User Home Page Genealogy Report: Descendants of Evan R. Kennedy
Descendants of Evan R. Kennedy
1.EVAN R.2 KENNEDY(UNKNOWN1) was born April 12, 1824 in South Bend, Indiana1, and died 1896 in Silverlake, Kansas1.He married (1) SUSAN KEBIA WA-U-DAGA 1846 in Potawatomi Village Council Bluff, Iowa1, daughter of WA-U-DAG-A and UNKNOWN.He married (2) MONIQUE LAFROMBOISE August 23, 1889 in Silverlake, Kansas1, daughter of JOSEPH LAFROMBOISE.
Notes for EVAN R. KENNEDY:
[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 3, Ed. 1, Tree #3239, Date of Import: Jul 18, 1998]
Research in the Kennedy family history of James H. Kennedy starts with his great-great grandfather Evan R. Kennedy. A continued search will be made to find the parents of E.R. Kennedy, beyond just the knowledge that his parent came from some part of Pa. A search of history records in Chicago Illinois provided some additional family history about E.R.'s older sister Lydia Elisabeth Kennedy who was born around 1818. This is the only family member of E.R. Kennedy that has been confirmed.Individual named Louis Kennedy was identified as an early settler with the Potawatomi tribe when they moved to Kansas. The 1855 Census of Kansas listed the following Kennedy which could be related to our Kennedy family: Samuel Kennedy from Pennsylvania, 1st district, Eron Kennedy from Illinois, 12th district, Evan Kennedy, 12th district, Lewis M. Kennedy, 12th district. This census states that election vote for the 12th district was held at the store of Sloan and Beaubien at Silverlake. The appointed judges were as follows: Nath Wingardener, E. M. Sloan, and Evan Kennedy. This would be our E. R. Kennedy who was appointed a judge of the early election of "Bloody Kansas".
It is strongly believed that these Kennedys listed in the 1855 Kansas census are related to our Evan R. Kennedy. In fact, Lewis Kennedy is listed as a witness to the Potawatomi treaty in Council Bluff Iowa, after the tribe left the Chicago area. All of these facts would suggests that Lewis Kennedy was following the Potawatomi Tribe to its final destination in Kansas.Possibly Eron Kennedy and Samuel Kennedy were two more family members seeking to benefit from the Potawatomi new location. If so, they did not remain long in Kansas.
Evan R. Kennedy lived in or near Chicago until he moved with the Potawatomi Indian tribe after they had signed the final treaty of Chicago.The tribe wasmoved by the federal government to a new reservation near Council Bluff Iowa.Evan was born in South Bend Indiana June 1, 1824. He has stated in a newspaper article that his mother and father were from Pa. Presently I am searching for information about his parents. There is a strong possibility that his family came from Wales to the U.S. but I have nothing to verify this. I make my assumption from a note written by Clara May Kennedy, daughter of Ransom B. Kennedy, son of E. R. Kennedy. She, Clara May, was in her late 90's and living in a rest-home near her granddaughter, Marya Ferguson, in Omaha, Nebraska. Marya's husband had sent me a family record chart with a comment that E.R. Kennedy, Clara's grandfather was from Wales. I sent Clara a birthday card prior to her death in September of 1984. She was at that time the oldest living member of our Kennedy family.
An article written in the late 19th century in Topeka (Silverlake) Kansas states that Evan had moved to Chicago at a very young age and he was quoted as saying that he could count the number of houses in Chicago on his fingers. The article states that Evan remembers Chicago as a very small settlement. Most history books concerning Chicago history supports his observation, due to the fact that in the early 1820's only a small number of French Canadian fur traders and Indians could be found where Chicago now stands.Early Chicago did have a military fort called Fort Dearborn which was attacked and burned by the Potawatomi Indians shortly before the arrival of the Kennedy family. Before the War of 1812, the Chicago area was a "hot-spot" for a new nation of the United States.Shortly after the United States had gain its independence from Great Briton, the British and the French were seeking ways to gain this area of fur trading business to satisfy the market in Europe. As a result both nations searched for ways to win the support of the Indian tribes around the Great Lakes. History indicates that the Potawatomi people found their relationship with the French more suitable than their dealings with the British.Circumstances changed prior to the War of 1812, and the Potawatomi provided support to the British by attacking Fort Dearborn.
Evan R. Kennedy's sister Lydia married a Beaubien. TheBeaubien family members of Chicago were among the influential fur traders and business men of early Chicago. They were among the few businessmen who were instrumental in the early founding of Chicago, which was accomplished by in acting their rolls as Traders, Military officers, teachers, and treaty negotiators for the newly found United States government.Much of this was made possible through their family's well established relationswith the local Indian tribes.
Lydia Elisabeth Kennedy, an older sister of Evan R. Kennedy, married Charles Beaubien, a son of Col. Jean Baptiste Beaubien.Lydia's father-in-law, Col. Jean Beaubien was considered the second germinate settler of Chicago, after his first visit in 1804. He was born at Detroit Michigan in 1780. As a young man he ventured into the Michigan woods, and became a clerk for William Bailly, awell established fur trader, on Grand River, Michigan. History has recognized Col. Jean Beaubien for his shrewdness and vivacity, which made him stand out among the fur-traders of the day. He married his first wife, Mah-naw-bun-no-qua, an Ottawa Indian women, who became the mother of his first two sons, Charles Henry who later married Lydia Kennedy, and Madore Beaubien.Madore, Charles younger brother, joined with the Potawatomi of Chicago and moved west with the tribe. Later in Kansas, Madore was recognized as one of the tready leaders and spokesman for the tribe. He was instrumental his dealings with the federal governmentin behalf of the tribe.
Col. Jean Baptiste Beaubien eventually settled in Chicago in 1812, after successfully operating a fur-trading business in Milwaukee. This was shortly after the Chicago Fort Dearborn Massacre (1812) in which the Potawatomi burned the fort and killed several of the soldiers.
When the Potawatomi Tribe signed their last treaty in the Chicagothey were forced to leave for their new reservation at Council Bluff Iowa. Evan R. Kennedyleft Chicago with the tribe, and later married the daughter of the Potawatomi Nations Chief medicine Man, Waudaga, or as he was later named "Onedoggie." His daughter, Kebia,became the wife of Evan R. Kennedy,her Indian name, "Kebia", was translated to Susan. I was told by an old Potawatomi who spoke the language that Kebia means "She who Comes".
Evan and Kebia (Susan) had 7 boys born to them on the reservation. The area of the Indian allotted land(160 acres) which E.R. Kennedy received, was along the Kansas river (Kaw) near the town named Silverlake, Kansas. It is located only a short distances northwestof Topeka, Kansas.Potawatomi Allotted land was designated for each of the seven sons, however Evan R. Kennedy was the only member of the family that remained in the Silverlake area. When a portion of the Potawatomi tribe became the Citizen Band and moved to a new tribal reservation in Shawnee Oklahoma, most of the sons of Evan and Kebia (Susan) Kennedy elected to move with the Citizen Band. The First born was Charles Kennedy and he was born prior to their arrival in Kansas.
Among the names of Potawatomi tribal members or their descendents who received allotment, and for a long time resided in the vicinity of Silverlake Kansas, are Kennedy, Beaubien, Laframboise, and Ogee families. Later after inter-marriage several moved to Oklahoma and became a part of the Citizen Band Potawatomi in Shawnee, Oklahoma. My Grandfather, Ransom B. Kennedy, son of E.R. Kennedy Jr. (called Ross) left the reservation and moved to Joplin Missouri where he married my Grandmother Myrtle McIntyre. My Father, Virgil E. Kennedy was their first born in Joplin Missouri.
Notes for MONIQUE LAFROMBOISE:
Monique married Evan R. Kennedy after the death of his first wife Susan Onedoggie. Monique was known by all the Silverlake Kansas residence by the name of Aunt Monique, and she was very active in community affairs until her death. After the death of Evan Kennedy she continued to live in Silverlake where she died.
Children of EVAN KENNEDY and SUSAN are:
| 2. | i. | CHARLES H.3 KENNEDY, b. 1848, Missouri or Iowa; d. Abt. 1880, Silverlake, Kansas. | |
| 3. | ii. | RANSOM B. KENNEDY, b. March 08, 1850, Silverlake, Kansas; d. March 06, 1892, Dale, Oklahoma. | |
| iii. | JOHN E. KENNEDY, b. 1854, Silverlake, Kansas1; d. April 11, 1918, Dale, Okla1; m. SARAH A. COMPTON, June 29, 1894, Tecumseh, Okla1. |
| Notes for SARAH A. COMPTON: [Brøderbund WFT Vol. 3, Ed. 1, Tree #3239, Date of Import: Jul 18, 1998] Sarah had been married to a man named Compton. Recorded marriage in Oklahoma states the bride as Mrs Sarah Compton age 37 and place of birth Indiana. I don't know if this was the first wife of John Kennedy or if he had children. |
| 4. | iv. | EVAN ROSS KENNEDY JR, b. June 14, 1855, Silverlake, Ka; d. 1937, Dover/Silverlake, Ka.. | |
| v. | VALANCE KENNEDY, b. 1860, Silverlake, Kansas1; d. September 21, 1885, Silverlake, Kansas1; m. NONE, WFT Est. 1876-18841. |
| Notes for VALANCE KENNEDY: [Brøderbund WFT Vol. 3, Ed. 1, Tree #3239, Date of Import: Jul 18, 1998] One of my relatives, Janie Rutherford,lives and works in Shawnee, Oklahoma, as have generations of our Kennedy family.She & I have shared portions of our Kennedy family record. For a number of years, we were unable to find information for Valance Kennedy, the fifth born, Indian son of Evan R. Kennedy and his Potawatomi wife Kebia Onedoggie.We had a hunch, that Valance probably died at a very young age, leaving no family records. We were right, but it took Janie's ability and determination to uncover the information needed for our family records. I might add, that I think part of Janie's talent for finding facts comes from her experience and career as manager of the Shawnee Retail Merchants Credit Bureau. It was her persistence and determination, thatmade it possible for Janie to discovered that Valance Kennedy was murdered at the young age of 25.I really appreciate the fact that when she found a copy of the old newspaper article telling about the murder trial, she immediately shared this information with me. The article she shared came from a Topeka Kansas newspaper dated 1886. I read in this article how a young Potawatomi named Valance Kennedy was killed in Kansas by a white man. Ordinarily, most people, especially those who are non-Indian, would think of this murder as just another typical western frontier death, and assume the attitude of, "it happens all the time." Another common remark heard at this time was, " The only good Indian is a dead Indian."Valance's family was infuriated and sought punishment. This was not unusual among grieving Indian families. The death of Valance Kennedy rates more than just a passing notation of what was written in the newspaper article. I have singled out this tragedy for several reasons, but my major reason is to call to the reader's attention the fact that there is no separation between the Kennedy family history, Indian history, and American history. To fully understand,( although it's always difficult to find anything to justify the murder of an Indian family member), we will need to examine the history of the 1880's. For example, below I am offering a numerical list of important historical facts that relates to Valance Kennedy's death.From these facts, we will make a historical analysis, and hopefully we will see how Valance Kennedy's death, Potawatomi Indian history, and American history mold together. I admit, that my reason for highlighting Valance's death in the Kennedy family's historical record, is to point out how many American history books covering Indian history are badly written. For the American American the period of time from 1492 to the 1880's was a hazy rendering of "The Deerslayer", " Drums Along the Mohawk", and the "Adventures of Pocahontas". Indian history told little more except that the Indians were poor savages uncivilized and uneducated. I personallytook steps in the classes I taught at college, to correct as much as possible the misunderstood facts concerning the role Native Americans played in the history of the United States. We now know that the general public was misinformed about the American Indian in our public schools and Church for several generations. The truth about the Native Americans, at least until recently, was often confounded through devious legal legislation passed in Congress by the federal government. This is why I'm suggesting that we look at, and study some the facts surrounding Valance Kennedy's murder, and from our study of the historical facts, as they really occur, we will possibly understand why it is important that we have a reliable history of the Potawatomi tribe and its family members. Just this small but major focus on Valance Kennedy as a member of the Potawatomi tribe will help other tribal members understand the role history has played in the destructive removal of our sacred land, religion, language, extended family, and culture.I hope the reader will see that tribal history is never dull, but from time to time needs to be re-written based upon facts. Here are the facts: * Valance Kennedy was murdered September 21, 1885 in Belleville, Kansas. * He was murdered by a white man named L,T. Hendrix who thought nothing of killing an Indian. *The murder trial was held in Republic County, Kansas. *The prosecuting attorney was Charles Curtis, an Indian attorney in Shawnee County, who later became Vice-President of the United States. * Valance Kennedy and the Potawatomi Tribe reservation were in the Shawnee County, Kansas. Starting with the first fact,Why is it important to know when the murder occurred?What was happening in American history at the time of Valance Kennedy's death.What was the relationship between the federal government and the Native American tribes in 1880? Here is some historical facts: Following the last series of treaties with the Indian tribes in 1868, (although we would sign more) the federal government found itself with trusteeship over millions of acres of Indian land and subject to pressure by the Western settlers to open the Indian lands for home steading. This of course, if followed overtly, would merely have reopened the Indian wars, ending with unhappy results for both Indians and settlers. the cattlemen and railroads wanted tribal land to be broken up and Indian land open for settlers. An increasing active group of so called humanitarians wanted the individual Indians enticed away from their traditional ways and customs so their schemes for civilizing Indians would work. Thus, when the 1880's arrived, there was enough pressure on the federal government to insure some kind of confiscation of Indian lands, and the idea of allotting the reservations, thinking that private ownership of lands would act as an instantaneous and magical way to civilize the Indian. During this timeSenator Henry Dawes of Massachusetts embraced the proposition that if every Indian family had its own piece of land, the natural greed in man would assume control of the individual Indian and create in him such dissatisfaction that he would become, as did the unhappy immigrants from Europe, a silent and peaceful farmer. Senator Dawes finally won the battle in Congress, and the Dawes Act was passed in 1887. This was only two years after the death of Valance Kennedy, and you can see that the desire of the American settlers for the Potawatomi land was very strongman provisions of the Dawes act the President was authorized to negotiate with the chiefs and headmen for a division of the tribal lands, and the surplus land (land left over after each member of the tribe is allotted 160 acres of land), initially sold to the federal government, was to be used for new settlers under the homestead laws. From the beginning, this act was misinterpreted by the BIA as a means of exploiting the Potawatomi as well as other Indians. Rather than waiting until the tribe petitioned for allotments, The Bureau began to threaten the tribes with dire consequences unless they agreed to immediate allotment. There were other historical conditions which existed affecting Indian and whites relations. An examination of several facts related to these conditions will help us to understand why this murder of an Indian could occur without anyone giving it second thought.Not far from where this murder happened was the reservation of the Oglala Sioux, one of the memorable tribes of American Indians. They waged a war against the United States from 1864 to 1868 under the famous Chief Red Cloud. The settlers in Kansas never forgot what had happened to General Custer. They remembered all to well that in June of 1876, just 10 years before the murder of Valance Kennedy, that the Oglalas swept the field against General Custer and his Seventh Cavalry, taking about a half an hour to rout the finest unit of the day. By the time they finally retired to their reservation, the Oglala Sioux had been responsible for two of the greatest defeats ever inflicted on the United States Army by Indians. Todays history books have enlighten the public a great deal about this battle, and true historians write that it was a battle that could have been avoided. Occasionally I have even seen car bumpers that read "Custer had it Coming". This of course was not the opinion of the Kansas settlers at the time of Valance's death. The public in general was outraged and this helped increased their pressure on Congress to rid the Indians of their lands. Red Clouds prestige was international, and the Potawatomi tribe as well as others regarded him as the last and best hope when they were in trouble with the United States. Let's look at another historical event that could be tied to Valance's death. In the late 1880's, around the time of Valance's death a new Indian religious movement began to sweep across the western states. It's prophet was WOYOKA, a Paiute from Walker River reservation in western Nevada. His doctrine was based upon visions which he had while in a religious trance. He saw and talked with his relatives who had died, and they taught him a special dance of great significance. The world was shortly to come an end, they related, and all the dead Indians would return with the buffalo. The white man would be destroyed, and the earth which he had corrupted would be renewed. To the Indians who had been forced to live in poverty, it was a welcome message and many Sioux Indians followed the teachings of the religion. The Army, fearful that it would lead to another war with the Sioux, pursed the new converts in an attempt to arrest them and end the movement. Thus it was that the tiny band of Sioux people who followed the Ghost Dance religion fled to seek the the protection of Red Cloud. Since the Ghost Dance had spread to all Indian tribes, only five years after the death of Valance Kennedy, the government arrange to assassinate Setting Bull, the holy man of the Standing Rock reservation. The government saw the assassination as a way to defuse the Ghost Dance situation and rid themselves of Setting Bull who had apposed allotment of Sioux land. The people of Sitting Bull fled south towards the Cheyenne River Agency seeking the protection of Big Foot who was respected by other Indians, somewhat like Red Cloud. Big Foot and his people were notified by the government that they were to come immediately to the agency otherwise, the soldiers would be sent after them. After they took counsel, they decided to make the trip to Pine Ridge Agency, where they would be safe under the protection of Red Cloud. The Army, the newspaper reporters, and the local whites were all spoiling for a good old Indian war, and they viewed Big Foot's band as real game. As the units of cavalry marched into Pine Ridge, the agency town, Big Foot's little band trudged its way south, unaware of anything unusual. Finally, the cavalry met the Indians south of what is now known as Big Foot Pass, along Porcupine Creek in the Center of the reservation. The rest of the story is will known in history. Disarmed and surrounded at Wounded Knee Creek, the little band of Sioux were ruthlessly slaughtered by the Army, using Hotchkiss guns. The wounded were left to die in a three-day blizzard, and the United States handed out over twenty Congressional Medals of Honor to soldiers of the Seventh Cavalry who had participated in the massacre. It was something that the Indians, especially the Sioux,never forgo the sight of the dying Sioux lying on straw in Pine Ridge during the Christmas season. The Army always insisted that the incident had been a great battle instead of a heartless massacre of women and children and a dying Chief Big Foot, and Congress refused to authorize compensation for them. I could continue at length with historical events painting a true picture of U.S. government and Indian relations before and after the murder of Valance Kennedy, but I think that the reader can now see how needless the death of Valance Kennedy was in the final shaping of American Indian history. The needless killing of Indians that occurred at Wounded Knee will never be forgotten by Native American Indians. |
| 5. | vi. | LINCOLN KENNEDY, b. June 08, 1861, Silverlake, Ka.; d. October 17, 1937, Shawnee, Okla. | |
| vii. | ALLEN KENNEDY, b. 1868, Silverlake, Kansas1; d. August 10, 1945, Los Angeles, Ca1; m. MARGARET, WFT Est. 1889-19191. |