Kennedy's- Part 3: The Kennedy Curse

(This is the 3rd of the Kennedy Posts. Please visit the 1st post and 2nd post).


With the flood of news lines about Saoirse Rosisin Kennedy Hill's death ruled a drug overdose, I thought it fitting that I write a 3rd Kennedy blog post about the well-known Kennedy curse.

Many people believe that the Kennedy family is cursed because of their string of accidental deaths and incidents. Others' just make it out to be a coincidence because it spans through many generations. Well, whatever you believe, it is truly unusual. 

Accidental Kennedy deaths in Red and other incidents in Blue  

~1941- Rosemary Kennedy (1918-2005)- sister of JFK- underwent a lobotomy at the age of 23 to "fix" frequent seizures and mood swings. It failed and she became unable to walk or speak well. She was institutionalized most of her life until her death in 2005 when she was 86 years old.

~1944- Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. (1915-1944)- died in a plane crash during WWII in England. He was 29 years old. 

~1948- Kathleen Agnes Cavendish ('nee Kennedy" (1920-1948)- died in a plane crash in France. She was 28 years old. 

~1956- Arabella Kennedy- Stillborn daughter of John F. (JFK) and Jackie Kennedy.

~1961- Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. (1888-1969) suffered a massive stroke that left him paralyzed on his right side and aphasia, which affected his ability to speak. 

~1963- Patrick Bouvier Kennedy (1963-1963)- infant of John F. (JFK) and Jackie Kennedy. Died of respiratory failure 2 days after a premature birth. 

~1963- John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK) (1917-1963) was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas Texas. He was 46 years old.

~1964- Edward Moore Kennedy "Ted" (1932-2009) survived a plane crash in which two others died. He suffered from a broken back, punctured lung, broken ribs and internal bleeding.

~1968- Robert Francis Kennedy (1925-1968) was assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan in Los Angeles. He was 42 years old.

~1969- Ted Kennedy (1932-2009) accidently drove his car off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, fatally killing his 28 year old passenger.

~1973- Joseph P. Kennedy II (b. 1952) crashed his jeep, leaving one passenger paralyzed and another injured. 

~1973- Edward Moore Kennedy Jr. (b. 1961) was 12 years old when part of his right leg had to be amputated due to bone cancer. 

~1984- David Anthony Kennedy (1955-1984)- Robert Francis' son died of a drug overdose in Palm Beach, Florida. He was 28 years old.

~1991- William Kennedy Smith (b. 1960)- son of Jean Ann Kennedy, was arrested, charged and later acquitted of rape with a young woman at the Kennedy Estate in Florida. 

~1997- Michael LeMoyne Kennedy (1958-1997)- Robert Francis' son died in a skiing accident in Aspen, Colorado. He was 39 years old. 

~1999- John F. Kennedy Jr. (1960-1999)- JFK's son died in a plane crash in Massachusetts along with his wife Carolyn. He was 38 years old, she was 33.


~2011- Kara Anne Kennedy (1960-2011)- daughter of Edward Moore Kennedy, first had lung cancer and then died of a heart attack at the age of 51.

~2012- Mary Kathleen Richardson Kennedy (1959-2012)- Wife of Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. She committed suicide at the age of 52. 

~2014- Josephine Ethel Kerr (2014-2014)- daughter of Kyle Rose Kennedy and granddaughter of Michael LeMoyne Kennedy- died in infancy. 

~2019- Saoirse Roisin Kennedy Hill (1997-2019)- daughter of Courtney Kennedy, died of a drug overdose. She was 22 years old. 

Kennedy's- Part 2: Twins!

(This is the second post of my Kennedy Posts. Please visit Part 1 and then after this one, Part 3)

Awhile back, with Ancestry's We're Related App, I discovered and confirmed that the Kennedy Family is part of my family tree- distant cousins. Joseph Patrick Kennedy (JFK's father) is my 6th cousin, 5x removed. While adding their family to my tree, I discovered something interesting. No twins, until you get to Robert Francis Kennedy's descendants...there are 4 sets among his grant and great-grand children. 

Robert Francis Kennedy (1925-1968) and his wife Ethel Skakel (b. 1928) had 11 children. 

1. Kathleen Hartington Kennedy (b. 1951)
2. Joseph Patrick Kennedy II (b. 1952)
3. Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. (b. 1954)
4. David Anthony Kennedy (1955-1984)
5. Mary Courtney Kennedy (b. 1956)
6. Michael LeMoyne Kennedy (1958-1997)
7. Mary Kerry Kennedy (b. 1959)
8. Christopher George Kennedy (b. 1963)
9. Matthew Maxwell Taylor Kennedy (b. 1965)
10. Douglas Harriman Kennedy (b. 1967)
11. Rory Elizabeth Katherine Kennedy (b. 1968)

Twin Set 1: 
Robert's daughter, Kathleen married David Lee Townsend and they had 4 daughters. Their eldest daughter is Meaghan Anne Kennedy Townsend (b. 1977). She married Billy Birdzell and they had twins: 

            David Kennedy Birdzell & Arabella Kennedy Birdzell

Born: 15 Aug 2016

Twin Set 2: 

Robert's son, Joseph Patrick Kennedy II married Sheila Brewster Rauch and they had twin sons:

Joseph Patrick Kennedy II & Matthew Rauch Kennedy 

Born: 04 Oct 1980

Twin Set 3: 

Robert's son, Michael LeMoyne married Victoria Denise Gifford and they had 3 children. Their daugther Kyle Frances Kennedy (b. 1984) had twins: 

Josephine Ethel Kerr & Conor Nash Kerr

Born: 26 Sep 2014

(Josephine died in infancy)

(Josephine is obviously not pictured because she passed. This picture is of  Kyle, her husband Liam, their youngest son Declan and the twin Conor. 

Twin Set 4: 

Robert's daughter Kerry married Andrew Mark Cuomo and they had twins: 

Mariah Matilda Kennedy Cuomo & Cara Ethel Kennedy Cuomo

Born: 11 Jan 1995

Twins on the left, Kerry Kennedy Cuomo and youngest daughter, Michaela

                 

Kennedy's- Part 1: Kennedy Cousins

Joseph Patrick Kennedy is my 6th Cousin, 5x Removed. He and Rose Elizabeth Kennedy 9 children. Two of their most notable children were John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK) (35^th President of the United States) and Robert Francis Kennedy (64^th United States Attorney General) - both of whom were assassinated.

Joseph Patrick Kennedy                 &       Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald

Born: 06 Sep 1888 Boston, MA                 Born: 22 Jul 1890 Boston, MA

Died: 18 Nov 1969 Hyannis, MA                 Died: 22 Jan 1995 Hyannis, MA

  1.   Joseph Patrick Jr. (1915-1944)

  2.  John Fitzgerald (JFK) “Jack” (1917-1963)

  3.  Rose Marie “Rosemary” (1918-2005)

  4.  Kathleen Agnes (1920-1948)

  5.  Eunice Mary (1921-2009)

  6.  Patricia Helen (1924-2006)

  7.  Robert Francis (1925-1968)

  8.  Jean Ann b. 1928- Living

  9.  Edward Moore “Ted” (1932-2009)

Having so many children almost guarantees you’ll have a lot of grandchildren, and that is the case for the Kennedy’s. Joseph and Rose had 31 grandchildren!

Grandchildren in order of birth:

(If there is a baby symbol 👶, that means the child died before adulthood)

Date	Month	Child	Parent
1951	July	Kathleen Hartington Kennedy	Robert Francis
1952	September	Joseph Patrick II Kennedy	Robert Francis
1954	January	Robert Francis Kennedy Jr.	Robert Francis
	April	Robert Sargent Shriver III	Eunice Mary
1955	March	Christopher Kennedy Lawford	Patricia Helen
	June	David Anthony Kennedy	Robert Francis
	Nov	Maria Owings Shriver	Eunice Mary
1956	August	Arabella Kennedy 👶	JFK
	August	Sydney Maleia Kennedy Lawford	Patricia Helen
	September	Mary Courtney Kennedy	Robert Francis
1957	Unknown	Stephen Edward Smith	Jean Ann
	November	Caroline Bouvier Kennedy	JFK
1958	February	Michael LeMoyne Kennedy	Robert Francis
	November	Victoria Francis Lawford	Patricia Helen
1959	August	Timothy Perry Shriver	Eunice Mary
	September	Mary Kerry Kennedy	Robert Francis
1960	February	Kara Anne Kennedy	Edward Moore
	September	William Kennedy Smith	Jean Ann
	November	John F. Kennedy Jr.	JFK
1961	July	Robin Elizabeth Lawford	Patricia Helen
	September	Edward Moore Kennedy Jr.	Edward Moore
1963	July	Christopher George Kennedy	Robert Francis
	August	Patrick Bouvier Kennedy 👶	JFK
1964	February	Mark Kennedy Shriver	Eunice Mary
1965	January	Matthew Maxwell Taylor Kennedy	Robert Francis
	July	Anthony Paul Shriver	Eunice Mary
1967	Unknown	Amanda Mary Smith (Adopted)	Jean Ann
	March	Douglas Harriman Kennedy	Robert Francis
	July	Patrick Joseph Kennedy II	Edward Moore
1968	December	Rory Elizabeth Kennedy	Robert Francis
1972	Unknown	Kym Maria Smith (Adopted)	Jean Ann

This is part 1 of the Kennedy posts. Please visit Part 2 and Part 3.

52 Ancestors Biography- Edna Grace Niles

Some Surprises ahead! 

Edna Grace Niles- my great-grandmother

Born: 24 May 1894, Darke County, Ohio

Parents: Joseph Niles (1857-1933) & Anna E. Shomber (1868-1947). 
(When I first started doing research YEARS ago, I had different parents for Edna..there are trees on Ancestry.com that has the same wrong names as well. But, a couple of years ago, a cousin messaged me Proof of her real parents- the joys of collaboration!)

Siblings:
Edna had at least 2 siblings: 
1. Bertha "Bessie May" (1886-1966)
2. Earl David (1891-1969)


Edna married my great-grandfather- Earl Dwight Mendenhall (1894-1972) in 1915 in Darke County, Ohio. You can read his biography Here.

They had 3 children: 
1. Harold Earl (1916-1989) (my grandfather)
2. Robert Eugene (1919-1993)
3. Ruth Eileen (1926-2002)


I knew most of this when researching Edna...but there were a few surprises and interesting facts--- 

Surprise 1: Edna married secondly on 13 Jul 1931. I don't know when she divorced Earl. Her new husband was Fillmore Hax Chapman (1886-1941), son of Eugene Baldwin Chapman (1855-1937) & Pauline Hax (1856-1913). 

Surprise 2: Edna died on 28 Jul 1933 in Union City, Indiana at the age of 39. I knew this. However, after JUST discovering her death certificate, I read her cause of death as: "Coronary Embolism 6 hrs after delivery"... This sparked my interested in 2 ways: 
            1. Factor V Leiden (an inherited disorder of blood clotting) runs in my                 family, so for her to die of a blood clot in the heart, makes sense.
            2. She gave birth??! I didn't know she had anymore children before 
                her death.  

So...NOW, more research! I found a birth certificate with both Edna and Fillmore's names: Jack Chapman, born 27 Jul 1933 in Union City, Indiana. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything else about this baby- whether he died or lived. In 1940, Fillmore was a salesman, living with his brother. This doesn't mean that the baby died though, just means he didn't have custody. The baby might have been adopted after the death of his mother. WHO KNOWS.

Something interesting occurred to me while scanning through all my research. In some of the records (the first marriage document between Edna and Fillmore), Edna's name was Eileen. This threw me off because her name is Edna Grace. Also, Fillmore's death certificate, his deceased wife's name is Eileen as well. Maybe this was a nickname? Either way, her daughter with Mendenhall, her name was Ruth Eileen. And Ruth EILEEN married a Jack. Obivously, this is just pure coincidence and has no meaning whatsoever in any aspect, I just thought it was interesting! AND my 8 year old son's name is Jack...LOL



Edna died so young- only 39 years old. She was buried in the Greenville Union Cemetery in Greenville, Darke County, Ohio.