Thursday, August 9, 2018

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:




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