James Harvey Kidd was born on February 14, 1840, in Ionia, Michigan, to James and Jane Kidd. His father was a lumberman and farmer who owned $25,000 of real estate and $2,000 of personal property. He grew up and attended school in Kiddville, Michigan, and he enrolled at the University of Michigan around 1860. He left school two years later to join the Union army.

 

In 1862, he received a commission as captain of Company E of the 6^th Michigan Cavalry. The regiment took part in the Battle of Gettysburg, the Overland Campaign, and the Appomattox campaign. He was promoted to major in May 1863. He was wounded near Falling Waters, Maryland, on July 14, 1863, but he eventually recovered, and he rejoined the regiment in October 1863. He was promoted to colonel in May 1864. He was wounded again near Winchester, Virginia, in September 1864. He mustered out on November 7, 1865.

 

He settled in Ionia after the war, and he earned a living as a land office register. He married Florence McConnell on December 25, 1871, and their son Frederick was born around 1881. By 1880, he was working as editor of the Ionia Sentinel. He moved to Detroit, Michigan, in the late 1800s, but he returned to Ionia in the early 1900s. He applied for a federal pension in 1905 and eventually received one. He died in Ionia of “hypertrophy of [the] heart” on March 19, 1913.

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