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.

In 1881 he moved to Missoula, Montana, where he worked for a few months, and then finally settled down, working for the New Northwest in Deer Lodge, Montana. In 1886 he was elected to the first of three terms in the Montana legislature. In 1888 he founded the Boulder New Age newspaper. In both his legislative and newspaper work he championed populist causes.

Will Kennedy married Frances DeW. Honore on December 26, 1887. He died in Anaconda, in March 1897.

Will Kennedy's sister Anna was about a year younger than he. The sister and brother remained very close their whole lives. For many years she taught school in Butler, Indiana, and other towns. In 1876 she married William H. Trippett. The couple and their young children moved to Deer Lodge, Montana, in July 1882. Anna was a devout Christian and founded a mission school for Chinese children in Deer Lodge. Her older daughter Ruth Trippett died young on August 23, 1893. Anna Trippett never recovered from the loss of her oldest child, and died on April 29, 1896.

From the description of Will Kennedy papers, 1861-1897. (Montana Historical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 729379622