• General Notes

  [316552.ftw]
  
  See Historical Document.
  
  Notes for FRANCIS KENNER:  From William W. Grier:
  Francis was the executor to the wills of John and Elizabeth Kenner Howson.  He was a Vestryma n of St. Joseph's Parish in Northumberland County, Virginia.
    The dates of his children's births are from St. Stephen's Register (Swem 18 W\129-37).  H e lived at Cherry Point, Northumberland County, Virginia.  The statement appears on print tha t Capt. Francis Kenner married Elizabeth Turberville, but it is doubtful that a woman of tha t name and generation existed. John Turberville seems to have had but one child, George, an d George seems to have been half-brother to Francis, rather than a brother-in-law inn\the mod ern sense. (See notes for Francis' mother, Elizabeth Rodham).
  From Genealogies of Virginia Families, Vol II: \Francis' will was proved in Northumberland C ounty April 18, 1728. In the will he directed that his son Rodham, "should be kept in schoo l and learning till he is 21".
  Death of Bef 18 Apr 1728. Cherry PT, Northern Neck, Northumberland, VA. Approx 46 years old .  The Kenner Family History, compiled by Lois Colleen Hindman Kenner.
  CURRY DESCENDANTS by Judge Noble K. Littell pp24 ref#852.
  CURRY DESCENDANTS by Judge Noble K. Littell pp27 ref#1704.  The Wickenkamp-Thorn(e) Connectio n by Floyd W. Wickenkamp.  A SEATON-ZENOR FAMILY HISTORY 2nd ed.1983 pp 116.
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  The will fo Francis KENNER:\In the name of God AMEN:   The twenty first day of April 1725 .  I Francis Kenner of the Parish of St. Stephens in Northumberland county and Collony of Vir ginia.  Gent: Being sick and weake of body but of sound and perfect memory Thanks be to almig hty God therefore and calling to mind the uncertain state of this Transitory life and knowin g that it is appointed all men once to die I make Ordain and declare this my last will and te stament that it is to say principally and first of all give and recommend my soul unto the Al mighty God that gave it to me and my body I recommend to the earth to be buried in christia n burial at the discretion of my Executors nothing doubting but the general resurrection I sh al recieve the same again by the mighty power of God\and as Touching such worldly Estate wher e with it shall please Almighty God to Bless me in this life I give and devise and dispose o f in the following manner and form (Vis).
  Imprimis.  I give and bequeath unto my son Rodham Kenner Seven Slaves (Vis) Jack, Doll, Jenny , Dick, Mall, Willowby and Matthew to him the said Rodham and to his heirs ans assignes forev er and my will and order is that my son Rodham shall be kept at school of larning until he sh all attain the full age of twenty one years at the charge of the yearly produce of my whole e state which yearly produst or revinur if it should happen not to be sufficient to defray th e said charges my will is and I do hereby impower my loving brother Matthew Kenner to sell an d dispose of to any person or persons any two of the above slaves which are hereby bequeathe d unto my son Rodham Kenner and to make as good a right to the persons purchasing the said tw o slaves as I myself might or could do.
  Item.  I give a bequeath unto my daughter Elizabeth my two best feather beds and furniture t o me belonging and I do hereby confirm unto her by this my last\will and testement the slave s I made over to her by the instrument of writing\from me to her and is now recorded to the o ffice kept for the County of\Northumberland.
  Item.  I give and bequeath to my said daughter Elizabeth my roan pacing horse.
  Item.  I give and bequeath to my son Rodham Kenner the two next bestfeather beds and furnitur e.
  Item.  I give and bequeath to my son Howson Kenner all my l and whatsoever orr\wheresoever t o me belonging or appartaining with their appartenances to him the said Howson and to his hei rs lawfully begotten of his body forever.
  Item.  I give and bequeath to my Godson Francis Kenner the son of my brother\Matthew Kenner o ne negro girl named Keiria and her future increase to him the said Francis Kenner and to hi s heirs and assignes forever.
  Item.  I give and bequeath to my Godson David Straughan one thousand pounds of\tobacco and al l my wearing apparel both linnen and wollen.
  Item.  I give and bequeath to my son Howson Kenner and to his heirs ans\assignes forever seve n slaves (Vis) Will, Peggy, Boston, Nick, George, Little\Will and Betty Cook.
  Item.  My will and order is that my slaves named Bip which among other things I have made ove r by deed unto my daughter Elizabeth may be employed chiefly in\work in and about the house i n taking care and keeping the house in order and decent as here tofore until my daughter is m arried or of age.
  Item.  I give and bequeath to my son Rodham Kenner and Howson Kenner all my stock of cattle a nd sheep equally to be devided between them when my said Rodham shall be full age.
  Item.  All the rest of my estate not ----- of here in or here by bequeathed I give and bequea th unto mt son Howson Kenner and his heirs and assignes forever.
  Item.  My will is that no part or parsel of my estate be appraised but inventored.
  Item.  I do hereby nominate and appoint my loving brother Matthew Kenner and my brother in la w Capt. George Turberville and my cosin Capt. Richard Kenner Executors of this my last will a nd testement certifing and confirming this to be my last will and testement for witness wher e of I have hereunto sat my hand and seale the day and date first on.  F. Kenner.
  The other side written: signed, seales, published, and declared by Francis Kenner to be his l ast will and testement in presense of us the subscribers Thos Cralle, David Straughan, Jame s Farned, TaratApril 10th 1726 Sec. Clk. Cor. Captain Francis Kenner.  These are to certify t het on the 20th day of July 1726 David Straughn made oath he saw Captain Francis Kenner ackno wledge the above to be his last will\and testament.   John Waughop
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  CODICIL:  Be it known unto all men by these present that whereas I Francis Kenner of  St. Ste phens Parish in the county of northumberland and collony of Virginia Gent: have make and decl ared by the above writing my last will and testament herein date the 21st day of April 1725 i n which said will I have bequeathed\unto my son Rodham Kenner several slaves and several othe r legasies of good\value as by the said will may appear and where, as as also by my said wil l I\have divised unto my son Howson Kenner and my daughter Elizabeth Kenner\several legasie s as by my said will may also appear NOW if my said son Rodham\Kenner should at any time or t imes here after molest, sue, trouble, Implead or\Defiesed under any coulour or poach as hei r at law or other way as to either\or any lands or Negroes nominated or mentioned in my sai d will to be given to\my before named Howson Kenner or my daughter Elizabeth Kenner by any wa y means\prevety or procurement whatsoever and I do hereby order and determine that\all an d a singular of the legasies in my said will which I have bequeathed\unto my said son Rodha m Kenner or is any ways made in his favour shall after\revert and become the estate or estate s property and properties of my said son\Howson Kenner and my daughter Elizabeth Kenner and t heir heirs and assignes\forever to be Equally divided between then and my said son Howason Ke nner (in\case aforsaid) to pay unto my said son Rodham Kenner one shilling current\money if d emanded and my will and desire is that this codicil be faithfully --\as fully in every respec t as if the same were to declared mentioned and set\down in my last will and testament in tes timony where of I do here unto set my\hand and affix my seale this 23rd day of April Anno Dom ini 1725.
  Francis Kenner Seale Signed sealed published and declared by Francis Kenner in presence of Da vid\Straughan Hannah Cralle Daniel Gainey.  At a court held for Northumberland County April 1 7th 1726 Tarat Hannah Cralle and Daniel Gainey to the codicil  C C.  July 20th 1726  I Davi d Straughn made oath that he saw Capt Francis Kenner acknowledge the above this will with cod icil.  April 17th 1726 this will with codicil was proved in Northumberland county court by Ja mes Farned Hannah Cralle and Daniel Gainey will --- there to and is admitted to record .          _________________________________________________________________
         As mentioned in the will Francis Kenner had three children. Rodham who later became Re v. Rodham, born September 28, 1707 and died about 1735 in Caroline county Virginia and marrie d Judith Beverly, daughter of Harry Beverly.  After Rev. Rodham Kenner died, Dorothy Roy, mot her of Thomal Roy, a man that did not have much success in business adventure, engeneered a m arriage to Judith Beverly Kenner, who through her inheritance from the Beverly's was one of t he richest wonen in the county.  This time Thomas justified his mother's faith because he no t only succeeded in gaining control of all of Judith's property, but also embezzeled trust fu nds belonging to her young son by the Rev. Kenner, without getting caught.  Her son's name wa s George, and to save his inheiritance from Thomas and Dorothy Roy, the court transferred cus tody of George's property from his mother to his uncle, Howson Kenner.  George Kenner die d a rich man in 1772, and his widow, Margaret, promptly remarried.  Her new spouse was John D ugard, an adventurer, who only recently had moved to Caroline from Baltimore.  This marriag e displeased her son, Rodham Kenner, II, a sporting youth much given to betting and drink, an d when the newly wed pair cut down on his allowance for dissipation, he took a trip to Baltim ore to see what dirt he might dig up on his step-father.  He dug up plenty.  Dugard already h ad a wife in Maryland when he married Margaret Kenner in Carolina.  Yound Rodham got affidavi ts to prove this from the Rev. Thomas Chase, rector of St. Paul's Parich, Baltimore, and th e Governor of Maryland  and returned home with these documents.  The Caroline court speedil y convicted Dugard for bigamy.  But, Dugard refused to accept this conviction and employed Pa trick Henry to appeal his case in the  general court of the colony of Williamsburg.  Henery w as successful in the appeal and Dugard returned to Caroline a free man.  But, he refused to p ay Henry his fee, and Henry who was a close collector, turned on him in his wrath and saved t he Kenner fortune for Rodham,II.  Rodham Kenner,II, later distinguished himself as a naval of ficer aboard the PROCTOR  and the DRAGON during the Revolutionary War.
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  -G326, p253 & p258 \b: per Wm & Mary Qtly, 1909-1910, vol 18, pg131 ww 21 Apr 1725, wp 23 Ap r 1725 mentions brother Mathew and his son Francis brother-in-law, Capt George TURBERVILE Fra ncis' brother, Rodham, mentioned in his probated will, 21 Aug 1706, that his brother Franci s was a Capt. b: per "Genealogies of Virginia Families, Vol III, He->M", [Wm & Mary Qtly],\p2 56.
  This data is from Virginia Cottrell * 2013 Cherry Lane * Durant, OK 74701-8923, 15 June 1994 : Francis Kenner is listed in records with two different birthdates.  One, 27 Dec 1677, whic h is the birth date given as his brother John, so they may be twins. The other date is 18 De c 1681.
    His sister Elizabeth is shown to be born 19 Mar 1682 or 18 Dec 1681, so it appears France s was a twin to either John or Elizabeth.  It is known that twins are found several times i n later family lines.  (Most Kennner descendants are using the 1681 date as his birthdate. )  Francis' will was pro. 18 Apr 1728 in Northumberland Co. VA.  He married Hannah Howson, da ughter of Leonard & Elizabeth "Lee" Howson.  Francis and Hannah (Howson) Kenner lived at Cher ry Point in Northumberland Co., VA near where the Potomic River flows into the Chesapeake Bay .  Francis, as were so many of the plantation owners of that period and area, was a tobacco f armer.
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  Now the question is....why did Francis Kenner think that his son Rodham would interfere wit h the legacies to his other son, Howson, and daughter, Elizabeth?
  I think this is boilerplate that the lawyer put in because Rodham was the oldest son and thu s under the old law of primogeniture could have made a claim for all of it.  I've seen very s imilar language in other wills.
  Is this Rodham Kenner the same that married Judith Beverly?  And was he a preacher?  Yes to b oth.  He was educated in England.  There is a newspaper notice of his return from England b y way of Port Royal. (don't have the date handy) Their son George had a son Rodham who m Hele n Landrum but had no issue and a daughter Judith who married your Howson's son Rodham who wa s also a preacher.
  Rodham and Judith had son Lawrence and daughters Lucy and Judith.   After Rodham's death the y all moved to Hawkins Co. TN
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  death wp. 17 Apr 1728, Copy poss. of Thelia Taylor, pg.98 wd Apr 1725
  The Sevier Fam. Hist. pg 519-20  Kenner Family by Worley Wm & Mary College Q. p.187.; Vo. 1 8 ser.1 pg 131; 19W468 (ser2); 9W186
  Vol.9 pg 185 gives b. 27 Dec 1685 which = baptism instead of birth
  DAR Patriot Index #388056
  North. co. rec. register & Wills 1713-1749 by Lewis Prentiss Price unpub. manu. give b. 18 De c 1681
  St Stephens Parish Reg.  Haydens VA Gen Bible Rec. of Fox,Crawley & Kenner
  Families Q. VII p.108 & etc.  IGI 1988 ED, has birth 18 Dec 1681.
  Name & Fam. of Kenner Yetive Ramsey Letters 10/12/1983; 1/10/1984
  Mrs. Avery Boucher (Nellie Blanche Ashcroft) of Tulsa, OK
  Tyler's Cyclopedia of Va. Bio. gives b. 27 Dec 1685
  St. Stephens Parish Records trans by Beverly Fleet in "VA Col. Abstracts, Vol.3 gives birth d ate as 18 Dec 1681
  Fauqier Co. Wills by Gott Wills & Mgs. of Fauquier Co. by J.E.S. King  VMHB 31 V355; 9V202
  Tyler Quart. 18T185, 2Meade69, Goodwin 285, 1I127, 8T42
  Burke's Landed Gentry pg 1934 (1939 ed.)
  Va. Gleanings in England by L. Withington
  MD Early Settlers by Annie W. Burns
  Sidelights in MD Hist. by Richardson  DFPA #5391, 7361
  Lower Norfolk Co. Records, BK B Westmoreland, VA Records

Details of Francis' family with Hannah HOWSON