In which I build a Google Map and attempt to plot 18th-century Kennedy families of the mid-Atlantic

A couple of months ago I began working in earnest to try to push my Kennedy family line back past ancestor David Kennedy, who died in the spring of 1800 while on a horse trading trip through the Carolinas.

Kennedy's young family in Russell County VA received a report that he had been taken ill during his travels and died suddenly. According to family lore, he was buried where he died, although the exact location has never been determined. Only a few months later his wife, Elizabeth Conway Kennedy, was killed in a dispute with a neighbor, leaving a young son and daughter orphaned. I wrote about that incident in a previous blog post.

We know very little about David Kennedy, but recent DNA testing has disproved the family tradition connecting him to the Augusta County VA family of Captain Joseph Kennedy (or, in fact, to any Kennedys currently participating in the Surname Project)

So I'm coming at the puzzle from both directions in time.

First I connected with modern Kennedy cousins to collaborate and share information on generations from the period of Kennedy's untimely death to the present. That work is ongoing and we will continue to pull together to try to discover the origin of our common ancestor.

Next I connected with Kennedy Surname and DNA Project Administrator James Kennedy to review the current results of the Kennedy Y-DNA tests to see if those could be of any assistance in identifying possible ancestors of our David Kennedy. After communicating with Jim Kennedy, it became clear that no comparisons could be made because no one from our Kennedy family had submitted a DNA test! Kennedy cousin Laura Smith identified three potential direct-line male testers and raised funds to pay for the tests, and after the typical delay of 10-12 weeks we had our answer. No matches. While this was discouraging news in one respect, it allowed us to sweep away decades of erroneous research and start with a fresh slate.

In the mean time, I have been plugging away at creating an interactive map (on Google) to help me sort out various clusters of Kennedys that I run across in my research. Who knew Kennedy was such a prolific surname!? The plotted points on the map are the results of logging the many random references in old books, stray Kennedys found in online data, already-researched Kennedy family groups from Ancestry and similar sites, and Kennedys whose locations can be discerned from the current chart of DNA test results.

The map will always be a work in progress, as there are still very likely hundreds (if not thousands) of markers to be added (I've charted less than 20% of the identifiable DNA tests at this point, for instance).

Bear in mind that this is a project intended to help my extended Kennedy family weed through, identify, and confirm or discard potential connections to our specific line. Therefore many of the comments that I've made in the plotted entries may not seem helpful to all Kennedy lines, however, it is my hope that just making a start at identifying and categorizing some of the known groups may be better than having no map at all.

Although the map is called "18th Century Mid-Atlantic Kennedy Groups" it has suffered from scope creep as descendants scattered to the wind and new immigrants arrived over the span of decades. In general though, I have tried to keep things contained the 18th century and the mid-Atlantic. There is an obvious focus on the families of PA/MD/VA/NC/SC, which is most relevant to my David Kennedy family project.

On the lefthand side of the live map you will see a key. I have tried to color-code the groups where possible to identify clusters that appear to be related. Dots indicate paper-trail research and teardrop-shaped markers mean we have a confirmed DNA test for the individual. So for instance, the light blue markers in the western NC area (refer to live map) are a mixture of dots and teardrops since we have several DNA tests for that line, but we also have a paper trail that allows us to identify additional individuals who are related to that same cluster.

Pale gray dots or teardrops indicate that the individual is not yet identified and/or matched with any other group.

An "X" before an individual's name means I have ruled that line out as being a potential match for my Kennedy family. The star-shaped markers indicate individuals that I feel may be strong leads for our group.

Again, this is a work in progress which is strongly tilted towards assisting descendants of David and Elizabeth Conway Kennedy of Russell County VA, but hopefully it can be of assistance to other families at the same time.

Click here to visit the live map on Google

Early NC/VA Hendersons: Edward Mosely's 1733 Map of North Carolina and 17th Century Maps of the Delmarva Peninsula

A couple of tools that I have found to be particularly helpful when trying to pinpoint the location of my Henderson families in the 17th and 18th centuries are Edward Moseley's 1733 Map of northeastern North Carolina (primarily the Chowan Precinct), and a collection of 17th-and-18th-century maps of the Delmarva Peninsula that can be found on the website of the Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture. 

Unfortunately, the earliest maps of the Delmarva Peninsula are so archaic and inaccurately drawn and oriented as to be nearly indecipherable, but by 1682, the one drawn by John Seller is at least recognizable. The 18th century maps are better. There is also an enlargeable one in the digital collection of the Library of Congress. I believe it dates from 1778 and is called "The Peninsula Between Delaware & Chesopeak Bays, with the said bays and shores adjacent drawn from the most accurate surveys." This one is particularly useful due to the zoom feature.

I stumbled across the Moseley map while trying to locate the Meherrin Creek referred to in this 1737 Bertie County land record witnessed by a JOHN HENDERSON:

Book 3 p. 363 William Moore to Benjamin Hill
19 January 1737 100 acres on N side Meheron Creek. Wit: J Bonde, John Laman, JOHN HENDERSON. "Know...that I Judith Moore...have for five pounds...by Coll Benjamin Hill relinquished all my Right Title and Interest to within land. 19 January 1737. Wit J Bonde, John Laman, JOHN HENDERSON. November Court 1738.

While I don't know that this John Henderson is connected in any way to the Delmarva Hendersons or to either of the two Onslow County Henderson groups, it is a point of interest that James "Isaac" Henderson's 1770 will was witnessed by John Bond and _____ Moor. The names Bond and Moor/Moore are frequently connected with the handful of other very early northeastern NC Henderson records I have been able to find.

The name Edward Moseley is well-known in the old Chowan and Bertie precincts of North Carolina. Moseley, the Surveyor General of North Carolina before 1710 and between 1723-1733, was born in England in 1683, and was active in the early politics of the colony. Moseley immigrated into Charleston and began his career as an Ordinary Court Clerk under Governor James Moore. He would marry judiciously (Anne Lillington Walker, widow of former governor Henderson Walker) and rise through the political ranks, ending up in Albemarle County where he began his surveying and legal careers. A feud between Moseley and Governor Charles Eden arose when Moseley accused Eden of collusion with the pirate Blackbeard (circumstantial evidence seems strong). As a result of the libel, he was heavily fined and banned from public office for several years.

Nevertheless...the man drew a good map.

Learn more about Edward Moseley's 1733 Map.
Learn more about Edward Moseley's life and political career.

Edward Moseley's Map of NC, 1733