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- Elizabeth Ann KENNEDY. Born on April 25, 1771. Elizabeth Ann died after 1850; she was 78.
"Betsey" Kennedy m. which Zach. Wheat??? by: B. H. Harris
A source of great confusion about which one of the Zachariah Wheats that "Betsey" Kennedy married comes from the fact that in the latter 1700's and early 1800's there were no less than 18 Zachariah Wheats born, and perhaps more. There was more than one Elizabeth "Betsey" Kennedy, but I have found only one who was born in Frederick Co., MD during this period. This "Betsey" Kennedy (b. 1771) was the niece of Thomas Kennedy, my ggg grandfather. The purpose of this posting is to attempt to settle the question I have raised. Tradition says that this Elizabeth met her future husband, Zachariah Wheat (abt. 1764-abt. 1842) , when he came from Baltimore, MD to Bedford Co., VA to deliver a wagon load of salt. He was the son of John Wheat and was born in Maryland. They were married in Bedford Co., VA on Dec. 9, 1791, and lived for a short time in Wheat's Valley. For the marriage bond, Samuel Hatcher signed the surety, and consent was given by Esther Kennedy, mother of Betsey.
She was the daughter of John Kennedy, Jr. (1742-1781), who died of starvation on a British prison ship, having been captured during the Battle of Guilford Court House, NC, during the Revolutionary War. Her mother was Esther Stilly (1745-1820) of Frederick Co., MD. Her grandfather, John Kennedy, Sr. came to Maryland Colony abt. 1720 as a six year old boy, having been kidnapped by a group of sailors (along with several other boys) while playing along the shores of Ireland. In Maryland, these boys were sold as indentured servants for a period of years, after which John, Sr., married and settled down in Frederick Co., MD. His sons, Thomas and Joseph, and the descendants of John, Jr., represented one of the most prominent families in early Kentucky history. Thomas helped build Strode's Fort in 1779. John, Jr. and his wife moved from Frederick Co., MD to Bedford Co., VA probably in the 1770's. After John, Jr. lost his life in the Revolutionary War, the widow Esther (Stilly) Kennedy with several of her unmarried and married childen, which included Zachariah and Betsey (Kennedy) Wheat, moved to Bourbon Co., KY where Thomas had acquired a large tract of land for the families of Joseph, John, Jr., and himself before the Revolutionary War. In Bourbon Co., KY, the following 12 children were born to Zachariah and Betsey (Kennedy) Wheat during the period 1793-1812: Julia (1793-1843) who married William Binier, Milton Paradise (1795-1862) who married Rebecca Miller, John Kennedy (1797-1872) who married Sarah Penn, William (1799-1861/4) who married Rebecca Wright, Harvey (1800- ) who married Mary Givens, Jahab (1801-1855) who married Jane Williams, Zachariah, Jr. (1806-1877) who married (1) Mary Ann Monroe, (2) Kitty Brawnes, (3) Ann Logan, Willis (1807-1863), Washington (1809-1878) who married Elizabeth Kennedy, Volney Godney (1810-1867) who married Dorothy Johnson, Franklin (1811-1870) who married Mary A. Camplin, and Susan (1812-1860) who married Joshua Smith.
LDS records verify that John Kennedy, Milton Paradise, Harvey, and Susan were indeed their children. Numerous Kentucky biographies indicate that Zachariah, Jr., distinguished jurist and at one time Judge of the Kentucky Court of Appeals, was a son of Zachariah and Betsey (Kennedy) Wheat. From the History of Jackson County Missouri published in 1881, I can collaborate the fact that Washington Wheat (1809-1878) was also their son. Washington Wheat, who married another Elizabeth Kennedy (b. 1819 and from LDS records she was a daughter of a John and Arlsey Kennedy) of Bourbon Co., KY on August 15, 1837. He lived all but a few weeks of his life in Bourbon and Fayette Counties, KY, dying six days after moving to Jackson Co., MO. According to cemetery records, Washingon and Elizabeth Wheat and at least three of their children (Milton K., Mary, and Charles) are buried in the Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Cass Co., MO. Civil War records show that Milton K. served in Co. F, 10th KY Vol Cav and is listed as the son of Washington and Elizabeth Wheat. Unverified sources list their children as being Mary (b. 1838), Milton K. (1841-1909), Willis (ca 1843-1864), Washington, Jr. (b. ca 1846), Margaret (b. ca 1848), Edgar (1853-1856), Charles (b. 1859), and possibly a John A. born sometime later.
Cass Co. is adjacent to Jackson Co. in the greater Kansas City, MO area. I was born and lived the first 15 years of my life within ten miles of Pleasant Hill, MO.
On December 14, 1791 when Elizabeth Ann was 20, she married Judge Zachariah WHEAT [3], son of John WHEAT (1735-1794) & Susannah GATTON GATLING (1781-), in Bedford, Virginia. [4] Born on May 8, 1764 in St. John's Parish, Prince George, Maryland. Zachariah died in Bourbon County, Kentucky on September 5, 1842; he was 78.
They had the following children:
16 i. Rachel (1806-1876)
17 ii. Zachariah (1806-1877)
iii. John Kennedy. Born in 1793 in Bedford, Virginia. John Kennedy died in Bourbon, Co. Ky. in 1831; he was 38.
John Kennedy married Sally PENN.
iv. Milton. Milton died in Columbia, Adair, Ky. Born in 1795 in Bourbon Co., Ky.
v. Harvey. Harvey died in Bear Station, Grainger, Tn. Born in 1797 in Bourbon Co., Ky.
vi. Susan. Born in 1799 in Bourbon Co., Ky.
vii. William. Born in 1803 in Bourbon Co., Ky. William died in Bourbon Co., Ky. in 1821; he was 18.
viii. Willis. Willis died in Columbia, Adair, Ky. Born in 1807 in Bourbon Co., Ky.
ix. Washington. Born on February 4, 1809 in Bourbon Co., Ky. Washington died in Rich Hill, Bates, Missouri on March 10, 1878; he was 69.
Washington married Elizabeth KENNEDY.
18 x. Volney (1810-1867)
xi. Johab. Born in 1812 in Bourbon Co., Ky.
xii. Eli R. B. Born in 1814 in Bourbon Co., Ky.
xiii. Franklin. Franklin died in Clark Co. Ky. Born in 1818 in Bourbon Co., Ky.
On December 8, 1846 when Franklin was 28, he married Mary Ann CAMPLIN.
xiv. Jackey. Born in 1816 in Bourbon Co., Ky.
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