Author: Kennedy, John
Biography:
Kennedy, John (1788-1833: ODNB)
Born at Kilmarnock, he was the son of Joseph Kennedy, a weaver, and his wife, Margaret (Miscumming). He was educated at the local school and trained as a weaver, an occupation he disliked. In 1807 he enlisted with the Royal Ayrshire Militia and served for eight years before his discharge in 1815. He then returned to Kilmarnock and resumed work as a weaver. His strongly voiced political views and association with radical thinkers led to two brief periods of imprisonment at Ayr (1816-20). Private study had equipped him to become a teacher and, after a brief engagement at Kilmarnock, he took up a post at Chapel Green, near Kilsyth, in 1820. There, he married Janet Houston; the couple had five children. His satirical novel, Geordie Chalmers, or, the law in Glenbuckie, was issued posthumously.
(ancestry.co.uk 9 Sept 2019; ODNB 9 Sept 2019; James Paterson, ed. The Contemporaries of Burns [1840])