Baldwin County GaArchives History .....History of Baldwin County - Kenan Biography 1925 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 October 7, 2004, 3:55 pm p. 384-387 KENAN Among the earliest settlers of Baldwin County will be found the Kenan family. Thomas Kenan emigrated from Ireland in the year 1733, and settled the village of Kenansville, near Wilmington, in the State of North Carolina. He reared a large family of children. Three of his sons, James, Michael Johnston, and Owen, took prominent and conspicuous parts in the War of the Revolution: James rose to the rank of a General; Owen, as Captain, was killed early during the war while leading a detachment of the Militia against a notorious band of Tories who were harassing his neighborhood; Michael Johnston was a member of the famous Continental Convention called by act of the General Assembly of North Carolina in 1777, and at that time took the oath of allegiance in support of the colonies against the Mother Country, and otherwise actively engaged in the war that ultimately secured our independence. Michael Johnston Kenan was born in Duplin County, N. C., Aug. 26th, 1746; married Ann Holmes, a sister of Governor Gabriel Holmes, of that State, and shortly after the close of the war, moved with his family, to the State of Georgia, and settled in Jasper County, going to Hancock County later, where both he and his wife died. His eldest son, Thomas Holmes, was born in Duplin County, N. C., on March 1, 1774, and of course came to Georgia with his father. In his early manhood he settled at Milledgeville, in Baldwin County; he married Mrs. Aurelia Powell, a widow, and was prominent in establishing the City that was the capital of the State for nearly sixty years. He was a man of the highest character, and during a long life held many offices of Public trust and confidence in Baldwin County, and was U. S. Marshal of the District. He died March 17, 1837. The issue of this marriage was two sons, Augustus Holmes, Michael Johnston; and three daughters, Uriah Threatt who married John T. Lamar; Arabella, who married James U. Home, of Spalding County, and amongst her children, a daughter, Leila, married Lucius J. Lamar, who held the important position of Steward of the Georgia State Sanitarium for a continuous period of about forty years, and until his resignation in 1923 on account of ill health. They are residents of Milledgeville at the present time. Michael Johnston Kenan, the other son, also resided at Milledgeville. He was bred to the law, but was forced to give up the practice of his profession on account of deafness. After his marriage to Catherine Ann Spalding, a daughter of the Honorable Thomas Spalding of Sapelo Island, where he planted cotton up to 1861, when he returned to Baldwin County, where he resided many years. He was once Mayor of Milledgville. Augustus H. Kenan, his elder brother, was also a lawyer by profession; he resided in Milledgeville and Baldwin County all his life and was a prominent figure in the history of the County. He was probably one of the ablest criminal lawyers of his day and time. He first married Miss Henrietta G. Alston. He was later divorced from his wife and married Miss Sarah Barnes, of Baldwin County. Thomas Holmes, the eldest son of Augustus H. Kenan, was a physician by profession, and for many years lived at Milledgeville, and held the position of Assistant Physician at the State Insane Asylum. Some time during the eighties he moved to Atlanta, Ga., where he died. Lewis Holmes Kenan, the other son of Col. Augustus Kenan was by profession a lawyer, and for many years practiced with his father in Milledgeville, and in 1869 or 1870, was assassinated on the street by John Strother. Both Thomas and Lewis were officers in the Confederate Army, and both bore conspicuous records for loyal service. Their father was a member of the Provisional, as well as the Regular Congress of the Confederate States, until its overthrow. Michael Johnston Kenan had two sons; Spalding Kenan and Owen Tom Kenan, and two daughters, Aurelia, who married Dr. Chas. H. Hall, of Macon, and Clifford, who married Capt. Wm. Williamson, a prominent lawyer of Milledgeville, where they resided up to the date of his death. Spalding Kenan was born Nov. 11, 1836, and married Miss Evelyn Elizabeth Livingston, of Columbus, Ga. Spalding was a physician and saw service also in the Confederate Army, as surgeon. After the war he was for several years on the Medical Staff of Georgia Insane Asylum. He lived in Milledgeville until 1871 and then removed to Darien, McIntosh County, Ga., where he practiced his profession until 1908, the date of his death. Owen Tom Kenan, many years the junior of Spalding, lived at Milledgeville; he married Lizzie, a daughter of the late Dr. Samuel G. White, and resided for many years in Milledgeville. He was Commandant of Cadets at the Georgia Military College, and organized that department, and for the first four or five years of its history established it with great efficiency. He removed from Milledgeville to Macon, Ga., and for some time was Chief of Police. During his administration as chief, it was remarked that the Police Force of Macon was the finest military organization in the State. The truth was, Owen Kenan was a natural born soldier. He saw service both in the Spanish-American, and World wars, in active participation in Europe, the Philippine Islands and in this country. His record in both, wars brought him honor and merited promotion and distinction. He is now residing at Atlanta, Georgia. The last member of the Kenan family who resided in Milledgeville, was Livingston Kenan, who was born Dec. 18, 1863, he married Helen Mary Hart Gignil-liatt, daughter of the Hon. Wm. R. Gignilliatt, of McIntosh County, Ga. He was a lawyer by profession and was educated at the Georgia Military College. He returned with his family in 1908 to Milledgeville, where he lived until Jan., 1919. when he returned to Savannah, Ga., where he now lives and is engaged in the practice of his profession. He has two sons, Thomas Holmes, and Robert Gignilliat Kenan, both of whom were educated at the Georgia Military College, and two daughters, Meta and Helen, who hold diplomas from the Georgia State College for Women. From the earliest settlement of Milledgeville, there has never been a time when representatives of this old family have not resided in the County of Baldwin. They have all contributed to its development and history. Additional Comments: From: Part V HISTORY of BALDWIN COUNTY GEORGIA BY MRS. ANNA MARIA GREEN COOK ILLUSTRATED ANDERSON. S. C. Keys-Hearn Printing Co. -1925— File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/baldwin/history/other/gms301historyo.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/gafiles/ File size: 7.1 Kb