KENNEDY,
a surname, conjectured by some to be derived from Ken, or
can (Gaelic Caen) a head, with the affix “edy,” and
signifying together head of the family. The ancestor of the noble
Ayrshire family of Cassillis, (now Ailsa) in the 13th
century, was Roland de Carrick, chief of his name, and his
great-grandson, Sir John Kennedy of Dunure, was the first to assume
that surname, instead of Carrick. (See CASSILLIS, earl of.)
Nisbet (System
of Heraldry, vol. i. p. 161) is of opinion that the Kennedys had
an Irish origin, and that they sprung from the old thanes of Garrick,
long before the Bruces held the title of earl thereof. In the eighth
century, Kennedy, father of Brian Boru, was prince of Connaught, and
in 850, Kennethe was thane of Carrick. In that district and in
Galloway, where the Kennedys had, at one time, extensive possessions,
the surname Kennedy is to this day pronounced Kennettie.
The surname,
however, is more likely to be derived from the Saxon than the Gaelic,
there being the words Kennen, to throw, and Konig, king,
in the German language, as well as numerous Saxon names beginning with
Ken, such as Kenulf, Kenelm, Kenned, &c. The name Kenneth, the
probable root of Kennedy, is purely Gothic, and the same as Kinaf,
that of one of the founders of the Russian empire, th in
Russian being pronounced f. [Pinkerton’s Enquiry, vol.
ii. p. 158.]
Some affirm
that the first of this surname who settled in Carrick, which then
formed a portion of Galloway, was a second son of Maclean of the
Isles, but there is no other ground for this supposition than that,
like the Macleans, the Kennedys carry three crosslets in their
armorial bearings. It is probable that they were introduced into
Ayrshire in 836 by Kenneth Macalpine, who united the Picts and the
Scots into one people. In the reign of William the Lion, Henry Kennedy
assisted Gilbert, eldest son of Fergus, lord of Galloway, in his wars
both against that monarch, and his own brother Uchtred. This Fergus
was the direct ancestor, in the third degree, of Marjory, countess of
Carrick, the mother of Robert the Bruce. In the Ragman Roll, among
those who swore allegiance to Edward I. in 1296, are several of the
name of Kennedy.
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Of this
surname there are several ancient families. The Kennedys of
Knocknalling, Ayrshire, are in possession of title deeds, the dates of
which range back as far as 1476.
The family
of Kennedy of Knockgray, in the stewartry of Kirkcudbright, is
descended from the Rev. Alexander Kennedy, born in 1663, who acquired
that estate. He was minister of Straiton, Ayrshire, and chaplain to
the seventh earl of Cassillis, at whose funeral he officiated in 1701,
when he is said to have exorcised the devil, who had settled on the
coffin in the shape of a black crow! His great-great-granddaughter,
Anne, married, 10th September 1781, John-Clark, Esq. of
Nunland, also in the stewartry of Kirkcudbright, and their eldest son,
Colonel Alexander Clark Kennedy, succeeded, in 1835, to the estate of
Knockgray. An honourable augmentation was granted to his arms, in
commemoration of his having, when in command of the centre squadron of
the Royal dragoons at the battle of Waterloo, captured the eagle and
colours of the 105th regiment of French infantry with his
own hand.
KENNEDY, JAMES,
a learned and munificent prelate of the Roman Catholic church, and
founder of the college of St. Salvator, at St. Andrews, was the
younger son of James Kennedy of Dunure, by his wife, the countess of
Angus, daughter of Robert III., and was born about 1405 or 1406.
Entering into holy orders, he was, in 1437, preferred by his uncle,
James I., to the see of Dunkeld, with which he held in commendam
the abbey of Scone. One the death of Bishop Wardlaw, in April 1440, he
was advanced to the diocese of St. Andrews. In 1444 he was constituted
lord high chancellor, an office which he resigned in a few weeks. He
was intrusted with the charge and education of James III., and during
that prince’s minority, he acted as one of the lords of the regency,
when, such was his acknowledged wisdom, prudence, and integrity, that
the chief management of public affairs devolved upon him. He died May
10, 1466 and was interred in the collegiate church of St. Andrews, in
the precincts of St. Salvator, which college he founded in 1456, and
liberally endowed for the maintenance of a provost, four regents, and
eight poor scholars or bursars. He is said to have written some
political advices, entitled ‘Monita Politica,’ and a ‘History of his
Own Times,’ both of which are supposed to be lost.
KENNEDY, WALTER,
a poet of the sixteenth century, styled by Douglas ‘The Greit
Kennedy,’ is principally known by his ‘Flyting’ with his brother bard
Dunbar, and by two short pieces, the one entitle ‘Invective against
Mouth-Thankless,’ contained in the Evergreen, and the other, ‘Prais of
Age,’ published, with a high commendatory opinion, by Lord Hailes. All
his other poems have, unfortunately, perished. He was a native of the
district of Carrick, and belonged to the ecclesiastical order. Dunbar,
in his ‘Lament for the Death of the Makkaris,’ mentions him to have
been on his death-bed at the time that poem was written. It is
probable he died soon after.
KENNEDY, JOHN,
M.D., a
physician and antiquary of some repute in his day, was a native of
Scotland, but very little is known of his personal history. He resided
some years in Smyrna, and was a great collector of antiquities,
particularly coins, which were sold by auction after his death. He
wrote a ‘dissertation on the Coins of Carausius,’ of which 256 were in
his own possession. In this publication, which appeared in 1756, he
maintained that Oriuna was that emperor’s guardian goddess, which led
to a foolish controversy with Dr. Stukeley, who affirmed that she was
his wife. Dr. Kennedy died in 1760.
