James KENNEDY appears in the 1841 as a student at the school of Thomas Walton on Albany Road, Camberwell (south-west London, and at the time in the county of Surrey). The census states that he was 10, a pupil, and born in 'N S Wales'. {As an aside, there were a number of other foreign-born students at the school, including William Thornton also born in New South Wales: https://randomfh.blogspot.com/2017/08/im-tracking-details-of-families-in-1841.html }.
Who was James? Who was his family? How did the KENNEDY family come to be in NSW and what became of them after 1841?
This is a tricky one, and there are a LOT of gaps in my knowledge. A James KENNEDY was born in in New South Wales in 1831 to parents James Hamilton and Sarah Isabelle KENNEDY - this is the only possibility in the records.
Of James Hamilton KENNEDY I have found little before or after NSW. A James Hamilton KENNADAY was bapitsed at St Leonard's Shoreditch (Hackney, London) on 5 Sep 1802, to parents John and Elisabeth:
James Hamilton was in New South Wales as Deputy Adjutant Commissariat (DAC) General - responsible for the Colonial stores (Commissary - see https://www.records.nsw.gov.au/agency/2097). It is possible that officer's records would reveal James Hamilton KENNEDY's record and path to Sydney - "A List of the Officers of the Army and of the Corps of Royal Marines" lists James Hamilton Kennedy as taking a commission 15 July 1826. In 1830 James (a bachelor) married Sarah Isabellia CURLEWIS, a spinster living at Charlotte-place, at St Phillip's Church in Sydney:
Sarah Isabelle CURLEWIS was born in Covent Garden to Steavens Lupton and Sarah Curlewis (Steavens was a tailor), baptised at St Paul, Covent Garden on 6 Dec 1806. There is significant information about the CURLEWIS family and the Australian lines at http://curlewis.net (more on this site at the end of the post), including family correspondence. Sarah's older brother George Campbell Curlewis came to Australia abt 1825, and became a trader, then a significant landholder. Sarah and a brother followed in early 1828 on the 'Courier' (The Australia, 5 Mar 1828), and Sarah was in New South Wales when the 1828 census was conducted, and stated to be living on Elisabeth St Sydney with her siblings:
Possibly three children were born to James and Sarah, the first in 1830 (James, NSW BDM 238/1830 V1830238 14) probably died shortly after birth/baptism, and James George KENNEDY was born 9 Aug 1831 and baptised 7 Sep 1831 at St Phillip's (NSW BDM 270/1831 V1831270 15). A third son William Munro KENNEDY was born in 1833 (NSW BDM 200/1833 V1833200 17).
At some point after 1833 they left NSW and return to England. In 1837 The London Gazette reported that James Hamilton KENNEDY's "Commission has been CANCELLED from 16 Sep 1837, having accepted a commutation for half his pay". On 1 Oct 1838 James and Sarah had another son Lovel Pennell KENNEDY, bapitised at St George the Martyr, Southwark; James was entered as 'Gentleman' with the family's address 'Mansionhouse Street, Kensington'. Lovel died the following year (1839).
{A point of confusion arises in that the SA Register in 1839 states: "Commissariat — J. H. Kennedy, Esq., is appointed Commissary to the Survey, in the place of N. B. Bull, Esq., who held the office temporarily." - perhaps JHK stayed in the colonies while Sarah returned earlier with the children}.
As mentioned at the start of this post, son James George was at school in 1841 and appears in the census, but I have not yet found his parents in 1841.
It is not known when James Hamilton died, but a final son Henry Florence KENNEDY was born about 1847 (baptism not found), and confirmed his father as "James Hamilton KENNEDY, Gentleman" when he married Olivia DYALL in 1878. In the 1851 census, Sarah was visiting Windmill St, Gravesend, Kent, and was a widow (so presumably her husband had died in the last four years or so) and had Henry F with her. The censuses suggest a daughter Alice was born in ~1854, which seems unlikely.
Possibly three children were born to James and Sarah, the first in 1830 (James, NSW BDM 238/1830 V1830238 14) probably died shortly after birth/baptism, and James George KENNEDY was born 9 Aug 1831 and baptised 7 Sep 1831 at St Phillip's (NSW BDM 270/1831 V1831270 15). A third son William Munro KENNEDY was born in 1833 (NSW BDM 200/1833 V1833200 17).
At some point after 1833 they left NSW and return to England. In 1837 The London Gazette reported that James Hamilton KENNEDY's "Commission has been CANCELLED from 16 Sep 1837, having accepted a commutation for half his pay". On 1 Oct 1838 James and Sarah had another son Lovel Pennell KENNEDY, bapitised at St George the Martyr, Southwark; James was entered as 'Gentleman' with the family's address 'Mansionhouse Street, Kensington'. Lovel died the following year (1839).
{A point of confusion arises in that the SA Register in 1839 states: "Commissariat — J. H. Kennedy, Esq., is appointed Commissary to the Survey, in the place of N. B. Bull, Esq., who held the office temporarily." - perhaps JHK stayed in the colonies while Sarah returned earlier with the children}.
As mentioned at the start of this post, son James George was at school in 1841 and appears in the census, but I have not yet found his parents in 1841.
It is not known when James Hamilton died, but a final son Henry Florence KENNEDY was born about 1847 (baptism not found), and confirmed his father as "James Hamilton KENNEDY, Gentleman" when he married Olivia DYALL in 1878. In the 1851 census, Sarah was visiting Windmill St, Gravesend, Kent, and was a widow (so presumably her husband had died in the last four years or so) and had Henry F with her. The censuses suggest a daughter Alice was born in ~1854, which seems unlikely.
In 1861, Sarah was 51, born Covent Garden and widow living in Putney, Surrey (metropolitan London) of independent means with her daughter Alice (7). In 1871, Sarah Isabelle was a widow living in Hackney, London with her son Henry F (clerk to Commission Agent) and daughter Alice (born Gravesend Kent). In 1881, Sarah was living with her daughter Alice on 'Allowance from son' - presumably Henry who had been awarded Freedom of the City of London in 1879 as a tax collector (shown below), where he stated he was son of James Hamilton Kennedy 'late of New South Wales, officer in the Army'. In 1891 Sarah was still in Hackney with Alice, and aged 80. The death of Sarah Isabella Kennedy was registered in Lambeth (London) in the last quarter of 1895 (Lambeth, 1d, 311) aged 85. Sarah was buried at Norwood Cemetery, Lambeth (whether or not a headstone exists is not known).
London, England, Freedom of the City Admission Papers:
The excellent Curlewis family history site (curlewis.net) contains copies of a family history bulletin from the 1970s, and transcripts of letters between family members:
Newsletter question: "What happened to Sarah Isabella, who married James Hamilton Kennedy in Sydney in 1830?"
Letter of 1887: "Sarah was married to a Mr Kennedy but he died in 1840. "
Letter of 1951: "Their sister Sarah Isabella also went to the Cape - she was married to a Colonel Kennedy. The descendants of these three are still in Africa."
While I cannot fully ascertain the fate of James Hamilton Kennedy (or his son James) - the following notes in family letters show that the Curlewis side were not certain what became of James and Sarah, and hopefully this article goes some way towards understanding their fate.
What became of the Australian-born James George, born in Sydney in 1831 and at school in London in 1841? I do not know, I can find no obvious sign of him after 1841.
I hope Kennedy/Curlewis descendants have information I can add to this post!
I hope Kennedy/Curlewis descendants have information I can add to this post!
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