Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1897-11-12
A Noble Mother.

On Tuesday, the End day of Nov,
1897, at 2 o'clock p. m, Mrs. Mary A.
Kennedy, wife of Mr.. G. Kennedy and
the mother of Hon. C. B. Kennedy,
died in this city Of heart failure. She
had no organic specific disease, no fever
or pain; the heart became feeble in
action, the pulse cumming down in !
few days to fifteen and for five weeks
it stood at tweaty and below. With
such low pulse and heart action this
estimabse lady hay for five weeks, CON
scious most of the time. Fully convinced
that her time had come, ~she lay and
patiently awaited the final summons to
go up higher, with perfect faith
and Christian resignation and sublime
confidence in the saving power of her
Redeemer beautiful to behold. She
repeatedly during her sickness ex-
pressed her readiness to go and the
only regret she felt was the leaving be-
hind of her aged and beloved husband,
with whom she had lived as wife for
nearly fifty mine wears. In many re-
spects the life of Mrs Kennedy was
remarkable and presented "a life filled
with motherly love, heroism and sue
cess. She was born i'm Ireland and at
the age of about two years went with
her parents to Leads, England, where
she lived with her parents until she
was fife en- years of age. She then
married Mr.. C Kennedy, a man IL
years her senior He wasa contractor
and built many of the great docks in
the port of Liverpool and acquired q
competency which if he had retained it
would have rendered himself and fam
lily wealthy through life He specu-
lated in building large city blocks and
country villas, and became involved in
debt and soon lost all his property.
Five boys were born i'm England,
Patrick, James, John, Cornelius B. and
In 1854, the father having
lost all his property in England, left
ihis family and emizrated to America.
He first went to New York and thence
to Panama Mrs. Kennedy, in 1858,
not having heard from her husband for
a long time, believed him dead. She
had no means to support herself and
family in England A brother had
previously emigrated to America and
purchased and settled on timber farm
near Colesburg in Delaware county,
Iowa. This brave mother, believing
that the new world offered better ad
vantages for her five boys than crowded
England, resolved to brave the terrors
of an ocean voyage and trip across a
continent in order to find them a home
Her older brother. Benjamin, then in
the English postal service, furnished
her with means, berely sufficient to pay
tie passage Of herself and boys on
sailing vessel to New Orleans and by
boat to Dubuque, Iowa, and then by
team forty miles to Colesburg. She
made the trip all alone with her boys,
the Oldest twelve and the youngest two
wears of age. This girl mother, tender
ly reared in the city, courageously left
all behind and braved and endured
tasks and dangers and privations that
would make the strongest man hesitate
She and her little flock was the wonder
of the ship and the boat and OF all who
witnessen the quiet and unfaltering
courage and effort In December she
reached her journeys end and found
herself on the frontier of civilization,
her brother living in leg hut on a
timber farm which the red men had
hardly left This brave little woman,
tenderly, with no knowledge of coNn~
try or frontier life, settled down at