Henry (Kinne) Kenny Sr. (abt. 1624 - abt. 1710)

Born about 1624 in England

Husband of Ann (Unknown) Kenney — married before 18 Aug 1681 in Massachusetts Bay Colony

Descendants

Died about 1710 at about age 86 in Salem, Essex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Puritan Great Migration Project WikiTree [send private message], Lydia Vierson [send private message], Rhonda Scoullar [send private message], and Scott Harris [send private message]

Henry (Kinne) Kenny Sr. migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

Disputed Origins
Henry Kenney was born abt. 1624 based on a deposition he made in 1684 when he said he was sixty years old. His ancestry is unknown but he is presumed to be English in origin. There is a long held myth that he was the son of John Kinne and Sarah Cheever and the grandson of Sir Thomas Kinne. This myth is not based on any existing sources. There is no birth record or baptism record which can substantiate such claims. It has been shown that there was no such man as Sir Thomas Kinne and his creation as a baronet is pure fiction. Also fiction is the 'Kinne bible' and the '1684 deposition' in which Henry lays out his ancestry. ^[1]

What is know about Henry can be found in the records of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It is believed, but not proven that he was the Henry Kenninnge that was apprenticed to Vincent Potter in 1639 whose apprenticeship was transferred to another man when Potter left the Colony and returned to England. There is no reason to believe that Henry was related to Vincent Potter who hailed from Warwickshire or that he arrived in Massachusetts on the Ann and Elizabeth with Potter in 1635.

Henry's surname appears in the records in a multitude of spellings including: Keany- Keeny - Keine - Kene - Keney - Kenne - Kening - Kennee - Kenney - Kenninge - Kenny - Kennye - Keny - Keyney - Kine - Kiney - Kinne – Kinney ^[2] A wikitree G2G was unable to resolve the question of Henry's LNAB and the name for his profile.

Following his apprenticeship Henry removed to Salem Village where he lived for the remainder of his life. He was arrested and jailed along with two others for 'throwing down a great gun.' ^[3]He was in court multiple other times for various charges including fighting, verbal abuse and slander. Henry served as a soldier and performed other required civic duties. Henry's wife Ann was a full member of the church. He was made a Freeman of the Colony in 1678.

Henry (Kinne) Kenny Sr. was a witchcraft accuser in the Salem Witch Trials

A Henry Kenney testified in the Salem witch trial of Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey. Which Henry, whether Senior or Junior is not known for certain.

Henry was last recorded in 1710 in the Salem records for his minister rate for the year 1709. His son Henry Jr is recorded as simply Henry June 18, 1710 in the baptism for Theophilus Kinne. The Salem village records are a little unclear, but it appears that the minister rate for 1709, which appears to be recorded in March 1709/10, referred to the previous year and Henry Sr died before March 1701, as he does not appear in the minister rate list for 1710 (which also appears to be recorded in March 1709/10).^[4] Note: FindAGrave gives without source 2 June 1710 as his date of death.

Marriages

Henry married two different women named Ann____.

The first was Ann (___), whom he probably married before 1651. Their first known child was John, born in January 1651/2 in Salem Village. Her identity has never been established despite efforts to call her Ann Putnam or Ann Howard; there are no sources which would support these claims. Torrey says Henry married by 1651 but cannot give a definite source for the name Howard for his wife. Sidney Perley's History of Salem says she was Anne Unknown. ^[5] He may have been the Henry that published his intentions to marry the Widow Wiggins of Newbury, but again it might have been his son.

After his first wife's death in about 1680, Henry married second Ann (__), the widow of James Lane who died in an Indian attack in Casco Bay in about 1675 or 1676. They were married by 18 August 1681, when Henry is identified as the husband of James Lane's widow in the probate papers relating to the administration of his estate.^[6]

Children

Children of Henry and Ann (__), his first wife: born in Salem, surname spelled Keny.^[7][8]

1. John b. Jan 1651(Jan 1651/2)
2. Thomas b. 11: 1m 1655 (11 Mar 1655/6)
3. Hanna b. 2:1m 1657 (2 Mar 1657/8)
4. Mary b. May 1659
5. Sara b. 20 6m 1661 (20 Aug 1661)
6. Elizabeth b. Dec 1662
7. Lidia b. Apr 1666
8. Henry b. 1 May 1669

Previous Biography

That which is accurate below should be incorporated into the narrative above; the remainder should be removed or referenced in a Research Notes section.

The authenticity of the English background of the three generations that preceded Henry Kinne of Salem, Massachusetts, is accepted as traditional and creditable. We find support of it in the writings of Henry and the writings of his contemporaries.

Page 370, "The Pioneers of Massachusetts" by Charles Henry Pope published at Boston in 1900 states, "Vincent (Potter), gentleman age 21 came in the Elizabeth & Ann in May 1635, had apprentices../ Henry Kenninge and ..., whome he placed with new masters in 1639." This statement Pope made from the Note Book (legal memoranda) of Thomas Lechford, "a practiser at law, arrived at Boston 1638, kept careful record of papers drawn by or executed by him...", op. cit. p. 262. "Henry Kenninge, placed as an apprentice with William Park of Roxbury 21 Apr. 1639 by Vincent Potter." is from the notebook of Thomas Lechford.

In making a deposition in 1684 at Salem, Massachusetts, Henry Keney stated that he was sixty years of age, "my father was ye John Keney out of Norfolk in ye olde England, and my mother was ye Cheever and my grandfather was ye Sir Thomas Keney in Lynne ye marchant and trader there who was soe Knighted by ye Goode Queen Elizabeth for ye gifte of ships to ye Captaine Daves ye Navigator, etc." this deposition does not exist and is believed to be fiction

Yet Henry erred here. His grandfather, Thomas, was knighted 4 October 1618 fifteen years into the reign of the Stuart King James I. These last lines thus apply to the great grandfather of Henry reported to be Sir Robert Kinne of Kings Lynne, County of Norfolk, England. this man did not exist

The deposition of Henry Keney of Salem, MA continues, "I ye Henry was borne ye 8th of the 7th month 1623 and came by ye colonies in ye yeare 1635," and is the prime source for the establishment of his English heritage. He arrived at Boston on the ship, "The Elizabeth & Ann", which sailed from London 29 April 1635, having left Holland in May of 1634. He traveled with Vincent Potter, presumably a relative or at least a close friend of the family, as Henry was only in his eleventh year when he left Holland and was barely twelve years of age when he arrived in New England. For a time he served as an apprentice to William Park, who settled in Roxbury, Massachusetts. there is no proof Henry was on the Elizabeth and Ann and it is unlikely that he was related to Vincent Potter who was from Warwickshire, England

Henry came to Salem about 1648. He was a "planter" and in 1651 settled in Salem Village, a part of Salem at that time, but now known as Danvers. The site of his house, which burned in 1699 "included within the location of the Boston & Newbery port Turnpike, midway between Preston and Nicholas Streets." Henry was among the men who petitioned the General Court in 1667 for relief from serving the Military Watch in Salem Town, as they claimed it left their families at home unprotected. The Court decreed that all farmers, who lived four miles from Salem Meeting House should be exempt from the Military watch.

Henry was a soldier under Major Sedgwick in 1654 and went on the expedition sent by Oliver Cromwell to take the French Fort at St. John's. He also served under Captain George Corwin and was a member of the Essex Troopers, a body of horsemen, who served in the Narragansett War. Both he and his son, Thomas were at Mt. Hope during King Philip's War. Henry received land grant number 3 for his services.

He was admitted to the Salem Church 24 August 1654. He was a prosperous planter, or farmer, and was employed to some extent in ecclesiastical work. On 24 March 1692, he was among those who testified against Rebecca Nurse, when she was being tried as a witch. Salem Village, where the Keney and Nurse families lived, then a part of Salem, but now Danvers, was the center of the witchcraft delusion of that period in New England. ^[9]

Birth

While there are many genealogies and web sites that claim a specific birthplace and date for Henry Kinney (Kinnie, Kenney or Kenny) none of these claims seem to be backed up with credible sources. An estimate of his birth year being around 1624 is derived from a 1679 court record identifying him as "Henery Kenny, aged about fifty-five years . . . .”

Births of Children

KENE: Thomas, 11th day, 4th month of 1655 and Hanna, 2nd day, 1st month of 1657^[10]

KENY: John, Jan 1651; Thomas 11th day 1st month 1655; Hanna, 2nd day 1st month 1657; Mary, 1659; Sara, 20th day, 6th month 1661; Elizabeth 1662; Lidea, Apr 1666; Henry, 1 May 1669^[11]

Knighted Ancestor

Again, there is no evidence of there ever being a "Sir Thomas" with any variation of the surname Kinne.

For further information on the origins of Henry Kinne please refer to The Four Basic Claims of the Family Origin of Henry “Kinne” ca. 1624 - ca. 1710 of Salem, Massachusetts by Georgia Kinney Bopp, Revised 12 July 2007 [1]

Marriage

KINNE, Henry (1624-) & Ann Howard (1632? - 1680+), b. 1651(2?), 3 May 1650, Salem?^[12]

Marriage: 12 Oct 1649, Salem, Essex, Massachusetts^[13]

Massachusetts Remediation

1. 17 October 1710, Convictions Reversed, The General Court of Massachusetts Bay, An act, the several convictions, judgments, and attainders be, and hereby are, reversed, and declared to be null and void.^[14]
2. 17 Dec 1711, Compensation to Survivors, Governor Dudley, GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY, approved compensation to such persons as are living, and to those that legally represent them that are dead
3. 28 Aug 1957, No Disgrace to Descendants, General Court of Massachusetts, ...such proceedings, were and are shocking, and the result of a wave of popular hysterical fear of the Devil in the community, and further declares that, as all the laws under which said proceedings...have been long since abandoned and superseded by our more civilized laws, no disgrace or cause for distress attaches to the said descendants or any of them by reason of said proceedings.^[15]
4. 31 Oct 2001, Additional Victims Included, Massachusetts Senate and House of Representatives in General Court, AN ACT RELATIVE TO THE WITCHCRAFT TRIAL OF 1692, chapter 145 is hereby further amended by adding Bridget Bishop, Susannah Martin, Alice Parker, Margaret Scott and Wilmot Redd.^[16]

Research notes

Presumption. Henry Kinne/Kinney's inclusion in the Puritan Great Migration Project is based on the unproven assumption that Henry Kinne of Salem is the same man as Henry Kenning who was an apprenticed to Vincent Potter in 1639 [Great Migration Directory entry Kenning, Henry: Unknown; 1639; Massachusetts Bay (apprenticeship record only) [Lechford 101].

Record from Vital records of Newbury: KENNING, Henry, of Salem Village, and Mrs. Magdaleane Wiggins, int. May 14, 1698. (p. 269). Could not be his son, who was still married and having children at that time.

The 1710 death date appears to be the correct one. In addition to the ministerial tax, his son appears for the first time as Henry (not Henry Jr) in the Salem baptism records. 19 Jun 1696 which often appears cannot be correct as records for him appear after this date. Some have theorized that this is a date of death for a spouse.

Parentage? Is there really proof of birth or parentage? See Georgia Kinney Bopp.

Sources

1. ↑ http://www.jeaniesgenealogy.com/2016/12/henry-kinne-of-salem-massachusetts-1624.html
2. ↑ http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~gkbopp/genealogy/HENRY/
3. ↑ https://hdl.handle.net/2027/inu.30000064462322?urlappend=%3Bseq=159
4. ↑ http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~gkbopp/genealogy/HENRY/Salem%20Village%20Records.htm
5. ↑ Perley, A History of Salem Massachusetts (1924) Vol2, page 187.
6. ↑ Taylor, "Two More Daughters of James Lane," NEHGR 176:353-54 & 359; citing Middlesex County Court file papers, folio 95, FHL 901,003, DGS 813,117, image 485 (18 Aug 1681 note from Daniel Gookin to Thomas Danforth consenting to have Henry Kenney of Salem Village, husband of James Lane's widow, appointed executor for Lane's estate) and Middlesex County Court file papers, folio 101, FHL 901,003, DGS 813,117, image 686 (textual account from Henry Kenney summarizing probate status referring to the "relique Anne Keny" and identifying many of her children with James Lane). Taylor's article includes a transcription of the latter document based on a High Res image obtained from the Massachusetts Archives.
7. ↑ Vital Records of Salem Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849. Volume I – Births. A-L. (Salem, Mass: The Essex Institute, 1916). link at Archive p. 487
8. ↑ Records of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, 1644-1870, Salem, Film No. 7011200, Image 393, https://familysearch.org
9. ↑ Warrant for the Arrest of Martha Corey; Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project; University of Virginia
10. ↑ Essex Institute, Vital records of Salem, Massachusetts to the end of the year 1849 (Salem, MA: Essex Institute, 1916-1925), Vol. 1, p. 484
11. ↑ VRs of Salem, Vol. 1:487
12. ↑ New England Marriages Prior to 1700; Clarence Almon Torrey; page 441
13. ↑ Ancestry.com?; Birth date: 1629 Marriage date: 1650
14. ↑ Upham, Charles Wentworth. Salem Witchcraft : with an Account of Salem Village, and a History of Opinions on Witchcraft and Kindred Subjects. (1867) v2, page 480.
15. ↑ https://www.mass.gov/doc/resolves-of-1957-chapter-145/download
16. ↑ https://malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2001/Chapter122

See also:

• Henry Kinney (1623-1710) on Find A Grave: Memorial #41611930 retrieved 31 May 2020
• Lamont-Eldredge family record, database online, Hathi Trust, page 136, record for Henry Kinne
• History and Genealogy; A Branch of the Family of Kinne; Emerson Kinne; Masters & Stone; 1881; page 29
• Text: By The Name Of Kinne, Ancestors and Descendents of Nathan Kinnie of Preston, CT & Horton, N.S. by Basil E. Kinney & Dawn L. (Hicks) Kinnie 1992
• Text: Some Ancestral Lines, Being a Record of Some of the Ancestors of Guilford Solon Tingley and his wife Martha Pamelia Meyers collected by Raymon Meyers Tingley, 1935 The Tuttle Publishing Co.
• Family Search Person #LD9K-BCP
• Robertson, Florance Keeney. 1947. The Genealogy of Henry and Ann Kinne. http://archive.org