Kennedy Family Connection

This post summarizes current family research that began with a goal of identifying the family of James Kennedy and his parents William Kennedy and Jane Gray of Allegheny County Pennsylvania. I strongly suspect that I am a descendant of James Kennedy, and we have DNA evidence that suggests connections between our family, other descendants of James, and descendants of William Kennedy and Jane Gray.

This research would be greatly bolstered by verifying that Kennedy males who descend from James share the same Y chromosome as Kennedy males who descend from other sons of William.

I start this review by summarizing the family of William and Jane, as recounted in a family history letter by a great-grandson.

Generation 1: William Kennedy and Jane Gray

“A History of the Russell and Kennedy Families”

A starting point is the Family History Letter written by William Kennedy, a grandson of Hugh Kennedy and great grandson of William Kennedy, the patriarch and immigrant ancestor for the family.

“A short account of the ancestry of William Kennedy of Clay County, Indiana, originally of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. This embraces his ancestry, paternal and maternal as far as my knowledge goes, then the ancestry of my wife Sarah Kennedy's, as I have information. This is written at the request and for our son, Joseph Russell Kennedy. William Kennedy Sept. 26th, 1858.

As far back as I have any account is my great grandfather's father. William Kennedy was born and raised in Scotland. When 18 or 19 years old he came in an army to Ireland and was in the famous Siege of Derry by James, the Catholic King.

After the Battle of Boyne which established Protestantism, he adopted Ireland as his country and married an Irish girl and had a numerous family. My great grandfather was of these. The balance I have no account of.

This William Kennedy married Jane Gray by whom he had four sons, James, Hugh, William, and Robert, and two daughters Rebecca and Isabel. [Authors then discusses the family of his grandfather Hugh]….

…I will go back to my grandfather [Hugh] Kennedy's brothers and sisters.

James Kennedy I know almost nothing of. They went south in an early day. They preferred being Quakers. I think from what I can gather he was apt to get drunk.

William Kennedy: his father set him up well to the exclusion of my grandfather [Hugh] and while young drinking and neglect of business reduced him to poverty but in his old days he reformed and became a Methodist professed religion and was believed to die happy.

Robert was a quiet inoffensive man of poor health. He married Polly Thompson a tyrannical tyrant. They had no children. She was thought dishonest. She was an aunt to the Thompson in Bowling Green. Robert fell dead in the road. [Allegheny County Deed Book 10-K, p. 494, settlement of the estate of Robert Kennedy names siblings Hugh Kennedy (and wife Elizabeth), William Kennedy (and wife Sarah), Isabella Sill (and husband George Sill), and Rebecca Ryan (and husband James Ryan). The siblings signed a quit claim to deed their share of their brother Robert Kennedy’s estate to brother William Kennedy’s oldest son, Robert Kennedy Jr (b. 1773).]

Isabel married George Sill. I shall have more to say of her when come to speak of my mother's parentage.

Rebecca their sister married James Ryan. They had a numerous family. They were all wicked and never improved any that I know of.”

 

Figure 1: Family of William Kennedy and Jane Gray as detailed in the Russell-Kennedy family history letter of 1858.

Generation 2: James Kennedy and Rachel Baker

•       James Kennedy married Rachel Baker on 22 October 1755 at Swedes’ Church (now Philadelphia Monthly Meeting) in Philadelphia.

•       Rachel may have died in the 1770s, and James may have remarried to Ann Sill, the daughter of James Sill and Ann Baker. The will for James Sill identifies his daughter Ann as “Ann Kennedy” in 1772. Ann Sill’s mother Ann Baker, who was a sister of Jesse Baker. Rachel and Ann were 1^st cousins.

•       James Kennedy lived in York County Pennsylvania at least until 1779 (see tax records in the Appendix).

•       In the 1779 tax list, James Kennedy is listed as having 8 people in the household, and his son Joshua Kennedy is listed separately as a single man. This suggests that James may have had 8 children altogether.

Likely children of James Kennedy and Rachel Baker include (but may not be limited to):

•       Joshua Kennedy born about 1761. Joshua Kennedy is listed in 1790 and 1791 property tax in Frederick County VA.  He married a cousin Nancy Sill in Allegheny County PA after 1796 when and where she administered her husband Robert Gray's estate. Joshua Kennedy and wife Ann of Clermont County Ohio sold land to father George Sill of Pennsylvania, 1813. He appeared in the Clermont County census in 1820 (with a boy born 1805-1810).

o   William Kennedy wrote, “Nancy [Ann] their oldest married Robert [G]ray a man of Enterprise and was thought rich till he died insolvent and ruined my father he being surety for him. They had several children. I know little about them. She then married a cousin Joseph [Joshua] Kennedy a son of old James. I said would get drunk and he was a drunkard and lazy and they lived and died poor.”

•       Jesse Kennedy born about 1765, more below.

•       Jane Kennedy b. circa 1766-1770. She married James Morford 12 Oct 1790 in Frederick County, Virginia. They moved to Greene County, PA. Jane Kennedy’s birth in various trees is given as November 1775 in Virginia; however, census records suggests that Jane Kennedy was 26-44 in 1810 and 45+ in 1820, and 60-69 in 1830, so she was likely born before 1770 and was the daughter of Rachel Baker.

•       James Kennedy (Jr.) born about 1770, lived in Licking County, Ohio

•       (Possible son) William Kennedy married Esther Romine on 4 Sep 1795 in Frederick County, Virginia.

•       Unidentified daughter, possible mother of David Kennedy and Thomas Long?

Mitochondrial DNA testing Confirms Connection between Jane Kennedy and Rachel Baker

•       Back in 2015, we obtained mitochondrial DNA test results for a matrilineal descendant of Jane Kennedy Morford-- X2b-T226C haplogroup.

•       In 2023, a full mitochondrial match was found with a second matrilineal descendant of Jane Kennedy Morford—through a second daughter. This confirms that Jane’s haplogroup was X2b-T226C.

•       Rachel Baker’s mother was Ann Regester. Ann had a sister Lydia Regester. Both were daughters of David Regester and his wife Lydia (Yarnall?).

Figure 2: Pedigree of Rachel Baker Kennedy from Wikitree (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Baker-62771).

•       Results for descendant of Lydia Regester were received in March 2024 (9 years after getting initial result for Jane Kennedy descendant). She is also X2b-T226C. This provides strong support for the hypothesis that Jane Kennedy was indeed the daughter of Rachel Baker who married James Kennedy.

?Generation 3: Jesse Kennedy and Elizabeth Bailey?

•        Jesse Kennedy is listed as a “single freeman” in association with a James Kennedy who has 130 acres of land. Possible brother Joshua Kennedy, single freeman, is taxed in that town in 1786.                                         

o   1786      Jesse      with James Kennedy                        Newbury, York, Pennsylvania            

o   1787      Jesse      with James Kennedy                        Newbury, York, Pennsylvania             100 lands, 2 horses, 2 cattle

o   1788      Jesse      with James Kennedy                        Newbury, York, Pennsylvania             139 lands, 2 horses, 2 cattle

o   1789      Jesse Kennedy (Sho?)        with James Kennedy and Joshua Kennedy  Taxed for 130 acres            Newbury, York, Pennsylvania       With Joshua Kennedy

•        Jesse Kennedy was likely was the Jesse Kennedy who married Elizabeth Bailey 27 Oct 1789 at the First Presbyterian Church, Borough of Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.

Figure 3: Marriage record of Jesse Kennedy and Elizabeth Bailey, First Presbyterian Church, Carlisle, Cumberland County, PA.

•        Jesse is listed in property tax records for Frederick County, Virginia, in 1793, 1796, 1798, and 1800, in the same rolls as a James Kennedy.

•        Jesse appears to the father of Daniel Kennedy below. This suggests that he moved from Virginia in 1800 to Pennsylvania by 1806.

•        Jesse lived in Cumberland twp, Greene County PA by 1810: 1810 census: Males 1<10 (Daniel?), 1 16-25, 1 45+ (Jesse), Females 1<10, 1 16-25, 1 26-44

•        Jesse Kennedy married (2nd) Elizabeth Leach circa 1820-1821.

•        1830 census: Males 2<10 1 10-15 0 16-18 1 16-25 (Daniel age 24?) 0 26-44 1 45+ (Jesse), Females 3<10 1 10-15 1 16-25 2 26-44 1 45+ (Elizabeth). In agriculture.

•        Jesse moved to Morgan County Ohio and is recorded there in the 1840 census. Jesse Kenedy, York Township, Morgan, Ohio, United States, age 60-70, with 1 female 50-60, 2 females 15-20, and 1 female 10-15, residing next to a Floyd Leech (a relative of Elizabeth’s).

?Generation 4: Daniel Kennedy and Hannah Rouse

Daniel Kennedy was born 18 Jun 1806 in Greene County, Pennsylvania. He and his wife, Hannah Ruse (or Rouse), came to Kentucky between 1830 and 1840. Together, they had 10 children: James, Eli, Samuel, Justice, David, Daniel, Mary Ann, Christopher, Lorenzo, and Christian. He died 12 Dec 1893 in Concord, Lewis Co., KY, USA

For more details, see: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Kennedy-12641

•       

Figure 4: Daniel Kennedy, son of Jesse Kennedy and Hannah Rouse.

Figure 5: Tombstone for Daniel Kennedy, his wife, and his son Lorenzo and his wife. Photo by Randy Peffer at https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/34455404/daniel-kennedy

Y DNA Testing of Male Kennedy Descendants from William

We recruited three Kennedy men whose family trees and autosomal DNA results suggested descent from William and Jane, although each of their trees had connections that required further investigation. After further review, the three Kennedy testers appear to be descendants of William Kennedy Sr. through his son William Kennedy Jr.

Each of the testers was assigned to Y haplogroup R-FT153290, with an estimated date to common ancestor of 1750 CE. However, there is a fourth tester who got the same haplogroup result, and he does not have a clear connection to William Jr.

A family history letter dated Nov 24, 1931 from E.H. Kennedy of Georgetown, Ohio to Dr. A.R. Kennedy of Lawrence, Kansas states: “I will give you the names of [William Jr.] Kennedy’s children as I have them….Robert, born 1773, John 1776, William, Thomas, James, Hugh, Catherine (married Blackburn), Jane (married Flick), Sally (married Patton).”

To verify that James (William Jr.'s brother), Jesse (James' presumed son), and Daniel (Jesse's son) belong to this Kennedy lineage, we need a male Kennedy descendant of that line to do a high-resolution Y DNA test.

New Barmore-Rhoney relatives found!

Over a century ago, Barmore descendants posted information about two branches of our tree that have since been lost for genealogical purposes.

I figured out one of them thanks to a combination of clues in the old articles and DNA evidence.

George Barmore had two unnamed daughters in South Carolina, one reportedly married a Morrison and one married a Rhoney (see article below for the fullest description, which unfortunately I only discovered after making this connection).

That Rhoney must have been John or Jonathan Roney/Rhoney who appears in the 1790 census in Abbeville County, SC (and the 1800 census in Laurens, SC).

1790 US Census, South Carolina, Abbeville Series: M637  Roll: 11  Page: 469

Roney, Jno.            1  4  2   0   0   0    one adult male, four males under 16 and two females, no slaves

1800- US Census,  South Carolina, Laurens, Series: M637  Roll: 11  Page: 233

Roney, John         males   1  2  1  0  1         females  1  2  0  1  0   1 

He evidently had the following children:

1) Daughter Mary Polly Roney b. 25 Feb 1784, South Carolina, USA; married bef. 1798 Squire Alexander; died 25 Mar 1862, Springfield, Greene, Missouri, USA.

2) Son James Roney (b. ca 1785 according to trees):

Spouse Phoebe Drummer (1790–)
Children
John (1808–1869)
Mahala (1817–1896)
Aaron C (1818–)
Elias M twin (1821–1902)
Elijah A twin (1821–1910)

William T (1827–)

3) Son Edward Roney (listed in 1810 census in Laurens, SC)

John Rhoney also had several other children according to the census records that we need to identify.

Autosomal DNA matches among our Barmore cousins are consistent with connections to both Polly and James named above.

Will need to do more research to find the missing Morrison daughter.

"OUR OLD ROADS No. 132.

The Five Notch road of a hundred years ago has been described in some detail as it dropped through the lower section of the county on its way from the mountains to Hamburg and Augusta. It may be recalled that north from White Hall in what is now Greenwood county It ran through the Buzzard Roost section of Abbeville county, west or Hodges and still swinging above Hodges it came out into what is now the paved highway above Hodges at or near the present home of Dr. J. K. Huff. From Dr. Huff's the Five Notch road and the present paved highway were almost the same until within a few hundred yards of the present high bridge over Southern Railway almost opposite Old Greenville church and just before reaching Shoal Junction, tie two roads separate. The old Five Notch road to be seen as it ran just in front of where now stand tall and big chimneys which mark the place where the large old home of Enoch Barmore stood just beyond on the right side of the road was the home of the rather or Enoch Barmore, known as "Squire" William Barmore. An older son of "Squire" William Barmore was Larkin Barmore. The father and the two sons were owners of a store on the Five Notch road and the" post office kept in this store was named "Mount Hill."  These were large land owners and also owned and operated a tan yard, mill and gin at this place. Nearby was the Mount Hill school largely sustained by their patronage. The post office of Mount Hill was the first post office established in the extreme northeast section of Abbeville county antedating Due West Corner by several years. The name "Barmore", according to one member of the family originally was "Barrymore" and the name is still so spelled in England. In the first record of the name in the minutes of Turkey Creek church the spelling is "Baremore" which would be the same pronunciation, though this spelling may have been due to the recording clerk's idea. The first of the name to locate in South Carolina was George Barmore, who, according to family tradition, was a native of England and who came to this country as an orphan boy and first made his home with a family in New Jersey about the year 1700. He was not treated kindly, tradition continues, and after a few years he removed to Virginia and married there. The name of his wife is not known. All of his children, the family tradition is, were born in Virginia. He later removed to South Carolina and located in the section in which his descendants have lived ever since. George Barmore had one son, James Barmore, and three daughters. When or where George Barmore died is not known.  The census of 1790 lists only two heads of families by the name Barmore. These were George Barmore and James Barmore, undoubtedly the father and son just named, so George Barmore was living here so late as 1790 and this may mean that the year of his arrival in this country was some years after 1700. The three daughters of George Barmore and sisters of James Barmore married as follows, first names not known, one married Roney (also spelled Rhoney); one married Shirley and the third married Morrison. Descendants of the last two were still living in the state in 1893, according to the family record but the first, Mrs. Roney, removed to Georgia after the War Between the States and has descendants in that State. The census of 1790 gives in this neighborhood the names of only one Roney and his first name was John. There were six heads of families by the name of Shirley in the community or section in 1790, these being Argey, ("short" for Archibald, evidently). Benj., James, two Johns, and Richard Shirley. There was no Morrison here in 1790. James Barmore son of George Barmore the first, located several miles east of the section in which his son Squire William Barmore later selected for his home. The home of James can still be located, one mile south of Ware Shoals on the paved highway leading to Greenwood and on the right side of the road, near the W. H. Hughes home. The old road on which he was located was known as the old Cambridge road. The place was owned about sixty years ago by Mr. Killingsworth and went by his name. In 1892 it was owned by Wm. C. Davis, according to the record of a member of the family. The original home of James Barmore was still standing in 1812, though Mr. Killingsworth had rolled it some little distance from where it was first built.  James Barmore is said to have been in Revolutionary service as a soldier but he was so skilled in iron work that he was detailed to make and repair arms for the patriot soldiers and he operated at his home with many helpers a regular arms shop. After the Revolution he continued his shop and had a wide reputation in this part of the State for his skill. He handed down the business to his son William, who over on the Five Notch Road at what was later Mount Hill, continued the business and like his father had a large force or workmen and drew patronage from people who lived "twenty-five miles and more away, or what was about a day's journey in those days. James Barmore died about 1830 and is buried in the Turkey Creek church cemetery. James Barmore married a Miss Smith and they had one daughter and three sons, as follows: Frances, who married Asa Franklin, and they had two sons, and in 1845 all of this family removed to Alabama. Peter Barmore, oldest son, married Lucy Dodson, settled on a place on the old Cambridge road in recent years owned by J. C. Cork, and they had several daughters names not known and three sons, Hardeman, Louis and Larkin Barmore, all of whom after Peter Barmore's death removed to Georgia; George Barmore, the second, who settled on a place given him by his father about two miles above what is now Donalds and later owned by Charlie Dodson. married a Miss Pyles and they had several daughters and one son, Reuben Barmore, who later with his mother and sisters removed to Mississippi: and the third son William Barmore, who married three times, first to Nancy Dodson, second to Nancy McGee, and third to Polly Hodges. This William Barmore is the ancestor of all of the name in this part of the State, and also of many other descendants of other names. (To be continued.)"

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6926294/history-of-five-notch/

New Family Discoveries 2020

John B. Kendall, the brother of Polly Kendall (Luther's mother), moved to California after the gold rush began. He appears in the census in 1860 in Nevada City as a "miner", but later served as a Justice of the Peace, working in the courthouse on Pine St.

 

Nevada City about 1856, when John may have arrived; photo by Julia Ann Rudolph (c. 1820-c. 1900).

I made some progress in reconstructing the family of Henry Stickel and his wife Eva, including tentatively identifying descendants of their son Nicholas (a Harriet Stigler married to Joseph Leander Smith) and their daughter Polly, who may have had a son John Smith who first married Margaret Slaughter (a daughter of our ancestor Frederick Slaughter and his wife Katherine Stickel, Polly's sister) and secondly married Sarah Botts. All of them are listed in the Salem Baptist Church records in Guernsey County, Ohio.

I also found that Eva may have a connection (shared DNA segments) to the family of Leaner Fry Morgan and Enoch Fry, both of of Fauquier County Virginia. Perhaps her maiden name was Fry.

Leaner Fry Morgan died June 23, 1859.

On the Slaughter side, it appears that many Slaughters from Chester County, PA ended up in Delaware County, PA, and they may be related to our Philip Slaughter and his presumed father Jacob Slaughter. Jacob left some money to his grandson, also named Jacob. Some of these Delaware county Slaughters may have been his descendants. Some of them were cordwainers like our ancestor Philip Slaughter.

Shoemaker working in the Philadelphia Almshouse during the 1870s in this illustration by Alice Barber Stephens. (Library of Congress)

Finally, we are waiting on DNA results for a descendant of Jesse Kennedy, who seems to have been related to the father of Jackson Long.

Why Mary Bearmore's mother may have been Rachel Crownover

Mary Bearmore's mother has never been explicity identified, but I suspect that she may have been a Rachel Crownover/Covenhoven, a (previously unidentified) daughter of John/Jan Crownover/Covenhoven and his wife. The rationale for identifying her is explained below:

1)  Descendants of Lucretia Long (Yoho), daughter of Mary Bearmore, had identified Lucretia's mother as Rachel Crownover. Oral history from William Jasper Yoho (1858-1947): "Now William Henry was his son and his wife was Luceta (probably Lucretia) Long. She was born in Pennsylvania and came to Ohio with her family when she was six year old. Her father's name was James Long and his wife was Rachel Crownover." Indeed, Lucretia was the daughter of James Long and she did move from Pennsylvania to Ohio with her family before 1830 (she was born in 1823). We know that her mother was not a Crownover, as DNA evidence clearly links the Long descendants to the Bearmores. It seems likely that they simply missed a generation in the oral history.

The death certificate for Lydia (Lida) Long Crownover, according to information from her husband, identified her parents as James Long and Lucy Long.

2) The probate record for Jonathan Bearmore indicates that Lydia Crownover (presumably Lydia Predmore Crownover), was a major creditor of his estate. Apparently he had property in the amount of 11 pounds 13 shillings 1 penny that belonged to her and was sold at the auction of his estate but was not included in the list of articles sold or in the estate inventory. The entry describing the above information is crossed out, but she is listed among the creditors in the final record for the above amount. She seems receive about 1 pound 6 shillings 2 pence worth of wheat and rye grain in the sale; that sale is handwritten in after the other items, along with some leather sold to the Administrator, Benjamin South (brother of Jonathan's wife Keziah).

I have not seen any other records for this Lydia Crownover in Greene County; however, I strongly suspect that she is related to the deceased. Jonathan Bearmore came from Middlesex County, New Jersey about 1797; the Crownovers are from the same place. Most of the creditors appear to be in Greene County in 1798 tax lists, except for Joseph South, who was the father of the deceased’s wife Kezia South (and I note that he was the largest creditor, with Lydia the second largest).Lydia was not directly related to Jonathan's second wife, Keziah South.

Judy Burns noted the following in reviewing the estate records:

"The notes represent a list of debts owed by Jonathan. Number 9 appears to say that he owed Lydia Crownover for the items listed below but that Jonathan sold them in 1797 before he moved from Jersey. The people that he sold them to include two Furmans – Andrew and Archable. I have researched Furmans for almost 20 years and have not seen those given names before. The name Joseph Story rings a bell but I can’t remember from where I recall it. Major South is Keziah’s brother and the debt to him is dated 11/20/1797 and is for furniture and bording? work. Elijah South (another brother) moved to Greene County around the same time that Jonathan did. I imagine they traveled together. He is owed for turnips and two days work. Jonathan also owed William Furman, my gggg grandfather, for wheat, corn, and oats. Those debts would have been accumulated after he arrived in Greene County. Joseph South apparently signed an affidavit making his claim (dated 5/6/1790) against the estate. I wonder if he was trying to retrieve the dowry provided for Keziah. It would be better that the money came back to him than to be used to pay the rest of Jonathan’s debts. The estate record includes payment to Jacob Bowman for tutoring Samuel and Lucrece Bearmore....Jonathan moved to Greene County and appears to have died within a year. It looks like he borrowed a great deal and came to Greene County on a shoestring."

It seems that he might have been selling Lydia's goods after Jonathan moved to PA, perhaps the goods were a dowry from Lydia for his first wife?

3) James Long and Mary Bearmore had the following daughters:

a) Lydia (probably after Lydia Predmore, since the name does not appear among the Longs)

b) Rachel (James' sister, perhaps Mary's mother too?)

c) one or two named Mary (mother)

d) Nancy (possibly named for Nancy Covenhoven, who would have been Mary's aunt if my supposition is correct)

e) Dorcas (James' sister)

f) Lucretia (Mary's sister)

4) I presume that Jonathan Bearmore had two wives, since there's a wide gap between his first three children (George, Mary, and Lucretia, born 1780-1781) and his last two (Joseph b. 1792 and Samuel b. 1790). Also, the latter two are named in the will of Keziah's father, Joseph South as "her two sons" in 1811, while the other three are not mentioned. They would have been 21 or under at that time, so perhaps there were legal reasons for the distinction.

"1811, May 2. South, Joseph, of East Windsor Twsp., Middlesex Co.: will of. Wife, Sarah, use of plantation whereon I live, and moveable estate, for life, after which to be sold. Son, Joseph, tract (70 acres) as heretofore given him, he paying $100. Son, Elisha, $5 Son, Isaac, $120 Grandaughter, Nancy Danser. $20 Residue (after debts are paid), into 13 parts. Sons, Elija and Benjamin, each 2 shares. Interest of 1 share to daughter, Kesiah, and after her death to her two sons, Samuel and Joseph Baremore. Sons, Major and Charles, each 2 shares. Daughters, Mary Danser, Sarah Danser, each 1 share. Grandson, Gill Jewell, 2 shares. Executors---son, Charles, and Abiah Danser*. Witnesses ---Sarah Man, Jas Mershon, Allison Ely, Jr. Proved Jan. 18, 1813 1813 Jan 18. Inventory. $2,173.23; made by Andrew Rowan, Allison Ely. *Sighed by mark. File 10437 L."

Estate records for Joseph mention: "Joseph Baremore for his legacy left in the hands of the deceased...." and "By cash paid to Keziah Baremore."

5) John/Jan Covenhoven's wife has not been clearly identified (see separate post), and his children are not fully identified. There is a gap between the son Thomas (abt. 1764) and daughter Jemima (abt. 1767) that would fit with the expected birth for James's presumed first wife. Ruth Crownover (married to a descendant of theirs) suggested that Rachel might be a child of John and his wife, whom she thought was Mary South. Their children generally went by the name Crownover. She had written that, "John Covenhoven 1719-1778 and Lydia Pridmore left New Jersey in the 1760s for Pennsylvania. The son settled in Huntingdon county with a large family, the father and rest of the family went to Berkeley county, VA in 1772." Note that George Bearmore (Jonathan's father) lived in Fauquier Virginia for in the late 1700s before relocating to South Carolina.

6) I have found autosomal DNA matches with descendants of John Covenhoven and Lydia Predmore; most common among these are descendants of Joseph Crownover who married Sally Prigmore, who as a relative of Lydia's (and therefore likely their descendants would carry more DNA from the John and Lydia pairing).

Combined, I believe this information supports the hypothesis, although DNA testing would be extremely useful to validate it.

Kennedy Family Connections Part 3

Here’s an update on the search for Kennedy connections. All of the lineages below seems very likely to relate to our Kennedys who descend from William Kennedy and Jane Gray:

A male Kennedy descendant of Daniel Kennedy, son of Jesse Kennedy of Greene County, PA, recently received new autosomal DNA results. He was a match to a descendant of Jesse Kennedy of Morgan County Ohio (through daughter Rachel Kennedy Leach). This is one of several matches between members of an AncestryDNA circle for Rachel and descendants of Daniel, and it supports the hypothesis that the two Jesses are one. However, information on Jesse Kennedy of Greene County is pretty sparse, and many trees appears to have unsupported inferences (e.g., that Jesse married a Rose Cary in Philadelphia).

A descendant of a David Kennedy married to Magdalena Troyer, who lived in Holmes County, Ohio, is receiving detailed Y DNA results, which associate him with a subclade of M222 that is very common among Kennedys of Ayrshire, Scotland. Hopefully, these results will facilitate more refined Y DNA testing to help validate connections among the Kennedys.

James Kennedy born circa 1798 who married Elizabeth Griffith 6 Jul 1820 in Franklin, Franklin, Ohio, USA and had sons William and Isaac.

David Kennedy married to Mary Wildman, lived in Greene County, PA. Had son Daniel Kennedy married Phoebe Ashby.

Kennedy Family Connections Part 2

Reconnecting Lost Kennedys

In the last post, I had conjectured that our Long family had a Kennedy ancestor that was a sibling of a Jane Kennedy (wife of James Morford), a Jesse Kennedy, and a James Kennedy. I continue to think that hypothesis is correct. Since then, I have come to believe that Jesse Kennedy had two wives and several children that we can trace down to descendants who share autosomal DNA with our family. William Kennedy and Jane Gray were parents of James Kennedy who married Ann Sill, the daughter of James Sill and Ann Baker. I suspect that James and Ann are the parents of Jane, Jesse, James, and perhaps a daughter who was the paternal mother of Jackson Long. Both of these hypotheses have considerable support from the autosomal DNA results. Below are some of the records for this family:

Kennedys in Frederick County Virginia Tax Lists

There are 5 Kennedys listed in the Frederick County Virginia property tax records in the late 1700s (Hugh, Jesse, Joshua, William, and James), but only Hugh is in the land tax records. I suspect that Jesse is the same one above, and that Joshua is the son of William Kennedy and Jane Gray.

Hugh Kennedy 

Hugh Kennedy received 233 acres "of Hite" in 1789. He maintained property (acreages sometimes at 269 areas and then at 232.75) through 1809. I don't seem him listed in 1810 or later.

For the personal property tax records, Hugh Kennedy is present in 1787 through 1802, with a slave<16 years in 1787, 1794, 1796, 1797, a slave>16 years 1798-1802. I don't have access to all the records from 1802 through 1810, but I see a Hugh Kennedy in 1811 and 1812.

Other researchers have shown the following for Hugh Kennedy the elder:

Event: Tax List 1757 Chester County Tax Rate, Middletown Township 1/0 ALSO LISTED: Patrick Hughes, Henry Hughes

Event: Tax List 1759 Chester County Tax Rate, Middletown Township 1/0 ALSO LISTED: Patrick Hughes

Event: Tax List 1761 Chester County Tax Rate, Middletown Township 'Inmate' 1/9

Event: Tax List 1779 Warrington Township, York County 153A, 2 horse, 3 cattle

Event: Tax List 1780 Warrington Township, York County 100 acres

Event: Tax List 1781 Warrington Township, York County 150 acres

Event: Tax List 1783 Rostraver Twp., Westmoreland County, PA: 100 acres, no inhabitants.

"the 1783 Transcript of Taxables in Rostraver Twp. Westmoreland Co. lists Robert, William Sr., Hugh, and William Jr. at 100 acres each (thus 400 acres) with inhabitants of 2, 2, 0, and 7 respectively, But Hugh apparently got none*. He was not living on the land for which he is taxed here." (https://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=:3207982&id=I621600297)

*I question the idea that he received no share of the inheritance: Allegheny land books show that

Hugh Kennedy and wife Elizabeth transferred land to John Phillips in 1811, 115 acres of land that had been received by William Kennedy from John Creigh in 1773  (300 acre) and transferred to Hugh in 1784.

Event: Tax List 1786 Rostraver Twp., Westmoreland County, PA: 2s, 1d

Event: Tax List 1791 Elizabeth Township, Allegheny County 3/.5

Census: 1800 Elizabeth Township, Allegheny County 02001//01001

Census: 1810 Elizabeth Township, Allegheny County 00101//01001

Note that Hugh Kennedy in the 1800/1810 census shows 2 boys born 1784-1790, down to one 16-26 in 1810. It seems unlikely that this is Hugh Sr. (who would have been 60 years old when those boys were born). Perhaps that is Hugh Jr.?

Joshua Kennedy

Joshua Kennedy is listed in 1790 and 1791 property tax in Frederick County VA. I think this is likely to be the Joshua Kennedy who was the son of James the elder who married Nancy Sill in Allegheny County PA after 1796 when and where she administered her husband Robert Gray's estate,  

Joshua Kennedy and wife Ann of Clermont County Ohio sold land to father George Sill of Pennsylvania, 1813. He appears in the Clermont County census in 1820 (with a boy born 1805-1810).

Robert Gray Birth 1756 PA
Nancy Sill Birth 1760 Death 1831
"Nancy their oldest married Robert Gray a man of Enterprise and was thought rich till he died insolvent and ruined my father he being surety for him. They had several children. I know little about them. She then married a cousin Joseph [sic-- Joshua] Kennedy a son of old James. I said would get drunk and he was a drunkard and lazy and they lived and died poor." Source: "A History of the Russell and Kennedy Families" by William Kennedy (Clay County, Indiana, 1858)

"There are several entries of "Martin Kennedy vs. Robert Gray" in the Allegheny County Court Docket, verifying that there was some legal quibble between the two men like the author alluded to. " Source: Charles Kennedy e-mail of 1-28-2009 to DAB.

Nancy Sill (daughter of George G Sill and Isabel Kennedy) was born Abt. 1760 in Chester County, Pennsylvania, and died 1831 in Old Swedes Church, , Philadelphia, PA. She married Robert Gray on Abt. 1778 in PA USA.

More About Nancy Sill and Robert Gray: Marriage: Abt. 1778, PA USA.

William Kennedy

William Kennedy is listed 1795, 1797, 1798, 1800, and 1802 for property tax in Frederick County VA.

Not sure which William this is--he seems young based upon limited property). He might be the same William Kennedy who appears with a Joshua Kennedy in 1820 Clermont County Ohio census (age 26-44 with a wife age 16-25, a son<10, and a daughter<10). William Kennedy might be the son of Joshua Kennedy.

James Kennedy

James Kennedy is listed 1793 to 1800, with 2 males over 16 in 1794 and later years for property tax in Frederick County VA. But tax records show a James Kennedy in Warrington Township, York County, 1781, 1782, and 1783 (Hugh Kennedy is in the list for  1779-1781).

1779 Tax list shows James Kennedy with no land, next to Hugh Kennedy with 153 acres. Could that James be Hugh Sr.'s son?

I am not sure which James is in Frederick County, perhaps Hugh's brother, Hugh's son, or perhaps that the elder James had a son James? There is a James Kennedy in Elizabeth, Allegheny in the 1790 census.

Jesse Kennedy

Jesse Kennedy is listed in 1793, 1796, 1798, and 1800 for property tax in Frederick County VA.

I hypothesize that he is the son of James the elder (and brother of Joshua).

Jesse appears to the father of Daniel Kennedy below. This suggests that he moved from Virginia in 1800 to Pennsylvania by 1806. I believe that this Jesse Kennedy married (2nd) Elizabeth Leach circa 1821. Jesse lived in Cumberland twp, Greene County PA by 1810:

1810 census: Males 1<10 (Daniel?), 1 16-25, 1 45+ (Jesse), Females 1<10, 1 16-25, 1 26-44

1820 census:

1830 census: Males 2<10 1 10-15 0 16-18 1 16-25 (Daniel age 24?) 0 26-44 1 45+ (Jesse)

Females 3<10 1 10-15 1 16-25 2 26-44 1 45+ (Elizabeth)

In agriculture 2.

Moved to Morgan County Ohio

1840 census

Daniel Kennedy

Daniel Kennedy was born 18 Jun 1806 in Greene County, Pennsylvania. He and his wife, Hannah Ruse (or Rouse), came to Kentucky between 1830 and 1840. Together, they had 10 children: James, Eli, Samuel, Justice, David, Daniel, Mary Ann, Christopher, Lorenzo, and Christian. He died 12 Dec 1893 in Concord, Lewis Co., KY, USA

For more details, see:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Kennedy-12641

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/34455404/daniel-kennedy