Patrick Kennedy

Patrick Kennedy (February 16, 1823 – November 22, 1858) was an Irish farmer, businessman, and politician who moved to East Boston, Massachusetts from County Wexford, Ireland. He was born in New Ross, Ireland. He was the father of businessman/politician P. J. Kennedy (1858-1929), the grandfather of businessman/politician Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. (1888-1969), and the great-grandfather of President John F. Kennedy (1917-1963).

Early life

Patrick Kennedy was the youngest son of farmer James Kennedy Sr. (1770-1840), and Maria Maiden (1779-1836).

Adulthood

At the age of 26, Kennedy decided to leave Ireland, largely because he knew that a third-born son had virtually no hope of running his family's farm. His good friend at Cherry Bros. Brewery in New Ross, Patrick Barron, who taught Kennedy the skills of coopering, had come to that conclusion months earlier and left for America. In October 1848, Patrick Kennedy decided to follow. Patrick Kennedy arrived in Boston on April 22, 1849, having sailed from Liverpool, England on the Washington Irving, a substantial packet ship from the East Boston yard of Donald McKay. Patrick Barron helped settle him into Boston life and organized his coopering job on Noddle's Island (present-day East Boston). Not long after, Barron's cousin Bridget Murphy (1821-1888), who was the daughter of Phillip Murphy (1771-1850) and Mary Barron (1776-1846), made her way to Boston. She and Kennedy were married in the Holy Redeemer Church on September 26, 1849, by Father John Williams, who later became Boston's Roman Catholic Archbishop.

Children

Patrick and Bridget had five children:

• Mary L. Kennedy (1851-1926), who married Lawrence M. Kane (1853-1924).
• Joanna L. Kennedy (1852-1926), who married Humphrey Charles Mahoney (1854-1923).
• John Kennedy III (1854-1855), died young from cholera.
• Margaret M. Kennedy (1855-1929), who married John Caulfield (1856-1928).
• P. J. Kennedy (1858-1929), a businessman and politician who married Mary Augusta Hickey (1857-1923).

Death

Patrick Kennedy died on November 22, 1858, from tuberculosis at age 35.