Added a photograph of Levoy White.  This photo is in the possession of his daughter, Jessica White Griffiths.

Also added a transcription of the Memorial Obituary for Mr. and Mrs. Frank Ohlmann.  She was the daughter of Jackson White Sr. and Alfreta Bryant and died along with her second husband in a tragic home fire in Dickson, TN on March 29, 1955.  Her first name was Aileen.

The following article written by Virginia Bivin appeared in a Nashville Newspaper in February 1952

�Nab him by the coattails, but look before you leap.�  So advises a modern great-great-grandmama of 22 �official� birthdays and with 100 living descendents who believes in looking around for your man and then leaping.

                Mrs. Jack B. White, Sr., who will celebrate her �22^nd� birthday February 29^th, is just as modern as a jet plane when the conversation gets around to latching onto a man during Leap Year.  But she�s old fashioned as a horse and buggy when it comes to having lots of chilluns, grand, great and even a great-great.

                To be exact, she has 40 grand-children, 50 great-great-grandchildren and one great-great-granddaughter, with another great-grandchild expected in a couple of weeks.  Her own children number nine sons and five daughters.  Six sons and three daughters are still living.

                Despite her 88 winters, Mrs. White appears to be mighty pert and spry.  She�s proof of her firm belief that having lots of children around will keep you young.  This alert head of a great big family kinda hankers after the boys.  Sixty-two of the 100 �kids� are boys.  In fact, she�d like for all the babies in her family to have been boys.  But since things didn�t work out exactly that way, she does the next best thing � instructs the gals as they grow up to latch onto a good man.

                Mrs. White will celebrate her birthday with her family clan gathered at her knee Leap Year Day at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Jesse Copeland, 1127 Stratford Ave.  What with a family reunion every year as a birthday present and hosts of gifts from 100 �kids� ranging from 66 years to infancy, Mrs. White can�t really think of anything she needs.  But, with a twinkle in her clear grey eyes, she quips cheerfully that she�s looking forward to a belated birthday gift in a couple of weeks when her 51^st great-grandchild puts in an appearance.  �Little girls are nice but boys are even better.�  Mrs. White has had five new great-grandchildren since last October.

                This young-for-her-years lady keeps up a keen interest in the news of the day and, until recent years, crocheted and did other handwork.  She used to travel a good bit, especially visiting members of her family in Florida during the wintertime.

                A member of Third Baptist Church since a young girl, she was active in church affairs until recent years.  A native of Macon County, GA., Mrs. White moved here at about the age of three.  Her father, Hugh Bryant, took part in the fighting near Atlanta during the War Between the States.  Her mother was the former Elizabeth Henderson.

I was recently contacted by C.J. Vaught of Memphis TN with some new Mattingly Family information.  Added a new page on the family of Robert Thomas Mattingly, older brother of Mary Elizabeth Mattingly Kennedy.  Also added photographs to a new Robert T. Mattingly Family Photographs page.  Thanks C.J.

Today I added a page of Kennedy Family Photos provided to me by Kenny Kennedy.  These originally belonged to his parents, Russell and Dorothy Kennedy. Click here to see the entire page: Kennedy Family Photographs.  Thanks Kenny!

Last month I visited the Library of Congress while in Washington DC on business.  There (after being put the ringer to make sure I was not a terrorist), I was allowed to examine General Sherman's maps of the Battle of Atlanta.  There are about 30 or more of them there.  Anyway, I was able to confirm the story that Jess Copeland and Anne White Whitaker had told me several years ago about the circumstances when Alfreta Bryant left Georgia to come to Tennessee.  For those who want to read the narrative, you can go the website at this URL:  http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~josephkennedy/atlanta_campaign_spring_summr_18.htm

Throughout the Spring of 1864, Sherman had been pushing Confederate General Joe Johnson and the Confederate Army of the Tennessee down through Northern Georgia with an eye towards Atlanta.  Following a brutal pounding at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, Sherman was no longer willing to make frontal assaults against the entrenched Confederate Army and began a series of maneuvers to outflank Joe Johnson.  Confederate Jefferson Davis relieved Joe Johnson, who he considered timid and replaced him with the Texan General Hood (one arm and one leg).  This set the scene for the Battle of Atlanta which was actually three battles as the Union Army refused head on battle and maneuvered around Atlanta hoping to out position Hood.  Ironically each of the three parts of the battle were initiated by the Rebel General Hood and each result in huge losses of life especially on the Confederate side.

A famous exchange between pickets that occurred during one of the nights after days of fierce battles went something like this:

Billy Yank:  "How many of you rebels left over there?"

Johnny Reb: "About enough for a killing, I reckon"

One can imagine that by the 28th July 1864, the Henderson Family had been through a lot.  Alfreta had been born February 29th of that year and was a newborn.  Her mother, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Bryant was staying with her Mother, Mary Stewart Henderson on the Family Farm in what was then Campbell County Georgia and is now Fulton County, GA..  Mary Stewart Henderson's husband: Samuel Henderson had died two years earlier while serving with the Confederate Army (Georgia 35th Vol Infantry) at Fredericksburg and her eldest son was with Lee's Army of Northern Virginia soon to be under siege at Petersburg.  Elizabeth Bryant's husband was likewise away serving with the Confederate Army. 

The "Battle of Atlanta" had been in progress for about a week in two major engagements with countless minor skirmishes daily.  The main battle had concluded two days earlier about 3 miles east of the Henderson Farm.  No doubt the Henderson women had taken shelter from the bombardment of Atlanta by Sherman's Army.  The farm located inside the Confederate lines might have been used to shelter the wounded.  Georgia in July 1864 was no doubt a cooker.  Full summer heat and dry.  The red Georgia clay stirred up into dust by the movement of tens of thousands of men and horses no doubt reddened the sky and coated everything and everybody.  From the attached map, it is clear that what Jess said was true.  The Confederate fortifications bisected the Henderson Farm.  Perhaps one morning a Confederate Officer appeared at the farmhouse door and requested Mary Henderson to join him in the yard.  In easy view to the Northwest would have been Union General Schofield and the Yankee Army of the Ohio just beyond the range of cannon.  Inviting her attention to the southeast beyond the Henderson family fields, no doubt in midsummer full growth, they would have observed the railroad leading out of Atlanta into the southern half of the state.  A critical railroad junction at East Point no more than a mile away justified the Confederate fortifications and was the objective of the Union Army.  With sorrow and regret, he would have informed her that she must have already known.  Soon the Yankee Army near her farm and his own must surely engage and perhaps the clash would occur on the very ground that was her farm.  These were two veteran armies that faced each other and they knew well what the certain battle would do to the farm.  Maybe he even begged her to leave.  In the end, it would not have really been a request since he would have ordered her off the farm.  As Jess told the story, as they pulled out and left, the Confederate Army burned the house and barns to clear the ground in front of their forts and give their cannon clear views of the enemy who would surely come soon.  Mary Henderson, her daughter, Lizzie Bryant, other children and infant granddaughter, Alfreta were driven out in a wagon by an Uncle and taken to Tennessee.  On the 28th of July 1864, Confederate General Stephen Lee's Division moved against the Union Right Flank just north of the Henderson Farm at what was afterwards known as the Battle of Ezra Church.  It was a tactical victory for the Rebels but at a tremendous price.  A historian called it "A Perfect Murder."

The attached file is Sherman's Map.  It is a very large map and this is a very large file.  If you open the file you will need to look near the bottom center.  There you will find East Point Georgia clearly labeled.  Just west of there the map is marked "Widow Henderson" to show the exact location of the Family Farm pretty much smack dab in the middle of the Rebel line (marked in blue ironically).  I have been comparing this map with a modern topographic map of Atlanta and it easy to see why the Confederate lines were laid out the way they were.  First off the protected the Railroad as previously described.  Secondly, they occupied the high ground which was suited for defense especially since they faced a much larger Union Army.

The archivists in the Map Room of the Library of Congress were very helpful.  They explained that they were in the progress of scanning all the maps in their collection (nearly 100,000) and that the Sherman maps should be done in a few years.  Maybe it was the look of disappointment on my face or maybe because I was still wearing my U.S. Navy uniform from the meetings I had attended earlier in the day but they agreed to move the map I needed to the top of the scanning pile and that is why I have it now.

What's New 7 June 2002

 The 1930 Federal Census for Nashville, Davidson County, TN lists David J. Kennedy, age 50 living at 904 Monroe St with wife, Bessie Lee, age 45; his mother, Mary Kennedy, age 76, a widow (born Kentucky) and the following children: Mary L (Louise), age 17; Madelyn, age 15; Ruth, age 9; Willie Frank, age 7; and Russell, age 5.  He reports that he owns the home, worth $8000 and that is occupation is Printing Press Machinist.  According to this record, they did own a radio.

The 1930 Federal Census for Nashville, Davidson County, TN lists �Raymond D.� (sic) Kennedy, age 28 living at 1403 Arthur Ave with wife, Margaret A., age 25 along with children Jean C and son, David R, age 3 months.  He is reported as renting the house for $30 a month and owning a radio.

I have been working with our White Family cousins and will soon be adding other branches to the family tree here to (hopefully) eventually be able to document all the children of Jackson B. White, Sr and their descendents.  As always, for privacy reasons, these pages will be limited to information on the deceased.  First off is a new page following the White family through the line of Jackson B. White, Jr.  Thanks most of all to Steve White.

I was recently shown a photo of Mary Elizabeth Mattingly, wife of David V. Kennedy and Mother of David Joseph Kennedy.  She was the daughter of Bernard Mattingly and Elizabeth Davis.  She was born in Meade County, KY in 1852 near the present day site of Fort Knox and spent most of her adult life living in Stanford, KY.  After the death of her husband in 1921, she moved to Nashville and lived the remaining years of her life in the home of her son, David Joseph Kennedy where she passed away in 1933.  She is buried in Calgary Cemetery in Nashville, TN under a stone placed by her great grandson, David Raymond Kennedy, Jr. in 1995 to mark her previously unmarked grave.

This photo is in the possession of Mrs. Frank Kennedy Johnson and was placed here with the assistance of her son, Ray Johnson.

On a recent visit to the National Archives in Washington DC , I examined General Sherman's maps for the Atlanta Campaign.  These detailed maps included the locations of the various farms in the Atlanta area including the Henderson Farm where Alfreta Bryant lived.  Both farms are in the vicinity of East Point, GA which is well inside Atlanta city limits today very close on the NW side of Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport

1864 Map of Battle of Atlanta showing location of Henderson and Bryant Family Farm

Added new information regarding the oldest son of Bernard Mattingly, Robert Thomas Mattingly provided by one of his descendents.  Added a brief history of the Kennedy and Bowden Machine Company as told to me by my father, David R. Kennedy, Jr.

I visited the graves of Oscar Kennedy and his wife Gletha at the Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery on Thompson Lane in Nashville, TN.   They are buried on the south side of the road in the old section of the cemetery all the way in the very back but very close to a large belltower.  They are in plot 345C along with their son, Kenneth Hubert Kennedy.

Also added the following new pages:

Alfreta Bryant

Henderson Family, Campbell County, GA. 

Bryant Family, Campbell County, GA

Stewart Family, Campbell County, GA

Henderson Family in the Civil War

Battle of Atlanta, July 1864 U.S. Civil War

General W.T. Sherman's Reply to the Mayor of Atlanta, 1864

Henderson / Bryant Family in Nashville, TN after the Civil War

Added two Family Stories: The Sellars Kennedy Riot of 1873 and The Murder of Ebb Kennedy 1877.   Although these are cousins and not from our direct line; I am frequently asked about these stories.  They do provide interesting background about life in Central Kentucky after the Civil War.  I have often wondered if the bad blood and political violence that the Kennedy's seemed to be involved with had anything with David Joseph Kennedy's decision to walk down to Nashville.

What's New 9 Oct 2000

Tightened up the Homepage so that it would load faster and require less scrolling.  Moved Wedding photo of David Joseph and Bessie Lee Kennedy to their own page.  Created a Related Families Page to serve as an index.