John McKenney

John was living on Isle of Skye, County Inverness Scotland. In 1650 he joined his Scotch countrymen to try and restore Charles II to the English throne. He was captured by Cromwells army at the battle of Dunbar in Scotland or at the battle of Worcestor in England. Two hundred and fifty men captured this way were, in 1651, put on a 17th century ship, "John & Sara" and sent from Gravesend England to New England. They were sold to buyers there as indentured servants with contracts from five to seven years long to pay for their passage. The ship docked at both Boston and York Maine. We do not know for sure where John served his period of indenture. In Maine he appears as a lessee of land in Scarborough in 1663. He was married in 1668 but there is no record of his wife's name. In 1673 he purchased land on the Nonsuch river near chissemores Hill in Scarborough. At this time the Indians and settlers lived peacefully in Maine. The Indians helped the settlers, showing them how to grow corn and make Maple sugar. For the first time in 1675 Indians attacked the town, and John served in the Militia to protect the town. By 1681 it is reported that he had a good amount of livestock at his farm in Black Point and the town had decided to build a stronger Garrison or Fort, he was on the list of the builders. In 1688 Indian wars severley damaged the settlement along the Maine coast. Two years later most of the pilgrims in the towns in Maine moved south to NH and Maine, most of them had to move in boats, roads were very poor or non-exsistant at this time. In 1697 it is reported that a John "MacKaney" drowned in the Ogunquit River. A jury found that death "was occasioned through his on aquaintednes with the river."

Title: The McKenney Story Hartwell cole and Allied Families Page: 6 Author: Ancestry.com Title: Public Member Trees Publication: Name: The Generations Network, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2006; Repository: Name: www.ancestry.com

Researchers noted that John McKenney had been a prisoner of Oliver Cromwell's conquest at the Battle of Worcester in England. King Charles I was executed on the orders of Cromwell, theaters were banned, Christmas was banned, the conquest of Ireland was completed in 1650 and of Scotland in 1652. John McKenney was from the Mackenzie clan which were at their height of power and influence at about the time of the conquest. The MacKenzies were of Celtic stock and were not among the clans that originated from Norman ancestors. They had extensive lands and built the Brahan Castle near Dingwall, Scotland in the seventeenth century.

John McKenney and 277 other prisoners were sent to the New World to serve a term of indenture which was usually 7-8 years. The ship "John & Sarah" arrived in Boston in 1652. John's name on the ship's record was John Mackane. Where John spent his indentured service was unclear. Some say it was with the Saugus Iron Works. The Iron Works is now a national historical park. Others say it was with the lumber merchant, Thomas Kemble, who was known to have had a contract with the ship "John & Sarah" to possess all cargo and people aboard the ship as indentured servants.

John was the immigrant ancestor of the McKenney family. He went to Scarborough, Maine in 1670 and in 1673 purchased land from Robert Jordan on the Chissemores Hill near the Nonsuch River. He settled on the Spurwink Road a few rods from the corner where it meets the Black Point Road. He married in Black Point, Scarborough, Maine and his son, Robert, was born about that time.

Western Maine Indians made their first raids on English settlements during the King Philips War and later they were joined by more easterly tribes. By the end of the year, out of ninety settlements, fifty-two were attacked and twelve completely destroyed. Captain Scottow was criticized about his conduct during the Indian Wars. John McKenney signed a petition defending him for all the support he had given the people. John was wounded through the chest and back during an ambush of 90 settlers in 1677. He and about 50 survivors escaped to the fort at Garrison Cove. Later he and other wounded men and their families were transported to Salem. When the Indian hostilities appeared to taper off in 1679, John moved his family back to Black Point. As a refugee, Salem aided him in 1677-78 and paid him in 1679 for transport his family back to Black Point, where in 1681, he had a goodly amount of livestock.

However, during the French and Indian wars of the next decade, the settlers were forced to defend themselves during periodic attacks. When the attacks became overwhelming in 1690, the settlers were forced to completely abandon Scarsborough, retreating to coastal settlements in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The destruction of Falmouth in May 15, 1690, was the signal for a general retreat of the inhabitants of Scarborough. John remained in Portsmouth, NH for the remainder of his life. John McKenney drowned in the Ogunuit River in 1697.

Robert married his wife, Rebecca while in Portsmouth. The men traveled back and forth to Scarborough until they felt it safe to return with their families. By 1713-1714 the hostilities lessened and people began to return. Robert McKenney, John's only son, returned to Scarborough at the time of the second settlement of the town and took possession of his father's estate on the Nonsuch River, on the North Side of Spruce Creek in Kittery, Maine.

A Maine Folklore:

The story says that the wife and son of Squando, the chief of the local Indian tribe, were traveling by canoe near the mouth of the river when they were approached by three drunken English sailors. The sailors took the baby from its mother and tossed him in the river. They said it was their belief that Indian babies were born swimmers. The mother rescued the baby, but he died within a few days. The chief put a curse on the Saco that from that day on, three whites would drown every year in the river.

Ask an old-timer of the region to find out if this curse really exists. Perhaps it applies to the Ogunquit River and John McKenney was one of its victims.

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The family name of Mackenney, or MacKenney, modernized McKenney has been held in the Maine branch of Scottish origin, though regard as Irish by several authorities. The Maryland descendants claim that their first ancestor was John of Scarborough was from the Isle of Skye, County Inverness, Scotland. It appears that he was a captured Scottish soldier, indentured to Massachusetts after the battle of Dunbar where Cromwell had routed the Scots sympathetic to Prince Charles.

He was in Scarborough, Maine and he received a grant of land in 1668. John purchased land on the Nonsuch River, near "Chissemores Hill" where he lived. This was at Blue Point. Although he got into a row with Captain Scottow, the owner of the garrison, he supported the captain while others in the town spoke against him. When Indian hostilities were at a peak and with the destruction of Falmouth in May, 1690, it became evident that their lives were in danger and many families fled to Massachusetts. He and his family became refugees in Salem, MA. Later his son returned to Maine to reclaim his father's estate

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Marriage & Family 1690: John Mackenny & his family evidently moved to Portsmouth, New Hampshire during King William’s War. Indian attacks had again become overwhelming & all settlers were forced to move to the relative safety of New Hampshire, Massachusetts or other areas in southern Maine. (From "History of Scarborough"----“In 1690, the town was abandoned due to Native American uprisings, with inhabitants going to Portsmouth and other settlements further south.” Underhill, pg 497: 'The destruction of Falmouth May 15, 1690, was the signal for a general retreat of the inhabitants of Scarborough & they wisely resolved to save their lives by flight. A letter from Portsmouth, NH under the date of May 22, 1690, stated that three or four hundred people, mostly women & children, had arrived in that town from the settlements along the Maine coast."

1692: While in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, John’s son, Rob: Mac-Kenney married widow Rrbec: Sparkes Dec. 1, 1692. (From "Dover, New Hampshire V ital Records, 1686-1850" Dover Historical Society--Marriages by Rev. John Pike 1686-1709) It appears Rebecca was the widow of Thomas Sparkes of the Portsmouth area who witnessed a 1683 deed in Kittery & also purchased some land 1685 in Cape Elizabeth. Noyes, Libby, Davis state that Rebecca after her marriage to Robert Mackenny set aside a tract of land for son Henry in 1732 next to the Thomas Sparkes house in Cape Elizabeth. Henry did eventually move to Cape Elizabeth.

From York Co Deeds, Book IV, page 3: "I William Goodhue Senior, of Ipswich In New England in the County of Essex Mrchant--authorized, my well beloved frejnd Joseph Hammonds of Kittery, In the Province of Mayne Carpenter, to bee my true sufficient & lawfull Atturney,----to Enter into all y' house & Land, that came unto mee by way of Morgage, from William Oliver of the ysles of shoales, scituate, & lijng & being in the province of Mayne in Kittery aforesayd, at a place called Tompsons Poynt, abbutting upon Pischataqua River---this 3d day of Decemb' 1683 : William Goodhue--- Thomas Wade, Thomas Sparke, Samell Appleton Assistant"

From Noyes,Libby,Davis in the Thomas Sparks narrative: "One Rebecca, wid., married Robert McKenney (5) at Dover in 1692. In 1732 land was laid out to their s. Henry McK out of the land deeded by Mr Fryer to Mr Hollicomb; (Thomas) Sparks' old ho. was nearby."

From York Deeds, Book IV, page 38: "Know all men by these Presents, that I Clement Swett of Cape Elizabeth ffisherman, In ye Province of Mayne, haue barganed sould Enfeofled & Confirme unto Thomas Sparke now rescident at Cape Elizabeth, for & in Consideration of Twenty foure pounds, well & truely to mee in hand paycl, before ye signeing & sealeing hereof, a tract of Land vidz' upland, lijng & being on Cape Elizabeth, to the valew of Twenty Acres more or less----togeather with one single dwelling house standing----To have & to hould the sd Tract according to ye limitts & bounds above expressed, to the soole & proper vss of Thom Sparks his heyres executors Administrators & Assignes for Ever---A true Coppy of this Instrument aboue written transcribed & with the originall Compared this 27th day of May 1685"

Children of Robert I and Rebecca Sparks are: i. John, born 7 Dec 1693 in Wells(York) ME; married Margaret Wright 1728 in Scarborough(York) ME. ii. Hannah, born 15 Jul 1695 in Wells (York) ME; married Robert Foye(1) 1717; married William Groves(2)1723/24 iii. Robert II, born Abt 1700 in York Co ME; died 6 Feb 1757 in Scarborough(York) ME; married Margaret Jameson 1 Apr 1727 in Scarborough(York) ME. iv. Isaac, born Abt 1702 in York Co ME; married Elizabeth Drisco 1 Apr 1731 in Scarborough(York) ME. v. Eleazer, born Abt 1704. vi. Henry, born Abt 1709 York Co ME; died before 1782 Cape Elizabeth, ME; married Sarah Hanscom 15 Mar 1728/29 Scarborough, ME vii. Rebecca, born Abt 1710 in York Co ME; died 27 Dec 1793 in Scarborough, ME; married Daniel Burnham Mar 1726/27 in Scarborough(York) ME;

1693: Evidently, the entire family evidently moved to Wells (York County) Maine where Robert & Rebecca’s first 2 children, John & Hannah, were born. Wells VR, Robert and Rebecca McKenney's children are listed as John (7 Dec 1693) and Hannah (15 Jul 1695). (Contributed by Descendants of Daniel Mackenny, born ca 1706 Kittery)

Black Pointe 1673: Also from the York County Deed records, Book 4, dated 12 Jan 1673 is the following: "John Mackanny purchased of Robert Jordan a tract of land on the Nonsuch River near Chessemores Hill."

From Bodge's book conerning the Indian wars: 1676: --“Scottow was very angry with Mackshawine for saying that Captaine Winscoll & his company were all cutt off, telling him though some might be killed and the rest ffled yet it might be to gain y advantage of ground as it proved---”. From Bodges “Soldiers in King Phillips War” pg 334

1676: John Makenny signed a petition in October 1676 circulated among the settlers of Scarborough defending Capt Scottow who was under some local criticism concerning his actions during the Indian wars of that area. From Bodges "Soldiers in King Phillips's War" pg 334.

1676: Nov 19, 1676 "drove cattle for John Macshawin inhabitant of Sacho" journal of Capt. Joshua Scottow. From Bodges “Soldiers in King Phillips War” pg 331

1677: "John Markany was listed on a roster dated Sep 1677 as among those credited with active service under Captain Scottow at the Black Point garrison. From Bodges “Soldiers in King Phillips War” pg 339

From Bodges "Soldiers in King Philips's War" . "Whereas Mr Scottow of Boston Stood by us in all our streights and distresses during the late Warr with the Indians and not only encouraged us with his presence from April until January last, but alsoe releived us with a barrell of powder and all sorts of ammunition as it cost him in Boston near to twenty pounds for which he is not yet paid, - - - - -and your petitioners shall further humblie pray for your honors peace and prosperity. John Makenny ,Henry Jocelyn, Ambrose Bouden, John Libby Sr,- - - -" (several others, 27 citizens in all)

Again from Underhill's book: "With the renewal of Indian hostilities, all differences were removed, since on August 1, 1677, among those credited with active service under Captain Scottow were "John Markany," "Ambrose Boden," John Tenney, Thos. Cummings, Richd Honywell, the Libby's, Andrew & John Brown & others."

From “Genealogical Dictionary of Maine & New Hampshire” by Noyes, Libby, Davis: “McKenney, the Scotch prisoners may account for this family, which has also been consid. Irish.- - - - - JOHN, Scarboro, - - - - - - In 1675 (deed antedated to 1 Aug 1668) Joshua Scottow confirmed to him 14 a. at Black Point, 1 a. of it adj. to his home - - - - As a refugee Salem aided him in 1677-8 and paid in 1679 for carrying the fam. to Black Point, where in 1681 he had a goodly amt. of livestock.”

During King Philip’s War, an official casuality list indicates our ancestor, John Mackenny, was wounded thru the chest & back at Black Point near Scarborough during an ambush of 90 settlers in 1677. He and about 50 survivors escaped to the fort at Garrison Cove. Later, John Mackenny & other wounded men were transported to Salem along with the wives & children of the settlers. When Indian hostilities appeared to taper off in 1679, John moved his family back to Black Point. However, during the Indian wars of the next decade, the settlers were forced to defend themselves during periodic attacks.

From “Genealogical Dictionary of Maine & New Hampshire” by Noyes, Libby, Davis: “McKenney, John, Scarboro, - - - - - - - As a refugee Salem aided him in 1677-8 and paid in 1679 for carrying the fam. to Black Point, where in 1681 he had a goodly amt. of livestock.”

1677: From “A DOLEFUL SLAUGHTER NEAR BLACK POINT” "The Battle at Moore’s Brook, Scarborough, Maine, June 29, 1677 by Sumner Hunnewell" Originally published in two parts in the May 2003 and August 2003 issues of The Maine Genealogist. "John McKenney------Although he got into a row with Captain Scottow, the owner of the garrison, McKenney supported the captain while others in the town spoke against him. McKenney and his family fled the war and became refugees in Salem.- - - - - - - John McKenney was shot through the breast and back, and was sent back to Salem where his family waited for him. There they stayed until the town paid to have them returned to Black Point in 1679."

"Honord: Sr._ :Salem: the: 4th:July 1677.— Undrstanding, pr doctor Barton, tht yor: honoer desires, & Expected, to receiue a pticular acctt. of the mens names tht are wounded, as alsoe the place they belong to, wth the manner of their wounds, haue accordingly, made Inquiry, & Sent you acctt as followeth— Daniell: Dike: of Milton : through the Arm boan Splintrd Ben : Rockett of Medfield . two Shots In thigh Jacob: parker of Chensford: shott through the shouldr. Tho: Dutton of Bellricke: shott In the knee & belly Jno: Mechenne, of Blackpoint: throug the brest & back James Veren of Salem: Through the upr: part of thigh Anthony waldern Salem: In the neck Morgan: Joanes of Newberry: through the thigh— Caleb : pilsberry of Newberry: In the back Israell Hunewell of Ipswich In the Legg & Shoulder"

JOHN MCKENNEY may have been a captured Scottish soldier 1664 , Scarborough JOHN MCKENNEY may have been a captured Scottish soldier, indentured to Massachusetts after the battle of Dunbar where Cromwell had routed the Scots sympathetic to Prince Charles.

By 1664 he was in Scarborough and there he settled having received a grant of land in 1668. Although he got into a row with Captain Scottow, the owner of the garrison, McKenney supported the captain while others in the town spoke against him.

McKenney and his family fled the war and became refugees in Salem.56

The Libbys were a large farming family and the patriarch, John, had four sons in the garrison: JAMES LIBBY, SAMUEL LIBBY, HENRY LIBBY, and ANTHONY LIBBY.

All were probably planters like their father.

Anthony was also a carpenter.

James, Samuel, and Henry were in their thirties while Anthony was in his late twenties. They lived with or near their father about two miles from the garrison, but this was all gone now, burned by the Indians at the start of the war. When Mogg took the garrison in October 1676, all but Henry were living near it. Most of the Libby family took refuge in Boston. However, all four brothers returned to Black Point as soldiers. Henry and perhaps the others volunteered to accompany Lieutenant Tippen to regain the fort taken by Mogg but they were not allowed. Instead Henry and possibly his brothers were impressed to go with Captain Moore and were later left at the Black Point garrison where conditions were mean, the garrisoned men becoming sick (some dying) for want of good clothing.57

http://www.hampton.lib.nh.us/hampton/history/m ilitary/mooresbrook.htm

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The first mention of John McKenney appears in a deed of Joshua Scottow, dated August i, 1668, who conveyed land at "Blacke Poynt . . . bounded on the west with Christiphr Peckitts [Christopher Picketts] & John Mackannys line." * The land belonging to Captain Scottow consisted of the "Cammock Patent " and seven hundred and fifty acres bordering upon it, together with all his houses, fishing-houses, cattle, etc., which Scottow had purchased from Henry Jocelyn in July, 1666. In 1663 and subsequent years, Jocelyn had leased portions of it to "divers persons," who later "had Leases made unto them by the said Scottow." From these premises it is safe to conclude that "John Mackenny," whose lease from Scottow was dated "1668," may have been a tenant of Jocelyn previous to that year. His lease of fourteen acres from Scottow, in which his "family" is mentioned as consisting of one, shows that he was still unmarried. f

This family of Mackenny, or Mackenney, modernized McKenney, and almost invariably appearing in the early records with the Scotch prefix " Mac," has been held by the Maine branch to be of Scottish origin, though regarded as Irish by several authorities; J but the Maryland descendants go still further, claiming that their first ancestor, whom they suppose to have been John, of Scarborough, was from the Isle of Skye, County Inverness, Scotland.

• York County Deeds, Book 4 : 40.

t Southgate's History of Scarborough, Maine, 1853: 116; also Maine Historical and Genealogical Recorder, vo). I : 193. t Ridlon's Saco Valley Settlements: 913.

On January 12, 1673, John "McKenny" purchased of Robert Jordan a tract of land on the Nonsuch River, near "Chissemores Hill," upon which he lived.* This was at Blue Point. When the distress attending the defence of this frontier town during King Philip's war had somewhat abated, Richard Foxwell, John Tenney, and five others presented a petition to the General Court, maintaining that Captain Scottow had neglected his military duties for other "worke which was greatlie turned to his profit: as removing of a great barn, paving before his house and cutting of Palisado stuff for a pretended fortification where there was no occasion nor need. And many more such courtesies M' Scottow [got] by the soldiers." This was answered in October, 1676, at great length by Henry Jocelyn, Ambrose "Bouden," John Libby, Sr., John Libby, Jr., John "Makenny," and others (twenty-seven citizens in all), in part as follows: —

" Whereas Mr. Scottow of Boston Stood by us in all our streights and distresses during the late Warr with the Indians and not only encouraged us with his presence from April until January last, but alsoe releived us with a barrell of powder and all sorts of ammunition . . . when as there was no town Stock nor a pound of powder in the Town that we know of without which supply we and our familyes must either have been destroyed or our town deserted as Casco and Saco were, we being then for divers months the seat of war and having more houses than one of the Townes and above double the other burnt and consumed: and to keep us together since he hath this Spring helped us more with nere two hundred bushells of Indean and other Grain without which some of us could neither have planted nor sowne, some had ben pincht and others might have starved ;" they pray that the malicious persecutions of Mr. Foxwell and others may not prevail and "humbly crave that he [Scottow] may have all right and due encouragement and vindication." t

• Maine Historical Society Collection, vol. 3 : 83. t Bodge's King Philip's War : 333-334.

With the renewal of Indian hostilities, all differences were removed, since on August 1, 1677, among those credited with active service under Captain Scottow were "John Markany," "Ambrose Boden," John Tenney, and others. In October following, "all the arms and ammunition then in the fort at Black Point were granted them for their proper defence;" and most of the company were still on duty in March, 1677-78.* The long-cherished idea of a new and stronger fort at Black Point culminated in commencing the erection of that stronghold in 1681; and it was" the most extensive fortification ever built in the town.

Several years more passed away, years of continued privation and terror. On July 11, 1689, Thomas Scottow, son to Captain Joshua, who was then in command of the Black Point fort, sent a message to the General Court telling of the damage inflicted upon the towns of "Scarborough, ffalmout h and North Yarmouth," and "Severall firings on Chebeeg [Chebeague] Island," with a request for help from the authorities, as "without your assistance [the towns] will be deserted."f But the brave and long-continued defence of their lives and homes was finally abandoned. The destruction of Falmouth, May 15, 1690, was the signal for a general retreat of the inhabitants of Scarborough, and they wisely resolved to save their lives by flight. A letter from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, under date of May 22, 1690, stated that three or four hundred people, mostly women and children, had arrived in that town from the settlements along the Maine coast. Many of these families drifted into Massachusetts and Connecticut, and never returned.

The records of the town of Scarborough during its first settlement, if they ever existed, were lost. It is not known to what place John McKenneyremoved his family. He had a son Robert; but the records of Essex, Middlesex, or

• Bodge's King Philip's War: 339.

t Massachusetts Archives, Revolution, 1689: 189.

Suffolk Counties in Massachusetts do not show any definite trace of other children, unless Moses, Nathaniel, and Samuel "Kenney," of Boston, may be considered as probably his sons. These three do not appear to be connected with any others bearing the name, as the descendants of DanielMcKenney, of Dorchester, whose estate was administered in 1676, are well defined. John, son to Daniel, settled in Wrentham, Massachusetts, where he married and had a son William.*

The eldest son to Moses Kenney, of Boston, was John, and Nathaniel Kenney had a son Robert; while Samuel's only son was named for himself. The repetition of John and Robert suggests a connection with John, of Scarborough- f

ISSUE

I. RobertJ (vide infra); and possibly Moses, Nathaniel, and Samuel.

• Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Probate: Numbers 700, 6828, 6832.

t Moses Kenney and Margaret Leatherland were married in Boston by Isaac Addington, Esq., July 24, 1691. He was taxed ten shillings as j" Country Rate," 1692, in Boston. Issue born in Boston: Susanna, b. Feb. 13, 169192; John, b. July I, 1694. Vide Boston Births, Baptisms, Deaths and Marriages, 1630-99: 198, 196, 215.

Nathaniel Kenney, of Boston, a butcher (later a " victualler "), purchased of Mary Summers, Oct. 9, 1711, a house and land at the North End of Boston, bounded by " Gallop's Alley," and land of the heirs of John Green, deceased, land of Joseph Gallop, Samuel Green, and Benjamin Brame. Issue born in Boston, by wife Eliza or Elizabeth: Nathaniel, b. April to, 1709; Edward, b. Dec. 16, 1710, d. young; Edward, b. Feb. 26, 1712; Joseph, b. Feb. 16, 1713; Robert, b. Dec. 30, 1714; Eliza, b. Nov. 5, 1716; Benjamin, b. Sept. 17, 1710, Vide Suffolk County Deeds, Book 26: 634. Also Boston Births, 1700-1800: 62, 68, 76, 94, 102, 114, 137.

Samuel Kenney, of Boston, "Trunk maker," and wife Abigail, for ^120, conveyed to Henry Hill, of Boston, June 17, 1719, what appears to have been their homestead, situated "at the Southerly end of Boston . . . bounded westerly on Summer street so called." Issue born in Boston: Abigail, b. Jan. 4, 1705; Samuel, b. Feb. 28, 1707; Mary, b. Nov. 17, 1709; Sarah, b. March 8, 1711 ; Susanna, b. March 5, 1714; Hannah, b. July 21, 1717; Lydia, b. May 6, 1719; Ann, b. March 28, 1721. Vide Suffolk County Deeds, Book 34: 29. Also Boston Births, 1700-1800: 35, 52, 62, 80, 102, 126, 140, 151.