About seven years ago, Sun City resident Ken Kenny started seriously looking into his ancestry and meticulously following the trail where documents led him.
Kenny said, “I started in 2017, and when I retired, I devoted much time to it. It was like fitting puzzle pieces. I was cautious. You can’t trust everything. It gets complicated with marriages, but it’s satisfying when it’s right.”
Kenny found his ninth great-grandfather, William John Brewster, who set sail on the Mayflower with his wife, Mary.
Ken Kenny holds the books written by him and his cousin on their ancestors aboard the Mayflower. (Photo by Christine Such/My Sun Day News)
Kenny said, “He was born in England in 1566 and died in Duxbury, Massachusetts in 1644. He went to the University of Cambridge around 1580 but didn’t get a degree there. He was the keeper of the post office in Scrooby, England.”
William Brewster grew up in a well-connected family. His father, also named William Brewster, was the bailiff of Scrooby Manor, which belonged to the archbishop of York. The estate included a manor house surrounded by a moat, a chapel, a bake-house, a brew house, a gallery, barns and stables, farmland, and the archbishop’s offices. His father had also been appointed in the Queen’s service as the keeper of the post at Scrooby. This role as postmaster, though, consisted of something other than sorting mail. It consisted of running a tavern and inn and keeping a change of horses for official courtiers.
Kenny said, “After leaving his keeper position, he was involved in a group that left their primary church to form a new religious movement called the Separatists that caused him and others to leave England for Holland, where he spent a few years. He was a church Elder in what is now Leiden, The Netherlands.”
William Brewster took sail on the Mayflower with his wife and two sons, and they reportedly arrived in Plymouth, MA, on December 16, 1620.
Kenny said, “Some of the historically known persons on the Mayflower with him were John Alden, William Bradford, and Myles Standish. He was the ruling Elder on the Mayflower and at the church in Plymouth.”
Kenny’s research has been a thrilling journey of discovery. He has created a detailed worksheet that shows the generations between William Brewster and himself. Kenny’s father didn’t share much about the family history, but Kenny’s dedication has unearthed a rich family history.
“My father was an only child, and so was his father. We had a small family, but through my research, I found a large family with my ancestors. I even found a third cousin, and we met for a reunion, exploring our ancestry. Together, we wrote a book which included documentation on the links we found, tracing our family line.”
Kenny’s biggest thrill was the surprise he brought to his family with his research. He had done extensive research as a gift for his 96-year-old uncle, who had an interest in his family history.
The gravestone Kenny’s ninth great-grandfather, William Brewster, who was a patriarch and ruling elder of the Mayflower pilgrims. (Photo provided)
“My uncle believed that there were Native Americans in his family tree, a belief his daughters were not able to confirm,” Kenny said. “At a family gathering, I surprised everyone with a timeline going back eight generations. I did find Native Americans in the family tree, connected to the Cherokee tribe, tracing it even to the relocation to Oklahoma. I also found that five oldest generations were born in Germany.”
Besides passengers on the Mayflowers, Kenny had other recognizable figures in history.
“I would mention that other people I have in my tree include a signer of the Declaration of Independence and treasurer and comptroller of the English Elizabethan Navy,” he said. “I think this would be similar to the U.S. Secretary of the Navy.”
Kenny also found an accused male witch in his ancestry. Most of the victims of the Salem witch trials were women, wrongfully accused and convicted in a case of mass hysteria. But scorned women weren’t the only victims. No fewer than six men were convicted and executed.
Kenny said, “Yes, we have a male convicted in a Salem witchcraft trial and killed. His wife was also accused but was acquitted. Their home in Salem was featured on House Hunters.”
Some political figures proved to be interesting.
“David Matthews, a former mayor of New York, and my ancestor, was accused of trying to kill or kidnap President George Washington,” Kenny said.
In June 1776, General Washington ordered the arrest of David Mathews, the Loyalist mayor of New York City, for conspiring to support British plans to invade the city and strike the Continental Army there. It was later learned that Mathews was also involved in a devious plot against Washington, along with William Tryon, the British-appointed governor of New York. The conspirators aimed to capture or assassinate Washington using traitors in his “Life Guard,” the detachment of soldiers responsible for the general’s safety.
In case Kenny’s family tree wasn’t historical enough, he later discovered yet another famous relative lingering in the lineage.
“I found Susan B. Anthony to be my relative,” he said.
