Howson Francis Kenner III (1734 - 1784)

Born 1734 in Prince William, Virginia

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth (Howard) Kenner — married 1756 in New Hanover NC

Descendants

Died 8 Aug 1784 at about age 50 in Washington, North Carolina, United States

Problems/Questions Profile managers: John Akard [send private message] and Richard Lewis [send private message]

Biography

Soldier Howson Kenner III served with North Carolina Militia during the American Revolution.

Soldier Howson Kenner III served with Washington County Regiment, North Carolina Militia during the American Revolution.

Howson Kenner III is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A064845.

Francis Kenner served as a soldier in the American Revolution.

Howson was born in about 1734 in Westmoreland, Virginia. He was the son of Howson Francis Kenner and Margaret (Eskridge) Kenner.^[1][2]

Howson was buried after 8 August 1784. Burial Date: AUG 1784^[3]

Howson died at the age of about 50 on 18 August 1784 in Watauga Flats Washington County Tennessee, USA. Age: 50^[4][3]

Research Notes

Sources with no fact or date

Howson Francis Kenner married Elizabeth Howard in 1756 in New Hanover County, North Carolina. The couple had one child: Col. Winder Kenner.^[5]

Major Howson Francis * Kenner married @I932@ in 1732 in (Stafford), Westmoreland, VA. The couple had one child: Howson Francis Kenner.^[6]

The Patriot victory at the Kings Mountain "re-energized a down- trodden Continental Congress." Thomas Jefferson called it "The turn of the tide of success." Ted- dy Roosevelt later wrote, "This brilliant victory marked the turn- ing point of the American Revo- lution." The victory destroyed the left flank of Cornwallis' army, forced Lord Cornwallis to re- treat from Charlotte, and gave Gen Nathanael Greene the op- portunity to reorganize the American Army. And the Kenner Family was there! Today King’s Mountain is a National Military Park. On 12 June 1783 Specie Certifi- cates were issued to Francis and was applied to the purchase of 500 acres of land on the Holston River (about one mile from Rog- ersville, TN) on 8 Mar 1784. On 8 Aug 1784 Francis died of small- pox which also claimed his wife’s eyesight. Today there are still descendants of Francis living in the Rogersville area. There is a Kenner Road and the historic Clay-Kenner House located at 403 E Main St. Francis and Elizabeth had 9 chil- dren: Howson, Francis III, Ro- dham, Rosamond (who married Daniel Hamblien), Nancy (who married Milton Senter and had 8 children), Winder, Elizabeth (who married John Huntsmen), Marga- ret and Colonel Eskridge. Francis Kenner II (DAR An- cestor #: A064845, NSSAR An- cestor # P-228660) the Founder of the Kenner Tennessee line, was born in 1734 in Fauquier Co. VA the son of Margaret (daughter of Col George Eskridge) and Major Howson Kenner. In 1756 he married Eliza- beth Howard. They lived for several years on land in Prince William Co. VA leased from America’s Founding Father George Mason. Here several of their children were born. In Oct 1778 they settled in the Watauga (today this is 1 mile from Roger- ville, TN in Hawkins Co.). This makes the Kenner Family a “First Family of Tennessee”! In 1779 he was taxed in Washington Co on 4 negroes, 5 horses, and 3 cattle, but no land. Then the Revolutionary War came to the South. Francis and his son Rodham served as Rifle- men under Thomas Houghton who was under Colonel John Sevier (the first Governor of Tennessee) in one of the bloodi- est and most important battles of the entire war, Kings Mountain. There 800 Patriots volunteered without orders, formal military training, uniforms, provisions, using only hunting rifles and with no promise of pay stood to fight a larger Loyalist army that out manned, outgunned, and held a superior position and were led by British war hero Major Patrick Ferguson, the inventor of the breach -loading musket. The Over-Mountain Men, as these Patriots were called, marched all night through pour- ing rain. At dawn on 7 Oct 1780 The Patriots formed eight groups of 100 men. Col Sevier led one of the groups to assault the 'high heel', the highest point of the mountain, while the other seven groups attacked the main Loyalist position by surrounding the base of the mountain. Sevier’s men exposed themselves to intense fire as they scaled the summit. Ferguson rallied his troops and launched a bayonet charge against them. When the charge failed, Ferguson grew desperate and slipped on a plaid shirt to cover his officer's coat. A Patriot saw this and alerted his fellow soldiers. The Patriots then over- ran the Loyalist position, Fergu- son fell dead from his saddle with eight rifle balls in his body. Seeing their leader fall, the Loyalists began to surrender. In only 65 minutes the battle was over. All Loyalists had been killed or cap- ture.

Sources

1. ↑ Birth: Author: Edmund West, comp. Title: Family Data Collection - Births Date: 2001.
2. ↑ Birth: Author: Godfrey Memorial Library, comp. Title: American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI) Date: 1999.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Death: Title: Francis Kenner.FTW. Citing: Data: Text: Date of Import: Sep 1, 1999 (accessed before 24 March 2015)
4. ↑ Death: Author: Edmund West, comp. Title: Family Data Collection - Individual Records Date: 2000,
   Page: Birth year: 1734; Birth city: Prince William; Birth state: VA.
5. ↑ Marriage of other person: Author: Yates Publishing Title: U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 Date: 2004,
   Page: Source number: 2867.000; Source type: Electronic Database; Number of Pages: 1; Submitter Code: MZS.
6. ↑ Marriage of other person: Missing source ID S54. (accessed before 24 March 2015)

• J. Estelle Stewart King, Abstracts of Wills, Administrations, and Marriages of Fauquier County, Virginia, 1759-1800, Originally published: Beverly Hills, California, 1939, Will of Howson Kenner/Page 14, 15, Maurice T Evans, Jr., Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number 78-51004
• Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed 25 Jan 2020), "Record of Francis Kenner", Ancestor # A064845.
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/112834711/francis-kenner: accessed 27 September 2023), memorial page for Francis Kenner (1734–1784), Find a Grave Memorial ID 112834711; Burial Details Unknown; Maintained by Bobby and Carol Babin Estes (contributor 46900498).