Harry Ellsworth Kennedy

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Born in 1881 to Peter and Rachel Cooper Kennedy, Harry grew up on the neighboring homestead. He graduated from Butler Business College. By crossing the river on ice cakes, he courted her; then married Nellie Hesselgesser "at a lovely wedding" at her parent's home on 26 September 1905 when he was 24 years old.

He had a brother, Joe, who with his wife Sarah lived in Cabot and they had at least one son, Ren. He also had a brother, Dr. Edwin P. Kennedy who was a member of their bridal party. Harry and Nell lived in Swissvale when they were first married and he worked as a secretary at American Steel Wire Company in Swissvale, or near there. Their first child, Ruth, was born here in 1907. Because of his health, he was advised by the doctor to "get out from the noise" and so forth and he was only too glad to move to the country. In 1911, they bought acreage from the Kennedy farm in Cabot next to his brother, (Clifford and his wife Effie who lived in the homestead), "with not even a shrub or tree, any buildings on it and gradually built it up." They lived a short time with Uncle Cliff and Aunt Effie, then Gene says that they purchased a house back above Winfield and moved it to the property, with Grandpa Hesselgesser and others helping. There was a gas well on the property so they had free gas. Ruth says she was about 8 years old when the old house was remodeled and in 1925 the barn was built. Gene remembers that as an exciting time. "They laid the barn all out on the ground and used horses to pull it up. The contractor only had to use a hand saw once. Everything went right into place. The neighbors came in and we had a time that day. We used to play around the wall and jump across the doorway before the barn was built. It was a new foundation, poured concrete. I remember them taking the first cow from the old barn down into the new. We had a procession doing that." He continues "We had a sawmill on our farm and all the rough timber was from the farm, except some of the sheeting on the roof that my father got from an old distillery down in Freeport. Some of those boards are twelve, fourteen inches wide. No one seems to remember who had the sawmill.

Harry then took up farming, was later Tax Collector for the township and also worked at the Pennsylvania Railroad Station in Cabot and 'at home with help. They had 5 more children born to them in Cabot. He was an active member of the Cabot Methodist Church and served as Sunday School superintendent, among other positions. He was also a seventh degree member of the Winfield Grange. I remember that we would go out to the farm in order to buy our milk from Uncle Harry. My recollection of the milk house was a cold, mysterious, wet place with huge 5-gallon metal cans of the delicious milk from his dairy cows sitting in icy cold water. Of course, the milk was topped off with lots of cream. He and his son, Gene, seemed to handle those big cans so effortlessly, it seemed! We also recall riding on the loaded hay wagon as Gene drove it into the barn and I was sure that we would hit the top of the door going in...but we didn't! They had a dog named Prince while Ramona was growing up, then later had a collie.

Uncle Harry was a lover of poetry and often spoke in little rhymes! Aunt Nellie died in 1965 and he ate one of his meals every day at Gene and Marjie's house. He also spent one winter at Marian's home in Fairless Hills, New Jersey. The summer of Denny's 4th, (1968), Ramona visited PA (Nell had already died) and they helped him find cabbage plants which he wanted for his garden. That summer in August he became ill, was hospitalized about a week before his death on 30 August 1968 at age 87 of kidney failure and old age. He was buried on Ramona's birthday, 1 September, at St. Paul's Lutheran Cemetery.

References

Last data update: Sep 27, 2018.

Personal genealogical research information and notes provided by Nancy Lee (Hesselgesser) Sutton, Citation post date: 2006-07-29