My Genealogy Hound

JOHN KENNEDY, JR., banker, Tarentum, & son of John and Sarah Mc. (Woods) Kennedy, was born in the village of Tarentum, Sept. 16, 1830. His grandfather, William Kennedy, was formerly a resident of Butler county, and in 1807 removed to what is now East Deer township, Allegheny county, where he and his brother contracted to clear eighty acres of land about a mile above the village of Tarentum, to which place they came, remaining until the spring of 1817, when they removed to Westmoreland county. Here they and their families continued to live until 1852, when William died, and in 1861 his widow, Mrs. Elizabeth Kennedy, also died. Their children were Catherine, John, William, Elizabeth, Mary Ann, James and Margaret.

John Kennedy, Sr., remained with his parents until, in 1826, he secured a contract to build a section of the Pennsylvania canal, which he completed in 1827, and during that year he married and settled at Tarentum. He was principally engaged in the lumber trade. In1875 he retired from active business life, and is still a resident of that place; his wife died Dec. 3, 1884 Their children were James, John, William and Jane K.

John Kennedy, Jr., the subject of our sketch, married, in 1855, Amarilla Jane, daughter of James Pneumon, of Freeport, Pa., and settled in Tarentum, in the growth and prosperity of which place Mr. Kennedy has been prominently identified. In 1852 he was elected county surveyor of Allegheny county, which office he filled for three years. He was engaged in the oil business in Smith’s Ferry, Beaver county, Pa., in 1861. In 1862 he enlisted in Co. F, 123d P. V.; was wounded in the battle of Fredericksburg. From 1863 until 1866 he was engaged in the oil business at Rouseville, Venango county, Pa. With the exception of these brief periods he has constantly remained in Tarentum. Being a surveyor, he laid out into lots nearly the whole of the territory upon which Tarentum is now built, including both East and West Tarentum. He was largely instrumental in securing the location, of the glass works at this place; in fact, he has been an important factor in gaining for Tarentum the high position which she holds among her sister boroughs of the state. In 1872, associated with his father and his brother James, they built the planing-mill now operated by them, and in 1887 he erected the Tarentum Bank building; indeed, all enterprises having for their object the improvement of Tarentum find in him a substantial helper. Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy’s children are Richard A., an attorney at Pittsburgh, Pa.; Sarah A., now Mrs. Dr. G. M. Getze, of Tarentum; James W., mining at Gilman, Colo.; Henry Herbert, Charles G., cashiers in Tarentum Bank; Phoebe, a graduate of Beaver Female College; Frank and Walter. The parents are members of the M. E. Church.