- 2nd in a series of posts about our family's Revolutionary War soldiers -
250 Years; 1776 - 2026
Our Family was there, from the Beginning
Our family had many branches living in the American Colonies, before the United States were formed. In Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina my great grandfathers & great uncles left their farms and their families to break away from British rule. They were soldiers in the Revolutionary War. We can proudly know that our family was there in those early days to help ensure our independence.
Circa 1745 South Carolina - Circa 1814 Lancaster, South Carolina
Son of Edward Kennington; Husband of Martha
My 5x great grandfather
Captain, Camden District Regiment, South Carolina Militia
John Kennington was born circa 1745. He was born in and spent his life in South Carolina. He and his wife, Martha [surname unknown], had at least seven children.[i], [ii] Captain John Kennington served in the Revolutionary War.[iii],[iv]
He served 56 days as a horseman during 1779 and 1780 and thirty days as a footman during 1781 under Col. Marshall.[v]
In 1784 John had 50 acres of land on Flat Creek in Camden District.[vi] In 1787 he had 630 acres on Flat Creek and Wild Cat Creek.[vii] In 1789 John was mentioned in deed transactions that adjoined his land on Flat Creek.[viii]
John was listed in the first census of the United States. In 1790 he and his family were in Lancaster County, Camden District. There were five females and five males in the household.[ix]
Between 1795 and 1797 John’s name was included in land transactions. He either witnessed deeds or his land was a boundary in those deeds.[x]
While the Kenningtons were living on Flat Creek and Wild Cat Creek, the Faulkenberry/Fortenberry family was also living there. The Fortenberrys lived on Lynches Creek and Flat Creek.[xi] In 1803 Violette Kennington, daughter of John and Martha Kennington married William Jasper Fortenberry, son of John and Hannah Faulkenberry.[xii],[xiii],[xiv]The two families came together in a connection that would lead to our family.
In 1800[xv] and 1810[xvi] he was still in Lancaster County as evidenced by census reports and land deeds.[xvii]
John Kennington died between the 1810 US Census and November 1815 when his estate was settled. The estate was divided between his wife, Martha, and his children: William, Edward, John, Marian, Catherine, Sarah and Violette.[xviii]
Read more about our family's pioneers & patriots.
[i] Criminger. Adrianne Fortenberry. The Fortenberry Families of Southern Mississippi, 1677-1984 (SC: Southern Historical Press) 198-199.
[ii] Order Book, Lancaster County, South Carolina, Estate of John Cannington; Ancestry (ancestry.com: accessed March 2019) 6 Nov. 1815.
[iii] US Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783; digital image, Ancestry (ancestry.com: accessed March 2019) Captain John Kennington.
[iv] South Carolina Historical Society, The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 5, No. 1, 1904; digital image, Genealogy Gophers (gengophers.com: accessed March 2019) 59-60; Captain John Kennington.
[v] Moss, Bobby Gilmer. Roster of South Carolina Patriots in the American Revolution (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc.) 529.
[vi] South Carolina Department of Archives and History, State Plat Book; Series S213190, Volume 12, Page 328, Item 2; digital image (scdah.sc.gov: accessed March 2019) John Kennington, 1784, Camden District.
[vii] South Carolina Department of Archives and History, State Plat Book; Series S213190, Volume 21, Page 210, Item 0; digital image (scdah.sc.gov: accessed March 2019) John Kennington, 1787, Camden District.
[viii] Holcomb, Brent. Lancaster County, South Carolina Deeds, 1787 – 1811 Greenville, SC: Southern Historical Press, Inc., 1982) 57 – 58.
[ix] 1790 US Census, SC, Lancaster; digital image, Ancestry (ancestry.com: accessed March 2019) Jno Caniston.
[x] Holcomb, Brent. Lancaster County, South Carolina Deeds, 1787 – 1811 Greenville, SC: Southern Historical Press, Inc., 1982) 55, 62, 82.
[xi] South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Colonial Plat Books; Series S213184, Volume 7, Page 113, Item 3; digital image (scdah.sc.gov: accessed March 2019) John Faulkenburough, 1758.
[xii] Fortinberry, G. K. Abstract History of the Fortinberry Family; 1795-1940's; (Family History Center Microfilm #1036152).
[xiii] Criminger, Adrianne Fortenberry. The Fortenberry Families of Southern Mississippi. (SC: Southern Historical Press, 1984) 41 - 44.
[xiv] Gurr, C. B., & Gurr, D. R. The Ties that Bind us Together. [Salt Lake City, UT: C.B. Gurr, 2006].
[xv] 1800 US Census, SC, Lancaster; digital image, Ancestry (ancestry.com: accessed March 2019) John Cannington.
[xvi] 1810 US Census, SC, Lancaster; digital image, Ancestry (ancestry.com: accessed March 2019) Jno Kennington.
[xvii] Holcomb, Brent. Lancaster County, South Carolina Deeds, 1787 – 1811 Greenville, SC: Southern Historical Press, Inc., 1982).
[xviii] Order Book, Lancaster County, South Carolina, Estate of John Cannington; Ancestry (ancestry.com: accessed March 2019) 6 Nov. 1815.
