Dictionary of Louisiana Biography – K

Dictionary K

KAHN, Arthur Lee (pen name, Lee Arthur), Broadway and early motion-picture playwright. Born, Shreveport, La., July 14, 1870; son of Aaron Kahn, Shreveport merchant. Education: Thatcher Academy, Shreveport; Tulane University, LL. B., 1891. While still at Tulane, wrote first play, Double Wedding (1890) and continued writing, 1891-1893, while practicing law in Shreveport. In 1893 left law practice for a year to travel with a theatre road company, the Clay Clements Company. Returned briefly to law practice in Shreveport, then moved to New York to start a lifelong career as Lee Arthur, in playwriting. In 1896, his play, While the Cat’s Away, was produced by director Henry W. Savage at the Bayou Theatre on Broadway. For twenty years, Arthur’s plays were produced on Broadway and in theatres across the country. Among the best known are Pvt. John Allen, which opened in Washington, D. C., in 1898; We-Uns of Tennessee, which opened at the American Theatre, New York, 1899; and his most popular play, The Auctioneer, which opened in 1913 at the Belasco Theatre, New York, and was still playing on Broadway into the 1920s. Started work as a film writer, 1910, working first with the Keystone Company and later with the Balboa Company, writing first slapstick skits then moving to melodramas and situation comedies. Sustained serious injuries in an automobile accident, 1917, and while recovering contracted pneumonia from which he died in Los Angeles, December 9, 1917; interred Shreveport. P.T.N. Sources: Shreveport Journal, December 17, 1917; Paul T. Nolan, ed., The One Act Plays of Lee Arthur (1962).

KAHN, Mervine, merchant. Established Mervine Kahn Company, a general merchandise store, in Rayne, La., March 1, 1884. Married, Camille Schmulen, in Franklin, La., October 29, 1884. Children: Herbert, Leo E., Julian, Florence, Hilda, Sadie. Career: operated a store on Skelly Plantation, Glencoe, La., before arriving in Rayne. Served as city alderman in 1887; organized and was president of the Rayne State Bank, 1894; stockholder of the First National Bank of Crowley, 1918; vice president of Rayne Rice Mill Corporation. Member: Crowley Pythians Lodge #85. Died, March 6, 1924; interred Jewish Cemetery, Lafayette, La. J.B.C. Sources: Crowley Signal, March 8, 1924; Mary Alice Fontenot, Acadia Parish: A History to 1920, 2 vols. (1976, 1979); Donald Hebert, Southwest Louisiana Records, 33 vols. (1974-1984).

KANE, Harnett Thomas, author. Born, New Orleans, November 8, 1910; son of William J. Kane and Anna Hirt Kane. He was interested in journalism early in life, and became associate editor of Warren Easton Boys’ High School newspaper, Old Gold and Purple. Subsequently earned a scholarship to Tulane University, where he edited Hullaballo and the Tulane Handbook. Also while at Tulane, he worked for the New Orleans Item rewrite desk, and eventually won the Dorothy Dix Human Interest Prize for 1930; graduated from Tulane in 1931. During the next several years, Kane became a full-time writer and reporter, covering various aspects of Governor Huey P. Long’s administration—an experience which prompted him to write his first book, Louisiana Hayride: The American Rehearsal for Dictatorship, 1928-1940 (1941). Kane also wrote several other books regarding Louisiana, including The Bayous of Louisiana (1943), Deep Delta Country (1944), Plantation Parade (1945), New Orleans Woman (1946), and Queen New Orleans (1949). He published his final book, Young Mark Twain and the Mississippi, in 1966. Died, September 3, 1984. N.P.W. Sources: Lafayette Daily Advertiser, September 6, 1984; Earle F. Walbridge, “Harnett T. Kane,” USL Vertical File.

KANE, Richard, clergyman, journalist. Born, Limerick, Ireland, January 15, 1832. Emigrated to the United States, 1851, resided in Emmitsburg, Md. Educated for the priesthood at New Orleans Diocesan Seminary, St. Vincent de Paul, in Plattenville. Ordained January 6, 1855, in New Orleans. Appointments: 1855-1858, New Orleans where he served as personal secretary of Archbishop Antoine Blanc (q.v.), as secretary for the Fourth Diocesan Synod, January 1858, and secretary of the board of consultors established by that Synod; 1858-1866, assistant priest at St. Patrick’s, New Orleans; 1866-1867, chaplain at the Christian Brothers’ School, New Orleans; 1867-1869, pastor of St. Anthony’s in Franklin, La.; 1869-1873, archbishopric. A gifted writer and talented journalist, contributed serious stories to the antebellum Catholic Standard and served as first editor of The Morning Star, founded by Archbishop Jean-Marie Odin (q.v.) in 1868. Became a close friend of poet-missionary to Choctaw, Father Adrien-Emmanuel Rouquette (q.v.). Both strongly pro-Union and violently anti-secessionist. Kane’s article signed “Rambler” published in the Standard, March 7, 1858, sharply criticized the contrary positions of the editor of Le Propagateur Catholique, Abbé Napoléon Perche (q.v.). Squabble resolved by transfer of Kane to St. Patrick’s. Died, New Orleans, August 28, 1873. E.F.N. Sources: Archives of the Archdiocese of New Orleans; Catholic Directories, 1856-1873; Dagmar Renshaw Lebreton, Chah-ta-Ima: The Life of Adrien-Emmanuel Rouquette (1947).

KAPLAN, Abrom, pioneer of Southwest Louisiana rice industry. Born, Most, Poland, September 1, 1872. Im­mi­grated to the United States in 1885 and worked in cigar and furniture factories; became a peddlar and removed to Louisiana in 1886 and to Acadia Parish in 1888. Married twice; one child by first marriage, Irving B. Opened a mercantile business and invested in real estate; reclaimed thousands of acres of land by huge drainage systems; helped establish rice-irrigation systems and opened rice mills in Crowley, Estherwood, Gueydan, Abbeville, and Donaldsonville, La.; acquired a large rice mill in Dewitt, Ark.; became head of rice milling and irrigation interests and of a bank. Became interested in building his own town in late 1890s and by 1902 Kaplan in Vermilion Parish was founded; assisted in the establishment of churches of all denominations; the Abrom Kaplan Memorial Hospital in Kaplan was built on land donated by his nephew. Died, Crowley, La., March 30, 1944; interred Lafayette, La. J.B.C. Sources: The Story of Louisiana (1960); Crowley Acadian-Signal, obituary, April 6, 1944; Attakapas Gazette, XIV (1979).

KAPLAN, Benjamin, academic. Born, Rechicha, Minsk, Russia, May 10, 1906; son of Joseph and Pesha (Greenman) Kaplan. Education: Tulane University, B.A., 1928, M.A., 1929; New York School of Social Work; New York University; Colorado University; Louisiana State University, Ph. D., 1952. Married Yetive Tartar, May 14, 1933. One child: Barbara Kathleen (b. 1947). Supervisor and parish director, Louisiana Department of Public Welfare, 1931-1940. Faculty, University of Southwestern Louisiana, 1940-1972, professor of Sociology, 1954; and Frank A. Godchaux Honor Professorship, 1966-1972. World War II, deputy director of personnel, Southeastern Area, American Red Cross, 1942-1945. Chairman, Lafayette Parish American Red Cross, 1946-1947. Louisiana delegate to White House Conference on Children and Youth, 1960. Participant, White House Conference on Aging, 1961 and 1971. Member of executive committee, Evangeline Area Council, Boy Scouts of America and Bayou Girl Scouts. Fellow of the American Sociological Association, American Association of University Professors. Theta XI, Phi Epsilon Pi, Kappa Delta Pi; Phi Kappa Phi. Listed in Who’s Who in World Jewrey; Who’s Who in America; Who Was Who in America. Rotarian and B’nai Brith. Author: The Eternal Stranger: A Study of the Small Jewish Community; “Jews and Social Equality”; The Jew and His Family; “The Land in Between”. Marriage counselor, and lecturer. Died, Lafayette, La., July 15, 1972; buried Lafayette Jewish Cemetery. Y.K. Source: Author’s research.

KAPLAN, Conrad M., journalist, editor, publisher. Descendant of the founding family of Kaplan, La. Born, Kaplan, October 7, 1930; son of Jack Kaplan and Libby Blum Kaplan. Married Susan Faulk, June 17, 1971; one daughter, Valerie. Attended local schools, graduated from Kaplan High School, 1947; B. S. in Economics, Louisiana State University, 1953. Served in the United States Army at Fort Sill, Okla., and in West Germany. After leaving the army, Kaplan worked in the family businesses—the Liberty Rice Mill and the Pelican Oil Company—and began a successful career as a sportswriter for various newspapers and sports broadcaster for radio stations in Abbeville and Crowley. Served as editor and publisher of the Kaplan Herald, 1965-1992. Closely involved in youth-oriented sports, Kaplan coached American Legion baseball for eleven years and officiated at high school basketball games for thirty-one years. Professional interests other than his newspaper included co-ownership of the Riceland Insurance Agency in Kaplan. He had an intense interest in education and was a member of the Vermilion Parish School Board, the Rehab Institute Board of Directors, and the Gulf Area Vocational/Technical School Advisory Board, Kaplan. Was state treasurer of the L.S.U. alumni association. He was a member of the Kaplan Chamber of Commerce and the Kaplan rotary club, of which organization he served as president in 1977 and governor of District 620 in 1990-1991. Kaplan was an active member of the Abby Players, a community theater group in Abbeville. Also a member of the Louisiana Sportswriters Association (LSWA), which honored him posthumously with the Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism on July 11, 1992, at the induction banquet of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in Natchitoches, La. Died, January 27, 1992; interred, Hebrew Rest Cemetery, Kaplan, La. B.S.C. Sources: Kaplan Herald, February 5, 12, 1992; telephone interview, Susan Faulk Kaplan, August 19, 1997.

KAUFMAN, Elias Raas, attorney, civic leader. Born, Lake Charles, La., October 16, 1889; son of Leopold Kaufman (q.v.) and Pauline Raas. Education: local schools; Bowen Preparatory School, Nashville, Tenn., Vanderbilt University, B. A. degree, 1909, Phi Beta Kappa; Columbia University, M. A. degree, 1911; Columbia University, LL. B. degree, 1912. Married, March 18, 1913, Rosalind B. Fish, of Nashville, Tenn., daughter of Alexander Fish and Augusta Weill. Two children: Sara (b. 1914), Louise (b. 1919). Democrat. Member, board of commisisoners, Lake Charles Harbor and Terminal District; president, Sabine Canal Co.; president, Lake Charles Association of Commerce; president, then chairman, board of directors, First National Bank of Lake Charles; director and attorney for Calcasieu Savings and Loan Association; Lake Charles Library Board, president, 1945; president, Southwest Louisiana Hospital Association; member, Louisiana Survey to Study Public Schools and Colleges in Louisiana, except Louisiana State University; charter member, Lake Charles Port Authority; member and president, Lake Charles Airport Authority; first president, Southwest Louisiana Historical Society; president, Kiwanis Club; member, Pioneer Club; member, Lake Charles Golf and Country Club; commander, Civilian Defense Corps of Lake Charles during World War II. Member: Jewish Temple Sinai; Thirty-third Degree Mason and past master of Lake Charles Lodge No. 165; member, local organization of B’nai Brith. Died, Lake Charles, July 24, 1967; interred Greenwood Cemetery. D.J.M. Sources: Ellis Arthur Davis, ed., The Historical Encyclopedia of Louisiana, 2 vols. (1941); Henry E. Chambers, A History of Louisiana (1925); Lake Charles American Press, obituary, July 25, 1967.

KAUFMAN, Leopold, merchant, banker, civic leader. Born, Gundershofen, Alsace, France, September 16, 1851. Teacher of French before the Franco-Prussian War. Immigrated to the United States, 1872. Went into business in Washington, La. In 1879, moved to Lake Charles and established a partnership with Dave Block in the mercantile business. Later established as L. Kaufman. Located at the corner of Ryan and Broad streets, it became the largest establishment in Southwest Louisiana. One of the founders of the First National Bank of Lake Charles in 1889, he served as vice-president to 1917, when he became president. Helped establish Temple Sinai, Jewish Synagogue, in 1904; known for his non-sectarian charities. Married Pauline Raas of New Orleans. Children: Mrs. A. M. (Bessie) Mayer, and Elias Raas Kaufman (q.v.). Kaufman Hall, McNeese State University campus named for the subject. Died, Lake Charles, March 29, 1937; interred Jewish section, Graceland Cemetery. D.J.M. Source: Lake Charles American Press, obituary, March 30, 1937.

KAVANAGH, Leslie J., clergyman, educator. Born Liverpool, England, September 25, 1866. After service in the British navy, studied at St. Joseph College, Louvain, Belgium; St. Francis Xavier College, Liverpool; the Marist College in Lyons, France; Davidsonville, Md.; Washington, D. C.; and at the Bouligny Seminary, New Orleans. Faculty member at Jefferson College, Convent, La., 1897-1901. Ordained to priesthood in St. Stephen’s Church, New Orleans, June 11, 1903. Served first as vicar at Sts. Peter and Paul and St. Michael parishes in New Orleans. Founding pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, 1905-1934. Appointed, 1906, first school superintendent simultaneously with creation of School Board of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Initial accomplishments included opening of a Catholic Teachers’ Institute, introducing uniform textbooks, and elementary grade examinations. Compiled with James M. McLaughlin of Boston the Crown Hymnal of liturgical music, 1911. Appointed, 1918, vicar of Catholic chaplains of the U. S.Army and Navy for the Gulf Coast vicariate, including Panama and Cuba, during World War I. Resigned as superintendent and named monsignor, 1919; received honorary doctorate of law from Duchesne University, 1926. Died, New Orleans, July 24, 1934; interred St. Vincent Cemetery, Soniat St. H.C.B. Sources: Henry C. Bezou, Lourdes on Napoleon Avenue (1980); Charles E. Nolan, Mother Clare Coady: Her Life, Her Times and Her Sisters (1983).

KAVANAUGH, George Singleton, pioneer. Arrived in Spanish West Florida with father James, brother James W. D., and sister Mary prior to 1806. Obtained Spanish land grant and began planting and blacksmithing. Participant in West Florida Rebellion, 1810; appointed first sheriff, parish of Feliciana, 1811. Married Martha Routh, March 27, 1811. Died, August 1812. E.K.D. Sources: Orleans Territorial Papers; West Feliciana Parish Records; Stanley Clisby Arthur, The Story of the West Florida Rebellion (1935).

KEATING, Vernon Earl, educator, politician. Born, New Orleans, February 11, 1919; son of Chester L. Keating, Jr., and Bertha Kinler. Education: local schools, Louisiana State University, B. S., M. E.; McNeese Sate University, plus 30; graduate studies, Tulane University, University of Washington. World War II service: U. S. Navy, 1942-1945. Married, January 28, 1946, Kathleen Wells, of New Orleans, La., daughter of William C. Wells, marine engineer, and Katherine Enright. Children: V. E. Patrick (b. 1948), Thomas W. (b. 1955). Active in Democratic party; member Calcasieu Parish School Board, 1978-1985, president, 1981. Classroom teacher, coach, principal Iowa High School, 1946-1965; dean of men, McNeese State University, 1965-1970; principal, T. S. Cooley, 1970-1971; principal Pearl Watson Jr. High, 1971-1973; principal-administrator, St. Louis High School, 1973-1981; deputy superintendent, Diocese of Lake Charles, 1980-1983. Member: Catholic church; decorated, Order of St. Charles, Diocese of Lake Charles, 1981; Calcasieu-Cameron Easter Seal Society, president, 1964-1965, 1967-1970; past vice-president Louisiana Easter Seal Society; Calcasieu Parish Principals Association, 1946-1965, 1970-1973, president, 1960; Lake Charles Kiwanis Club, 1965-1973, president, 1969-1970; past lieutenant governor, Kiwanis District; Kiwanian of Year, 1969-1970, 1971-1972; president, Board of Regents, Boys Village of Louisiana, 1958-1965; National Education Association; Louisiana Association of Educators; Calcasieu Association of Educators; life member PTA; Phi Kappa Delta; Honorary colonel, staff of Gov. Dave Treen, 1980-1984. Died, Lake Charles, September 25, 1985; interred Lake Charles Consolata Catholic Cemetery. G.S.P. Sources: Lake Charles American Press, January 24, 1969; June 15, 1969; January 7, 1981; February 11, 1981; April 19, 1981; August 7, 1984; obituary, September 26, 1985; Beaumont Enterprise, October 25, 1966; Keating family papers.

KEENY, John Ephraim, pioneer educator. Born, Carlisle, Pa., December 24, 1860; son of J. G. Keeny and Lydia Sollenbarger. Education: Boiling Springs, Pa.; Shippensburg State Normal; The Bretheren’s Normal College for Teacher Training (Juniata College), Huntingdon, Pa.; Ada Ohio Business College (Ohio Northern University); studied music. Married, 1885, Prudence Keedy of Maryland. Children: Pearl (b. 1887) and Roy (b. 1889). Operated a mercantile store, Newton, Kan., 1886; salesman, school supplies, Illinois. Served as principal of schools in Monroe, Lake Charles, and New Iberia, 1889-1900. Conducted teacher institutes for improvement of in-service teachers. A consistent promoter of the Chatauqua. Joined faculty of State Normal School (now Northwestern State University), Natchitoches, 1900. Appointed State Institute Conductor, 1904, and promoted improvement of teachers’ qualifications. In 1907 became president of Louisiana Industrial Institute; improved the standards of the school and widened its offerings. Remained president after school became Louisiana Polytechnic Institute (now Louisiana Tech University) in 1921. In 1926 became head of Baptist Hospital, Alexandria, La. Later suffered business reverses. Named president-emeritus of Louisiana Polytechnic Institute, 1938. Died, Pineville, La., October 1, 1939. Keeny Hall, Louisiana Tech University named in his honor. M.N.N. Source: Rodney Cline, Builders of Louisiana Education (1963).

KEEVER, William Raymond, businessman. Born, Coalrun, Washington County, Ohio, January 6, 1866; son of William S. Keever and Sarah Hall. Education: local schools; taught school one year; took examination for entry into West Point, standing first in group taking exams; no appointment. Contract oil drilling in states of Ohio and West Virginia. Married (1) Anna Snyder (d. 1902), daughter of John S. and Rebecca Snyder, 1891. Children: Helen (b. 1892), Paul (b. 1895), Donald (b. 1899), Margaret (b. 1901). Keever removed to Jennings, La., oil fields, 1898. Removed to Sulphur Mines, La., 1902. Sulphur drilling briefly. Removed to Sour Lake, Tex., oil fields until returned to Union Sulphur Co., 1905-1940, served as superintendent and vice-president. Married (2) Louise Eloide Verret, 1907, daughter of John R. Verret and Elodie Bodin. Children: Robert (b. 1908), Sarah (b. 1909), Emmett (b. 1911), Anna (b. 1912), Herman (b. 1914). Selective Service Committee, U. S. Government World War II; rice and cattle producer, 1928-1960. Died Sulphur, August 7, 1960; interred Mimosa Pines Garden of Memories. G.S.P. Source: Keever family papers.

KELLEY, Grady L., Jr., politician, sheriff. Born, July 6, 1922; son of Grady L., Kelley, Sr., sheriff of Rapides Parish, La., and Sabina Garcey. Married Dee DeVille; children: Patrick and Marion Satcher. Education: attended Southwestern Louisiana Institute (now the University of Southwestern Louisiana) and Louisiana State University; left L.S.U. during his senior year to join the Army Air Force. Military service: an airman aboard a bomber in the European theater; shot down over Germany; prisoner of war for eighteen months. Sheriff, Rapides Parish, 1949-1963, 1984-1991; removed from office following 1963 conviction for malfeasance; Kelley subsequently worked as a correctional officer at Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola) and in various positions with the Cenla Community Action Committee before beginning his political comeback in 1983. Served two terms as as president of the Louisiana Sheriffs Association, early 1950s. Died, St. Luke’s Medical Center, Houston, Tex., July 14, 1991. C.A.B. Source: Alexandria Daily Town Talk, July 15, 1991.

KELLOGG, William Pitt, governor, congressman. Born, Orwell, Vt., December 8, 1830; son of the Reverend Sherman Kellogg and Rebecca Eaton. Education: Norwich Military Institute in Vermont. Removed to Barton, Ill., 1846, where he taught school. Passed the bar examination in 1853 and practiced law in Canton, Ill. Became active in the Republican party from its inception in Illinois and served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1860 and then, after removing to Louisiana, was a delegate from 1868 to 1892, chairing the Louisiana delegation five times. Lincoln appointed Kellogg chief justice of the supreme court of the Nebraska Territory in the spring of 1861. By mid-summer, he was back in Illinois, having accepted the colonelcy of the Seventh Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Cavalry, and then served in Missouri under General Pope. In 1863, Gen. U. S. Grant commissioned Kellogg to carry dispatches from Vicksburg to Washington. Thus began the important association between these two men which would prove crucial to Kellogg’s hold on the governor’s chair. By war’s close he had risen to the rank of brigadier general. Lincoln’s last civil communication before his assassination was the appointment of Kellogg as collector of the port of New Orleans. He served at this post until the Radical Louisiana legislature elected him to the U. S. Senate when the state was readmitted to representation in 1868. He chaired the Committee on Levees of the Mississippi River. Elected governor in November, 1872, he resigned his seat in the Senate. Kellogg’s tenure as one-term governor of Louisiana from January 5, 1873, to January 5, 1877, was a period of intense political turmoil in the state and would be the last time Republicans held the governorship until David Treen took the post in 1980. The Republicans were divided both nationally and locally in 1872. Former Republican governor Henry Clay Warmoth (q.v.) supported the national Liberal Republican ticket, headed by Horace Greeley, against President Grant, and joined or “fused” his statewide followers with the Democrats or Conservatives, as they called themselves, to support John McEnery (q.v.) for governor. The other faction, called the Customhouse Ring, supported Kellogg and Grant. The election involved much fraud and intimidation of white and black voters. The state’s returning board, whose job was to canvass the voting returns to assure honesty, divided into two factions, formed two separate boards, and each reported that its candidate had won. So, in January, 1873, both McEnery and Kellogg were inaugurated as governor, and both legislatures took their seats. Although Grant recognized Kellogg as the official governor of the state, the McEnery government continued its claims and even resisted the Kellogg government in several ways to bring it down. One of the common forms of Conservative resistance was tax strikes. Organized throughout the state, the deliberate nonpayment of taxes hampered an already overextended government, which found itself supporting projects it had never supported before, such as a public school system. Another form of resistance was intimidation resulting in the resignation of Republican officials in several parishes. The most drastic type of resistance was violence, which manifested itself most notably in the Colfax riot (1873) and the Coushatta massacre (1874). It was the Battle of Liberty Place (September 14, 1874), however, that threatened to topple Kellogg’s administration. Democrats had organized the White League throughout the state and were determined to achieve power. On the day of the pitched battle along the riverfront at New Orleans, Kellogg was forced to leave the state house and take refuge in the customhouse. The following day, federal troops arrived and restored Kellogg to power. The episode demonstrated the obvious: Radical Republican rule could last only so long as it was protected by federal troops. Kellogg’s governorship was a rocky one, but he did manage to accomplish several reforms. More money was given to insane asylums and to Charity Hospital at New Orleans. Bribery became a crime. The legislature passed a civil rights act in 1873 that resembled the federal act which was to become law in 1875. Kellogg also funded the state debt, reduced the rate of taxation, and reduced state expenditures. Kellogg did not seek a second term but the legislature sent him to the U. S. Senate for a full term from March, 1877, to March, 1883. He was chairman of the Committee on Railroads. He declined to be a candidate for reelection but was sent to the House of Representatives for one term (1883-1885). He retired from political life in 1885 and made Washington, D. C., his home thereafter. Died August 10, 1918; interred, Arlington National Cemetery. M.L.L. Sources: Joe Gray Taylor, Louisiana Reconstructed, 1863-1877 (1974); John Edmond Gonzales, “William Pitt Kellogg, Reconstruction Governor of Louisiana, 1873-1877,” Louisiana Historical Quarterly, XIX (1946); U. S. Congress, Biographical Directory of the U. S. Congress, 1774-1949 (1950); New Orleans Times-Picayune, August 11, 1918.

KEMP, Bolivar Edwards, congressman. Born on the Kemp homestead near Amite, La., December 28, 1871; son of William Breed and Elizabeth Nesom Kemp. Education: private tutors; public schools; attended Louisiana State University; graduated from law department of Tulane University. Admitted to the bar in 1897; began practice of law in the family law firm; became senior member of the firm, 1900. Married Esther Edwards Conner in 1903. Children: Bolivar E., Jr., and Eleanor Ogden. Active in the development of agricultural and trucking industries and also interested in banking and education. Appointed member of board of supervisors of Louisiana State University by Gov. Luther Hall (q.v.), 1910. Episcopalian. Member, Boston Club and the Chess, Checkers, and Whist Club of New Orleans. Elected as a Democrat to Congress and served from March 4, 1925, until his death in Amite on June 19, 1933; interred Amite Cemetery. J.B.C. Sources: Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1971 (1971); Congressional Directory, 71st Congress, Washington, D. C., 1930; New Orleans Times-Picayune, obituary, June 20, 1933.

KEMP, Jonathan, pioneer. Born, North Carolina, ca. 1742. Served as captain in Burke’s Regiment, North Carolina militia. Served as member of the Georgia legislature, and later as justice of Burke County, Ga. Married (1) Sallie Womack. Children: Asa (b. ca. 1770); Isaac (b. ca. 1772); David (b. ca. 1774, first sheriff of St. Helena Parish); Jonathan, Jr. (b. ca. 1776); Thomas (b. ca. 1778); Rebecca (b. ca. 1780); Dempsey (b. 1782). Married (2) Elizabeth Cox, 1791. Children: Caleb (c. 1792); Charles, Diana; Elizabeth; Wilfred; Marthe; Sallie; Permelia; Hillery Jackson (b. 1812). Removed to St. Helena Parish, La., 1802, and was involved in the early settlement of the parish. Died, December 2, 1814; interred Kemp Family Cemetery, five miles south of Greensburg, near Tickfaw River. I.B.T. Sources: North Carolina Archives and History, Raleigh, N. C.; Succession Records, St. Helena Parish, 1804-1854; St. Helena Echo, October 20, 1976.

KEMPER, Reuben, early Feliciana leader. Born, Fauquier County, Va.; son of Baptist minister. Arrived Spanish Feliciana prior to 1800 when brother Nathan was agent for John Smith at mouth of Bayou Sara. Espoused brothers’ cause against Spanish authorities, when Spanish alcalde Alexander Stirling ruled against Nathan in lawsuit brought by Smith, 1804, in Kemper Rebellion. Selected by West Florida Convention as one of two commissioners to enlist support in East Florida, 1810. Brother Samuel participated in Mexican revolts against Spain, 1812; with Samuel and Nathan, member of Feliciana Dragoons, 1815; with brother Nathan cited for gallantry by Gen. Andrew Jackson (q.v.) at Battle of New Orleans, 1815. Represented West Florida claimants before U. S. Congress, 1813-1816; Kemper County, Miss. named in his honor. Died, Natchez, Miss., January 28, 1826. E.K.D. Sources: Stanley Clisby Arthur, The Story of the Kemper Brothers (1933); West Florida Papers, Library of Congress; Dictionary of American Biography.

KENDALL, George Wilkins, journalist, author, co-founder of the Daily Picayune. Born, Mount Vernon, vicinity of Amherst, N. H., August 22, 1809; son of Thaddeus and Abigail Wilkins Kendall. Few school advantages as a child; apprenticed at an early age to printing firm in Burlington, Vt., thereafter worked for Washington National Intelligencer and Washington Telegraph, New York Tribune and Mobile (Ala.) Register. At age 25, removed to New Orleans and worked in the office of John Gibson (q.v.). Became associated with another young journalist named Francis A. Lumsden (q.v.), whom he had known in Washington and New York. They formed a partnership and on January 25, 1837, issued a new newspaper—the Daily Picayune. Kendall was generally in charge of editorial matters and Lumsden the business aspects; newspaper proved successful. In 1841, Kendall took part in the Santa Fe expedition of Gen. Mirabeau Lamar, the president of Texas, which was designed to open business relations with that area. Expedition captured by the Mexicans and members imprisoned for approximately two years. After his release, Kendall returned to New Orleans and wrote two-volume work about his experiences—Narrative of the Texan Santa Fe Expedition. When Mexican War began, Kendall joined the staff of Gen. Zachary Taylor (q.v.) and was with the army during the Mexican campaigns. He captured a cavalry flag at Saltillo and was later wounded in knee at Chapultepec. While accompanying the U. S. Army, Kendall served as the principal war correspondent for the Picayune, sending back regular dispatches to New Orleans. A pony express and ship system was set up to deliver the dispatches and was so successful that Kendall’s correspondence usually arrived several days before government information arrived. Issues of the Picayune were exchanged with newspapers in many other cities, so Kendall’s (and other Picayune correspondents’) dispatches were widely copied throughout the United States; it was in this manner that most of the nation followed the events of the Mexican War. When war ended, Kendall began writing The War Between the United States and Mexico, Illustrated; book’s lavish color illustrations required that Kendall go to Paris because no suitable facilities were available in the United States. In Paris, he met and then married Mlle Adeline de Valcourt. Returning to America, Kendall purchased a large amount of land in a mountainous region northwest of San Antonio, Tex. Area became Kendall County. He became a successful sheep rancher and fathered four children: Caroline, Georgina, William Henry, and Henry Fletcher Kendall. He was still a proprietor of the Picayune and kept up a regular correspondence with that newspaper, most of which was published for all of New Orleans to read. Died, October 24, 1867, at his residence, Post Oak Spring Ranch; interred in a small cemetery near Boerne, Texas. K.H. Sources: Fayette Copeland, Kendall of the Picayune (1943); Thomas Ewing Dabney, One Hundred Great Years: The Story of the Times-Picayune From Its Founding to 1940 (1944); Georgina de Valcourt Kendall, A Short Biographical Sketch of the Kendall Family (1939); John S. Kendall, “George Wilkins Kendall and the Founding of the New Orleans ‘Picayune’,” Louisiana Historical Quarterly, XI (1928).

KENDALL, John Smith, journalist, historian. Born, Ocean Springs, Miss., April 9, 1874; son of John Irwin Kendall and Mary Elizabeth Smith. Family removed to New Orleans, 1876. Education: private schools; Tulane University, 1888-1891; Tulane University, Phi Beta Kappa graduate, 1917; master of arts degree, 1918. Married: Isoline Rodd, July 1, 1903. Two children. Career: member of New Orleans Times-Picayune staff, 1890-1914; served as war correspondent with Second Louisiana Volunteer Infantry in Spanish-American War, 1898-1899; literary and Sunday editor, 1903-1914; professor of Spanish, Tulane University, 1914-1939; senior associate editor, Louisiana Historical Quarterly, 1920-1934; published articles on leprosy resulting in establishment of state leprosarium at Carville, La.; authored articles on travel and literature and contributed prose and verse to principal magazines; wrote The Tourist’s Guide to New Orleans; The History of New Orleans (1922); and The Golden Age of the New Orleans Theatre, which received an award as outstanding contribution to Louisiana history for 1952. Member, Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Upsilon, Theta Nu fraternities. Literary representative, Rex Carnival Society, 1899-1939. Died, August 20, 1965; interred McLean, Va. J.B.C. Sources: Who Was Who in America (1973); New Orleans Times-Picayune, obituary, August 21, 1965.

KENDRICK, William, pioneer. Born, 1755. A veteran of the Revolutionary War and a prominent farmer in St. Helena Parish. Married Margaret Watts. Two children: William C. and John Watts Kendrick. At his death he left a large estate, involving most of the land in Greensburg, La. About two-thirds of the lots there. The lot on which the courthouse now stands was donated by Kendrick for parochial purposes, in 1830. Street near courthouse was named Kendrick until approximately 1973 when changed to Hamberlin Street. Died, February 25, 1838; interred Greensburg Cemetery. I.B.T. Source: Author’s research.

KENNEDY, Hugh, mayor of New Orleans, journalist, businessman. Born, Belfast, Ireland, July 1, 1810, of Scottish parents. Education: graduated from the Belfast Academical and Collegiate Institution, a Presbyterian school, and studied law in London. Emigrated from London in 1833 to New Orleans via New York. Druggist for ten years before he became editor of the New Orleans True Delta. Married Annie White, daughter of the city’s most prominent Irish immigrant, Maunsel White (q.v.). They had three daughters. Active in the Democratic party; appointed mayor of New Orleans in March, 1865, by Gov. James Madison Wells (q.v.); removed by Gen. Nathanial Banks (q.v.) in May, 1866; never ran for elective office. Entered streetcar business; became president of the Crescent City Railroad Company in 1875. Later moved to Louisville in order to invest in coal-mining operations. Died, Louisville, May 19, 1888. J.L. Sources: Gerald Capers, Occupied City: New Orleans Under the Federals, 1862-1865 (1965); John S. Kendall, History of New Orleans (1922); Peyton McCrary, Abraham Lincoln and Reconstruction: The Louisiana Experiment (1978).

KENNEDY, James A., journalist. Kennedy edited the Catholic Standard, a Catholic weekly newspaper which was a counterpart of Abbé Napoléon Perche’s (q.v.) French-language Le Propagateur Catholique. Like Perche, Kennedy fought against the Know-Nothing (American) party and abolitionism while upholding loyalty to the Democratic party and Southern culture in general. Kennedy also sought to eliminate compulsory school prayer in Louisiana’s school system. T.F.R. Source: Timothy F. Reilly, “Religious Leaders and Social Criticism in New Orleans, 1800-1861” (Ph. D. dissertation, University of Missouri at Columbia, 1972).

KENNEDY, Robert Emmet “Robard Ua Cinneidig,” author, folklorist, musician, composer, antique dealer. Born, Gretna, La., January 11, 1877; son of Dennis Kennedy and Elinor Dixon. Grew up in the African American section of Gretna known as East Green. Collected from a earlier age the spiritual songs he heard sang at the local New Hope Baptist Church. Moved to New Orleans in 1910 and began entertaining local friends and the social elite by telling folktales, playing the piano, and signing, all in a south Louisiana African American dialect. Also collected Celtic folktales, poems, songs and myths. Became an idol of polite New Orleans society. Privately published a small volume of poems in black dialect titled Remnants of Noah’s Ham (1910) and a volume of Irish Gaelic poems titled The Songs of Aengus (1910). Moved to New York City at the urging of Edward Larocque Tinker, 1923; subsequently published five books on African American folklore, spirituals and dialect, all based on his childhood experiences in Gretna, La.: Black Cameos (1924), Mellows: A Chronicle of Unknown Singers (1925), Gritney People (1927), Red Bean Row (1929), and More Mellows (1931); published two books of Irish Gaelic poems and songs: Runes and Cadences, Being Ancestral Memories of Old Heroic Days (1926) and Songs of an Alien Spirit (1940). Also completed two manuscripts, one on the life of St. Patrick and one a collection of Chinese folk songs; neither was ever published. Late in life he owned and operated an antique store in New York City. Died while visiting family, New Orleans, November 21, 1941; interred in the Hook and Ladder Cemetery, Gretna, La. J.D.W. Sources: J. B. Borel, “R. Emmet Kennedy,” Gretna Chronicles (1993); New Orleans Times-Picayune, November 22, 1941; clippings, R. Emmet Kennedy Scrapbook (photocopy in the possession of J. B. Borel).

KENNER, Chris, rock composer, rhythm and blues singer. Born, Kenner, La., 1930. Best known for two songs that were national hits “I Like It Like That” (later recorded by Petula Clark) and “Land of 1,000 Dances”. The former won for Kenner two coveted national awards from Billboard Magazine, “Best Rock and Roll Record of 1961” and “Best Writer of the Year”. Other Kenner songs were big local hits, “Something You Got,” “Sick and Tired” and “Don’t Make No Noise”. Died, New Orleans, January 25, 1976. H.C. Sources: New Orleans States-Item, obituary, February 3, 1976; Norm Nite, Rock On: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock n’ Roll (1974).

KENNER, Duncan Farrar, diplomat, planter, politician. Born, New Orleans, February 11, 1813; son of William Kenner (q.v.) and Mary Minor; grandson of Stephen Minor (q.v.) of Natchez. Education: private schools and tutors; Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. Married June 1, 1839, Anne Guillelmine Nanine Bringier, daughter of Michel Doradou Bringier (q.v.) and Louise Elizabeth Aglaé du Bourg de Ste. Colombe, of White Hall Plantation. Four children: Duncan Farrar (1841-1846), Martha Blanche (1846-1900), Frances Rosella (1849-1928), George Currie Duncan (1853-1881). Active in both the Whig and Democratic parties. In 1836 elected to the Louisiana house of representatives from Ascension Parish and subsequently served several terms in both the lower and upper houses of the state legislature. In 1844 and again in 1852, selected as a member of the state’s constitutional conventions, serving as president of the latter. In 1861 one of Louisiana’s seven delegates to the provisional Congress of the Confederacy at Montgomery, Ala. During the Civil War he continued to represent the state in the Confederate House of Representatives, where he served as chairman of the important Committee on Ways and Means. Convinced that the South could not win the war without aid from Europe and that the existence of slavery in the Confederacy prevented the Europeans from helping, Kenner urged his friends, Secretary of State Judah P. Benjamin (q.v.) and President Jefferson Davis (q.v.) to offer the Europeans the abolition of slavery in exchange for recognition. Reluctantly agreeing to his plans in 1865, Davis appointed Kenner as a minister plenipotentiary and sent him to negotiate a deal with the Europeans. Following a perilous journey through enemy territory, Kenner arrived in Europe too late to effect the outcome of the war. Upon receiving a presidential pardon for his Confederate activities, Kenner returned to his Ashland Plantation in Ascension Parish, where he resumed the cultivation of sugarcane. He was among the first in the state to introduce to the industry the use of the portable railroad to transport cane on the plantation, the Rillieux double-effect pans, and the McDonald hydraulic pressure regulator. He also helped organize the Louisiana Sugar Planters Association in 1877 and the Sugar Experiment Station in 1885, with him serving as the first president of both organizations. His post-war political activities included his election to the state senate and an active part in the Reconstruction politics of the Democratic party during the Hayes-Tilden election of 1876. In 1882 he was appointed by President Arthur as a member of the United States Tariff Commission. In 1884 he acted as chairman of the building committee for the World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition. He also served as a member of the Louisiana Levee Board. Kenner also was one of the nation’s leading thoroughbred horse breeders, with his animals winning consistently at America’s leading race tracks. As one of the founders of the Louisiana Jockey Club, he became its president and served in that position until his death, July 3, 1887; interred Donaldsonville cemetery. C.A.B.* Sources: Kenner family bible; Craig A. Bauer, “The Last Effort: The Secret Mission of the Confederate Diplomat, Duncan Farrar Kenner,” Louisiana History (1981); Dictionary of American Biography; New Orleans Daily Picayune, July 4, 1887; New Orleans, La., Tulane University Manuscript Department, Special Collections Division, The Urquhart Collection, Trist Wood Papers.

KENNER, Stephen Minor, planter, founder of Kenner, La. Born, New Orleans, February 18, 1808; eldest son of William Kenner (q.v.) and Mary Minor; grandson of Stephen Minor (q.v.) of Natchez, Miss., and brother of Duncan Farrar Kenner (q.v.). Married Eliza Davis. Children: William (b. 1839), Minor (b. 1841). Business interest centered on his Belle Grove and Pasture plantations, with his only known political involvement being his election in 1835 to the Jefferson Parish Police Jury. In 1853 when his brother and neighbor, William Butler Kenner of Oakland Plantation, died leaving a debt-ridden estate, Minor attempted to save the family holdings by subdividing parts of Kenner lands into residential lots. Although it eventually became the city of Kenner, when it was first opened for settlement, Kennerville grew slowly. Financial problems continued to plague Kenner until his death, May 10, 1862. C.A.B.* Sources: Kenner family bible; Craig A. Bauer, “The History of the City of Kenner, Louisiana” (M. A. thesis, Southeastern Louisiana University, 1973); New Orleans Times-Democrat, October 23, 1892.

KENNER, William, businessman, planter, politician. Born in Virginia, June 4, 1774. Married, November 1801, Mary Minor (1778-1814), of Natchez, Miss., daughter of Stephen Minor (q.v.), last Spanish governor of the region. Children: Maria (1830-1806), Martha (1804-1873), Frances Ann (1806-1875), Stephen Minor (q.v.), William Butler (1810-1853), George (1812-1852), Duncan (q.v.). Justice of the peace for Adams County, Miss., 1797. Removed to New Orleans ca. 1800, established mercantile and commission business with Stephen Henderson (q.v.). Member, Legislative Council, 1804; served as member of board of directors for the local branch of the United States Bank of Philadelphia, 1805. Owned two sugar plantations, Oakland in Jefferson Parish at the present site of the city of Kenner and Linwood in Ascension Parish. Suffered severe business reverses in 1820 when a partner absconded with much of his company’s assets. Elected to a vestry in the organization of the first Protestant congregation in New Orleans (later called Christ Church Episcopal Church), in 1805. Died May 10, 1824. C.A.B.* Sources: Kenner family bible, Tulane University, Manuscript Department, Special Collections Division; Urquhart Collection, Trust Wood Papers (Bringier Notes); Craig A. Bauer, “The History of the City of Kenner, Louisiana” (M. A. thesis, Southeastern Louisiana University, 1973).

KENNON, Robert F., attorney, mayor, judge, governor. Born, Dubberly, near Minden, La., August 21, 1902; son of Floyd and Laura Bopp Kennon. Education: Minden High School, graduated 1919; Louisiana State University, A. B., 1923; LL. B., 1925. Married Eugenia Sentell of Plain Dealing, La., June 30, 1931. Children: Robert F., Jr., Charles S., and Kenneth Wood Kennon. Began law practice, Minden, July 1925; elected mayor of Minden, 1925; district attorney of Bossier-Webster parishes, 1930-1940; elected, 1940, to a twelve-year term as judge of the Louisiana Court of Appeal, Second Circuit, but did not begin term until 1945 after returning from military service in World War II; entered the army, January 1941, and attended Command and General Staff School, Fort Leavenworth, Kan.; attained the rank of lieutenant colonel and battalion commander of artillery with the Louisiana National Guard; served in the Ninth Army in England, France, Belgium, Holland and Germany; was a colonel, General Staff Corps, U. S. Army Reserve, at war’s end. Selected, 1945, by justices of the Louisiana Supreme Court, to fill a vacancy on the bench. Ran for governor three times, running third twice, 1947 and 1963; won 1952 governor’s race as leader of anti-Long forces. Some of the accomplishments of his term were civil service was re-established on a permanent basis; electronic voting machines were placed in every precinct; state office buildings and the old and new state capitols were renovated; independent boards were created to control and supervise state spending on highways, in health and correctional institutions, wildlife and fisheries and welfare; law enforcement was at an all-time high causing several state officials to say that the governor had cleaned up Louisiana’s image as the most crooked state in the nation. Remained in Baton Rouge to practice law when his term ended, 1956. While attending LSU, lettered in football and tennis and captained the ROTC company; was president of the YMCA; member, Honor Council and vice-president of the Inter-Fraternity Council; member of the debate team; Scabbard and Blade, a national military honor society; Mu Sigma Rho, Tau Kappa Alpha; and Phi Pi. Chairman, National Governor’s Conference; president, Council of State Governments. Called himself a Jeffersonian Democrat; a strong supporter of President Eisenhower. Elder of First Presbyterian Church; Mason. Died, Baton Rouge, January 11, 1988; interred Young Family Cemetery, Plains, La. J.B.C. Sources: Baton Rouge Morning Advocate, obituary, January 12, 1988; Miriam G. Reeves, The Governors of Louisiana, 3rd ed. (1972); Lafayette Daily Advertiser, obituary, January 12, 1988.

KEOGH, Joseph F., politician, jurist. Born, McComb, Miss., January 13, 1932. Married; no children. Education: graduated from Istrouma High School, Baton Rouge, La., LL. B., Louisiana State University Law School, 1955. Established a private legal practice in Baton Rouge, 1955; practiced for a time in partnership with his brother Reggie. State representative from East Baton Rouge Parish, 1964-1968; chairman, Joint Legislative Committee for the Compilation of the Louisiana Code of Administrative Procedure; authored the Louisiana Public Defender Law and the Louisiana Code of Administrative Procedure; member, Louisiana State Law Institute, 1966-1968. Attorney for the East Baton Rouge Parish government and the City of Baton Rouge, 1969-1979; special council, City of Baton Rouge, 1979-1984. Elected judge of Division M, 19th Judicial District Court, East Baton Rouge Parish, fall of 1984; assumed the duties of district judge on an interim basis, November 19, 1984; began his regular term as judge, January 4, 1985. Served as a “criminal court judge in the 19th Judicial District for three years and a civil court judge for nine years.” Retired from the bench, April 30, 1996; subsequently established a law practice in partnership with Jerry McKernan. Member, Episcopal Church; member, board of directors, Cystic Fibrosis Association, 1963-1969, and the Baton Rouge March of Dimes, 1967. Vice chairman, Judicial Ethics and Responsibility Committee, American Bar Association, 1996. Died, May 115, 1996. C.A.B. Sources: Biographies of Louisiana Judges (1985); New Orleans Times-Picayune, May 18, 1996.

KERLEREC, Louis Billouart de, governor, naval officer. Born, Quimper, France, June 27, 1704; son of Guillaume Billouart, sieur de Quervasegan, and Louise de Lansullyen. Served as a volunteer seaman in three French naval campaigns, 1718-1720; the third campaign took him to Louisiana. Commissioned navy guard at Rochefort, March 25, 1721, and later sailed aboard the Dromadaire. Obtained command of the frigate Flore, a merchant vessel engaged in the Antilles and West African trade, late 1721. Sailed to Cayenne and Martinique aboard the Portefaix, 1722. Subsequently reentered the French navy. Assigned to Brest for a voyage to Cadiz, December 9, 1726, but fell ill and consequently remained in the naval bureau at Brest for one and a half years. Assigned to patrol duty off Malta aboard the Amazone, 1729. Participated in the French campaign against the Natchez Indians in Louisiana, 1730. Returned to Brest and promoted to ship’s ensign, 1731. Participated in French naval operations against Barbary pirates, 1732. Served as aide-major in the Calais garrison, 1733-1734. Participated in three routine tours of duty aboard French men-of-war, 1734-1737. Was severely wounded in the back during an engagement with a British squadron off Saint-Domingue, 1740 (the British claimed that they had mistaken the French ships for hostile Spanish forces). Promoted to ship’s lieutenant, 1741. Assigned to convoy duty in the Atlantic, 1742-1745. Participated in an abortive attempt to lift the siege of Louisbourg, 1745. Participated in a naval engagement with British ships near the northern coast of Saint-Domingue, 1746. Received injuries to his right foot and ears during a battle between British and French fleets; Kerlérec commanded the frigate Neptune during the engagement. Captured when forced to surrender his sinking vessel, was taken to prisoner-of-war camp at Spithead. Returned to France following the War of the Austrian Succession, and given command of naval frigate Favorite, 1750. Promoted to ship’s captain, 1751. Commissioned governor of Louisiana, February, 1752. Despite total French neglect of the colony during the Seven Years’ War, Kerlérec managed to mount an aggressive defense of the Mississippi Valley, funneling Louisiana’s meagre military resources into the Fort Duquesne area and by first luring the Cherokee out of the English camp and then mobilizing them against their former allies. Engaged in a bitter intragovernmental struggle with Ordonnateur Vincent de Rochemore (q.v.), 1758-1762, which crippled Louisiana’s civilian government. Kerlérec gained the upper hand in the struggle in 1760 by having Rochemore placed under his control and later by having him recalled to France. In 1763, Rochemore used his own political influence to have Kerlérec recalled. Upon return to France in 1763, Kerlérec imprisoned in Bastille to face charges of malfeasance brought against him by Rochemore. Exiled from Paris and ordered to remain at least 30 leagues from any royal residence, August 12, 1769. Legally exonerated of these charges against him, ca. September 3, 1770. Died, Paris, September 8, 1770. C.A.B. Sources: Marc de VIlliers du Terrage, Les Dernières Années de la Louisiane française (1903); P. Levot, “Kerlérec, Louis BIllouart, chevalier de,” Nouvelle Biographie générale depuis les temps les plus recules jusqu’a nos jours …  (1861), XXVII.

KERNAN, William Fergus, attorney, politician. Born, Rose Hill, Amite County, Miss., May 10, 1825; son of John Kernan and Mary Lytle, natives of Ireland. Education: private schools and Centenary College, Jackson, La., B. A., 1850. Admitted to the Louisiana bar, 1852. Married Sarah Culbertson Wall, daughter Isaac Wall and Mary Winans, April 13, 1853. Editor of the Louisiana Floridian, Clinton, La., 1845-(?). Member, Louisiana legislature, 1852-1854, 1860-1866; appointed district attorney, Seventh Judicial District, 1854-1859; elected judge, Sixteenth Judicial District, 1880-1888; appointed judge, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, 1887. Member, Methodist church; Olive Lodge #32, Free and Accepted Masons. Died, May 13, 1899; interred Harris Graveyard, Clinton, La. E.K.D. Sources: East Feliciana Public Records; Mrs. E. S. Maunsell II, New Orleans; House Journal.

KEY, Philip Barton, planter. Born, Georgetown, D. C., September 2, 1804; son of Philip Barton Key (1757-1815) and Ann Plater (1774-1834), daughter of Gov. George Plater of Maryland. Studied law under the tutelage of his cousin Francis Scott Key, author of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Married (1) Maria Brent Sewall (d. 1831) of Prince George County, Md. No children. Married (2), 1833, Maria Laura Sewall (1812-1890) of St. Mary County, Md. Ten children. Practiced law in Annapolis, Md., until 1835, when he removed to Ascension Parish, La. In 1845 purchased Acadia Plantation near Thibodaux, La., and resided there until death. Served in the Louisiana legislature; a member of the constitutional convention of 1850. Died, Acadia Plantation, May 4, 1854; interred St. Joseph’s Catholic Church Cemetery, Thibodaux. D.D.P. Source: Author’s research.

KEYES, Frances Parkinson, author. Born on Monroe Hill at the University of Virginia, 1885; daughter of John Henry Wheeler and Virginia Monroe. Married, June 8, 1902, Harry Keyes, an old family friend and a man twice her age. Frances’ literary works include fiction: All That Glitters, Also the Hills, Blue Camellia, Came a Cavelier, Crescent Carnival, Dinner at Antoine’s, Victorian, and others. Her non-fiction works include A Treasury of Favorite Poems, All This Is Louisiana, Bernadette of Lourdes, Frances Parkinson Keyes Christmas Gift, All Flags Flying, Roses in December, and others. Blue Camellia, Crescent Carnival, Dinner at Antoine’s, The Royal Box, The Red River, Steamboat Gothic and Once on Esplanade, are all books written by Keyes reflecting Louisiana life. Died, 1970, Newburg, Vt. F.L. Source: Frances Parkinson Keyes, Roses in December (1966).

KILBOURNE, Charles, jurist, journalist. Born, Clinton, La., June 11, 1856; son of Judge James Gilliam Kilbourne (q.v.) and Almena Perkins. Education: Centenary College, Jackson, graduated 1876. Admitted to Louisiana bar, 1879. Married Annie Sanderson. Taught Clinton school, 1882-1884; editor, Clinton Patriot-Democrat, 1884-1890; editor Clinton Southern Watchman, 1890-1895; served in Louisiana legislature, 1888-1894; 1912-1916; appointed sheriff, East Feliciana Parish to fill unexpired term, 1895; elected sheriff, 1896-1900; elected judge, Twenty-fourth Judicial District (East and West Feliciana), 1900-1909; 1916-1920; 1924-1928; practiced law, Clinton and St. Francisville, 1928-1937. Member, Clinton Methodist Church; Olive Lodge, F & AM. Died, July 3, 1937; interred family cemetery, Bonnie Burn, Clinton. E.K.D. Sources: New Orleans True Democrat, Silver Anniversary Edition, 1917; New Orleans Times-Picayune, July 3, 1937; Kilbourne family papers.

KILBOURNE, James Gilliam, jurist. Born, Hinds County, Miss., January 28, 1828; son of James Benedict Kilbourne, M. D., and Susannah Wilson Gilliam. Removed with widowed mother to East Feliciana Parish, La., 1837. Education: Centenary College, Jackson, La., graduated, July 31, 1850. Married Almena Leonora Perkins, September 18, 1851. Children: Mary Octavia (1852-1881); James (1854-1924‚); Charles (q.v.); Henry Gilliam (1858-1888); Lewis Perkins (1860-1912); Emma (1862-?); Susan Gilliam (1864-1913); Lillian (1868-1949); Almena Fuqua (1870-1961); Margaret Gayden (1873-1949). Admitted to Louisiana bar, 1852; practiced law in Clinton, La., 1852-1893. Elected to Louisiana house of representatives where he was a member of the Committees on Claims and Unfinished Business, 1860. Joined Hunter Rifles, Fourth Louisiana Infantry, C.S.A., May 25, 1861, attained rank of captain and served as assistant quartermaster of regiment until February 28, 1865, when he was paroled. Judge, East Feliciana Parish Court, 1874-1879; judge Sixteenth Judicial District, 1886-1888. Died, September 12, 1893; interred at Bonnie Burn, near Clinton. E.K.D. Sources: East Feliciana Oath Book; Andrew B. Booth, comp., Louisiana Confederate Soldiers … (1920); Kilbourne family papers, LSU Archives; House Journal, 1860.

KILBOURNE, James Holcombe, attorney. Born, St. Francisville, La., January 11, 1884; son of James Kilbourne, M. D., and Emma Holcombe. Education: private schools of East and West Feliciana parishes; Centenary College, Jackson, La.; Louisiana State University, civil engineering degree, 1904. Admitted to Louisiana bar, 1910, after private study and maintained private practice until 1966; appointed parish surveyor, 1909; member, board of aldermen, St. Francisville, 1916-1917; mayor, town of St. Francisville, 1917-1923; alderman, 1923-1948. Member, West Feliciana Parish Democratic Committee, often chairman, 1920-1966. Chancellor, vestryman, and warden Grace Episcopal Church, St. Francisville, 1931-1956; member, Parish Selective Service Committee, 1942-1962. Married Elisabeth Lehmann, August 12, 1930. Died June 15, 1968; interred Grace Church Cemetery, St. Francisville. E.K.D. Sources: West Feliciana Public Records, St. Francisville Democrat, June 20, 1968.

KINDELON, Adam, clergyman, philanthropist. Born, Ireland, ca.1781. Appointments: 1832, assistant priest at St. Louis Cathedral, New Orleans; 1832-1833, administrator at St. Mary’s, Natchez, Miss; 1833-1835, pastor at St. Patrick’s, New Orleans, 1835-1837, director of St. Mary’s Orphan Boys Asylum, New Orleans. Widely praised for care of victims of cholera epidemic of 1832; founding pastor of first church for Irish community in New Orleans; founder and underwriter of the orphanage on Bayou St. John. Death caused by a hurricane that struck in October 1837 and drove waters of Lake Pontchartrain into the back of the city and flooded the asylum. After saving the boys, Kindelon swam back and forth to save the stock he had bought for the institution. The exertions brought on chills and fever. Died, a few days later, October 14, 1837; interred St. Louis Cemetery II. E.F.N. Sources: Archives of the Archdiocese of New Orleans; Earl F. Niehaus, The Irish in New Orleans (1965); Theodore C. Clapp, Autobiographical Sketches and Recollections, during a Thirty-Five Years’ Residence in New Orleans (1857).

KING, Alvin Olin, acting governor. Born, Lioti, Kan., June 21, 1890; son of George Merritt King and Bessie Brown Stirling. Removed with family to Lake Charles as a child. Education: Lake Charles High School, 1908; Parsons Business College, 1911; Tulane University Law School, LL. B., 1915. Married, January 29, 1916, Willie Lee Voris. Children: Voris and Alvin O., Jr. Practiced law in Lake Charles, 1915-1924. Active in the Democratic party; served two terms in state senate, 1924-1931; became president pro-tem of senate, May 1930, despite his lack of consistent support for the Long regime. When Lt. Gov. Paul Cyr (q.v.) proclaimed himself governor in unsuccessful bid for chief executive’s post following Huey P. Long’s election to U. S. Senate, the Kingfish declared that Cyr had legally vacated his office. King duly replaced Cyr in the constitutional order of accession, October 14, 1931; Cyr later challenged Long’s action, but state courts refused to rule on the matter until after 1932 election. When Long sworn in as U. S. Senator, January 25, 1932, King acceded to governorship; served as governor until May 1932. Delegate to Democratic National Convention, 1932. Subsequently retired from public life and returned to law practice in Lake Charles with firm of King, Anderson, and Swift. Successful business­man: Associated with King Corporation, president; Powell Lumber Co., chairman of board; Weber-King Lumber Co.; Farmers Land & Canal Co.; Lake Charles Office Building Co.; Hayes Lumber Co.; Farmers Rice Millling Co.; Lake Charles Grain & Grocery Co.; Lake Charles Feed Co.; Farmers Land & Canal Co. Member, national councilor, U. S. Chamber of Commerce, 1947-1954; president, Lake Charles Chamber of Com­merce, 1948. Member, Louisiana Mineral Board, 1948; Louisiana State Law Institute; American Law Institute; American Bar Association; board of governors, 1949-1953, president, 1952-1953, Louisiana Bar Association; Pioneer Club; Lake Charles Country Club. Died, February 21, 1958; interred Graceland Cemetery, Lake Charles. C.A.B. Sources: Ellis Arthur Davis, ed., The Historical Encyclopedia of Louisiana (1937); T. Harry Williams, Huey Long (1969); Who Was Who in America, vol. III, 1951-1960 (1960).

KING, Charles Edwin, journalist, civic leader. Born, Greenwood, Mo., June 7, 1882; son of Erastus Edwin King and Sarah Ellen Bowen. Education: local schools; Transylvania College (then known as Kentucky University), Lexington, Ky. Began journalistic career publishing a monthly magazine in Lee’s Summitt, Mo., 1906. Was advertising manager several years at a Cuero, Tex., department store during which time he married June 26, 1911, Marion Alice Hutchings (1887-1964), daughter of Frank Hutchings and Annie Lee Shattuck. Children: Lela King Lehmann (b. 1912) and Lorraine King Gillen (1919-1967). Removed to Morgan City, La., in 1916 when he became managing editor of the Morgan City Review which he edited or published until the paper was sold in 1960. Remained as president of the publishing company, King-Hannaford Co., Inc., which did statewide wholesale and retail sales of printing and bookbinding. In 1920s, King reorganized an inactive chamber of commerce and headed it first as president and then in many capacities throughout his lifetime. He was a pioneer promoter of flood-control protection, waterways improvements, and the development of the area’s natural resources. He was St. Mary Parish Food Administrator in World War I, Parish Civil Defense Director in World War II, one of the first Louisiana members and supporters of the Intracoastal Canal Association; charter member and past president of Morgan City Rotary; first president of Morgan City Harbor and Terminal District which he headed for many years; member, Advisory Committee, National Rivers and Harbors Congress; St. Mary Police Jury member, 1952-1955; one of organizers of Louisiana Shrimp and Petroleum Festival; member, Christian Church and of Doric Lodge #205, F. & A. M. An orator, King was toastmaster or guest speaker throughout the state at civic and fraternal organization meetings, patriotic, and political rallies. He was awarded lifetime membership in the Louisiana Press Association. Died, Morgan City, January 6, 1969; interred Morgan City Cemetery. L.K.L. Sources: King family papers, Morgan City Archives; Bob Angers, “Anecdotes and Antidotes,” Franklin Banner-Tribune, January 8, 1969; Morgan City Daily Review, obituary, January 7, 1979.

KING, Edmund Thomas, businessman, soldier. Born, Montevallo, Ala., May 2, 1822; brother of William Woodson King, prominent New Orleans attorney and politician, and uncle of writer Grace King (q.v.). Educated in local schools; attended Huntsville Academy for one year. Managed cotton plantation near Selma. Removed to Louisiana in March 1849. Transformed a 1,160-acre site in the Atchafalaya Basin (St. Martin Parish) into a productive sugar plantation (58 slaves and a large mill) for his brother; became a full partner in this farming venture in June 1858. Married Margaret Anne Marsh, daughter of Jonas Marsh, of New Iberia, La.,, October 11, 1858. Children: Dr. Henry A. and Edmund T. Active in Democratic party: St. Martin Parish Police Jury, 1852-1860; state representative from St. Martin Parish, 1860-1862; unsuccessful cooperationist candidate for state secession convention, 1861; unsuccessful candidate for state senate on People’s (Conservative) Ticket, 1874; Iberia Parish delegate to state Democratic convention, 1876; led crusade for establishment of Bayou Plaquemine locks, 1876-1896; lobbied against the “levy tax,” 1895. Civil War service: helped organize St. Martin Rangers (also known as Fuller’s Company Bull Battery and King’s Artillery Company) and became first lieutenant, May 14, 1862; participated in successful raid on Union-controlled railroad station at Brashear City,1863; served aboard the gunboat Music, which ferried across the Mississippi River, summer of 1862, 30,000 cattle destined for Confederate forces east of the river; seized the steamer Cotton for use by the Confederate Navy; served aboard the Cotton in fighting along the lower Teche, November 1862, assuming command of the vessel when its captain was wounded; ordered to scuttle the ship in mid-channel to prevent Union advance; reassigned to field artillery, November 1862; promoted to captain, July 25, 1863; commanded the Mary T. during a minor naval engagement on lower Red River, May 1863; wounded and captured in the defense of Fort DeRussy, March 1864; taken to a Baton Rouge hospital, then transferred to prisoner-of-war camp at New Orleans; exchanged, July 22, 1864; led a band of guerrillas, attacking Union positions along the Lafourche from base camps in the swamps of St. Martin Parish, 1864-1865; paroled, June 1865. Returned to plantation, 1866; cultivated sugarcane until 1874. Removed to New Iberia and opened brick factory, 1874. Member: Episcopal Church; Knights of Temperance. Died, New Iberia, January 11, 1912; interred Rosehill Cemetery.  C.A.B. & A.W.B. Sources: Carl A. Brasseaux, ed., “The Glory Days: E. T. King Recalls the Civil War Years,” Attakapas Gazette, XI (1976); New Iberia Weekly Iberian, March 28, April 4, 1896.

KING, George, soldier, planter, jurist. Born, Stafford County, Va., July 21, 1769, son of William King and Letitia Bland. The King family emigrated to Kentucky in 1784. Educated at Danville, Ky., by Dr. James Priestly. In 1790, visited New Orleans on an official mission to the Spanish government. In 1794, accompanied Gen. Anthony Wayne in military operations against the Indians of the Old Northwest Territory. Domiciled in New Orleans in 1795. Married Amelia Lejeune, 1797. Children: George R. (q.v.) Louisa, Nancy, Eliza, Emily, and Adela. On April 29, 1805, appointed clerk of court for the County of Opelousas. November 27, 1805, commissioned as a major in the Eighth Regiment of the Second Brigade, Orleans Territorial Militia. In 1807, appointed St. Landry Parish judge, an office held till 1842. January 1815, participated in the Battle of New Orleans as a first lieutenant of a company of Opelousas Volunteers. After war, resumed duties as parish judge, judge of probates and ex-officio notary. In 1826, partner in the Opelousas Steamboat Company. Actve as a planter, slaveowner, landowner, and businessman. Died, St. Landry Parish, November 24, 1850. K.P.F. Sources: Clarence E. Carter, ed., The Territorial Papers of the United States, IX, Territory of Orleans (1940); St. Landry Probate #1526; Donald J. Hebert, Southwest Louisiana Records, 33 vols. (1974-1984); William L. Sandoz, “A Brief History of St. Landry Parish,” Louisiana Historical Quarterly, VIII (1925); Keith P. Fontenot, “The Life and Times of Judge George King,” Attakapas Gazette, XIX (1984).

KING, George Rogers, attorney, jurist. Born, St. Landry Parish, La., ca. 1803-1804; son of George King (q.v.) and Amelia Lejeune. Education: local schools; University of Virginia; Law School, University of Virginia. Married (?) Winn of Charlottesville, Va. One child, a daughter. Removed to Louisiana and established law practice in Opelousas. Served in the state house of representatives. Served as district attorney and district judge. Appointed associate justice, Louisiana Supreme Court, March 19, 1846, and served until 1850. Thereafter retired to Opelousas where he died March 21, 1871. G.R.C. Sources: Warren M. Billings, ed., The Historic Rules of the Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1813-1879 (1985); J. Hawkins, Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of Louisiana, XXIII (1871); Opelousas Journal, March 25, 1871.

KING, Grace Elizabeth, author, historian. Born, New Orleans, November 29, 1852; daughter of William Woodson King, a New Orleans lawyer, and Sarah Ann (Miller) King. One of the few Southern writers of her time to achieve recognition in both fiction and history. Began her career as a writer in response to a challenge in 1885 by Richard Watson Gilder to counteract the unflattering depiction of New Orleans Creoles in the writings of George Washington Cable. In the 1880s and 1890s, her work appeared frequently in such magazines as Harper’s and Century, and between 1893 and 1898, she established herself as an historian of the colony and state of Louisiana. Principal works: Monsieur Motte (1888), Tales of a Time and Place (1892), Jean-Baptiste le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville (1892), Balcony Stories (1893), A History of Louisiana (with Prof. John R. Ficklen [q.v.] of Tulane, 1894), New Orleans, the Place and the People (1895), De Soto and His Men in the Land of Florida (1898), The Pleasant Ways of St. Medard (1916), Creole Families of New Orleans (1921), La Dame de Sainte Hermine (1924), and Memories of a Southern Woman of Letters (published posthumously, 1932). Friend of Charles Dudley Warner and Mark Twain. Lectured on Sidney Lanier at Newnham College, Cambridge, (1891), during one of several extensive trips to Europe. Received honorary Doctor of Letters from Tulane University, 1915. Awarded the Palmes d’Officier de l’Instruction Publique by the French government, 1918. Honored by the Louisiana Historical Society, 1923. Died, New Orleans, January 12, 1932. L.I.W. Sources: Robert. B. Bush, ed., Grace King of New Orleans, A Selection of Her Writings (1973); Grace King, Memories of a Southern Woman of Letters (1932); David K. Kirby, Grace King (1980).

KING, J. Floyd, congressman. Born, St. Simon’s Island, Ga., April 20, 1842; son of Thomas Butler King, a congressman from Georgia; nephew of Henry King, a congressman from Pennsylvania. Education: Russell School, New Haven, Conn.; Bartlett’s College Hill School, Poughkeepsie, N. Y.; the Military Institute of Georgia, and the University of Virginia. Enlisted in the Confederate Army and served in the Army of Virginia throughout the Civil War, attaining the rank of colonel of artillery; his property was confiscated at the end of the war. Removed to Louisiana and engaged in planting. Studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1872 and commenced practice in Vidalia, La. Appointed brigadier general of state troops; elected inspector of levees and president of the board of school directors of his district and also a trustee of the University of the South. Elected as a Democrat to Congress and served from March 4, 1879, to March 3, 1887; unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1886. Engaged in mining operations, with residence in Washington, D. C.; assistant register of the United States Treasury from May 19, 1914, until his death in Washington, D. C., May 8, 1915; interred Arlington National Cemetery. J.B.C. Sources: Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1949 (1950); Alcée Fortier, Louisiana (1914).

KING, Valentine, attorney, planter, federal land office registar at Opelousas, La. And president of the Opelousas Board of Police. Born in Washington County, Ky., 1794; son of John Edwards King and Sarah Gist. Married Nancy King, daughter of George King (q.v.) and Amelia LeJeune, at Opelousas, January 15, 1818; children: Mathilda, Eliza, John Edwards, Sophia, and Overton. Educated in local schools. Career: built an extensive law practice in Saint Landry Parish. Served as legal consul to free blacks in liber vel non court cases; whereby free people of color endeavored to reaffirm their free status. Registrar, United States Land Office, Opelousas, La., ca. 1826-1835; public school administrator, 1830. Died, Opelousas, July 12, 1835; interred Myrtle Grove Cemetery. K.P.F. Sources: Keith Fontenot, “The Life and Times of Judge George King,” Attakapas Gazette, 19 (1984); Saint Landry Parish Probate, #707; Saint Landry Parish District Court Suits; Donald J. Hébert, Southwest Louisiana Records, (1974-1996); Keith Fontenot, Southwest Louisiana Courthouse Inventory: Saint Landry Parish, Hebert Publishing, (1996).

KIRBY-SMITH, Edmund, soldier, academic. Born, St. Augustine, Fla., May 16, 1824; son of Joseph Lee Smith and Frances M. Kirby. Education: school run by Benjamin Hallowell, Alexandria, Va.; U. S. Military Academy, 1841-1845. Mexican War service: saw action under Gen. Zachary Taylor (q.v.) and Gen. Winfield Scott; breveted for gallantry at battles of Cerro Gordo and Contreras. After war, became assistant professor of Mathematics at West Point; rejoined Fifth Infantry, 1852, shortly afterwards serving as botanist for Mexican Boundary Commission; report written while on commission published by Smithsonian Institution. Promoted to rank of captain, 1855; assigned to Second Cavalry; wounded in fight with Comanches near old Ft. Atchison, Tex., 1859. Promoted major, 1860; resigned from U. S. Army, March 1861; returned to Florida. Married, September 1861, Cassie Selden, of Lynchburg, Va., daughter of Samuel Selden. Eleven children: five sons and six daughters. Civil War service: commissioned colonel in Confederate cavalry; sent to Virginia, became adjutant to Gen. J. E. Johnston; promoted to rank of brigadier general, June 1861; given command of Fourth Brigade of Army of the Shenandoah; seriously wounded at Battle of Manassas (First Bull Run); promoted to rank of major general, October 1861; assumed command of Department of East Tennessee, February 1862; given command of Trans-Mississippi Department, February 1863; headquarters established at Shreveport, La.; promoted to rank of full general, February 1864; helped defeat Union forces under Gen. Nathaniel Banks (q.v.) and Gen. A. J. Smith in Red River Valley, April 1864; surrendered last military unit of Confederacy, June 2, 1865. After war, spent short time in Mexico and Cuba; returned to U. S., November 1865. Became president of Accident Insurance Co., Louisville, Ky., and Atlantic & Pacific Telegraph Co., 1866; established short-lived school at New Castle, Ky., 1868; president of University of Nashville, 1870-1875; professor of Mathematics at University of the South, Sewanee, Tenn., 1875-1893; wrote account of Red River campaign which appeared in Battles and Leaders. Active member of Protestant Episcopal church. Last surviving full general of either army in Civil War. Died, Sewanee, March 28, 1893; interred Sewanee Cemetery. W.S. Sources: New Orleans Daily Picayune, obituary, March 29, 1893; Dictionary of American Biography; Official Records of the War of the Rebellion; J. L. Wakelyn, Biographical Dictionary of the Confederacy (1977); Alcée Fortier, Louisiana (1914); J. H. Parks, General Edmund Kirby-Smith (1954).

KIRK, Jessie, see Norton, Mrs. J. W.

KITTREDGE, Ebenezer Eaton, planter. Born, Walpole, N. H., February 3, 1799; son of Stephen Kittredge and Elizabeth Eaton. Education: qualified to practice medicine and surveying. Removed to Jefferson County, Miss., where on October 5, 1820, he married (1) Martha Wills Green, daughter of Everard Green and Elizabeth Kirkland of Gayoso Plantation. In 1828 removed to Assumption Parish, La., near Napoleonville, being a pioneer in the section, where he acquired a sugar plantation which he called Elm Hall, and later constructed a mansion of that same name. Wife died November 18, 1836, leaving five children: Elizabeth Eaton (b. 1822); Mary Louise (b. 1825); Orville Milo (b. 1827); Joseph Kirkland (b. 1830); Olivia Corinna (b. 1835). Married (2) Ann Elizabeth Kelly on September 20, 1839. Children: Mary Ann (b. 1840); Henry Eaton (b. 1842); Jessie Amanda (b. 1845); Emma (b. 1847); Francis Robert (b. 1849); Lucie Estelle (b. 1853); Carrie (b. 1855); Iola (b. 1859); Oena (b. 1862). As a sugar planter, he spent thousands of dollars in experimenting in order to find a way to make more sugar, less molasses, and to manufacture an article that would command a better price in the New Orleans sugar market. Was a pioneer in Assumption Parish in making white sugar directly from the juice of cane following closely in the wake of Valcour Aime (q.v.) of St. James Parish and Benjamin & Packwood of Plaquemines Parish. Was elected several times to the state senate, was instrumental in inducing the governor to create a board of levee commissioners. Donated the land on which Christ Episcopal Church was built in 1854, furnished a large quantity of brick in addition to a liberal contribution in money. Near end of Civil War served on the Assumption Parish Police Jury and continued in that office until his death, October 19, 1867, at Winchester Springs, Tenn.; interred Christ Church Cemetery, Napoleonville. G.K.P.M. Sources: P. K. and M. E. Ewing, Ewing Genealogy with Cognate Branches (1919); W. W. Pugh, Reminiscences of an Old Fogey (1903).

KLAUS, Kenneth B., musician, composer, academic. Born, Earlville, Iowa, November 11, 1923. Education: B.A., M.A., M.F.A., Ph. D., University of Iowa. Veteran of World War II. Married Marian Ida Fyler. Children: Kenneth Sheldon Klaus, Karl Sherman Klaus. Member of Louisiana State University School of Music faculty, 1950-1980. Named one of first four Alumni Professors, 1966. Principal violist and associate director of the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra. Member of several professional organizations including American Musicological Association, Music Educator’s National Conference, American Society of University Composers, others. Author of many professional publications including two books, Music in the Nineteenth Century and The Romantic Movement in Music. Composer of musical chamber works, songs, incidental music, choral works and opera. Wrote first piece at age 11. Died, Baton Rouge, August 4, 1980. L.I.W. Sources: International Who’s Who in Music and Musicians Directory, 7th ed. (1975); Baton Rouge Morning Advocate, March 15, 1959; obituary, Baton Rouge State Times, August 5, 1960; Morning Advocate, August 6, 1950.

KMEN, Henry, musician, academic. Born, Saratoga Springs, N. Y., November 3, 1915. Married Audrey Johnson. Professional musician in New York in 1930s, played with the bands of Chico Marx, Bobby Hackett, Tommy Dorsey, and others. Education: Florida State University, B.A., 1949, M.A., 1950; Tulane University, Ph. D. (history), 1961. Member of Tulane University history faculty, introduced Black Studies Program at Tulane in the 1960s. Contributed to a number of professional journals, author of Music in New Orleans: The Formative Years, 1791-1841. Died, New Orleans, September 22, 1978. L.I.W. Sources: Dissertation vita; obituary, New Orleans Times-Picayune, September 23, 1978.

KNAPP, Seaman A., agronomist, educator. Born, Lake Schroon, N. Y., 1833. Privately educated. Instructor in girls’ school until injury forced him to move west to a more suitable climate. Bought and operated 120-acre farm near Vinton, Iowa. Became Methodist minister; appointed superintendent of the Iowa School for the Blind. Studied scientific agriculture. Became president of Iowa Agricultural College; lobbied Congress for the passage of legislation setting up agricultural experiment stations. Became acquainted with J. B. Watkins, head of an English syndicate selling land in Southwest Louisiana. Removed to Louisiana, 1886, to join Watkins in his projects, and to promote scientific agriculture. Began experiments with new strains of rice; traveled to Japan to seek improved varieties. Assisted in laying out towns of Iowa and Vinton, near Lake Charles. Secured a state charter for the Calcasieu Bank, and was its first president, 1892. Also established the Lake Charles Rice Milling Co., and two farm journals, the Rice Journal and the Gulf Coast Farmer. Established a rice experiment station in 1902. Through Knapp’s efforts the Agricultural Extension Service was set up by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, and from his work in Iowa and Louisiana there developed the Four-H Club movement. Died, Lake Charles, April 1, 1911. T.S. Sources: Calcasieu Parish Public Library, Lake Charles American Press.

KNEELAND, Ira Cook, land surveyor. Born in Massachusetts. Captain of militia, New Feliciana, Spanish West Florida, 1804. Suffered at hands of Kemper brothers who cut off an ear in retaliation for abduction during Rebellion, 1804. Assistant surveyor, Baton Rouge District, 1806-1810; contracted with Elias Beauregard (q.v.) to lay out town near post of Baton Rouge (Beauregard Town), July 3, 1806; later sued by Beauregard for failure to correct plat. Married Susanna Cobb, widow of William Cobb, 1806; laid out town of New Valentia at mouth of Bayou Sara for A. D. Smith, 1808; escaped with Spanish authorities during West Florida Rebellion, 1810. Died ca. 1810. E.K.D. Sources: West Feliciana Parish Records; Stanley Clisby Arthur, The Story of the Kemper Brothers (1933); Pintado Papers; Virginia M. Jantz, Cobb Family History (no date available).

KNIFFEN, Fred Bowerman, geography professor and author. Born January 18, 1900 in Britton, Lenawee County, Mich.; son of Samuel Bradshaw Kniffen and Mary Ingersoll Bowerman. Married Virginia Arp of Bakersfield, Calif., in 1927; three sons and one daughter. In 1906, Kniffen’s family moved to Coffeyville, Kan. He attended school there, but completed last two years of high school in Superior, Wis. He attended Superior State Normal School in 1919 and 1920, and transferred to the University of Michigan to work in geology, receiving an A. B. degree in 1922. After college took a three-year leave of absence from academics, and drifted from job to job in the West. Spent most of one year in Alaska. Started his doctoral work in 1925 at the University of California at Berkeley, majoring in geography, but with a strong emphasis in anthropology. Kniffen completed the doctorate in 1930, with a dissertation on the Colorado River Delta in Baja California. Some of his earliest publications dealt with Native Americans and landscapes in the greater Southwest. In 1929, Professor Kniffen went to Louisiana State University, where he established the Department of Geography and Anthropology. Served as departmental chairperson for many years. He remained at L.S.U. for fifty-four years, the last twenty-two in retirement. (He was in his office almost daily during retirement.) He supervised seventeen Masters theses and twenty-eight doctoral dissertations between 1936 and 1970. Following his retirement, Kniffen greatly influenced many other students. Most of his graduate students did their work on Louisiana topics, and in this way Kniffen probably made his greatest contribution to Louisiana studies. Kniffen’s students did much field work from the late 1930s to 1970, a time when folk culture was functioning, but in rapid decline. These students gathered and recorded much material that is no longer recoverable in both French and Anglo Louisiana. Dr. Kniffen published widely, and much of his work was on Louisiana topics. He is particularly well-known for his work on folk housing and house types and their diffusion, but he also published in the areas of anthropology and geomorphology. Prof. Kniffen was known throughout America as the person who instigated and developed systematic cultural geography, and he had an excellent reputation as a mentor. A wing of the Howe/Russell Geoscience Complex at L.S.U. is named in his honor. Died May 19, 1993; Kniffen’s body was donated to science. M.L.C. Sources: Journal of Cultural Geography, Vol. 15 (1994), pp. 1-84; H. J. Walker and M. E. Richardson, “In Memoriam: Fred Bowerman Kniffen, 1900-1993,” Annals, Association of American Geographers, 84 (1994): 732-43; Baton Rouge Advocate February 26, 1990; obituary, May 21, 1993; personal recollections of Malcolm Comeaux (former student).

KNIGHT, George Edwin, businessman. Born, St. Martinville, La., May 17, 1870; son of Edwin R. Knight and Alice Foster. Education: local schools. Married, July 12, 1894, Martha Ann Baumgartner of Ford County, Ill., daughter of Jacob Baumgartner, originally of Bern, Switzerland. Children: Verna Alice (b. 1895), Elizabeth Martha (b. 1899), Harry H. (b. 1897), Mary Ella (b. 1902), Isabel Agnes (b. 1904), George Edwin, Jr. (b. 1905), Mildred E. (b. 1907). Early developer of timber and oil industries in the area. Active in Democratic party. Instrumental in establishing Episcopal church in St. Martinville. Member: Albert Rousseau Masonic Lodge of St. Martinville; board of directors, Attakapas College (St. Martinville). Died, October 5, 1932; interred St. Michael’s Cemetery, St. Martinville. G.K.J. & L.R. Source: Authors’ research.

KOCH, Richard, architect. Born, New Orleans, June 9, 1889; son of Julius Koch and Anna Frotscher. Education: Tulane University, B. A., 1910; student Atelier Bernier, Paris, 1911-1912. Unmarried. Military service: first lieutenant, Air Service, U. S. Army, 1916-1918. Began architectural career in office of Aymar Embury II in New York, where his interest in American colonial architecture and carefully studied detail was developed. After a brief period in the office of John Russel Pope, he worked in the Boston office of William Wells Bosworth on the classical buildings of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Returning to New Orleans in 1916, he formed a partnership with Charles R. Armstrong, the Armstrong and Koch partnership continuing, except for the interruption caused by World War I, until 1935. Koch gained a national reputation for design work in the Louisiana tradition and for restoration of Shadows-on-the-Teche in New Iberia for Weeks Hall (q.v.) in 1922 and of Oak Alley plantation house, at Vacherie, La., for Andrew Stewart in 1926. Architect for a number of early restoration projects in the Vieux Carré including the Wogan House at 711 Bourbon Street, Le Petit Salon at 620 St. Peter Street and the Orue-Pontalba House at Chartres and St. Peter streets for Le Petit Théâtre du Vieux Carré, for which he also, in 1922, designed the adjacent auditorium and courtyard, one of the first new constructions in the French Quarter to be designed in a compatible traditional style. In 1933 appointed district officer in Louisiana for Historic American Buildings Survey, a Works Progress Administration project for unemployed architects and draftsmen who recorded in measured drawings for the Library of Congress numerous examples of Louisiana’s historic architecture. An accomplished photographer, he personally took photographs of these buildings for the survey and directed teams of researchers in tracing the history of the buildings included in the survey. One of the architects for the larger WPA project for development of New Orleans City Park, being largely responsible for the design of the stadium, rose garden, bridges, shelter houses, etc., in many of which his interest in Louisiana architecture is apparent. When the Armstrong and Koch partnership was terminated in 1935, Koch continued his own architectural practice, being noted for his work in restoration and preservation as well as residential design in his adaptation in the regional style. In 1938 he was awarded the Silver Medal in Architecture by the Architectural League of New York, “for works of minor importance executed in the regional style.” Formed a new partnership in 1955, the firm became Richard Koch and Samuel Wilson, Jr. President, 1930-1931, Louisiana Chapter, American Institute of Architects; board of directors, American Institute of Architects; member and president, Louisiana State Board of Architectural Examiners; member and president, 1954, National Architectural Accrediting Board; member, 1929-1964, and chairman, 1961-1964, New Orleans Board of Zoning Appeals and Adjustments; board member and past second vice-president, Isaac Delgado Museum of Art; member, 1930-1940, board of commissioners of City Park; member, National Academy of Design; an organizer and past president, Arts and Crafts Club of New Orleans; member, AIA Committee for the Preservation of Historic Buildings; member, National Advisory Committee of the Historic American Buildings Survey; board member, New Orleans Summer Pops Concerts. Served in drawing up legislation for creation of the Vieux Carré Commission and as member of the commission from 1944-1954. For his services to the architectural profession, he was made a Fellow of the AIA in 1938. Designed the formal garden at Oakley Plantation, the garden in the rear of the St. Louis Cathedral, the patio of Le Petit Théâtre du Vieux Carré, gardens at his family residences at 2627 Coliseum Street and in Covington, and the Board of Trade Plaza on Magazine Street. Sometimes in association with others, his firm designed three branches of the Whitney National Bank (St. Charles Avenue, Gentilly and Morgan State Branch on Chartres Street), the Canal Street facade of D. H. Holmes Co., the Royal Orleans and Royal Sonesta Hotels, the Anglo-American Art Museum in the Memorial Tower at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, and the Place de France between the Rivergate and the International Trade Mart. His firm was also associated in the restoration of the Cabildo, the French Market and numerous other restoration projects in the Vieux Carré, the Garden District, and with St. John’s Episcopal Church in Thibodaux. Considered a pioneer in the field of historic preservation in Louisiana and Mississippi. He was an active member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Society of Architectural Historians from their inception. Member of Boston Club of New Orleans; designed several of the classical interiors of its historic clubhouse on Canal Street. Took an active interest in affairs of Tulane University and its School of Architecture and bequeathed the bulk of his estate to the University. Died, Covington, La., September 20, 1971; interred Metairie Cemetery, New Orleans. S.W. Source: Author’s research.

KOHLMEYER, Ida R., painter, sculptor, teacher. Born, Chicago, Ill., November 3, 1912; sister of Leon Rittenburg. Married Hugh Bernhard Kohlmeyer; two daughters: Jane K. and JoEllen K. Education: began to study art at Newcomb College and also Tulane University in her mid-thirties. In the 1950s she studied with abstract expressionists Hans Hoffman and Mark Rothko. In 1960, she joined the Orleans Gallery. Her art was exhibited in dozens of museums including the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the High Museum in Atlanta, Ga., and the Smithsonian Institution. She taught at Newcomb College (1956-1965) and the University of New Orleans (1973-1975). Best known works include “Krewe of Poydras,” a group of abstract sculpture forms in New Orleans (1980s) and a well-known piece atop a colonnade at the New Orleans Aquarium of the Americas. Her awards include the Southeastern Annual Exhibition, Atlanta, Ga., Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting, Washington D.C. Worked until her death; Kohlmeyer created pieces for several exhibitions scheduled for 1997. Died, January 24, 1997, New Orleans, La.; interred at Hebrew Rest Cemetery, New Orleans. C.H.M. Sources: New Orleans Times-Picayune, Janurary 25, 1997; Mary Gehman and Nancy Ries, A History of Women and New Orleans (1988); Glenn B. Opitz, ed., Mantle Fielding’s Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors and Engravers (1986).

KOONCE, John Jordan, businessman, politician. Born, Calcasieu Parish, La., January 2, 1873; son of G. W. Koonce and Mary Herrin Koonce. Educated local schools. Married Margie Elizabeth Smith of Beauregard Parish, La., daughter of Levi Lynis Smith, Beauregard Parish timberman, and Delilah Smith. Children: Phillip (b. 1898), Herman (b. 1900), Eva (b. 1902), Ray (b. 1905), Earl (b. 1911). Active in Democratic party; member, Calcasieu Parish Police Jury, 1914-1930; appointed by governor of Louisiana to serve on first board of aldermen for the village of Sulphur, 1914. Member, Methodist church; Knights of Pythias lodge. Local businessman, 1892-1953. Died, Sulphur, February 10, 1954; interred Big Woods Cemetery, Edgerly, La. G.S.P. Source: Koonce family papers.

KOSTMAYER, Hiram Watkins, physician, academic. Born, New Orleans, September 25, 1883; son of John G. Kostmayer and Catherine Eichborn Kostmayer. Education: Boys High School, 1900; Tulane University, B. A., 1904. Taught school, Greensburg, La., 1904-1905. Advanced placement to Tulane Medical School as a sophomore, 1905. Passed comprehensive exam, 1907, for a two-year position as intern at Charity Hospital of Louisiana, New Orleans. Regulations required completion of internship in 1909 before granting of the M. D. Practiced gynecology and obstetrics, New Orleans; taught and administered various medical programs. One year, 1916-1917, with Loyola Postgraduate School of Medicine; thereafter, served Tulane University until retirement, 1949. Clinical assistant in Gynecology, 1910-1913; instructor in Gynecology, 1913-1916. Turned down on an eligibility technicality, American College of Surgeons, 1916. With encouragement from Dr. Rudolph Matas (q.v.), reapplied and accepted by ACS, 1926. Later, a diplomate of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Private practice and teaching, Tulane Postgraduate School of Medicine, 1918-1937. President, Orleans Parish Medical Society, 1923-1924. Professor of Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology, 1925-1926. Professor of Gynecology and head, Department of Gynecology, 1929-1933. In 1932-1933, acting dean; dean, Post-Graduate School of Medicine, 1933-1937, and professor of Gynecology and head, Department of Gynecology. President, Louisiana State Medical Society, 1936-1937. To better its academic and community status, he engineered the merger of the Post-Graduate School with the Tulane Medical School., becoming the director of Graduate Medical Studies, 1937-1949. During World War II, 1942-1945, served as dean pro-tem of the medical school, and afterwards as vice-dean, School of Medicine, 1946-1949. Served as director of the Ochsner Clinic, September 1, 1950, to August 1, 1951. A Presbyterian and a Democrat. Married Carroll Houston, August 31, 1914. One son. Member, Boston Club, Phi Chi medical fraternity, Corinthian Lodge No. 190. Died, New Orleans, December 3, 1981. J.P.M. Sources: Oral interview with the author, and official sources, the Rudolph Matas Medical Library, Tulane University Medical Center; Who’s Who in America (1948-49); American Men and Women of Science, 8th ed. (1949); New Orleans Times-Picayune, December 8, 1981; John Duffy, The Tulane University Medical Center (1984); John P. Dyer, Tulane: Biography of a University (1966); H. W. Kostmayer, “The Tulane University School of Medicine, 1834-1960,” Bulletin of the Tulane University Medical Faculty, XX (1961).

KYSER, John Schenebly, academic. Born, El Paso, Ill., September 8, 1900; son of John Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuman Kyser. Education: Illinois local schools; University of Michigan, B. A., 1921; University of Chicago; University of California; University of Heidelberg, Germany; Louisiana State University, Ph. D., 1937. Doctoral dissertation: “The Evolution of Louisiana Parishes in Relation to Growth and Distribution in Population.” Teaching experience: Louisiana State University and Tulane University, 1921-1923; Northwestern State University, 1923-1954, head, Department of Social Sciences, 1935-1954; president, Northwestern State University, 1954-1967. Organized and developed first college credit field study-tours of the state of Louisiana, 1935. Pioneered audio-visual education in North Louisiana, making the first public address on education on New Orleans television. Instrumental in the development of first closed-circuit television instruction program in the state. Inaugurated the first graduate program in any institution under the Louisiana Board of Trustees for State Colleges and Universities. Kyser Hall, Northwestern State University, named in his honor. Married, September 8, 1924, Thelma Zelenka of Houma, La., daughter of Dr. Rudolph Louis and Eva Bazet Zelenka. One child: Janet (b. 1929). Active in both civic and professional organizations, including chairman, Geography Section of Southwest Social Science Association; president, Louisiana College Conference; president, North Louisiana Historical Association; president, Louisiana Historical Association, 1960. Died, Shreveport, La., July 14, 1975; interred Memory Lawn Cemetery, Natchitoches, La. D.M.R. Sources: John S. Kyser Papers, Watson Memorial Library, Northwestern State University of Louisiana, Natchitoches, Louisiana; “In Memoriam,” Journal of the North Louisiana Historical Association, VII, no. 1 (1975); Who’s Who in American Education, XXI (1963-1964); Obituary, Alexandria Daily Town Talk, July 15, 1975; Shreveport Journal, July 15, 1975; Shreveport Times, July 16, 1975.