John Kennedy Jr. (1847–1928) was an American politician in

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

and leader in

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church). He was the

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the Argyle Ward of the LDS Church in

Argyle, Utah Argyle is a ghost town located in Rich County, Utah, United States. Lying some southwest of Randolph on Big Creek, it was inhabited from approximately 1875–1915. History ''Circa'' 1875, John Kennedy, Sr. (the great-grandfather of David M. Ken ...

, during its entire existence. Kennedy was also a member of the Utah State Legislature, the Rich County Commission, and a justice of the peace. Kennedy was born 12 October 1847 in

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, to John Kennedy and his wife Elizabeth Black. In the 1860s, he joined the LDS Church along with the rest of his family and in 1870 sailed to America on the ship ''Colorado'' with his brother James. The Kennedy brothers worked as coal miners in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and then in

Almy, Wyoming Almy was a coal mining camp in Uinta County, Wyoming, United States, near the town of Evanston. In 1881, an explosion killed 38 miners in the Central Pacific Mine, marking the first mine explosion west of the Mississippi River. Another explosion ...

. Soon after arriving in Almy, Kennedy married Hannah Simpson. John and Hannah became the parents of 16 children. Kennedy later moved to

, where he worked as a farmer and rancher. He served as bishop of the Argyle Ward from its organization in 1895 until it was merged with the Randolph Ward in 1913. He died March 5, 1928, in

Randolph, Utah Randolph is a town in Rich County, Utah, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 464. It is the county seat of Rich County. Randolph had the highest percentage of people of any city in the country vote for George W. Bush in ...

References

* Hickman, Martin Berkeley. ''David Matthew Kennedy: Banker, Statesman, Churchman''. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book, 1987) p. 2-6. *

Andrew Jenson Andrew Jenson, born Anders Jensen, (December 11, 1850 – November 18, 1941) was a Danish immigrant to the United States who acted as an Assistant Church Historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for much of the ea ...

. '' Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia''. Vol. 3, p. 434-435. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, John (Utah politician) 1847 births 1928 deaths Converts to Mormonism Scottish emigrants to the United States Members of the Utah House of Representatives People from Rich County, Utah People from Kilmarnock Scottish leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Latter Day Saints from Utah