MS-281 Louise Kennedy Collection

Introduction

The Louise Kennedy Collection was deposited in the Wright State University Special Collections and Archive in February 1979. This collection is part of a larger collection of the papers of Katherine Kennedy Brown, the daughter of Louise Kennedy. The papers were donated by Grafton S. Kennedy, Jr., a nephew of Katherine Kennedy Brown. The collection dates from roughly 1870-1947 and fills three Hollinger Boxes and 19 File folders. It is arranged into eight series and 16 subseries.

There is a restriction on the publication or quotation of any material in these papers without permission of the family.

Louise Kennedy Biography

Louise Achey Kennedy (1860-1945) was the only child of John Jacob Achey (1830-1934). She was a charter member of the Jonathan Dayton Chapter of the DAR and a genealogical researcher. She married Grafton Claggett Kennedy (1859-1909) an attorney in the Dayton law firm of Kennedy, Munger, and Kennedy. (The other partners were his half-brother, Eugene and Warren and Harry Munger.) Graften was a staunch Republican, who in 1882 organized the first Montgomery County Board of Elections.

The Kennedy’s had two children, Katherine Louise Kennedy Brown (1891-1988) (see MS-146) and Graften Sherwood “Duke” Kennedy (b.1893). The family home was a mansion called “Duncarrick” (Home of the Kennedy’s) located at Keowee and Webster streets. The Kennedy’s were prominent in Dayton Society from the late 19th century well into the 20th century. Their friends included the Winters, Wrights, Barneys and Pattersons. As a wealthy and prominent family, the Kennedy’s traveled extensively in Europe and spent their summers in Nantucket, Massachusetts.

On December 1, 1918 Grafton Sherwood “Duke” Kennedy married Lucille Glidden (b.1891) of Brooklyn, New York. They had three children, Katherine “Kay” Kennedy Barney (b.1919), Frances Lucille “Lou” Kennedy Sharp (later Albert) (b.1922), and Grafton Sherwood Jr. “Terry” (b.1926).

On April 20, 1921 Katherine married Kleon Thaw Brown (b.1886) the son of Reverend William Kennedy Brown (1834-1915) and Martha Haight McClellan (1838-1916) aprominent figure in the late 19th century American Temperance movement, (MS-147 contains the papers of Martha McClellan and Reverend William Kennedy Brown). Kleon was the youngest of six children. Following his fathers death in 1915 his mother lived with him till her death in 1916.

Kleon was manager of ST&GA Gebhart Company of Cleveland from 1914-1919. In 1920, he became an executive in the sales department of NCR Corporation. Tragically, Katherine’s marital happiness ended when the couple’s only child died in infancy, then Kleon died suddenly on May 20, 1925. Katherine never remarried and moved back to Duncarrick to live with her mother. Katherine became involved in Politics and Dayton Society for over fifty years. Louise Kennedy’s mother also spent time at the mansion after the death of her husband.

Scope and Content Note

Series I: Postcards
This series contains Postcard Correspondence from friends and family around the world. The postcards are addressed to four different people, Mrs. Grafton C. Kennedy, Mrs. Frances L. Achey, Mrs. Kleon Thaw Brown (Katherine Kennedy Brown) and one postcard addressed to Mr. Sherwood Kennedy. Also in this series is a file folder of Unused postcards. One is a Wright Brothers flight.

Series II: Family
This series contains a Telegraph for Katherine Kennedy Brown, as well as a number of items with family names on them such as programs form Reverend Brown’s funeral, a business card, and a telegrams card. Other items in the folder are items from Nantucket and booklets form the Rotary Club.

Series III: Martha McClellan Brown
This series contains two folders for Martha McClellan Brown. The information regards her last trip to Europe and her last public speech in 1911. During this trip she was about the Lusitania and some of her effects are from this part of her voyage. Still involved in World Affairs in 1914, she received Peace Council information. The second file consists of Society news and playbills from different theaters.

Series IV: Travel Souvenirs
This series consists of items collected by the family from visits to places all over the United States and the world. Maps and local histories as well as local tour guide books.

Series V: Religion
Series five contains church bulletins and pamphlets. The Westminster Presbyterian Church booklets date in the 1920’s (these are not a complete set).

Series VI: Ephemera
This series is a group of miscellaneous objects of ephemera from the late 1880’s to the early 1900’s

Series VII: Politics
This series is the smallest consisting of only a couple G.O.P. advertisements and one invitation to a G.O.P function.

SeriesVIII: Photographs
This is the largest series covering two Hollinger Boxes and containing a wide variety of objects. Photographs contained in this series are a tintype, cabinet cards, glassplate negatives; some are identified but most are not. One glass plate negative is an early Wright Brothers flight photograph (print made by the staff of the Special Collections and Archives)

Box and File Listing