BIOGRAPHY: William F. KENNEDY, Mifflin County, PA Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by P. S. Barr Copyright. All rights reserved. http://files.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://files.usgwarchives.net/pa/mifflin/ _______________________________________________ The Commemorative Biographical Encyclopedia of the Juniata Valley, Comprising the Counties of Huntingdon, Mifflin, Juniata, and Perry, Pennsylvania. Chambersburg, Pa.: J. M. Runk & Co., 1897, Volume I, pages 500-501. WILLIAM F. KENNEDY, Lewistown, Mifflin county, Pa., was born near Mauch Chunk, Carbon county, Pa., January 26, 1864, son of James and Jenny (Andrews) Kennedy. His paternal grandparents, Samuel and Jenny (Hyndman) Kennedy, had six children: Rev. Edward, graduate of Lafayette College and Princeton Theological Seminary, married Mary Lewis; Jenny (Mrs. James McCloskey); James, Mary Jane; Samuel, married Mary A. Scott; and William, who married Charlotte ------. Mr. W. F. Kennedy's maternal grandparents were James and -------- Andrews; their family consisted of four daughters and three sons. Mr. Andrews and his three sons went to Australia, where they took an active part in the public affairs of the colony. James Kennedy was a farmer, a man of intelligence and inquiring mind, who, not having enjoyed opportunities for liberal intellectual culture in youth, sought compensation in the intervals of his agricultural labors, in reading; his preference was for history, and many college-bred men might safely have been challenged to rival him in acquaintance with the character and events of ancient and modern times. In family and church relations, he was always devoted and faithful. Two of the children of James and Jenny (Andrews) Kennedy died very young; those in mature life are: Jane (Mrs. Joseph Brown), has one child; James A., married Martha Porter, has four children; Mary J. (Mrs. Thomas E. Myers), has one child; Elizabeth H. (Mrs. George W. Boss); William F.; Margaret (Mrs. John H. Morrow), has two children; Esther H.; and Edward, a graduate of Lafayette College, Easton, Pa. James Kennedy died in February, 1892; his wife is still living. After finishing the course of studies in the public schools of East Mauch Chunk, William F. Kennedy taught school for one term, and was then for two terms a student in the Susquehanna Collegiate Institute, at Towanda, Bradford county, Pa. Again for one term he was a teacher, and then again for two terms was at the institute, under the tuition of the Rev. Darwin Cook. After this thorough intellectual and experimental preparation, Mr. Kennedy, having decided to adopt teaching as a profession, was engaged in the graded schools of Potterville, Camptown, Ulster and New Albany. In the spring of 1890 he became a teacher in the academy at Duncannon, Perry county, Pa., and in the following spring was elected principal of the high school of that borough. He was still in the same position when, in the spring of 1894, he was chosen for the place which he now fills, that of supervising principal of the borough schools of Lewistown. In early manhood Mr. Kennedy did not "despise the day of small things;" in order to obtain the higher education which he coveted, and to prepare himself more thoroughly for his life work, he was willing to labor through winter terms at the pittance of twenty-six dollars per month. His patience and willingness to wait as well as to work, coupled with his manifest ability and faithfulness, have placed him in his present responsible position, and will no doubt accomplish still more for him in the future. The salary pertaining to this principalship is $125 per month. Early in life Mr. Kennedy acquired a stock of musical knowledge which has been of great advantage to him in his career. He is a Republican. William F. Kennedy was married, December 24, 1891, to Leora G., daughter of Daniel Dwight and Eliza (Camp) Chaffee, born October 7, 1863. Their children are: Paul C., born June 4, 1893; and Elizabeth, born December 4, 1894. Daniel D. Chaffee was a cabinet-maker and undertaker, doing business for many years in Bradford county, Pa. He was a just and conscientious man, and highly respected. Like the elder Mr. Kennedy, he was a close student of history, being particularly well versed in that of the United States. He was born October 21, 1819, and died January 3, 1889. Mrs. Chaffee is still living. Mr. Kennedy and his family attend the Presbyterian church at Lewistown, in which he is an elder. His residence is in Logan street.