South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

Samuel Kennerly’s memorial marker dedicated

Pictured at the ceremony dedicating Samuel Kennerlys memorial marker, from left, are: Olde Towne Fenton Chapter members Nora Zimmer and Linda Kanevsky and Olivia Thomure, president of the Samuel Kennerly Society, Children of the American Revolution. Placing roses on the memorial marker is family member and retired U.S. Air Force Col. D.R. Kenerley.
Pictured at the ceremony dedicating Samuel Kennerly’s memorial marker, from left, are: Olde Towne Fenton Chapter members Nora Zimmer and Linda Kanevsky and Olivia Thomure, president of the Samuel Kennerly Society, Children of the American Revolution. Placing roses on the memorial marker is family member and retired U.S. Air Force Col. D.R. Kenerley.

The Olde Towne Fenton Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution hosted a ceremony May 17 to dedicate the memorial marker of Revolutionary War patriot Samuel Kennerly in Memorial Section B at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. The ceremony marked the end of a six-year quest to seek recognition for Samuel Kennerly and honor his service in the Revolutionary War. While Samuel Kennerly was buried in the Old Post section of the cemetery, his marker had deteriorated and was lost over time, so his exact grave location is unknown.

The ceremony, held in the cemetery’s chapel, included welcoming remarks by Linda Kanevsky, OTF Chapter Regent, and greetings by James Osbourn of the Spirit of St. Louis Sons of the American Revolution (SAR); William Grote, of the Fernando de Leyba SAR; Leslie Canavan-Richards, of the Colonial Daughters of the XVII Century; Margaret Carr, of the United States Daughters of 1812; and Boy Scout Pack 8256, of Kennerly Elementary School. Additional speakers included OTF Chapter Historic Preservation Co-Chair Nora Zimmer, OTF DAR Chapter Historian Paula Cliffe and Bill Groth, Color Guard Commander of the Missouri Society SAR. Carolyn Obremski, OTF DAR Chaplain, led attendees in prayer, and the Boy Scouts helped unveil the marker and place a wreath, followed by a musket salute from the Missouri Society SAR Musket Squad. Bugler Lisa Blackmore played “Taps.”

“On behalf of the thousands of Kennerly descendants living all across America today, thank you for joining this celebration and thanks again to the Olde Towne Fenton Chapter of the DAR, who certainly has kept the memory of our most precious ancestors, and what they stood for, alive and present with us today,” Kennerly’s descendant, retired U.S. Air Force Col. D.R. Kenerley, said during the ceremony.

Research by Zimmer and other researchers found that Kennerly was born in in 1954 in Culpepper County, Va., to James Kennerly and Elizabeth Winston James. According to a news release from the DAR OTF chapter that outlines Zimmer’s research, Kennerly volunteered for service twice during the Revolutionary War, with his first stint under Capt. Patrick Buchanan of Augusta County, Va. He marched with Buchanan’s company to the Tennessee River in June 1777 to fight against a Cherokee tribe.

The second time Kennerly volunteered, he joined the company of Capt. Thomas Rowland to go to North Carolina and join the army of Gen. Nathanael Greene for battles that included the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. During the battle, Kennerly took a cocked hat and feather from a British officer. He recovered from a wound from a ball hitting the side of his head at a hospital on the Dan River, where he tended to the wounded after his own wounds had healed.

When Kennerly was 86 years old, he moved to Missouri with his wife to live with his son, George Hancock Kennerly, who was the sutler, or civilian merchant, at Jefferson Barracks. Samuel Kennerly died at the home of his son on Feb. 3, 1840.

During the course of Zimmer’s research into Kennerly’s history, she found three living relatives of the Revolutionary War patriot, including Cathy Garcia of California, Judy Reyher of Colorado and Joan Kozar of Massachusetts. They agreed to allow the OTF DAR Chapter to represent them to request that the Veterans Administration place a memorial marker for Kennerly at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. After a five-year process, the VA granted the request last year.

Throughout 2015, the Daughters of the American Revolution will be celebrating 125 years of service to America. The DAR was founded on October 11, 1890 to promote historic preservation, education and patriotism. This significant anniversary is an incredible opportunity to share DAR’s fascinating history as well as our organization’s contemporary relevance. The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution is an international service organization with nearly 170,000 members in approximately 3,000 chapters worldwide, who are descended from the patriots of the American Revolution. For additional information on the DAR and its good works, visit

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