BOSTON, Ky. — Tucked away behind rows of rickhouses at a James B. Beam Distilling Company property in Nelson County is a piece of American history. It’s the final resting place of over 100 people, whose graves date back to the 1700s. Buried there is John Kennady, who served in the Revolutionary War.
“I’m the seventh generation from him and I was lucky enough to find his cemetery five years ago,” Karyn Courtney, a descendent of Kennady said.
Karyn Courtney and her sister discovered her great great great great grandfather’s grave after her quest to find his final resting place led her to the Booker Noe Operations site.
Courtney describes seeing a bronze plaque through the overgrown brush, believed to be placed in front of his headstone in the 1970s. Instantly, she knew it was him.
“That was the only thing that made me know we had the right place,” Courtney said.
Once it was discovered, veterans and other workers at the nearby distillery made it their mission to take care of the newly rediscovered John Kennady Family Cemetery. They’ve spent the last five years working on the project, and finally completed it Friday.
The area has a new fence, pathway, and benches. Brush and weeds have all been cleared, and each headstone is now clearly visible.
It’s been a project family members like Courtney and her cousin Robert Kennedy are thankful for.
Courtney clarifies her family name, Kennady, has had several spellings throughout the years.
“You know, it looks so great and when they’re putting the gravel around them, you know that’s just very flattering,” Kennedy said.
“Seven generations later, they feel the obligation to honor someone who served back in the 1700s,” Courtney added.
John Kennady was born in 1741 in Pennsylvania. After his service, he enjoyed a long life before passing away at 60 in 1802. It’s believed his wife Elizabeth, and other family members, are buried at the cemetery as well.