is to be expected with the increased impact of E-mail and the delay in our publications while we look for a replacement editor. We hope the present "core" group will continue to support the Association and that we can have some publications.

CONTRIBUTIONS -- Several, additional '99 renewals have included contributions. These contributions will be used to publish vol. X (on a delayed schedule). The additional '99 donors contributing $5 and greater (beyond the $10 dues) are (in random order, more or less as received):

Doris C. Hansen, TX
Joy Wilson Dunaway, TX
James M. Kilpatrick, TX
Ronald D. Kirkpatrick, FL
Marcia Stevens, CA
Wendy Zander, CA
Howard Grantham, TX
Melvin E. Kirkpatrick, MN
Vernon Kirkpatrick, MD
Barry V. Kirkpatrick, VA
Alice Vail, NJ
M. Louise Stabler, IN
Keith Witt, PA
Kenneth Kirkpatrick, IN
Eleanor L. Surdam, VA
Beulah Scheiman, IN
Shirley Reed, CA
Allen L. Newman, TX
Richard A. Kirkpatrick, IL
Eliza J. Kammer, IL
Thomas H. Harp, OK
Ann O'Hara, PA
Robert J. Zimmerman, WI
Michael K. Hendrix, TX

DUES FOR YEARS BEYOND '99 - We are not requesting dues for years beyond the present, '99. The order form for past volumes and for contributions is included at the end of this newsletter. Contributions will be used to provide additional pages in volume X and/or for future volumes if an editor (& staff !) are found.

REPRINT -- The article, The Devil on Wheels -- The Story of Kirkpatrick McMillan -- is reprinted here with permission of the Editor of THE HIGHLANDER magazine. The article is from the May/June 1999 issue.

Probably a majority of KA members have checked out the Kirkpatrick Website. This attractive site is designed and managed by Dan Kirkpatrick, also of North Syracuse NY, and the site can be reached at the following web address:
www.oocities.org/Heartland/6540

A black & white copy of the menu from the first, colored page follows:

History Note: Prior to 1752, the first day of the new year was not January 1 - but March 25. So, when you are researching and have a date of 7 February 1714 - this would actually be 7 February 1715. All dates from January 1 through March 24 would be in the old year. You can write the dates as 7 February 1714/15. This is the way you will find it entered on most books, except on early court records, the original records. from Family Tree

E-MAIL EXCHANGES -- E-mail is particularly useful in tracking down Allied Families - - some experiences by members in the use of E-mail follows:

PA-15 EXTENSION -- In the last KNL, v.IX, the will for Edward KILPATRICK appears on pages 128-129. This will was forwarded to The KNL by E-MAIL by Earl Colley of North Syracuse NY. While researching his own family line Earl encountered this will in Lancaster Co PA will book E as reproduced on LDS film #0021356. An abstract of the will follows:

EDWARD KILPATRICK of Caernarvan Twp, Lancaster Co PA placed his mark on his will on 02 Oct 1784. Will mentions wife, Martha, four sons and three daughters, that is, William, James, Francis, Robert, Jane, Elizabeth & Martha. Younger children are under 14 and 3 eldest sons to be set to Trades (older than 14 but less than 21 ?). Wife, Martha, to be executrix and trusty friend, James Evans, and son-in-law, James Gastin, to be executors. Witnesses John Huston, John Tell & Joshua Evans. Will proved 18 Oct 1784.

The editor requested assistance (cooperation !) in identifying a PA connection for this Edward. However, no communications were received so I have scanned the 29 PA families in former KNL issues. The best match appears to be the code PA-15 family headed by Edward Kirkpatrick (1799-1858) and m Ann Herron, 1829. Edward was the son of Francis and Ann (Hudson) Kil/Kirkpatrick and it is believed he moved from Lancaster Co PA to Dry Run, Franklin Co PA.

The will lists a Francis Kilpatrick and he could be of the right age to have Edward K. (1799-1858) as a son. The naming of the son, as Edward, is consistent with a son named for the grandfather (Edward). A review of the book, "American Descendants of John "Jean" Gaston," by Max Perry, p 98, shows a James Gaston (Gastin ?) as born 15 April 1747 in Lancaster Co PA (and wife not shown). While another early item (or two) would be reassuring, it appears that this PA-15 family is extended back another generation.

Our thanks to Earl Colley for keeping the KNL in mind when he encountered an early Kirkpatrick will and for forwarding the will by E-mail. Earl's E-mail address is: INTERNET:earl Colley@juno.com 

PA-8 JOHN IDENTIFIED -- by Heni Kirkpatrick, 26 July 1999 On E-mail today was a long message about the SAMPLE/SEMPLE family. There are two marriages from, "Jefferson Co TN Marriages, Dec 1792-Aug 1840," as follows:

Hugh Kilpatrick married Ruth SAMPLE, Feb. 27, 1793 &
JOHN KIRK (no PATRICK) married Nancy SAMPLES, Aug. 30, 1796

It is likely that Agnes=Nancy and that Agnes is the wife of JOHN KIRK. (We found earlier that Agnes=Nancy in a Johnson family in Ross Co OH. Census and/or land records are not available at this time for the JOHN KIRK family.) The mention of RUTH (KIRKPATRICK ?) NORWOOD in the will recognizes that Hugh Kirkpatrick (1763-1810) died before 1824 and that his wife remarried to a Norwood. Hugh's son, JOHN KIRKP., was born ca 1794 and d ca 1846 with will. Heni's E-mail address is INTERNET:hhkirkpat@juno.com
 

IS PA-8 IN THE PA-14 FAMILY-? -- by Heni Kirkpatrick, 11 May 1999 -- I am excited about a POSSIBLE link between Hugh Kirkpatrick Sr. of code PA-14 and the PA-8 family of John & Jean/Jane (Wilkins), Kirkpatrick. A CLINGAN research group seem to think that they have data that shows a connection and have promised to send data.
Paul Arnot's work on his PA-8 line showed that John and Jean (Wilkins) Kirkpatrick were married between 1761 and 1763 (KNL, v. III, pp 10-13). They moved to VA & NC, where John served in the Revolutionary War before moving to TN. Their son Hugh Kirkpatrick Jr. is thought to be the one in Greene Co. TN, on Bowman's branch, a fork of Lost Creek in Clingan's improvement. Hugh had a grant of 100 acres, from the government, adjacent to Clingan. This Clingan is thought to be Edward, son of George & Margaret (Kirkpatrick) Clingan/Clinging of York Co PA.
The John & Jean/Jane Kirkpatrick who sold the Hugh Kirkpatrick Sr homestead in Chester Co PA in 1769 (deed) disappeared from the tax list of Chester Co PA. The Clingan allied family of Margaret (Kirkpatrick) Clingan (named in Hugh Kirkpatrick's (Sr) will, as determined by Clingan researchers is as follows: George Clingan, b ca 1720, d 1777/78 in Hamilton Bann, York Co PA (birth calculated from approximate data for oldest child). Will names wife Margret (Kirkpatrick) and rescinds any former wills. This could hint at a former will or just be legal jargon. Will is dated 20 March 1777, recorded in will book D, pp 112-115 on 29 April 1778. Clingan sons: Edward, Thomas & David; daughters: Mary, Margret, Hannah, Eliz. & Catherine; grandson George Wilson, s/o Mary and Samuel Wilson. Adm: son Thomas; guardians: brothers, Wm, Thomas & Michael Findley, Jr. Heni's E-mail address is INTERNET: hhkirkpat@juno.com

JAMES K of CHESTER CO PA -- from Karl Parrish by E-mail relay by Heni Kirkpatrick, 25 Sept 1997. "The Forks of the Brandywine" Presbyterian Church .... about 45 miles northeast of the Nottingham Presbyterian Ch (has) in its yard, the grave of JAMES KIRKPATRICK .. born in Ireland, died 21 April 1811 at age 59, and from the arrangement of the stones his wife is with him, but her stone is gone ... Karl reports that it is a great old plot of graves from the Colonial Period. We hope to get church records.

WILLIAM KIRKPATRICK of SPAIN - from Charles M. Kirkpatrick of West Lafayette IN, 06 July 1998. "Mac lure's first visit to Spain lasted four months. During the trip he met other people in the country besides innkeepers, friars and gypsies. In his travels Maclure always tried to make contact with the institutions of culture and the important men associated with those institutions.
".... Mac lure then visited the cotton plantation of WILLIAM KIRKPATRICK at Churriana and the sugar cane plantation of Henry Grevignee near Malaga. At the time KIRKPATRICK was the American Consul in Malaga and was married to a daughter of Grevignee, who already had a partly Spanish name, Francisca Grevignee y Gallegos. KIRKPATRICK, who was related to Eugenia de Montijo, the future empress of France, was a man of great initiative.

With Grevignee and a third partner he founded in 1810 a textile factory in Malaga at the beginning of-the Industrial Revolution in Spain. But in 1811 Malaga was occupied by the French, and KIRKPATRICK made the error of being their partisan. This marked the end of his enterprise, but he was still in Granada in 1821, dedicated to the mining industry." from pages 100-101 of an article;"The Spain William Maclure Knew," which appeared in Indiana Magazine of History June 1998. Also see KNL volumes III, pages 49-52, & V, pages 23-24.
History Note re Mac lure ---Why an article about Spain and Maclure in an Indiana magazine ? Maclure assisted Owen in the beginning of the New Harmony community in southern Indiana in 1824 and developed an Industrial School and Library. Genealogists should be interested to learn that Maclure can claim to be the first founder of free libraries. Through his school and library there followed the growth of 144 public libraries in Indiana. Many educators, architects, and tourists visit the village of New Harmony IN each year.

SUE GARDINER SHREVE has forwarded her impressions of E-MAIL --
As for use of e-mail in doing genealogical research. I have found it to be most successful and have met cousins I never knew I had. This had been very exciting for me as I was an only child born in NY of IL born parents. I was the only grandchild on both my paternal & maternal lines. I do not even have a first cousin. So finding these relatives has really been an exciting venture for me. This has all been accomplished by using the computer & Internet e-mail. One should really start by visiting web sites like CYNDI'S LIST < www.cyndlislist.com>, ROOTSWEB <www.rootsweb.com>, U.S.GENWEB PROJECT <www.usgenweb.org>, ANCESTRY.COM <www.ancestry.com> & BRODERBUND <www.genealogy.com>.
If one decides to join one of these genealogy lists, which are free, just wait a few days & read the postings so that you will know the correct way to post your own queries. There are how-to articles on these sites for new genealogy researchers. Before long you will become a real detective and ones family tree will finally have some branches growing on it. One warning -there is a lot of information floating around on these Internet genealogy lists & it is YOUR responsibility to DOCUMENT any information you read or is sent to you on your family. Just because it is on the web DOES NOT make it true. Sue's Email address is INTERNET: Sue12632@aol.com

A FEW VALUED WORDS FROM MEL KIRKPATRICK -- Mel has edited and authored two excellent volumes of Kirkpatrick family history (on the SC-2 line). The first volume in 1985, with 230 pages plus index, and the second volume jointly with
David Hudson in 1995, 515 pages, including index. -- GMK -
George:             May 12, 1999

You continue to impress this old white-headed guy out in the 'tundra. You8ve done an impressive job year after year after year after year. A great service to the Kirkpatrick families. I personally thank you.  And thank you, too, for those little bits of information that you send along -- or the occasional query. 'Tis a fine job you're doing and I think it assures you of a place in heaven. (Do you think they have PCs up there?  I'm still operating on a manual typewriter I am so obsolete.)

Enclosed renewal from old a member with a little extra.

Mel Kirkpatrick
(address omitted on web version)

EDITOR, CONTRIBUTIONS, QUERY & BACK ISSUES

KIRKPATRICK / ABINGTON -- I am searching for links to my gg-gm, Susan G. KIRKPATRICK, b 20 Oct. 1828 in Missouri, d 27 Feb. 1909, buried at Windsor M0. Married 22 Oct. 1845 at St Charles MO to William A. Abington. Their daughter, Eliza K. Abington, b 08 Mar. 1864, St Charles MO (?), d 31 Mar. 1919, Wright Co M0, m James Robert "J.R." Gass, she is my g-gm. Other Abington children are believed to be: William, b 1845; James H., b 30SE1851, d 01JY1933; Joseph F., b 31JY1856, d 26JY1900; Luther, b abt 1858; Eliza K., b 08MR1864; Lida T., b 14AU1866, d 12N01933; & Tibitha, b abt 1889. Contact: John Achelpohl, 130 26th St SW, Minot ND 58701 or johnach@minot.ndak.net

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[THE KNL NEWS Winter 1999-2000]

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