| Record Number |
890746 |
| ISBN |
9781432899165 |
| Author |
Thompson, Neal author. |
| Title |
The first Kennedys : the humble roots of an American dynasty / Neal Thompson. |
| Edition |
Large print edition. |
| Publisher/Date |
Waterville, Maine : Thorndike Press, 2022. |
| ©2022 |
| Pagination etc. |
563 pages (large print) : genealogical tables, map ; 23 cm. |
| Bibliography, etc. note |
Includes notes (pages 469-545) and bibliographical references (pages 547-559) |
| Summary Note |
Their Irish ancestry was a hallmark of the Kennedys' initial political profile, as JFK leveraged his working-class roots to connect with blue-collar voters. Today, we remember this iconic American family as the vanguard of wealth, power, and style rather than as the descendants of poor immigrants. Here at last, we meet the first American Kennedys, Patrick and Bridget, who arrived as many thousands of others did following the Great Famine - penniless and hungry. Less than a decade after their marriage in Boston, Patrick's sudden death left Bridget to raise their children single-handedly. Her rise from housemaid to shop owner in the face of rampant poverty and discrimination kept her family intact, allowing her only son P.J. to become a successful saloon owner and businessman. P.J. went on to become the first American Kennedy elected to public office - the first of many. Written by the grandson of an Irish immigrant couple and based on first-ever access to P.J. Kennedy's private papers, The First Kennedys is a story of sacrifice and survival, resistance and reinvention: an American story. |
| Subject - Name |
Kennedy, Patrick Joseph, -- 1858-1929 -- Family |
| Kennedy, Bridget Murphy, -- 1825?-1888 |
| Kennedy, Patrick Joseph, -- 1858-1929 |
| Kennedy family |
| Subject |
Immigrants -- Massachusetts -- Boston -- Biography |
| Irish American families -- Massachusetts -- Boston -- Biography |
| Biographies. |
| Large type books. |
| Shelf Location |
LP B KENN |
