Page 343-345

A spirit of enterprise and progress actuates Louis M. Kilburn in all that he does. He has worked diligently and persistently to develop and improve his farm, which is today a good property of seven hundred and fifty-four acres on sections 10 and 11, Cream Ridge township. He has lived in this part of Missouri since his birth and has become widely and favorably known, making for himself an enviable place in the regard of his fellow citizens.

Louis M. Kilburn was born upon his father's farm in Grundy county, April 5, 1861, and is a son of Henry and Mary (Crawford) Kilburn, pioneers in that section. The father made his home there at an early date, coming from Kentucky, and for a number of years was identified with agricultural interests. He was a successful, able and enterprising man and in the course of his honorable and upright life gained high regard and a wide circle of friends. He died in September, 1892, at the age of seventy-three years, having survived his wife since 1864. Both are buried in the Stucker graveyard, Grundy county. The family is of old German origin, but its representatives have been in America for centuries.

Louis M. Kilburn acquired his education at the Prairie Valley schoolhouse, attending during the winter months and in the summers assisting his father. After he had attained his majority he began his independent agricultural career upon a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, which was presented to him by his father. This he has added to from time to time as his financial resources justified and now owns seven hundred and fifty-four acres, one of the finest farms in this part of the state. Upon it Mr. Kilburn has built a modern residence and fine barns, which he has equipped with scales and feeders. He has also built the necessary sheds and has fenced his entire place, making it a model farming property. The latest improved machinery is used to facilitate the work of the fields and everything about the place is kept in excellent condition. Mr. Kilburn raises and feeds stock on an extensive scale, this branch of his interests forming an important addition to his income. He is a director in the Exchange Bank of Chula and this and all of his other business affairs are capably conducted, so that he has now reached a position of affluence, being numbered among the substantial citizens of the community.

Mr. Kilburn has been twice married. His first union occurred on the 13th of March, 1883, when he wedded Miss Susan Tidrich , a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Albert Tidrich, the former one of the early settlers in Grundy county. Mrs. Kilburn passed away in November, 1904, and is buried in the Stucker graveyard. She left to mourn her loss five children: Albert, who is a real-estate dealer in Kansas City, Missouri; Charles, a farmer of Livingston county; Grace, the wife of Brock Smith, who is also engaged in farming in this county; Naomi, the wife of E. Taylor, a farmer in the same township; and Mont, who is attending school. Mr. Kilburn's second marriage occurred on December 3, 1908, on which date he wedded Miss Myrtle Grimes, a daughter of John and Rachel Grimes, of Livingston county. Mr. Kilburn gives his allegiance to the democratic party and fraternally is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America.

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