Sarah Hanna Kennedy wife of George Boyle Hanna

[Gortraney]

Dear Gortraney,

I am writing this on behalf Peggy Clampit.  Peggy is the granddaughter of Sophia Mary Hanna who married Robert McIlwaine.  Can you please send me a message as Peggy would like to correspond with you via email.

Peggy is very keen to learn more about her family and is hoping that you might be able to help her with some more information.

Kind regards,
Heather

Hi Heather!

I sent you a private message but you may not be able to read it yet (you need a couple of posts before you can access them) so just thought I'd reply in here in the hope you might see it. I would LOVE to know more about Peggy's branch of the family, as my great grandmother used to visit her sister over there, a lot over the years! She traveled with her daughter, who would eventually meet her husband in South Africa and loved there for several years before returning home to Ireland.

So, have my fingers crossed you will see this!

Trish

[aaid]

Sooooo much to catch upon in this thread! Just need a mo to wrap my head around it all.

Sparked on by this thread, I've been spending quite a bit of time looking at the connections here and I think it's almost certain we're related on both the Hanna and Kennedy lines.

Hanna is my paternal line and I've had a Y-DNA test done.    I have a close match to someone who is a direct descendent of Samuel Hanna (1793-1873) and Margaret Parker.   I believe that he is the brother to John who you mentioned and lived in Sharvogues.   These are likely to be 1C1Rs of my 4th GGF, another John Hanna of Cromkill.

I suspect Robert Hanna - the father of your John Hanna (b. abt 1772) - and Samuel Hanna - father of my John Hanna b. 1785) were brothers.  Who their father was, I don't know but John would have to be a good bet on the basis of the naming tradition.

On the Kennedy side, Sarah is almost certainly related to my 4th GGM, Joice Kennedy - John Hanna's wife -  my guess is 1C1R.

My assumption here is that Joice's father (John Kennedy dob unknown but probably about 1760) is the brother of Josias Kennedy (b1770) who was Sarah's grandfather.    Their father was John Kennedy (1727-1783).

[Gortraney]

Hi

I've just come across this thread while researching this line myself and I think I can shed some light.

Sarah Kennedy's father as noted was Robert Kennedy from Carnraughts.  He was married twice.  His first wife was Ellen Ross and they were married on 17 Feb 1852 at Rasharkin.  Ellen Ross died on 15 Nov 1878 and remarried a Sarah Dysart on 21 Dec 1880 in Finvoy.

I believe that his parents were Josias and Sarah Kennedy, unfortunately I don't have a maiden name.   My source for this is the will of a Josias Kennedy - also of Carnraughts - who was born abt 1811 and died on 5 Jan 1896 in Kildrum.   Josias was married to an Elizabeth Johnston and it appears that they were childless as he makes various bequests to nieces and nephews including Sarah Kennedy.   This will is available on the PRONI Will Calendars site.

On his wedding certificate to Eliza on 12 Mar 1853 in Ballymena he gives his father as Josias Kennedy.

Interestingly George Boyle Hanna's brother Robert, married a Mary Jane Kennedy on 4 Dec 1863 in Antrim.  Mary Jane was a first cousin of Sarah - her father was William Kennedy, Robert's brother and she was also a beneficiary of Josias's will.

I have an interest in this as my 4xGreat Grandparents were a John Hanna and Joice Kennedy from Cromkill - which is obviously very close.   The younger Josias was one of the executors of John Hanna's will.   I'm working to establish whether or not Josias and Joice Kennedy were related, I suspect first cousins, which would explain this.  I also have a couple of DNA matches to descendants of the older Josias Kennedy which adds some credence to this.

Hi there,

It is lovely to meet you! I agree we must be related somewhere in there and while the information I have highlighted above is stuff I have found since starting this thread, it is fantastic to see it confirmed!

The Hanna's and Kennedy's seem to have been entangled with each other one way or another for several generations, which makes it a bit of a trial to untangle. The recurrence of the Josias Kennedy name helps. It's just a case of figuring out who slots in where. I think the connection may involve the Johnston's too, as I see they are mentioned further down this thread, with John Hanna (1772 - 1810) married to an unnamed Johnston according to some research which was handed down to me within the family, Josias Kennedy (Jnr.) being married to Elizabeth Johnston and I think possibly William Kennedy (Mary Jane Kennedy-Hanna's father) being married to a Mary Johnston (though am still working on confirmation of this one cos it doesn't match with the Anna on his gravestone)

There's also another Kennedy branch in the 1901/1911 census in Lisnevnagh (Shilvodan, Antrim) I'm having difficulty slotting into place:

James Kennedy (born abt. 1871) and his wife Annie (born abt. 1881) have children:

Josias (born abt. 1900)
Ellen (abt. 1902)
William (abt. 1904)
John Bedmond (abt. 1905)
Mary Elizabeth (abt. 1907)
Annie (abt. 1910)

I know for certain Robert Kennedy and Ellen Ross had two daughters, the Sarah from my branch and Ellen Ross Kennedy, who married William Boal Curry/Currie and, according to the 1911 census in Ballymuckvea (Kells, Antrim), had children as follows:

Josias (abt. 1885)
Mary (abt. 1887)
William (abt. 1889)
Nellie (abt. 1891)
Janie (abt. 1895)
Sara Currie (abt. 1907)

This also shows that Ellen Ross Kennedy was born in abt. 1863 in Co. Wexford, which led me to another birth, that of Robert James Kennedy in 1864 in Co. Wexford, though by the time of Robert Kennedy's death in 1888 he wasn't mentioned in his father's will, so I presume must have pre-deceased him.

More in the next post. Still wrapping my head round all this new info and where it might tie into the new info I have now

Trish

[Gortraney]

Sooooo much to catch upon in this thread! Just need a mo to wrap my head around it all.

Sparked on by this thread, I've been spending quite a bit of time looking at the connections here and I think it's almost certain we're related on both the Hanna and Kennedy lines.

Hanna is my paternal line and I've had a Y-DNA test done.    I have a close match to someone who is a direct descendent of Samuel Hanna (1793-1873) and Margaret Parker.   I believe that he is the brother to John who you mentioned and lived in Sharvogues.   These are likely to be 1C1Rs of my 4th GGF, another John Hanna of Cromkill.

I suspect Robert Hanna - the father of your John Hanna (b. abt 1772) - and Samuel Hanna - father of my John Hanna b. 1785) were brothers.  Who their father was, I don't know but John would have to be a good bet on the basis of the naming tradition.

On the Kennedy side, Sarah is almost certainly related to my 4th GGM, Joice Kennedy - John Hanna's wife -  my guess is 1C1R.

My assumption here is that Joice's father (John Kennedy dob unknown but probably about 1760) is the brother of Josias Kennedy (b1770) who was Sarah's grandfather.    Their father was John Kennedy (1727-1783).

Was working through the posts in order but this one has me super excited!!!

Samuel is definitely a Hanna family name. The earliest one I had on record prior to this is my John (1772 - 1810) Hanna's brother, the Rev. Samuel Hanna (1771 - 1852) who is pretty well documented as he was the first moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. And if you are right, was most likely named after your Samuel!

Back in a mo!

[Gortraney]

Thanks aaid, I am setting out below the details I took of the Kennedy graves at Connor. I suspect your John is John Kennedy of Lisnevanagh who I think is a brother or cousin of Josias. He could be a brother of my Jane and Margaret:

JOHN KENNEDY OF LISNEVANAGH (adjoins Kildrum), B C 1780
 
Margaret, d of above, b c 1814, D 21 Sep 1833, 19yrs
James, s of above, b c 1806, d 16 Jan 1842, 36 yrs
John, s of above, b c 1812, d 10 Apr 1845, age 35
William, s of above, b c 1802, d 5 Aug 1847, age 45
Josias, b c 1819, d 19 Sep 1869, age 50
Anthony, b c 1841, d 22 Oct 1889, age 48, grandson (s of Josias?)

JOSIAS KENNEDY OF CARNAUGHT, B C 1770, D 6 FEB 1838, Age 68
Sarah, wife, b c 1778, d 6 Feb 1846, age 68
Elizabeth, d in law, b c 1814, d 24 May 1888, age 74.
Josias, s of above, b c 1811, d 5 Jan 1896, age 85 (of Kildrum on death, Executors James
     Thompson and George R Hanna, both of Kildrum).
Mary Jane Thompson, niece of Josias jnr, b c 1880, d 9 Sep 1882.
(Obviously Josias snr and Sarah also had a daughter, married to Thompson)

WILLIAM KENNEDY, B C 1695, D 9 APR 1756, Age 61 (Grandfather of Josias?)
Helen, wife, b c 1701, d 10 Mar 1767, age 66
John, son, b c 1727, d 21 Feb 1783, age 56
Josias Kennedy of Carnaughts, b c 1770, d 6 Feb 1838. Josias seems to be son of John.

WILLIAM KENNEDY OF SLATT, B C 1756, D 19 Aug 1837, age 81.
John, son
Mary, wife of John, b c 1798, d 14 Aug 1838

WILLIAM KENNEDY OF CARNAUGHT (LATE BALLYMENA), B C 1812, D 29 Aug 1851, age 39 (Son of
     Josias?)
Anna, wife, d 1 Oct ? , age 57
Josias, son, d in infancy
Jane Hanna, granddaughter, d in infancy
Annie Jane Hanna, b 1870, d 16 Feb 1871, age 10 mths.
Josias Kennedy Hanna, b 1874, d 29 Jun 1874, age 7 wks.
(A daughter of William and Anna married Hanna)

It is very difficult to find any information on these families, though I am still trying to link them to the Cassilis descendants. It seems that Elizabeth Wilson, nee Kennedy, who can certainly be traced to that line, was living in Connor when she died in 1802.

Hi! I've highlighted the two Kennedy branches you've mentioned from gravestones which are definitely tied to my Hanna research.

The first, as already mentioned in this thread, are Josias Kennedy and Sarah , who were the parents of my ggg grandfather Robert Kennedy who married Ellen Ross, their daughter Sarah Kennedy then marrying George Boyle Hanna (my gg grandparents) - so George B Hanna, not George R Hanna as mentioned in your post. Josias Kennedy and his wife Elizabeth (Johnston) who were mentioned on that same gravestone are the ones who didn't have children, and it is possible the niece mentioned may have been on the Johnston side.

William Kennedy, on the other gravestone listing in your post that I've highlighted, was the father of Mary Jane Kennedy, who married Robert Hanna, the brother of George Boyle Hanna (they named one of their children William Kennedy Hanna after him and the Hanna children listed on the gravestone are children who died young).

Will take a look at my tree and see if I can figure out where the others fit in

Trish

[Gortraney]

Hi aaid, I am replying to your first message as well, in case Roots Chat thinks I'm not interested. I think these Kennedys are descendants of one of two brothers, clergy, Thomas and Gilbert Kennedy, who left Ayrshire around the 1640s. I have spent a lot of time trying to trace their descendants as I haven't got any other clues to the ancestry of Jane and Margaret Kennedy. Today I discovered that, Catherine, a daughter of Gilbert Kennedy must have been living in Connor with her husband, William Tennent, for some years in the early 1700s. At that time he was an Anglican clergyman but later joined the Presbyterian Church and went with his family to USA, set up Log Cabin College which later became Princeton University. All points to the Kildrum etc Kennedys being relatives.
Julia.

This is really interesting, too! In a group family photo of my great grandparents wedding in 1899 there are a LOT of ministers. The Hanna family were very connected to the Presbyterian church, with no less than three moderators at my last count. They also married ministers and daughters of ministers. So, if this is correct, it could go back a long way!

Trish

[Gortraney]

I think some of the other correspondents will be able to give you more information. However, I know that the Hanna's were an important family in the parish of Connor, town of Kells, and townland of Kildrum, County Antrim, at the time my family was there (maybe 1800 to 1850). They seem to have been major entrepreneurs in the linen industry with linen works there. It would be worth doing some research in that area although records are hard to find.
Julia.

The linen lot are my lot and the business still runs under the John Hanna & Sons name, though it isn't family owned anymore.

Trish

[aaid]

Hi there,

It is lovely to meet you! I agree we must be related somewhere in there and while the information I have highlighted above is stuff I have found since starting this thread, it is fantastic to see it confirmed!

The Hanna's and Kennedy's seem to have been entangled with each other one way or another for several generations, which makes it a bit of a trial to untangle. The recurrence of the Josias Kennedy name helps. It's just a case of figuring out who slots in where. I think the connection may involve the Johnston's too, as I see they are mentioned further down this thread, with John Hanna (1772 - 1810) married to an unnamed Johnston according to some research which was handed down to me within the family, Josias Kennedy (Jnr.) being married to Elizabeth Johnston and I think possibly William Kennedy (Mary Jane Kennedy-Hanna's father) being married to a Mary Johnston (though am still working on confirmation of this one cos it doesn't match with the Anna on his gravestone)

There's also another Kennedy branch in the 1901/1911 census in Lisnevnagh (Shilvodan, Antrim) I'm having difficulty slotting into place:

James Kennedy (born abt. 1871) and his wife Annie (born abt. 1881) have children:

Josias (born abt. 1900)
Ellen (abt. 1902)
William (abt. 1904)
John Bedmond (abt. 1905)
Mary Elizabeth (abt. 1907)
Annie (abt. 1910)

I know for certain Robert Kennedy and Ellen Ross had two daughters, the Sarah from my branch and Ellen Ross Kennedy, who married William Boal Curry/Currie and, according to the 1911 census in Ballymuckvea (Kells, Antrim), had children as follows:

Josias (abt. 1885)
Mary (abt. 1887)
William (abt. 1889)
Nellie (abt. 1891)
Janie (abt. 1895)
Sara Currie (abt. 1907)

This also shows that Ellen Ross Kennedy was born in abt. 1863 in Co. Wexford, which led me to another birth, that of Robert James Kennedy in 1864 in Co. Wexford, though by the time of Robert Kennedy's death in 1888 he wasn't mentioned in his father's will, so I presume must have pre-deceased him.

More in the next post. Still wrapping my head round all this new info and where it might tie into the new info I have now

Trish

I have the wife of John Hanna (1772-1810) as a Jane Johnston, although I can't be too certain of the provenance of that.

For the Kennedys in Lisnevenagh.   James's wife was an Annie Gawn.  Josias, the oldest
 son's birth record is on irishgenealogy.ie from 1899 but it is recorded as Josiah Kennedy.

They were married in Randalstown in 1898 - listed under Antrim.   James' father is listed as Anthony Kennedy.

[aaid]

The first, as already mentioned in this thread, are Josias Kennedy and Sarah , who were the parents of my ggg grandfather Robert Kennedy who married Ellen Ross, their daughter Sarah Kennedy then marrying George Boyle Hanna (my gg grandparents) - so George B Hanna, not George R Hanna as mentioned in your post. Josias Kennedy and his wife Elizabeth (Johnston) who were mentioned on that same gravestone are the ones who didn't have children, and it is possible the niece mentioned may have been on the Johnston side.

The niece - Mary Jane Thompson - was born on 13 January 1880 and was the daughter of James Thompson and Sarah Kennedy.   She is mentioned as a beneficiary in the will of Josias Kennedy (1811-1896) along with three of her surviving children.     Unfortunately the father's name on her marriage certificate on irishgenealogy isn't legible.