George Kennedy (1799-1870) was a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
businessman.
Georgetown,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
is named in his honour.
Early life
Kennedy was born at Snyder's Mills (St. Ann). His father was John Kennedy (1761-1847) and his mother was Charity (née Wurtz) (1761-1800). John was a teacher, a job he had trained for years before in
Sussex, New Jersey. Charity ran the household.
His siblings include: John (1787-1874), Elizabeth (1788-1842), Ann (1790-1797), Charles (1792-1854), and Morris (1794-1870).
After the death of his mother (Charity), his father remarried, this time to Barbara (née Slough) (1773-1849). Barbara and John had eight more children.
Kennedy served with the British during the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
. In 1819, five Kennedy brothers claimed land in
Halton County, Ontario. George, Morris, Charles, Samuel and John settled in an area that is now in
Georgetown, Ontario
Georgetown is a large unincorporated community in the town of Halton Hills, Ontario, Canada, in the Regional Municipality of Halton. The town includes several small villages or settlements such as Norval, Limehouse, Stewarttown and Glen William ...
in 1823. Several years later, their brother-in-law, Benajah Williams arrived and settled in the area that later became the community of Glen Williams.
George dammed the Silver Creek property in the early 1820s to power a sawmill, and later a gristmill and foundry and then a woolen mill; a small settlement formed around the mills, often called "Hungry Hollow". In the 1850s, he subdivided his land into small lots for sale to new settlers.
Marriage
George married Sarah Bedford (1798-1875) in 1821. They had nine children: Charity (c1822), Sarah (c1823), Harriet (1824) - the first child born in Georgetown, George Couse (1826), Emery (1827), Sarah Ann (c1828?), Louisa (1830), John Corban (1834), and Barbara Elizabeth (1836).
Family history -- arrival in Upper Canada
Kennedy's parents were supporters of the King during the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
. After its conclusion in 1783, life became unbearable for the
Loyalists who settled in places like Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Quebec.
Niagara District
The Niagara District was a historic district in Upper Canada. Created in 1798 from the Home District, it existed until 1849.
Historic evolution
The District was formed by an Act of the Parliament of Upper Canada in 1798, and was described as con ...
,
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...
was the place that John and Charity travelled to with their children. Land was granted to John in
Gainsborough Township Gainsborough or Gainsboro may refer to:
Places
* Gainsborough, Ipswich, Suffolk, England
** Gainsborough Ward, Ipswich
* Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, a town in England
** Gainsborough (UK Parliament constituency)
* Gainsborough, New South Wales, A ...
, Niagara District in 1795.
See also
*
Wilbur Lake {{Unreferenced, date=February 2010
Wilbur Lake was a prominent feature in Georgetown, Ontario, Canada. The lake contributed to the growth and economic development of the area, during the early years of the township. It also served as a recreational ...
References
*https://web.archive.org/web/20170410052012/http://www.georgetownon.ca/index.php/history/702-brief-history-of-georgetown-in-ontario
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, George
1799 births
1870 deaths
Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople
People from the Regional Municipality of Halton