Representative David Kilgore

David Kilgore (April 3, 1804 – January 22, 1879) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician who served two terms as a U.S. Representative from Indiana from 1857 to 1861. Born in Harrison County, Kentucky, he moved with his father to Franklin County, Indiana, in 1819, during a period of rapid settlement and development in the Old Northwest. He attended the common schools of the area, receiving a basic formal education typical of the frontier, and soon turned his attention to the study of law.

By 1830 Kilgore had been admitted to the bar, and he commenced the practice of law in Yorktown, Indiana. His legal work quickly brought him into public life, and he established himself as a prominent attorney in the region. His growing reputation as a lawyer and community leader laid the foundation for a long career in state and national politics, as well as in the judiciary.

Kilgore first entered public office as a member of the Indiana House of Representatives, where he served multiple, nonconsecutive terms. He was a member of the State House in 1833–1836, again in 1838 and 1839, and later in 1855. Over these years he participated in shaping Indiana’s early legislative framework as the state continued to grow in population and economic importance. In 1855 he was chosen speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives, reflecting the confidence of his colleagues in his leadership and parliamentary skills.

In addition to his legislative service, Kilgore held significant judicial responsibilities. He served as president judge of the Yorktown circuit from 1839 to 1846, presiding over a broad range of civil and criminal matters at a time when the state’s legal institutions were still developing. His experience on the bench reinforced his standing as a jurist and contributed to his influence in Indiana’s legal and political circles. He further contributed to the state’s institutional development as a delegate to the Indiana constitutional convention in 1850, helping to frame and revise the state’s fundamental law.

Kilgore’s prominence in state affairs led to his election to the United States House of Representatives. As a member of the Republican Party representing Indiana, he was elected as a Republican to the Thirty-fifth and Thirty-sixth Congresses, serving from March 4, 1857, to March 3, 1861. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, marked by intensifying sectional conflict over slavery and the approach of the Civil War. During his two terms in office he contributed to the legislative process, participating in the democratic governance of the nation and representing the interests of his Indiana constituents in debates that helped define the era.

After leaving Congress at the close of his second term in 1861, Kilgore remained engaged in national political affairs. He served as a delegate to the Union National Convention, which met in Philadelphia on August 14, 1866, a gathering that sought to rally support for the Union cause and for Reconstruction policies following the Civil War. His participation in this convention underscored his continued commitment to the preservation of the Union and to the political realignments of the Reconstruction period.

In his later years, Kilgore continued to reside near Yorktown, Indiana, where he had long been a central figure in the community. His public stature was such that he was selected as one of the pallbearers for President Abraham Lincoln’s funeral procession in Indianapolis in 1865, a ceremonial role that reflected both his political standing and his identification with the Union cause. He died near Yorktown on January 22, 1879, and was interred in Mount Pleasant Cemetery there. His legacy extended into subsequent generations; he was the great-grandfather of Bernard “Barney” Kilgore, the influential editor and publisher of The Wall Street Journal, linking his nineteenth-century public service to a later era of American journalism and public discourse.