Day 92

Tonight I am back in Chambersburg where I was near the beginning of this trip. The weather has changed from summer to fall but the welcome at John and Muriel's is always warm.

I left Philadelphia about 8am and, thanks to Dave's good directions drove the rural route to Lancaster. I spent about four hours at the county historical society tracing down tantalizing snippets on Kennedeys and Robinsons (part of the Atkinson line). Both families moved through the area and there are numerous "cousins" of both families who lived and stayed in the area. However, no luck nailing down the two individuals for whom I was searching.

Thanks to the knowledgeable research librarian, we did find the following:

1. The ship passenger list with Evert in den Hoffen from Muhlheim and his four children (see yesterday's blog). They arrived in Pennsylvania in 1700 on the Ausland-deutsche Sippenkunde (name of the ship).

The next two items are for Brad - enjoy and Happy Birthday!

2. The Revolutionary War pension application for General Thomas Kennedy. From it we learn that he grew up in Burke County (which narrows the search from early Rowen County) North Carolina . He entered service in NC in 1775 and was appointed Captain of Dragoons and served in this capacity for two tours of three months each. After his return home he was captured by Colonels Fanning and Elrod of the British army, was paroled and exchanged the next spring. He then served six months under General McDowell, was with Major Rutherford at Ramsour's Mill where he was wounded in the leg, spent another six months under General McDowell and was in the battles of Cane Creek and King's Mountain; and finally another six months where he was in battle a Hampton, SC. He applied for his pension in 1832 at age 76 and died four years later.

3. The Revolutionary War pension application for Joseph Kennedy - Thomas' brother. He enlisted in Jan/Feb 1777 and until October served as an Indian spy and Guard under Captain Daniel Boone. He was in engagements with the Indians near Boonesborough, KY in March and April 1777 during which he was wounded three times. He then went to Charlotte Co, NC in the fall of 1777 where he served 2 months as a substitute for his uncle Joseph Kennedy. He returned to Kentucky in the spring of 1779 and served as Indian spy and guard at Logan's Fort. In May/June of that year he enlisted in Capt. Hugh McGary's Co, joined General George Rogers Clarke at Post Vincennes and served another 2 months.

In the spring of 1780, at Kennedy's station, he was appointed ensign in his brother's (Capt. John Kennedy's) Company and was engaged in defending that Station and the surrounding country. In the summer of 1780 he joined Gen. George Rogers Clarke in his expedition against the Shawnee Indians. On Dec. 26, 1780 he was captured by the Indians at Cumberland Mountain and imprisoned in Fort Augusta, GA until it was taken in the summer of 1781. He continued to occasionally fight the Indians and in 1786 commanded a company again under Gen. Clarke. He was given his pension in 1832 at the age of 72.