Joseph Kennedy : Short Biography

Joseph Kennedy was born during the difficult years following the Great Hunger. His baptism was recorded as 15 Dec 1847, to Patrick Kennedy and Elizabeth Carr*, who lived in the townland of Drum, near Omagh in County Tyrone. *Joseph’s mother’s surname was recorded as Corr or Carr in various records.

According to one of Joseph’s grandchildren, Joseph was one of nine children born to Patrick Kennedy and Elizabeth Corr. Not all of the children’s records appear in the Ireland Roman Catholic Parish Baptisms, so proof of the existence of those children may have been lost in time. However, the existence of some but not all of the siblings was confirmed via US Census and probate records that listed their relationships to one another.

Joseph, his parents, and at least four of his siblings (Margaret, John, Thomas, and Frank) emigrated to the United States, where they settled in the Pittsburgh and Chicago areas.

Joseph arrived in the US around 1867, and by 1869 he was living in Pittsburgh and working as a shoemaker. Joseph stayed in the shoemaking trade for his entire life, even as he moved back and forth from Pittsburgh to Chicago several times between 1878 and 1888. He finally settled and remained in Pittsburgh from 1888 until his death in 1935.

On 3 Feb 1878, Joseph married Mary Jane Young in Pittsburgh. Mary Jane was also known as Jane or Jennie. By December of that year Joseph and Jennie moved to Chicago, where Jennie gave birth to their son Leo Joseph. Joseph and Jennie remained in Chicago at least until the summer of 1880, when they were living with Joseph’s brother John. 

By early 1881, Joseph and Jennie were back in Pittsburgh, and Jennie gave birth to their son Frank. Sadly Frank died in September of that same year at only 7 months of age. In February of 1882, Jennie gave birth to a daughter, Mary Frances (who was known as Frances) in Pittsburgh. According to Joseph’s obituary, his wife Jennie died in 1884. It is likely that Joseph’s sister Margaret Kennedy helped care for young Leo and Frances after their mother died, because they were living with her in Chicago in 1900.

Joseph was working in Pittsburgh in 1885, but by 1887 he was back in Chicago at 104th W 11th Street, on the corner of 11th and Sholto. According to Joseph’s grandson, Joseph and his siblings Frank and Margaret bought two wooden houses on this property sometime before their mother died there in July of 1887. According to Joseph's grandson, various Kennedy lived there together over the years, but Margaret was a constant presence ("she seemed to run the place"). The property later became part of the University of Illinois.

Joseph was back in Pittsburgh in 1888, and he married Elizabeth McGervey on 8 Sep 1889 at St Paul’s Cathedral in Pittsburgh. In the 1900 US Census, it was noted that Elizabeth was the mother of six children, but that only two of them were alive in 1900. The birth records for five children have been found thus far and include: Ignatius Victor (always known as Victor, born in 1892), William Joseph Kennedy, born in 1894, James Francis born in 1895, an unnamed daughter born in 1897, and Thomas Gerard, born in 1899. William Joseph and Thomas Gerard died when they were less than a year old, and the daughter and one other child must have died before the 1900 Census was taken. Joseph's and Elizabeth's remaining children survived childhood. Victor became a priest, and James Francis married and had a family. 

Joseph declared his intention to become a US Citizen on 29 Sep 1870, and petitioned for it on 4 Sep 1876. But for some unknown reason, he did not become a full citizen until 29 Jan 1935. He died in October of that same year, at the age of 87.

One of Joseph’s obituaries mentioned that his survivors included his second wife, Elizabeth (McGervey) Kennedy; his children James and Victor; and seven grandchildren (Leo and Rita Kennedy of Chicago, Thomas and Margaret Curtis of Omaha, Nebraska, and John, Betty, and James Jr of Pittsburgh). He was predeceased by his parents; his first wife Jane Young Kennedy and all three of their children (infant Frank, Mary Frances (Kennedy) Curtis, and Leo Joseph); and his infant son Thomas.

Joseph, his second wife Elizabeth (McGervey) Kennedy, and their infant son Thomas were buried in St Mary Cemetery in Pittsburgh in Elizabeth’s parents’ McGervey family plot. Although there is a monument there, the graves of Joseph, Elizabeth, and Thomas are unmarked. 

Joseph’s confirmed siblings included

• Margaret, born about 1845 in Ireland; died 3 Dec 1914 in Chicago, Illinois. She left some of her estate to her brothers Joseph, Frank, and Thomas, her nephew Leo Joseph, and her niece Frances (Kennedy) Curtis.
• Thomas, baptized 18 Dec 1853 in Drumragh Parish, Co Tyrone, Ireland; death date sometime after Margaret died in 1914, and likely in Chicago
• Elizabeth Ann, baptized 16 Nov 1856 in Drumragh Parish, Co Tyrone, Ireland; death date unknown, but she most likely predeceased Margaret because she was not mentioned in her will
• Francis (Frank), baptized 25 Mar 1860 in Drumragh Parish, Co Tyrone, Ireland; died 27 Dec 1929 in Chicago, Illinois.
• John, born about 1861 in Ireland (assuming near Omagh, Co Tyrone), Ireland; death date sometime after 1880. He lived with Joseph and Joseph’s family in Chicago, Illinois in 1880.  John most likely predeceased Margaret because he was not mentioned in her will.

Joseph’s unconfirmed siblings included:

• Patrick, born in Ireland about 1849 (assuming near Omagh, Co Tyrone), Ireland; death date unknown, but he most likely predeceased Margaret because he was not mentioned in her will
• James, born in Ireland about 1850 (assuming near Omagh, Co Tyrone), Ireland; death date unknown, but he most likely predeceased Margaret because he was not mentioned in her will
• Unknown infant