Kennedy Murray

     NOTE: The information on this page is my research to date and is subject to change as I become better informed. I very much welcome any corrections or additional info you might have - my email address is at the bottom of this page. Whilst historical facts are not copyright, my writing about these facts are. If you wish to use any text from this site on Ancestry or on any other website, please ask me first - Tim Hill.




Direct descendants of John and Kennedy Murray have had their DNA tested and their DNA matches the head of the MacGregor clan. This indicates that John and Kennedy were in fact MacGregors. MacGregor was a banned surname in Scotland and Murray was a common alias.² This contrasts with another family story that the family is descended from the Murray family that holds the 'Duke of Athol' title. This has been put forward by a number of family members and supposedly confirmed by the unreliable Col. Harry Murray V.C. but there is no proof of this.³ Kennedy Murray may have been born circa 1764 at Edinburgh.⁴ He was probably baptised on Saturday, 24 August 1771 at Dundonald, Ayreshire, Scotland. He was apparently born out of wedlock.^5,1 He was the son of John Murray and Elizabeth Calder.¹

On Wednesday, 7 December 1785, Kennedy and four others were apprehended at Glasgow for shop-breaking and lodged in prison.⁶ He was charged with stealing "three small table knives with bone handles, three small knives with hart-horn handles, a pair of striped garters with some knittings with a pair of plated buckles".⁷

Kennedy was sentenced at Glasgow Court of Justiciary, Glasgow, on 21 September 1786:

This was reported in the Caledonian Mercury on Sat 23 Sep 1786 on p. 3.^8,9,7 Historian Susan Jamieson from the University of Sydney suggests that he had prior convictions, and that it is likely that he had help writing his petition.¹⁰

He was imprisioned in the Tolbooth prision, in Glasgow, for 4 years.¹¹

He was relocated to a prison hulk in Plymouth for a further two years.¹¹ Kennedy Murray was transported to Sydney Cove on the 'Pitt' from Yarmouth, departing 17 July 1791 and arriving 14 February 1792.^12,13

After his arrival in New South Wales, Kennedy was sent to Toongabbie convict settlement, in Sydney.^14,15 At Toongabbie "[t]he convicts were worked so hard, it developed a reputation as a place to be avoided at all costs."¹⁶

Kennedy his time at Sydney could not have been easy.:

It was a hard place to be for a 21 year old a long way from home and family.¹⁷

He entered into a common law marriage with Anne White, circa 1796 at Norfolk Island, Australia.⁸

Kennedy, aged 27 and Anne White became the parents of Kennedy Murray on Sunday, 4 August 1799 at Norfolk Island.¹⁸

After his sentence had expired, Kennedy apparently returned to Sydney on the 'Hannington', abandoning Anne and their two children on Norfolk Island.^7,19

Kennedy was granted 30 aces of land near Windsor, New South Wales, in 20 November 1809 (parcel 89 in the district of Evan.)^7,20

Circa 1810, Kennedy Murray and Ann Parker began a relationship.²¹ Kennedy and Ann lived in 1814 at Windsor, New South Wales. They were living "off stores" with two children.²¹

He married Ann Parker, Both had previously been convicts at St. Philips on Monday, 14 March 1814 at Sydney, New South Wales. He was 42 and his wife Ann was 28. This was a wattle and daub church, burned down in 1798..^22,13

He was convicted of poultry theft in 1820.²³

Kennedy and Ann Four children of Kennedy and Ann were admitted to an Male Orphan School at Cabramatta on 22 October 1823:

However, it is almost certain that Ann wasn't dead and that there is no record that Kennedy was ever admitted to the asylum. The oldest son John probably remained with his father.^24,25

For a time, Kennedy and his son John were living in 3 huts in Pittwater, New South Wales, perhaps with a domestic servant.²⁶

In later years he moved to the small Tasmanian town of Evandale and lived in a barn on his son's property. He became a local celebrity, and was thought to be a friend of the artist John Glover.²⁷

Kennedy died on 18 June 1853 at Evandale at age 81 His brief obituary stated that he was 89, and that he died in his son's house..^13,4