William Faulkner Kennedy

"An Illustrated History of Whitman County, state of Washington." San Francisco: W. H. Lever, 1901. p. 290.

W. F. KENNEDY

While presenting outlines of the early pioneers and more prominent men of Whitman county, we would certainly not escape the charge of inconsistency did we fail to make due mention of the man whose name appears as the caption of this article. A resident of the county since the year of its organization as a political division, and a force in its industrial and political development from that day to this, he has certainly well earned the right to be classed among its founders and builders.

Mr. Kennedy is a native of Missouri, born October 28, 1843. He grew to manhood and acquired his education there, but had not yet attained his twentieth year when the fratricidal war which was then deluging our land in blood necessitated his enlistment in the state militia. He was discharged in 1863, and immediately thereafter started with ox-teams on the long and dangerous journey across plain and mountain to the Golden state. Locating in San Joaquin county, he engaged in packing for a time, then went into the wood business, but in 1865 he came to Oregon. Locating in Linn county, he engaged in farming. In 1871 he came to Whitman county and filed on the place he now has. He did not, however, permanently locate here until 1877, though he kept stock in the county all these years and passed back and forth quite frequently between his place here and the one in Oregon. Since the year just mentioned he has resided in Whitman county continuously, engaged in farming and stock-raising. He is one of the most thrifty and successful men of his community, and is rightly considered one of the best agriculturists of the county. In the political affairs, local and state, he is also quite active, manifesting a broad mind and public spirit at all times.

Mr. Kennedy was married in the state of Oregon on July 24, 1874, the lady being Miss Mary E. Wallace, a native of that state, and they have three children: Joseph, a farmer on the old home place; Jennie M. and John.

Transcriber's additional notes:

Census

1850, Oct. 18; Clay Co, MO; Washington Twp, p 364
Joseph Kennedy, 27, KY, farmer
Margarite, 26, KY
William, 7, MO, att. school
Marziel, 6, MO
Thomas, 5, MO
Elizabeth, 4, MO
Joseph, 2, MO

1860, June 1; Grundy Co, MO; Trenton, p 293
Joseph Kennedy, 39, KY, Merchant, $7000 real estate, $6000 pers prop
Margaret, 38, KY
Wm. F, 17, MO, farm laborer, att. school
Elizabeth, 14, MO, att. school
Marg. J, 13, MO, att. school
Thomas, 11, MO, att. school
Joseph, 9, MO, att. school
Sarah, 7, MO, att. school
Susan F., 5, MO, att. school
Davie, 3, MO
George, 1, MO

1870, Aug. 27; Linn Co, OR; Harrisburg Pct, p 606
Margaret Kenedy, 46, MO, keeping house
William F, 26, MO, farmer
Mary J, 24, MO
Thomas, 22, MO, works on farm
Joseph, 20, MO
Sarah, 17, MO
Susan F, 16, MO
George, 11, MO
Martha, 8, MO

1880, June 18; Whitman Co, WA; Farmington Pct, p 359
William Kennedy, 33, MO, KY, TN, farmer
Mary, wife, 28, OR, KY, KY
Juliaetta, dau, 8, OR, IA, OR
Joseph, son, 4, OR, MO, OR

1883; Whitman Co, WA; p 26
W. F. Kennedy, 39, MO, farmer
M. E, 31, f, OR
J. H., 7, m, OR
J. E., 11, f, OR

1887; Whitman Co, WA; page 158
Wm. F. Kennedy, 43, MO, farmer
Mary E, 35, OR
Julie, 15, OR
Joseph, 11, OR
Jettie May, 3, WT

1900; Whitman Co, WA; North Colfax, p 156
Joseph H. Kennedy, 24, Oct 1875, OR, MO, OR, mar 0 yrs, farmer
Ida, wife, 17, Sept 1882, TN, TN, TN, mar 0 yrs, 0 children
William F, father, 56, Oct 1843, MO, KY, KY, mar 26 yrs
Mary E, mother, 47, Nov 1852, OR, MO, TN, mar 26 yrs, 3 children-3 living
Jettie M, sister, 16, Dec 1883, WA, MO, OR, att. school
John W, brother, 6, Oct 1893, WA, MO, OR, att. school
Guy McClintock, servant, 18, June 1881, KS, IL, MN, farm laborer,single
Frank Sinclair, servant, 33, Jan 1867, KS, MO, OR, farm laborer, single
Andrew H. Anderson, servant, 27, Aug 1872, NOR, NOR, NOR, farm laborer, single

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Submitted to the Washington Biographies Project in October 2007 by Diana Smith. Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above. For more information on this family, please contact .

shared the following photos and history sof the Kennedy family:

William Faulkner Kennedy		Joseph, Nora, Edna and Ross Kennedy

"Joseph Kennedy and Margaret Harris Kennedy left by wagon train, with their family, from Independence Missouri in April of 1863. Margaret Kennedy, born in Kentucky on 26 Sept., 1826, had born 13 children, three of whom had died. She was now pregnant with her 14th child. On May 29th, Joseph was accidentally killed at Fremont Slough, Nebraska, by the accidental discharge of a shotgun. Two of the buckshot hit him in the head, killing him accidentally. Other members of the wagon train tried to persuade Margaret to return, but eleven-year-old daughter Sarah, who was Juanita Smith Gould's grandmother, said that her mother's response was, "We sold everything. I have nothing to go back to." So a widow with ten children, and pregnant with another, proceeded to California. They arrived at Placerville, California, probably September 1863. They later moved to Harrisburg, Oregon and then to Whitman County.

William Faulkner Kennedy, (See Photo), the oldest child of Joseph and Margaret Kennedy, was born in Garrard County Kentucky on 28 Oct., 1843. He served two years in the Civil War. He married Mary E. Wallace, 30 June 1875, and died in Colfax, Wa. on 5 Sept., 1904.

Jettie May, daughter of William F. and Mary Elizabeth Wallace Kennedy.

Elizabeth Kennedy was 18 when her father died en route from Missouri to California. She had eight younger brothers and sisters and her mother was pregnant. She had a suitor in Missouri, his name was William Fleece. We know that he went on the same wagon train as Elizabeth and they were married in 1865 in California. Elizabeth Kennedy Fleece and her husband William had two daughters Minnie Pearl and Mollie, who married George Robbins.

Thomas Kennedy married Caroline Brooks, children are Winnie and Ray.

Joseph Kennedy, (See Photo), younger brother to William, was born in Missouri on 24 March, 1850, so he was thirteen when the wagon train left Missouri.

Joseph Kennedy and his wife Elnora (nickname, Nora) and their two children Edna and Ross Kennedy. He and Elnora were married in Spokane on 4 March, 1902. These are two of their children, Edna and Ross. Their third, Harvey was born in 1892. He died in Spokane on 18 July 1918. Elnora lived to be 92 and died in Whitman County on 18 August 1950.

Sarah B. Kennedy Cross married John Lewis Cross, son Claude Kennedy, born 13 March 1888.

Susan Kennedy was a dress maker and had a shop in Corvallis after the family left California. She married Emilius Young in Spokane on 4 Mar 1853 t the age of 49. They did not have any children.

George Kennedy married Anna Hughes, daughter Grace was born in January of 1890." Please see the Kennedy Family website for more information and photos.

Updated on 6 Oct 2007.