Kennedy, John W. "Jay"
(born: 1915 - died: 2001)John William Kennedy was born in Bryantsville, KY. His family had worked on the J. Hogan Ballard tobacco farm and also worked with horses.
When Kennedy's father died around 1920, the family moved to New Kensington/Greensburg, PA. Throughout his life, Kennedy was well-known in the horse industry. Like many others, Kennedy is among the forgotten horsemen who were highlighted in the American Saddlebred Museum 2007 exhibit in Lexington, KY - Out of the Shadows: Bringing to Light Black Horsemen in Saddlebred History.
John W. Kennedy was also Grand Marshall of the Masons in Bridgeport, OH.
Additional information provided by Jane Kennedy-Ellis, daughter of John W. Kennedy.
For more information on the Black Horsemen, see the DVD Out of the Shadows, winner of a Silver Telly at the 28th Annual Telly Awards, available at the American Saddlebred Museum; and the NKAA entry on Black Horsemen.