Famille

Bell, Kenny (family)

Branch begins in 1739

This collection was compiled by Edwin Wallace Bell and Dudley Johnson Bell, sons of James A. Bell and Deborah Kenny. The research material it contains forms the content of the book, "Israel Kenny His Children and Their Families" by Edwin Wallace Bell, which appeared in 1944. Well-known New Brunswick historian Lilian M. B. Maxwell supplied the introduction.

Born on 23 October 1739 at Worcester, Massachusetts, Israel Kenny was a pre-Loyalist or Planter who came to what is now New Brunswick in 1767. He settled first at Maugerville, Sunbury County and then at Oromocto. He and his wife Susannah Hood had 14 children, three of whom remained in the Oromocto area, while the others relocated to Carleton County, N.B. around 1800. Israel Kenny drowned in 1791, attempting to cross the St. John River on the ice.

By the mid-20th century, the descendants of Israel Kenny in North America totalled over 2,000. The appearance of "Israel Kenny His Children and Their Families" sparked a revival in the publication of works on genealogy in New Brunswick not seen since the late 19th century.