William James Kenna

1867 - 1941  (74 years)

• Name	William James Kenna
  Nickname	Willis
  Birth	16 Apr 1867	Little Falls, Herkimer Co., NY   [1]
  Christening	15 Sep 1867	St. Marys Church, Little Falls, NY   [2]
  	Father F. Francis and Paster A. P. Ludden. Sponsored by ? Kenna and Margaret Kenna.
  Gender	Male
  Census	7 Jun 1870	Little Falls, Herkimer Co., NY   [3]
  	Age: 3
  Census	04 Jun 1880	Little Falls, Herkimer Co., NY   [4]
  	Age: 13
  Residence	1890	263 W. 25th, New York, NY   [5]
  	Home
  Census	16 Feb 1892	Jamaica, NY   [6]
  	Age: 25
  Employment	Bef. 1894	New York, NY
  	Private secretary to John Brisben Walker, editor and owner of the Cosmopolitan Magazine
  Employment	Bef. 1894	New York, NY
  	Stenographer for New York Herald and Sun
  Employment	Bef. 1894	New York, NY
  	Stenographer with the banking house of Spencer Trask & Co
  Move	1894	Chicago, IL
  	Employed by Griffin Car Wheel Co.
  Census	Jun 11 1900	Chicago, IL
  	1900 US Census record
  Census	17 Feb 1920	Monmouth, IL   [7]
  	Automobile Dealer
  	Age: 51
  Living	Apr 1930	Santa Cruz, CA
  Census	18 Apr 1930	Santa Cruz, CA   [8]
  	Residence at time of census
  Census	1940	Tacoma, WA   [9]
  	Age: 72
  Residence	26 Jul 1940	Tacoma, WA
  	719 North Third St
  Death	17 Aug 1941	Tacoma, WA   [10]
  Notes	Letters by his son Roswell and the Washington State Death Index database backup his date and place of death.
  Person ID	I42	Default
  Last Modified	6 Sep 2014

  
  

  Father	James Kenna, Jr.,   b. 1840, New York d. 11 Oct 1880, Little Falls, Herkimer Co., NY (Age 40 years)
  Mother	Anna C. Fralick,   b. 1846, New York d. 10 Apr 1899, Chicago, Cook, IL (Age 53 years)
  Marriage	30 Aug 1866	Little Falls, Herkimer Co., NY   [11]
  	The person signing the marriage certificate (S. B. Gregory) signed it the day after they were married. Does this mean they were married in a church or by a paster on 30 AUG 1866 (Thursday) and the certificate was completed with the local authorities the next day (Friday)?
  Family ID	F12	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Emily Geiger,   b. Feb 1869, New York, NY
  Marriage	19 Jul 1889	New York, NY   [12, 13, 14]
  Notes	From Susan B.: Emily accused William of "associating with lewd women." Emily filed for divorce on 26 September 1907 for adultery discovered in 1906. But the big mystery is that the divorce case was dismissed before the day of the final decree. Cook County archives cannot find any continuation but they say it may be misfiled.
  Children	1. Robert Jack Kenna,   b. 31 May 1890, Brooklyn, NY d. 8 Jun 1960 (Age 70 years) + 2. Roswell Edward Kenna, Sr.,   b. 6 Jul 1891, Brooklyn, NY d. 2 Mar 1974, Tampa, FL (Age 82 years) + 3. Winifred Kenna,   b. 29 Jul 1894, Sunbury, PA d. Apr 1964, Tacoma, WA (Age 69 years)
  Last Modified	18 Dec 2009
  Family ID	F10	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 2	Dorothea C. E. Kirschke,   b. 26 Mar 1882, Indiana d. 01 May 1978, Olympia, Thurston, WA (Age 96 years)
  Marriage	18 Feb 2913	Grand Island, Hall County, Nebraska   [8, 15]
  Last Modified	13 Jun 2021
  Family ID	F106	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos » Slide Show		William J. Kenna Unknown date
  		William J. Kenna William J. Kenna receiving a check from Cora Mead Thornwill, the original breeder of the chicken stock that won 1st prize at the 1923-1924 California Farm Bureau Egg Laying Contest, Santa Cruz, CA.
  		William J. Kenna (close up) William J. Kenna receiving a check from Cora Mead Thornwill, the original breeder of the chicken stock that won 1st prize at the 1923-1924 California Farm Bureau Egg Laying Contest, Santa Cruz, CA.
  		William J. Kenna (unknown date)
  		Bowling Encyclopedia Editorial Photo taken on or before 1904 See the related history entry.
  		William James Kenna House

  
  

  Documents » Slide Show		New York Times Article - 24 APR 1893 This article mentions W. J. Kenna, living on 103rd Street NY, as the secretary to John Brisben Walker, editor of the Cosmopolitan. (The link opens a PDF document)
  		R E Kenna Birth Statement Notarized statement by William J. Kenna (b. 16 Apr 1867, Little Falls, NY), father of Roswell E. Kenna, that Roswell was born at Brooklyn, NY 6 Jul 1891.
  		1875 NY State Census Herkimer Little Falls Includes the families of James Kenna Sr (1809-1886) and James Kenna Jr (1840-1880) living next to each other. There are few names that could not be confirmed: Ida A Kenna (F, age 5). The family of John Cantlin seems to live next door and is from Ireland and the name shows up on other documents.
  		1940 US Census Tacoma WA - William and Dorthea Kenna Location: N. 3rd Street Mother-in-law is living there too: Sarah Kirscdke (sp?) age 84 from Indiana.
  		1930 US Census Santa Cruz, CA - William and Dorthea Kenna Mother-in-law is living with them: Sarah Kirschke, age 74
  		1892 NY State Census Queens County, Jamaica NY - William Kenna See page 9, second column, upper right. William Kenna, Emily Kenna, A. C. Kenna, Robert Kenna, Roswell Kenna.
  		William J. Kenna and Dorthea Kirschke Marriage License

  
  

  Headstones

  William J. Kenna Headstone Plot: Section S

  
  

  Histories		Biographical information on William J. Kenna in a book he co-edited. One reference in the text refers to a nickname for William J. Kenna: Will.
  		Timeline for William J. Kenna, b. 1867

  
  

• Sources

  [S91] Baptisms and Marriages 1852-1908 St. Mary's Church Little Falls NY. [S66] Baptismal Record for William J. Kenna, (NARA). [S60] 1870 US Census - Little Falls NY (James and Ann Kanna), (www.ancestry.com). [S42] 1880 US Census - Little Falls NY (James & Anna Kenna), (www.ancestry.com). [S59] 1890 New York City Directory, (www.ancestry.com). Kenna William J. clerk, h 263 W. 25th [S148] 1892 NY State Census. [S82] 1920 US Census Monmouth, IL William and Ella Kenna. [S51] www.ancestry.com, 1930 US Census - Santa Cruz, CA (William J. Kenna), 18 Apr 1930. [S134] 1940 US Census Tacoma Washington. [S133] Washington, Deaths, 1883-1960. Name: William J Kenna Gender: Male Birth Date: abt 1867 Death Date: 17 Aug 1941 Age at Death: 74 Death Location: Tacoma, Pierce, Washington Father: James Kenna Mother: Anne C Fralick Record Source: Washington State Death Records [S65] Marriage License - James Kenna and Anna Fralick (Reliability: 1). [S38] 1900 US Census - Chicago, IL (Kenna), (www.ancestry.com), Jun 11 1900, 1 (Reliability: 2). Census record shows married for 11 years on June 11, 1900. [S58] Marriage Record - William J. Kenna and Emily Geiger, (www.ancestry.com) (Reliability: 1). [S61] New York City, Marriage License - William J Kenna and Emily Geiger. [S167] William Kenna and Dorothea Kirschke Marriage.