Events
Date of Birth: about 1766.
Martha’s age is given as 61 in her burial record. Her marriage bond, however, gives her age as 28, implying a date of birth of about 1764.
Date of Baptism: 8 October 1766.
Place of Baptism: Whitehaven, St James.
The baptism is recorded in the bishop’s transcripts to the parish registers.
Date of Burial: 2 June 1828.
Place of Burial: Whitehaven, St Nicholas.
Stout gives the burial in his transcription of the parish register.
Relationships
Father: Robert Bell.
Mother: uncertain.
See the Commentary section.
Spouse: John Kennedy. Married 15 December 1792 in Whitehaven (St James’).
This marriage is given in the bishop’s transcripts to the parish registers.
Children:
(Complete source citations for facts about the children on this page are currently outside of the scope of this project. The baptisms were at St James, Whitehaven.)
Francis Kennedy (baptized 13 November 1791).
Robert Kennedy (baptized 8 October 1793 - died 6 February 1860) married (1) Ann Sibson 17 February 1822 in Whitehaven (St Nicholas’); married (2) Jane Black 4 April 1825 in St Bees, Cumberland.
Sarah Kennedy (baptized 30 November 1794).
Mary Kennedy (born about 1795 - died 21 November 1839) married Samuel Hinde 17 November 1817 in Whitehaven (St James’).
John Kennedy (baptized 30 October 1796).
Archibald Kennedy (baptized 15 July 1798).
Martha Kennedy (born 10 June 1803) married Joseph Irvin 25 December 1830 in Whitehaven (St James’).
Evidence
Martha’s burial (Whitehaven, St Nicholas):
Martha Kennedy Queen Street [aged] 61 June 2nd [1828]
Death Notice in Ware's Whitehaven Advertiser (3 June 1828):
in Queen Street, Mrs. Kennedy, wife of Mr. John Kennedy, master of the Nimble, Liverpool trader, advanced in years.
Commentary
Martha’s parentage
Martha’s age, 61, recorded in her 2 June 1828 burial entry implies a birth date between June 1766 and June 1767. This exactly fits the baptism of Martha Bell at St James’, Whitehaven, 8 October 1766 (father Robert Bell). The marriage bond for Martha’s 1792 marriage gave her age as 28, which would imply a birth a couple of years earlier. Since the age given in the burial record is corroborated by the baptism record, I assume it is the age in the marriage bond which is somewhat off.
There was more than one Robert Bell having children baptized in Whitehaven in the period. One had married Margaret Hamilton in 1759 and another had married Mary Ballard in 1765, both marriages taking place in Whitehaven. There was probably also a third Robert Bell with an unknown wife. It is not clear to me which couple were the parents of Martha.
References
John Kennedy and Martha Bell marriage, Whitehaven, Cumberland (Holy Trinity) bishop’s transcripts of the parish register; FHL microfilm 90678, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Martha Bell baptism, Whitehaven, Cumberland (St James’), bishop’s transcripts of the parish register; FHL microfilm 90680, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Stout, H.B. (transcriber). The Registers of St. Nicholas Church, Whitehaven, Part 3: Burials 1694 - 1837. Cumbria Family History Society, 2002.