Joseph Kirkland (January 7, 1830 - April 29, 1894) was an American novelist. Born in Geneva, New York, to educator William Kirkland and author Caroline Kirkland, he was a businessman in Chicago, then served in the Union Army during the Civil War, reaching the rank of major. He resigned his Union Army commission and moved to Tilton, Illinois, where he married Theodosia B. Wilkinson in 1863. In 1864 he founded the Midwestern literary periodical Prairie Chicken. After the war he became a lawyer while also pursuing writing. He is best remembered as the author of two realistic novels of pioneer life in the Far West, Zury: The Meanest Man in Spring County (1887) and The McVeys. Other works are The Captain of Company K and The Story of Chicago. He was also the literary editor of the Chicago Tribune. Kirkland died in Chicago at the age of 64. References External links Joseph Kirkland - bibliographical overview, links to works online Joseph Kirkland Papers at the Newberry Library 1830 births 1894 deaths 19th-century American novelists Chicago Tribune people People from Geneva, New York Writers from Chicago Union Army officers 19th-century American journalists American male journalists American male novelists 19th-century American male writers Journalists from New York (state) People from Vermilion County, Illinois Novelists from New York (state) Novelists from Illinois Military personnel from Illinois