Joseph Kirkland (January 7, 1830 - April 29, 1894)[1] was an American novelist. Born in Geneva, New York, he was a businessman in Chicago, then served in the Union Army during the Civil War, reaching the rank of major. After the war he became a lawyer while also pursuing writing. He is remembered as the author of two realistic novels of pioneer life in the Far West, Zury: The Meanest Man in Spring County 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 in 1894, at the age of 64.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Cousin, John William (1910). A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature. London, J. M. Dent & Sons; New York, E. P. Dutton.