Kennedy Family History

The Kennedy Families

Timothy Kennedy (1834 - 1888), was born in Ireland. Jim thinks his G-Grandfather came from Killarney.

His wife, Mary (Kennedy) (1837 - 1897), was born in Withnell, Lancashire.

The Lancashire BMD for Chorley lists a marriage between a Timothy Kennedy and a Mary Cowburn, in 1857. This fits in with the birth of the eldest son, William, in 1859, so maybe Mary was a Cowburn ?

The 1881 Census for Great Britain lists Timothy Kennedy's household as follows:
The census district of Withnell, in Lancashire, includes the village of Brinscall, which is where the Bensons and the Kennedys lived.


In the 1891 census, Timothy is not listed, and Mary Kennedy is head of the household. The census lists Mary Kennedy's household as follows:

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... and the children ?

The 1901 Census gives us a list of Kennedys, sorted into page-groups. In general we can assume that people on the same page were either members of the same family, or living in the house next door.

Using the free index to the 1911 Census we can find Kennedys living in Chorley (the registration district for Brinscall) and, using the "Others in household" search facility we can find groups of Kennedys within a household. This nay be one family, or it may be a Kennedy family with some other Kennedys as visitors.

The following non-Kennedy surnames are mainly conjecture, based on ages and a list of Kennedy marriages registered in Chorley (the registration district for Brinscall), or elsewhere in Lancashire.

Please remember that without looking at the actual census images and certificates, much of this is guesswork and is simply presented here as possibilities (that need further researching).

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William Kennedy is not mentioned in the 1901 census.

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James Kennedy married Fanny Benson in 1889.

The 1891 Census for Great Britain lists James Kennedy's household as follows:
The 1901 Census for Great Britain lists James Kennedy's household as follows:
Fanny is not on the 1901 census (she would have been 11 years old) ... did she die young ?? or perhaps she was with friends or relatives ??

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Elizabeth Kennedy is not mentioned in the 1891 census.

She is probably married by now and listed under her married name.
There is a marriage record for 1884 of an Elizabeth Kennedy marrying a John Lancaster and the 1901 Census lists a Lancaster family, where the data all fits.

So these could be the Lancasters, from whom Jim's cousin, Jack Lancaster, is descended.

This is John Lancaster's entry in the 1901 census.

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John Kennedy (1866) is now married to Betsy, and has a family.
There is a marriage record for 1890 of a John Kennedy marrying a Betsy Hindley

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Michael Kennedy (1868) is now married to Sarah, and has a family.
There is a marriage record for 1895 of a Michael Kennedy marrying a Sarah Ann Carey

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Margaret Kennedy is probably married by now and listed under her married name.
There is a marriage record for 1890 of a Margaret Kennedy marrying a Samuel Hindley

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Joseph Kennedy is now married to Clara and has a family.
There is a marriage record for 1899 of a Joseph Kennedy marrying a Clara Cookson


Timothy Kennedy is an anomaly here, but there is a birth of a Timothy Kennedy registered in 1910 Brindle/Withnell with mothers maiden name Cookson. So the age in the index could be 9 months, not years!

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Jane Kennedy (1864) is not mentioned in the census.

She is probably married by now and listed under her married name.
There is a marriage record for 1898 of a Jane Kennedy marrying an Anthony Butterfield and the 1901 Census lists a Butterworth family, where the data all fits.

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And these are probably the two youngest daughters, Mary (24), Ellen and Alice Kennedy,
but who are Hannah and Mary ?