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Local figure

John Kimberly

John Kimberly was elected to the University of North Carolina's chair of agricultural chemistry in January 1857, succeeding Benjamin Hedrick, and after a year of study at Heidelberg expanded laboratory teaching in Chapel Hill. He returned for a year when the university reopened in 1875, then left to farm near Asheville.

Source: NCpedia: Kimberly, John

1817–1882 · Dates from the Library of Congress · On the Friends’ Local Authors roster → · Library of Congress authority record ↗

1 work about John Kimberly is indexed here, as is one work by Kimberly. 1 held at OCPL →

John Kimberly, portrait plate, 1857
John Kimberly, portrait plate, 1857

Life and Orange County connections

Storylines this person is part of, in date order. Each has its own page.

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 6 dated events in the chronology →

  1. John Kimberly is elected the university's professor of agricultural chemistry The university elected John Kimberly, a Harvard-trained chemist then teaching in eastern North Carolina, to the chair of agricultural chemistry in place of the dismissed Benjamin Hedrick. People: Benjamin Sherwood Hedrick Place: Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina · Also named: Benjamin HedrickSearch the index · NCpedia: Kimberly, John
  2. Professors Fetter and Kimberly and tutor Charles Mitchell take over Elisha Mitchell's teaching Under the trustees' arrangement after Elisha Mitchell's death, Professor Manuel Fetter, Professor John Kimberly of the scientific school and tutor Charles A. Mitchell, the late professor's son, were appointed to carry his professorial duties for the time being. People: John Kimberly, Manuel Fetter Place: University, Chapel Hill · Also named: Charles A. Mitchell, Elisha MitchellSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Gazette, July 25, 1857, p. 3
  3. John Kimberly expands laboratory teaching at the university Back in Chapel Hill after a year of study abroad in 1859, John Kimberly expanded laboratory instruction in chemistry and introduced the university's first laboratory fee for supplies. Place: Chapel Hill, University of North CarolinaSearch the index · NCpedia: Kimberly, John
  4. The Rev. Andrew Hepburn takes up the university chair of rhetoric, logic and metaphysics The Rev. Andrew Hepburn, newly appointed professor of rhetoric, logic and metaphysics, arrived at Chapel Hill and began his duties at the opening of the spring session. About twenty-five new students entered at the same time, and Professor Kimberly returned from a year of study in Germany. People: John Kimberly Place: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill · Also named: Andrew HepburnSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, February 1, 1860, p. 3
  5. The Chapel of the Cross nearly empties while the university is closed When the university shut in 1868 most parishioners left Chapel Hill, and for a time the parish had too few men to form a vestry. Lay readers and a monthly visit from R. B. Sutton kept services going; Sutton was still taking the morning service in April 1878. Joseph Blount Cheshire Jr., assigned to the parish, took charge in May 1878. People: Fordyce M. Hubbard, Kemp Plummer Battle, John Kimberly, Joseph Blount Cheshire Jr. Place: Chapel of the Cross, East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill · Also named: R. B. SuttonArchibald Henderson, The Church of the Atonement and the Chapel of the Cross at Chapel Hill (1938), scan p. 54 · Also: The Chapel Hill Ledger, April 18, 1878, p. 3; The Chapel Hill Ledger, May 18, 1878, p. 3
  6. John Kimberly returns as professor of agriculture at the reopened university When the university reorganized and reopened in 1875, John Kimberly was elected professor of agriculture. He resigned the next year to return to his farm in Buncombe County. Place: Chapel Hill, University of North CarolinaSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. 1

People named in the same events

People named in the same dated entries as John Kimberly, those sharing the most entries first. Each line links one of the shared entries in the chronology, where its source is cited. A shared entry shows these people in the same event, not how well they knew each other.

Indexed works

Works about or by John Kimberly. Each links to the institution that holds or provides it. Background reading appears below.

By John Kimberly

Kimberly family papers

Kimberly, John, 1817-1882 · 2000 · Academic Affairs Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Letters of the Kimberly family of Chapel Hill, written during the Civil War and issued in 2000 as an electronic edition in the Documenting the American South project of the university library, within its Southern Homefront collection. The sections cover the Union invasion, disease and death, the homefront and morale, with page images of the originals. Kristofer Ray transcribed and annotated the letters.

About John Kimberly

Putting Down Roots

Burk, William R. · 2023

William R. Burk's history of botany at the University of North Carolina, from its early natural scientists such as Denison Olmsted and Elisha Mitchell through later figures including George Francis Atkinson, Joseph Austin Holmes and Henry Van Peters Wilson, closing with a chapter on the Department of Botany itself. Published in Fort Worth in 2023.

Included because: Catalog heading in the OCPL record: Kimberly, John, 1817-1882.

Start at OCPL

Books in OCPL’s Rebecca B. Wall Local History Collection whose titles, catalog subjects, or descriptions match this person. The Friends’ recommended starting points are labelled.

Places in this person’s story

Buildings, schools, churches and other sites named in the dated events on this page, the most often named first. The map shows them all.

Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Site locations from the N.C. State Historic Preservation Office survey, Open Orange, Orange County GIS, OpenStreetMap and a few other published sources named on each site’s page; town and community pins show approximate locations.

All places and the county map →

Research sources

Sources and research tools for this person. For ready-made searches of other catalogs, see Search further. Research guide: Trace a family through historical records.

Background

Records of the time

Collections and databases

  • NC LIVE: prepared search for John Kimberly Library card Search NC LIVE for this subject and Orange County. You can change the search terms. Sign in through your North Carolina library to access the materials.
  • Ancestry Library Edition In the libraryOrange County Public Library Census, birth, death and marriage records, and more, free on the public computers at OCPL libraries

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Books about John Kimberly

Books by John Kimberly

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Photographs, papers, and newspapers

Historical records and collections

Catalog searches use the Library of Congress name heading: Kimberly, John, 1817-1882. Historical-record searches use the person’s name and may include namesakes. Links open in a new tab.

Found a book OCPL doesn’t own? You can often borrow it through interlibrary loan at OCPL.

Picture: John Kimberly, portrait plate, 1857. Public domain. Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. 1 (1907); via the Internet Archive

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