U.S. Data Repository
 -- USGenNet Inc. --

Please read the U.S. Data Repository Copyright Statement on the following page:
<http://www.us-data.org/fineprint.html>

History and Progress of the County of Marion, West Virginia
by George A. Dunnington, Publisher 1880

Pen Sketches of Prominent Citizens
HON. ZEDEKIAH KIDWELL.

Dr. Zedekiah Kidwell, was one of the prominent
characters whose life was closely identified with the
political history of Marion county, and the entire
Congressional district which he represented in Congress
twice in succession. He was born in Fairfax county,
Virginia, January 4, 1814, and died in Fairmont, West
Virginia, April 26, 1872. He belonged to one of those
old Virginia families whose ancestry were English
emigrants of noble blood. The Doctor was a son of
Captain Kidwell, who figured in the war of 1812, and
contributed no little in various ways to the opening up
and improvement of West Virginia, his business being
that of a contractor and bridge-builder.

When a youth, Zedekiah received nothing more than a
practical English education in the schools of his
native county, but he was a good scholar, acquiring
knowledge with ease, and was proficient in his studies.
In after years he read and wrote a great deal, proving
himself a rapid thinker and writer. At the age of
nineteen he entered upon the study of medicine with Dr.
Grinnell, of Fairfax Court House. In the fall of 1834
his father removed to Clarksburg, and here the student
was interrupted in his professional studies, two or
three years being spent in teaching, clerking in a
store and assisting his father in his business. In
1837, he resumed the study of medicine with Drs. Wilson
and Carr, of Fairmont (then Middletown), and upon the
death of Dr. Carr he entered upon the practice of his
profession in partnership with Dr. Wilson.

In 1841 and 1842, Dr. Kidwell took a very active part
in procuring the formation of Marion county, and
entered political life as a delegate to the Virginia
Legislature in 1844--being re-elected several times. He
now became an active and influential politician in the
Democratic party, and in the Presidential campaign of
1848, was elector for his district, upon that ticket.
His labors, about this time, were enormous for one man,
and he brought on hemorrhage of the lungs from speaking
in the open air while hoarse, which came near
terminating his life. After a long illness, he rallied,
and entered again upon the active duties of life. being
obliged, however, to give up the practice of medicine.
He entered upon the study of law, and it was not long
until he was admitted to the bar. In 1852, he was
again drawn into politics and was elected to represent
his district in Congress. He served two terms--from
1853 to 1859. At the close of the second term he was
elected a member of the Board of Public Works of
Virginia, which office he filled until the breaking out
of the War of the Rebellion. He was never a defeated
candidate and was the most popular man in his district.
President Buchanan tendered him the office of sixth
auditor of the Treasury, but he declined to accept it.

Dr. Kidwell stood high in Congress, and was a faithful
legislator. His report in opposition to the
construction of the Pacific Railroad, on the route and
under the circumstances then proposed, was considered
an able document, and elicited high praise from many of
the leading papers of the country. He also made an able
speech in Congress upon what was known as the 
"Louisiana question." It was through his agency that
Wheeling was made a port of entry in 1854. He was one
of the "immortal seventy" who held out so long pending
the fierce struggle which resulted in the election of
Banks as Speaker of the House. He was an able stump
speaker, and the late Governor of Virginia, pronounced
him the ablest campaign manager in the State. His
public life terminated with the commencement of the
War. He was a hearty sympathizer with the South and
Southern principles in the great struggle, and the
course he took was a pure matter of conscience with
him.

Of his private character much that is good can be said.
He was an earnest Christian, and a member of of the M.
P. Church, Fairmont. He gave liberally of his means to
the support of various charitable institutions, and was
widely celebrated for his kindness and benevolence to
the poor.