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37. Joseph Kenney (Married: 1.Francis "Fanny" More/Moore (# 38) August 12, 1802 in Frederick County Virginia; she died in 1807; 2) Susan Buzzard in 1811 in Hampshire County, Virginia; she died in 1821; 3) Ann Chappelear (Windle) on November 14, 1822 in Frederick County. She died on August 12, 1848. (The source of all typed information in pink is research obtained from numerous court documents and other sources by Doug Hart, a descendant of Albert G. Kenney). Click here to see documentation about Joseph's three marriages.

Born:between 1781 and 1790 of Unknown Father (#73) & Unknown Mother (#74) .[Note: He couldn't have been born as late as 1790. If so, he would have been only 12 when he married Fanny. She was born in 1784 and would have been 18 at the time of their marriage. It is likely that Joseph was about the same age.]

Died: Before September 19, 1833 [Doug Hart surmises this because there is "a suggestion of death was filed in the pending court case that day. "]

 

[His siblings if any are unknown.]

 

Miscellaneous:

After the death of his wife, Fanny, in about 1807, Joseph's two young sons (Albert G. Kenney (#19)- 4 years old and John F. Kenney- 2 years old) went to live with their maternal grandmother (Margaret Moore) and grandfather (Anthony Moore). Shortly afterward, probably early 1808 Anthony died. His estate was settled in May 1808. Margaret and two others were the administrators of Anthony Moore’s estate. Margaret received the net proceeds of the estate as well as several slaves that he had owned, which she kept or rented out for a few years and eventually sold in 1818.

[Note: Sometime between when Fanny died ~1807 and the 1810 Census, Joseph's sons, Albert G. and John F. left Margaret Moore's home and moved in with their father, Joseph, as indicated by the 1810 Census.]

The map at left is pending permission to use by its creator John Collins (www.wimfamhistory.net/Virginia/Virgin02.htm.> This map shows Virginia before the formation of West Virginia on June 20, 1863, when some counties in Virginia (example: Hampshire County) became part of the new state. The webmaster colored Hampshire County yellow and Frederick County turquoise. Joseph Kenney spent much of his life in one or both of these counties, marrying wives, purchasing and selling property, participating in censuses, precipitating in the Virginia militia, and bringing suits in court on behalf of his children's inheritance from their grandfathers.

In the 1810 Census, Joseph was living in Middletown, Frederick County, Virginia. The 1810 Census shows eight people in the household, including one slave. There are two boys under age 10 (probably Albert and John), one male between 16-25, one male age 26-44 (one of these two would be Joseph), 1 girl under 10 and two females age 16-25. It is unknown who the fourth male and three females were.

Joseph had a military career that may have begun before 1810. In 1810, he qualified as a Captain in the Virginia militia. Click here to read more.

Beginning on December 12, 1819, Joseph Kenney brought a suit in Frederick County, VA against the administrators as the "next friend" of his two sons, seeking to recover their 1/10 share of their grandfather’s estate. They were minors at the time, but became adults at least by 1830 while the case was still going on, and were substituted in as the plaintiffs in lieu of Joseph.

After Fanny's death, Joseph married Susan Buzzard in 1811. With her, he had four daughters: Elizabeth, Susan, Mary, and Catherine. Susan (his wife) died 10 years later, in 1821. Susan's father had died in 1820 and had owned 10 slaves, most of whom were children. Much like he did with his first wife’s family, Joseph sued the estate seeking to get his daughters’ share of the money received from selling the slaves. It turns out that is what the suit against Jacob Jenkins was about, as Jenkins was the executor of Frederick Buzzard’s will.

May 9, 1820 he was living in Hampshire County Virginia and was commissioned as Lt. Col. in 114th Regiment Virginia Militia.

The 1820 Census for Hampshire County, Virginia, shows that both Albert and John from his first marriage were probably still living with Joseph at that time.

Meanwhile, in Hampshire County, Virginia, on July 3, 1820 Joseph bought a 513 acre farm for $1,500 from William & Sarah Sprigg, Three years later, according to a source citation for Virginia Marriages, he married his third wife, Ann Windle.

In the 1830 Census, Joseph is listed as living in Hampshire County, Virginia. There are 18 people in his household, including 6 children (probably his three daughters from his second marriage and three stepchildren from his third marriage, and his wife, and 10 slaves.

Apparently, he didn't make all the payments for a farm he was purchasing because he was being sued in the early 1830s by a Jonathan Sprigg, who seems to be an heir of William Sprigg. The court docket reflects that Joseph was declared insane on Sep 19, 1831 and committed to the county lunatic asylum. On Sep 18, 1833, a suggestion of death was made in the court record, meaning he had died sometime prior to that. The farm was eventually sold at a sheriff’s sale in 1836 for $425.

After Joseph's death, "Joseph's three daughters, sons-in-law, and the estate of daughter Mary, who had died, filed a suit against his widow, Ann. On May 2, 1834, the parties agreed to dismiss that suit without costs, which probably means they reached a settlement. The terms of that settlement are likely reflected in a document that was recorded on November 21, 1834 in Hampshire County between John, Albert (#19), the husbands of Joseph's three living daughters, and the widow Ann. According to the settlement agreement, Ann agreed to give the children $1000, and they allowed her to keep the slaves and personal property. Ann also gave up her dower rights in Joseph's other property, real and personal. The interesting fact about this deal is that all of that property was Ann's to begin with. Under Virginia property law at the time, when a woman married all of her property became the property of her husband. "

Joseph Kenney's estate was filed in 1835. Click here to see the spreadsheet of his estate settlement.

Lifetime Events Summary for Joseph :

Event	Date	Joseph's age
Birth	~1784	0
Marriage to Frances Moore	1802	~18
Marriage to Susan Buzzard	~1811	~27
Children's births	1803-?	~19-?
Son Albert G. Kenney's birth	1803	~19
Qualified as Captain in Virginia Militia	1810	~26
Marriage to Ann Windle	1822	38
Death	~1833	~49

 

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