Notes for John Daniel Kennedy
John was born in a cabin in what is now downtown St. Paul, MN. It was at the corner of Kellogg (3rd St.) and Jackson Street, where the present day federal building is. This was also the location of the Old Merchant building in previous years. 3rd St. was torn out in the 1950s so the road could be widened along the riverside. It was renamed Kellogg Boulevard after its expansion. His family moved to a farm 5 miles out of Shakopee after he was born. In 1860, an indian uprising forced his family to move into the round tower of Fort Snelling in present day Minneapolis, for safety. In 1890, he lived in St. Paul, then moved to Morton, MN. In 1914, he moved back to St. Paul and was in the grocery buisness. His funeral was held at the Church of the Nativity in St. Paul, and he was buried in Calvary Cemetery, St. Paul, MN.
Article in the (Morton, MN) Enterprise Newspaper, May 10, 1912:
"Mr. and Mrs. J.D. Kennedy left for their new home in St. Paul last Wednesday morning. The household goods were shipped early this week and not until then did people of this village learn they were to lose this estimable family. Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy have been residents of this locality from childhood and have made Morton their home ever since the twon was first started. Their many frields regret their departure and hope in some future time to have them in our midst once more."
Obituary in the St. Paul Pioneer Press Newspaper on Thursday, March 26, 1936:
"John D. Kennedy, 82, Pioneer Here, Dies Once Taken by Parents to Fort Snelling Tower to Escape Indians. John D. Kennedy, 82-year-old pioneer St. Paul resident, died Wednesday after a short illness at the home of his son, Joh L. Kennedy, 387 Macalester avenue. Mr. Kennedy was born in a log cabin at Third (Kellogg boulevard) and Jackson streets, on the site of the old Merchants hotel and where the new St. Paul Federal building now stands. He was the son of Thomas F. Kennedy, who came to St. Paul in 1847. Later, when he was 5 years old, the family moved to a farm filve miles out of Shakopee (MN). During the Indian uprisings in 1862, Mr. Kennedy, then 8 years old, and his parents took shelter in the Fort Snelling Round Tower. In 1890 Mr. Kennedy came to St. Paul, where he spent several years, then moved to Morton, Minn. In 1914 he came back to St. Paul, his home ever since. For a time he was in the grocery business here. Besides his son, John, Mr. Kennedy is survived by two other sons, Thomas F. and Alois D. Kennedy, and a daughter, Miss Irene G. Kennedy, all of St. Paul. Funeral services will be held at 9 A. M. Saturday in the Church of the Nativity, Stanford and Prior avenues. Burial will be in Calvary cemetery."
Obituary in the Mineapolis Journal March 26, 1936, pg. 4:
"John D. Kennedy, 82, St. Paul Pioneer Dies
Funeral services for John D. Kennedy, 82 years old, pioneer St. Paul resident who died yesterday after a short illness, are to be conducted at 9 am, Saturday, at the Church of the Nativity, St. Paul, with burial at Calvary cemetery. Mr. Kennedy was born in a log cabin at Third and Jackson streets, St. Paul. He was the son of Thomas F. Kennedy , who came to St. Paul in 1847. Surviving are his three sons, Thomas, Alois and John L, at whose home he died, and a daughter, Miss Irene G. Kennedy, all of St. Paul."
From "My Family History" (by unknown family author)
On May 31, 1881, John D. Kennedy, the eldest son, was married to Bridget A. Glenn. They moved to Renville county and acquired a section of land which was developed into one of the finest farms in that vicinity. After seven years of farm life, during which period no children were born, he moved to Morton, Minnesota. He established himself in the grocery business, but later went into milling and elevator projects. In Morton six children were born: Thomas Francis, Mary Eunice, Irene Gertrude, John L., Alois, and Anthony. Anthony, who weighed only two and one half pounds, lived only three months. The John D. Kennedy family moved to Saint Paul in 1912 where John lived until the time of his death, March 25, 1936.
St. Paul Pioneer Press Article, August, 1925:
"Pioneer Who Could Fool Indians Finds Snag in His Grandchildren. St. Paul Resident Checked Up About His Age by Youthful Kin at Party. John D. Kennedy, 387 Macalester Avenue, fooled the Indians in the outbreak of 1862 by seeking shelter in the round tower at Fort Snelling. And thereby he cheated the "varmints" out of a scalp that would have been particularily soft and fuzzy, as he was only 9 years old at the time. But Friday, when he celebrated a birthday anniversary which he tried to call his sixty-first, just as he had for the past 11 years, there were 11 young people far smarter than Indians ever were, whom he didn't succeed in fooling a bit. They think he's older. They happen to be his grandchildren; and fron the oldest, who is 14 years old, tot he youngest, who is 2 1/2 months old, they are convinced that the remarks of tehir grandfather must be taken with a grain of salt when he talks about his age. It was Gertrude Kennedy, 10 years old 2009 Lincoln avenue, who discovered in the family album, that John D. was born in 1853. Talking the matter over with the 2 1/2 months old newcomer in the Kennedy clan, she decided that 1853 plus 61 came to a long was from equaling 1925. So Friday Mr. Kennedy assumed his rightful age of 72 years. With his conscience clear in this respect, Mr. Kennedy was able to indulge in some reminiscences which he could not have gotten "by" with as a man of 61, with 11 grandchildren hanging around. The one about the Indian outbreak of 1882, for instance- even the 2 1/2 month old baby would have wondered how he got that way in 1862 if he wasn't born until 1864. Born in St. Paul. A log cabin at Third and Jackson streets, on the ground where later the log building that grew into the Merchants hotel was built, was Mr. Kennedy's birthplace August 7, 1853. The lot was owned by his father, Thomas F. Kennedy, who had come to St. Paul in 1847. A ravine, with a creek in it, ran across the rear of the lot in the southwesterly direction, Mr. Kennedy recalled, from up toward Seventh street. Seventh street, however, was "nothing to speak of" as a thoroughfare at that time. The Kennedy cabin was heated by a wood stove of the "Prairie State" brand. Mr. Kennedy assured his grandchildren that he saw plenty of Indians as a boy, but they were friendly in those days. It wasn't until 1862 that they became nasty. Then Lived Near Shakopee. The Kennedys were then living five miles out of Shakopee, having moved from St. Paul when John D. was 5 years old. Speaking of the Indian troubles in August of 1862, Mr. Kennedy said:
'My father was helping Alonzo Phillips with his threshing when word came of the outbreak. Finally the report was that the Indians had come as close as Glencoe, and my father and Mr. Phillips decided to clear out with the two families for Fort Snelling. My father had oxen and Mr. Phillips had horses, so we used the horses to make better time. We went to the house of Mr. Phillips father-in-law near Fort Snelling. Throngs of settlers had come in, and we spent the nights until the excitement ??? over in the round tower, whith the women and children sleeping on the floor and the men watching at the narrow slit winows for the Indians. Some of the settlers stayed in tents close to the tower, ready to come in at the first alarm. '
Mr. Phillips mentioned by Mr. Kennedy, is still alive, and lives at 1404 Park avenue, Minneapolis. He was at one time sherriff of Hennepin county. Once Owned a Store Here. Mr. Kennedy lived near Shakopee until he was 37 years old and then returned to St. Paul for several years. From here he moved to Morton, Minn. , in Renville county, but returned in 1914 and has made his home here ever since. From 1914 to 1918 he conducted a grocery store at 1468 Payne avenue. His birthday celebration was divided between the home of a son, John L. Kennedy, at Macalester avenue, where the elder Mr. Kennedy lives, and the home of another son, Thomas F. Kennedy, 2009 Lincoln avenue."
The 1900 Census of Morton, Renville Co., Minnesota includes John D. Kennedy, his wife Bridget, his sons Thomas, John, and Aloysius, and his daughters 'May' and Irene. Also included in the Kennedy household was the mother of Bridget, Mary Glenn, born March 1834 in Ireland. The record reference: Volume 51, ED 121, Sheet 8, Line 40.
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