Stayed Mad Until He Died

Thomas J Kyle was born in Kentucky in 1810.  His parents James and Martha Anderson Kyle moved to Knox County Indiana in 1811.  In 1832 Thomas registered for the army in Vincennes Indiana for one year stating that he was 22, had been born in Clarke Kentucky and was a farmer.

On Sept 24, 1833, Thomas married Mahala Blevins in Knox County Indiana. (Martha Elizabeth, their daughter, was born September 21, 1832, in Indiana and died February 23, 1917, in Vincennes Indiana.)  He purchased 20 + acres from the US Public Land Office at Vincennes March 30, 1837, where he resided until the year of 1845. Thomas and Mahala then moved to Russellville; Lawrence County Illinois being elected to the office of Justice of the Peace in which capacity he served for 28 years.

The 1850 census for Lawrence County Illinois shows Thomas and Mahala both born in Kentucky with Martha Kyle age 15 living with them   He states that his occupation was carpenter. Russellville history states that he built a two -story flouring mill in 1855.

In the 1860 census Thomas, 49, is shown with large real estate holdings and considerable personal wealth living in Russellville.  His occupation is given as Lawyer. Henry Richard, another lawyer, is living in his household along with Thomas’s wife Mahaly (45).  When the 1870 census was taken he and Mahala were still living in Russellville.

There seemed to be some discrepancy about when the old man died. One newspaper stated that Thomas J Kyle died at his residence two miles north of Russellville, Sunday morning January 13, 1878. Another newspaper stated that he died at midnight Saturday night January 12, and when his will was probated, the witnesses said he died on or about February 10, 1878.  His tombstone is inscribed January 12, 1878, age 67 years, 3 months, and 13 days.   His wife and daughter were not mentioned in the various death notices published, although they were both alive.  Burial was at TeWalt cemetery, Lawrence County Illinois.

Kyle’s Will was probated on March 18, 1878, in Lawrence County. He set aside an earlier Will made in which he gave his wife Mahaley Kyle all of his personal estate and real estate. That Will was to be null and void. He provided in the new Will that “my wife shall hold no property of my estate only as the statue of the state of Illinois provides for her.”  No other provisions for distributions were made. He signed it on November 9, 1877.

So something happened between when he and Mahaly were living “happily (?)” together in the 1870 census and seven years later when he cut her out of the Will. Inquiring minds would like to know the whole story.