“The gentleman was born in Winchester, Frederick county, Virginia, December 9th, 1797. His father, Peter Kehoe, and his mother, Annie Carrie, were born in Ireland. In 1809 they removed from Winchester to Wheeling, where they resided until the winter of 1815. While in Wheeling his mother died. On the 2nd of December of that year the father, with his children, landed at this place, making the trip down the river on flatboats.”
“They could secure no house here then, and the elder Kehoe and his daughter were allowed to sleep in the house occupied by John Young, and to cook by the kitchen fire, while young Murtaugh was compelled to woo Morpheus alone in a shoemaker shop further down town. Mr. Young, who extended these courtesies to the Kehoes, built the first courthouse in Scioto county.1“
The family consisted of four children; Nancy, who married James Saulsbury, an early settler of this county- both are now dead; Catharine, widow of the late Thomas Hatch, now living; Teresa, who was the eldest, never married, and died in 1824; Murtaugh, the subject of this sketch, was married to Miss Eliza Thompson, in April, 1829. She was born in Wheeling, and is still living. She is a daughter of the late Moses Thompson, who came to Portsmouth about the year 1815. She is a sister of Mrs. Joseph Lodwick2, Mrs. Amanda Pursell, and Mrs. Sarah McClain of this city.”
“Mr. Kehoe engaged in the shoe and leather business, in this place, about the year 1834, which he carried on successfully until 1860, when he disposed of his stock to George W. Hered.”
“We might say that ‘father Lindley,’ as he was called, a Presbyterian minister, was the first minister of that denomination, and preached in the court house.”
“Mr. Kehoe has had eleven children, three of whom died in infancy. They are Charles, living, John C., died in Illinois, two years ago; Caroline, dead; Dr. James, living in Clay Center, Kansas; Peter and Frank, druggists at Manhattan, Kanas; Murtaugh Jr3., at home, and Mary Ellen, who died when fourteen years of age.”
“Mr. Kehoe has never aspired to office, only having filled the office of school director for several years. Since his retiracy from active business pursuits in 1860, he has been living a quiet life at his pleasant residence on Court street between Third and Fourth streets.”
“He remembers many passing incident of the early history of Portsmouth, which are not materially different from some of those which have been mentioned in these biographical sketches. He exemplified the mischievousness of the Chillicothe raftsmen by relating an anecdote of one Kelsey, a Yankee, who did the milking in conformance with the rules handed down from the original Yankee. While he sat milking the cow one evening, some raftsman get behind the gentle animal and forced her into Kelsey’s house, upsetting the worthy and scattering the lacteal fluid all over home.”
“He distinctly remembers when Third street was a ravine, and vividly calls to mind the grand jollification over the completion of the canal to this place. Mr. Terry4 and Captain Cleveland5 came here about the time work began on the canal.”
“He believes that the progress of Portsmouth in the past five years has been greater than at any previous time. The construction of the canal, the railroad, and local packets being great motive powers in bringing about it present wealth and prosperity.”
“He is a member of All Saints Episcopal Church, and has been connected with it for many years.”
“Although houses may grow more numerous, and the city extended her domains, Mr. Kehoe- while surrounded by all that makes his later life agreeable- will remember the early inconveniences of the place, and will not soon forget taking his meals in another man’s kitchen and and spending his nights alone in a shoe maker shop.”6
- John Young finished construction of the first Scioto County courthouse in 1816. It was torn down in 1837.
- Jane Thompson Lodwick
- This is the second Junior; the first died in infancy
- John Pease Terry
- Francis Cleveland
- Biographical sketches of the early settlers of Scioto County, number seven: Murtaugh Kehoe. (1873, June 28). Portsmouth Times, p. 2.
