Kennedy, Will, 1945-1897.

Will Kennedy was born on the Eastern Shore of Maryland on October 29, 1845, the son of David H. Kennedy. When Will was a young boy, the family moved to a farm in southern Indiana. Shortly before his 16th birthday, Will joined the 52nd Indiana Infantry Regiment as a drummer boy. He spent most of his service at Fort Pillow in Tennessee. He later became a regular soldier and mustered out as a corporal in September 1865.

He then returned home to Indiana and worked with his father while returning to school. In 1867 he moved to Independence, Missouri, where he got a job teaching school. For the next few years he moved frequently, living successively in Denver, Colorado; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Turkey Creek and Manhattan, Kansas; and McKinney, Texas; Faribault, Minnesota; Eau Claire, Wisconsin; Jacksonville, Florida; and Evansville and Washington, Indiana. He alternated teaching school and working in newspaper offices, both as a printer and as an editor. During 1877 to 1878 he tramped across the south, doing pick-up jobs. In 1879 he returned to Indiana, working for newspapers in Evansville and Washington.

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