| Notes |
- John Kennedy is the son of Charity & William Kennedy.
. John Kennedy was born in Scotland, lived in Ireland & was the first member of his family to come to America, arriving sometime before 1750. He went to New Jersey to live & when the war between France & England broke out in America, he joined the British forces. He was at Oswego when General Montcalm captured that Fort & with other prisoners, he was sent in a prison ship to France. After suffering untold hardship & privations he was finally exchanged with other prisoners & reached England.
Here he married an English lady & they returned to America settling in New Jersey. They had a large family of sons & daughters, the names of the sorts given as John, Charles, William, Richard & probably Samuel.
John was born 8 May 1761 in Sussex County. He studied to be a school teacher & sometime before 1787 he married his first wife. Charity, surname unknown.
After the war of the Revolution. He be came unhappy under the new government & in 1794 he decided to move to Canada. He brought a team of horses & he & Charity with 5 young children, began the long trek through the wilderness. On the way the horses died & they were forced to delay their journey travelling on foot & by boat. From Oswego they followed the south shore of Lake Ontario to the Niagara frontier.
While at Oswego they met a party of Indians who greatly admired their youngest son, Morris, who had the large bright black eyes & dark hair of the Kennedy clan. An Indian woman stole the baby but John gave chase & rescued him.
They crossed the Niagara River 8 June, 1795. Like many of the early pioneers, John & Charity Kennedy brought few worldly possessions but they held to their Christian faith & social culture, which helped them maintain their loyalty & morale through the many trials & tribulations which beset them & helped them to set up standards for community life. It was to this end that John frequently admonished his children to aim high in life, assuring them that their ancestors were more than ordinary well-to-do, intelligent & respectable people.
He told them that their forefathers were of a Scottish Irish clan, whose tartan was red & gold stripes over purple & black on a green back ground. He described the crest above their coat-of-arms as a human arm bearing in the hand an oaken branch with an acorn on it & the motto "Adhaereo vertuti" (I cling fast to virtue). From this data it has been easily possible to identify the Kennedy clan.
John & Charity settled first on Lot 19, Con V, Gainsborough township later settling on Lot 27, Con. VI. It is said that John acquired ownership of a 1,000 acres of land & settled his sons on farms of a least 200 acres each.
In the history of Gainsborough township it states: "The first schoolhouse was built of logs near Gee bridge erected 1798; not long afterward another schoolhouse was built at Snyder's Mills (St. Anns) & the first teacher was John Kennedy.
Charity, wife of John, died in 1799 & shortly afterward he married Barbara Dean. He died 12 April 1847. Barbara was born 1774, d. 1849. They were buried in the churchyard at St. Ann's,
Gainsborough.
Ref: Annals of the Forty, Vol. no. 5, 1954.
. 1816 May 20, Election, Candidates Robert Nelles Esq. & Doctor Cyrus Sumner.
John Kennedy, JR., Gainsborough Twp, Con 6, Lot 24, Voted for Nelles.
Ref: Annals of the Forty, Vol. 10, 1956.
. 1846 July 15, Wednesday. Hon. Chief Justice Robinson,
Claim 55. John Kennedy of Twp. of Erin, yeoman, claims as Eldest Son & Heir at Law of William Kennedy, deceased, assignee of John Morris, also deceased,
North Westerly half 16 Acres., Con 4, Erin, Original Designee John Morris.
Deferred for proof of the execution of the assignment from the original Nominee.
Ref:1st Heir & Devisee, H1151, pay 347, Archives of Canada.
. 1847 Jan 16, Saturday, John Kennedy Twp. Erin, Yeoman, Lot w half 16, Con 4, Erin Twp. Allowed.
Ref: 1st Heir & Devisee, H1151, pay 364 Archives of Canada. - - -
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1761 - 1847 (85 years)