KENNEDY, DAVID ELVIN, a well known, highly respected and prosperous farmer and stock-raiser in the vicinity of Jacksonville, Morgan County, Ill., and who is also successfully engaged in the livery business in that city, was born on Section 5, Township 16, Range 10, Morgan County, in July, 1864, a son of Naoman and Emily E. (Johnson) Kennedy, who are also natives of Illinois. At an early period his paternal grandfather, who was a farmer, with his wife and family, migrated from Ohio to Morgan County, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Naoman Kennedy, although a wagon-maker by trade, devoted his attention mainly to farming. He and his wife are living two miles north of Arcadia, Ill., in the home where their son David was born. The father owns 320 acres of land in Morgan County, devoted to general farming purposes. The parents are both members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which Naoman Kennedy has officiated as Steward and Trustee for many years. They are the parents of five children, namely: William A., of Mulvane, Kans.; Flora H. (Mrs. Dr. A. J. Ogram), of Jacksonville, Ill.; James H., who lives in Muskogee, I. T.; David E.; and John Edward, who is with his parents.

In his boyhood David E. Kennedy received his mental training in the district schools, and in 1881 entered the Jacksonville Business College, from which he was graduated February 13, 1883. He was reared as a tiller of the soil and a caretaker of the fine stock which his father raised, continuing in this occupation until he had the misfortune to lose his left arm in a shredding machine, November 29, 1901. After his recovery he went into the livery business in Jacksonville, in partnership with S. Thomas Erickson. The firm conducted a good business, but in a short time Mr. Kennedy purchased his partner's interest and is still its sole proprietor. He has a well equipped establishment of twenty-five horses, and caters to the light livery custom, being one of the best concerns of the kind in this section of the State.

Mr. Kennedy is the owner of 262 acres of fine farming and stock-raising land, divided into two farms, one of 140 and the other of 122 acres. One of these is rented, and the other devoted to the raising of fine road-horses. He has twenty-one colts, ranging to the age of three years, and of this number eighteen are as black as coal. They are "Nutwood" stock from the famous stallion "Oneida Nutwood," and represent one of the finest trotting breeds in the country. He also owns the noted saddle horse, "Dick Yates," famous for his numerous saddle progeny. In all, Mr. Kennedy has on his stock farm about thirty head of fine and blooded horses. He made the place his home until 1902, when he came to Jacksonville, where he has since resided. Besides his farms in Illinois, he is the owner of 160 acres of land in Gove County, Kans., which he devotes to grain-raising, and which, in 1903, yielded 3,174 bushels of wheat.

On August 11, 1887, Mr. Kennedy was married to Rosalind Heigold, a daughter of Charles Augustus and Harriet (James) Heigold. Their union has resulted in one child, Mamie Augusta, born February 7, 1899. In Politics, mr. Kennedy is an earnest and active Republican, and takes a lively interest in his party's success. In 1902 he was nominated for Assessor and Treasurer, but the Republican ticket was defeated. Religiously, he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. In fraternal circles, he is identified with the M.W.A. and M.P.L. He is one of the prominent citizens of the county, and is everywhere regarded as an intelligent honorable and useful member of the community.