Walker McMillan Kennedy was born in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, July 28, 1895, the youngest son of William T. and Retta L. (Ely) Kennedy, with whom he came to Florida. He received his education in the public schools of Umatilla; in Southern College, then at Sutherland, but now at Lakeland; and at the University of Florida, where he received the degree of Bachelor of Law in 1913.
Immediately after receiving his degree, Mr. Kennedy started the practice of law at Tavares, where he is now located. He has held many positions of trust, both with the town of Tavares and the County of Lake, and at present is Prosecuting Attorney for Lake County, which office he has held for the past four years. He is a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity of the University of Florida, and was one of the organizers of the Serpents’ Club, a ribbon society of the University of Florida. He is a member of the Tavares Kiwanis Club, and the Masons; is a member of the Methodist Church; and has been active in all civic and public affairs.
June 30, 1915, Mr. Kennedy was married to Christine Bogart Cottrell, daughter of Charles T. and Chrissie (Bogart)Cottrell of Pensacola, Florida, and is the father of two children: Caroline Elizabeth and William Cottrell.
from: History of Lake County Florida, Wm. T. Kennedy, Editor-in-chief, History of Lake County Florida Part II, Biographical. Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of Lake County, Florida p247-248
One of the real pioneers and founders of the present
highly rated educational system in Lake County is William Thomas
Kennedy, who was born December 4, 1855, at Big Stone Gap, Virginia, son
of James
Walter Kennedy and Martha Ann (Wolfe) Kennedy. While Kennedy is generally taken to be a Scotch name, William Kennedy, great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in Dublin, Ireland, and after reaching manhood came to the United States and married Julia Brown of Augusta County, Virginia. Their oldest son, James, married Cassandra Hagy of Washington County, Virginia. Their oldest son, James Walker Kennedy, married Martha Ann Wolfe, who was the daughter of Peter Wolfe and Agnes (Phillips) Wolfe of Washington County, Virginia.
James Walker Kennedy, his father, brothers and brothers-in-law were in the Confederate Army, and Thomas J. Kennedy was killed in battle at Fort Donaldson, Col. John Phillips Wolfe was killed in battle, Peter Wolfe and Daniel Trigg Kennedy were wounded, James Walker Kennedy was First Lieutenant of Company A, Fifty-first Virginia Regiment, of which John Phillips Wolfe was Colonel.
William T. Kennedy received his education in the schools of his county, which at that time were not very progressive as the public school system was in its infancy in Virginia. He was away from home on two occasions to take higher educational work and later received from private teachers his chief educational training. He taught in Wise and Lee Counties and in Eastern Kentucky, being very successful in his training work. Later he was superintendent of schools in Wise County, where he continued his work of training teachers for school work.
Coming to Umatilla in 1895, Professor Kennedy continued his educational work there, and was so successful that he became Superintendent of Public Instruction for Lake County, which position he held for twelve years.
His religious affiliations are with the Methodist Church, in which he is lay leader and Sunday School teacher. He is a member of the Masons and Knights Templar.
May 2, 1878, Professor Kennedy was married to Miss Rosana Blanton, who died October 31, 1884, and to this union were born three children: Margaret Esther (Mrs. M. R. McCorkle) of Johnson City, Tennessee; Dr. I. N. Kennedy, Mayor of Eustis; and Robert James (deceased). February 28m 1888, he married Miss Senoretta Lavina Ely, daughter of Alexander McMillan Ely and Esther Malvina (Ball) Ely of Lee County, Virginia, and to this union six children were born: Bayard Alexander of Tavares; Walter McMillan of Tavares; Anna Viola (deceased); Ethel May (Mrs. J. H. Dutill of Jacksonville); Bertha Elizabeth (Mrs. J. C. Close, Jr., of Tavares) and William Wolfe (deceased).
from: History of Lake County Florida, Wm. T. Kennedy, Editor-in-chief, History of Lake County Florida Part II, Biographical. Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of Lake County, Florida p248 and 253 (p249-252 are portraits and blank pages).
Thomas Corwin Keys was born in Shreve, Wayne County,
Ohio, September 5, 1846, son of Irwin and Cassandra Greenfield
Keys. He obtained his education in the public schools of Ohio,
leaving school
to join the army, enlisting at the age of seventeen in Co. H, 166th
Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, on the second day of May, 1864, at
Shreve, Ohio. One of his most prized recollections is his
personal acquaintance with
President Lincoln.After his discharge from the army, Mr. Keys returned to his home to help his father on the farm, later entering the mercantile business in Shreve, Ohio. At this time he also made several trips to the Pacific Coast and into Mexico, representing a New York gold pen manufacturer. His health failing, he decided a warmer climate was what he needed, and chose Florida.
The trip to Eustis was quite an undertaking when Mr. Keys first made it in 1884. First came the slow and sometimes dangerous trip down the St. Johns river by boat, and then the slower and more tedious trip from Astor on the primitive railroad through practically unbroken forest.
The old Eustis House was at that time the only hotel in town, and here Mr. Keys met several of the pioneers of this section, who were also investigating the possibilities of the new county, among them Mr. E. L. Ferran and Mr. C. T. Smith.
Deciding that Eustis was not only a place for him to regain his health, but would be a popular spot in later years, Mr. Keys entered the furniture business on Magnolia Avenue, later taking in different lines of merchandise, thus establishing one of the first general stores in Lake County. He sold this business in 1895 and went north, going with The L. E. Waterman Fountain Pen Company and remaining with them until he finally retired from active business in 1907; returning to Eustis to make his permanent home.
While essentially a home man, Mr. Keys is well known throughout the county, particularly through his activity in the G.A.R. He was influential in the establishment of the Lake County G. A. R. and was its first commander. Feeling the need of a library, Mr. Keys was untiring in his efforts to have one established in Eustis. The present library and the building which houses it are a direct result of the many hours of personal effort he expended to make the library a lasting credit to the town.
Mr. Keys’ religious affiliations are with the Presbyterian Church, and he is a member of the Masons, Odd Fellow, and Elks. He was married in 1876 in Marietta, Ohio, to Florence A. Morse, and to this union three children were born: Irvin Morse Keys, Harry Garfield (deceased), and Florence Frances (Mrs. Harry Hannah).
John M. Kilburn was born in Florence, Alabama, July 18, 1858, son of Rusell and Martha Kilburn. His father was originally from Tennessee; his mother from Kentucky.
After having received his education in the schools of Alabama, Mr. Kilburn engaged in the mercantile business at Florence until 1906, when he moved to Lake County and purchased an orange grove at Sunnyside, about three miles east of Leesburg, where he resides in a beautiful home.
He has the distinction of having been a member of the Board of the Leesburg State Bank for the past twenty years.
Mr. Kilburn is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and was married in Alabama to Midora Erwin Stafford.
from: History of Lake County Florida, Wm. T. Kennedy, Editor-in-chief, History of Lake County Florida Part II, Biographical. Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of Lake County, Florida p254
Carl Kindred, the City Clerk of Clermont, is a native of Kansas, having been born at Lenape, April 9, 1898, son of Charles L. and Susie M. Kindred. He received his education in the schools of his native town, and attended a business college in Kansas City, Missouri.
He has been a resident of Clermont since January, 1912, and was first employed by Kerns’ Grocery Store of that town, and subsequently he purchased the Clermont Pharmacy with his father, which he operated for three years, at the end of which period he engaged in the life insurance business for two years. He next held a travelling position for a wholesale drug house, and travelled the State of Florida for seven years.
He was appointed City Clerk of Clermont in January. 1928. and is ex-officio Tax Collector of the town.
He is a Mason, and a member of the Methodist Church. He was married to Eva S. Isaac and has four children: Edwin, William, Alton, and Lucille.
Mary E. King, per
Census records, was born
in
Among
those improvements listed and
attested to were the construction of a four room house built in 1881,
an
orchard of over 300
Her
youngest son Pinkney (Pinckney)
Bullock, a carpenter by trade, married Lucy Annie Clore in Sumterville
on
Charles
Austin King married Hester R.
Barber (parents unknown) in
Mary
Elizabeth King and her sons were
founding members of the Lady Lake first Methodist Church in 1875 along
with notable
other area pioneers such as Hall, Sligh, Peters, Walton, Adams,
McCardell, and
a dozen others. She remained a
member.
One remaining, still open
mystery was the
name of her husband as his name was never mentioned and still being
sought. Lastly, Mary Elizabeth’s maiden
name was passed down as Hines, Himes, Hymes and her husband was only
identified
as Sam.
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