Phoebe Kennelly

Signed family name

Kennelly

Signed given name

Phoebe

Given address

Jones Street

Sheet number

Town/Suburb

South Dunedin

City/Region

Dunedin

Notes

Biography contributed by Katherine Blakeley

Phoebe Joannah Scannell was born about 1854 in County Kerry, Ireland.

She emigrated to New Zealand in 1873 on the “Dilharree” where she married John Kennelly in 1880.

They had 10 children and when Phoebe signed the suffrage petition the family were living in Jones St, Dunedin where John worked as a coal merchant.

On 10 October 1914 Phoebe died suddenly at her home, an inquest was held which found that death was due to natural causes.

John died four days later – they are buried together in the Southern Cemetery.

Sources:

BDM online NZ https://bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/

DCC Cemetery Records http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries/cemeteries-search

Otago Nominal Index http://marvin.otago.ac.nz

Papers Past https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz

Archway http://ndhadeliver.natlib.govt.nz

Click on sheet number to see the 1893 petition sheet this signature appeared on. Digital copies of the sheets supplied by Archives New Zealand.

Community contributions

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Jo Kennelly Posted: 15 Mar 2025

NZ History appears to have conflated an Irish Phoebe Scannell (linked to the Dilharree) is the same person who married John Kennelly. Phoebe Johanna Smith married to John Kennelly was from Victoria. See details and sources below. Thank you, Jo

Birth: Phoebe Johanna Smith, born December 5, 1856, in Belfast, Victoria, Australia, to William Smith and Mary Ann Richardson (Victoria Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, Registration No. 2828/1857).
Migration: Moved to New Zealand by 1877 (age 20), though no specific ship is named.
Marriage: Married John Kennelly in 1880 in Greymouth, New Zealand (New Zealand Civil Records Indexes, Registration No. 1880/1528), listed as “Joannah Smith.”

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Jo Kennelly Posted: 15 Mar 2025

PS: She had nine children, not ten.

Michael Thomas Kennelly (1880–1932), the eldest son, arrived in 1880, registered simply as “Thomas” but known by his fuller name. He married Eleanor Grainger (1882–1962) in 1902, linking the Kennellys to another settler family. A skin merchant by trade, Michael Thomas operated out of Dunedin’s Crawford Street by 1911 (Tuapeka Times, March 11, 1911), dealing in rabbit skins and hides. His marriage produced three children: John Henry Grainger (1903–1987), who wed Kathleen Mary McBride in 1930; Ellenor Grainger (1904–1974), who remained unmarried; and Michael Thomas (1908–1968). Michael’s death in 1932 marked the end of the first branch’s patriarch.

John Henry Kennelly (1881–1958), born in 1881, carried his father’s name into a long life. Around 1907, he married Elizabeth Edith Lynn (1887–1977), forging a union that bore two sons: John Lynn (1909–1984), who wed Phyllis Winifred Loveless in 1934, and Alan Grant (1911–1985). John Henry’s steady presence in Dunedin saw him outlive many siblings, passing in 1958.

Patrick George Kennelly (1883–1948), born in 1883, married late at age 40 to Christina L’Estrange (1891–1969) in 1923. Their marriage yielded at least two children, including Christopher Charles (1926–2011), who later earned a St. John Ambulance certificate in 1940 (Otago Daily Times, November 19, 1940). Patrick’s death in 1948 closed a chapter of quiet stability.

Maurice Kennelly (1884–1920), born September 15, 1884, married Elizabeth Emily Pym (1886–1941) in 1908, a union cut short by his early death at 35 in 1920. Their son, John Joseph (1918–1975), was born just two years before Maurice’s passing, possibly from illness or injury, leaving Elizabeth to raise him alone. Maurice’s WWI dossier confirms John’s Kerry origins, a tie to his father’s roots.

Honora Mary Kennelly (1886–1952), the only daughter among the nine, arrived in 1886. Named perhaps for an Irish tradition of honoring family, she chose a solitary path, remaining unmarried and childless until her death in 1952. Her life in Dunedin, though less documented, added a quiet thread to the family’s story.

Edward Kennelly (1889–1951), born in 1889, followed his eldest brother into the skin trade, becoming a rabbit skin merchant at 207 Vogel Street, Dunedin, by 1937 (Otago Daily Times, October 23, 1937). He married Clarice Mary Harrod (1890–1990) in 1919, a partnership that lasted until his death and produced Edward Harrod Kennelly (1922–2004). Edward’s brush with a theft case in 1937 echoed his father’s earlier flair for trouble, though in a more commercial vein.

Charles Henry Kennelly (1892–1918), born June 30, 1892 (NZ Birth Index, Sep 1890), never married, his life truncated by war. Enlisting in 1917 (Service No. 63167), he died of wounds in France on October 12, 1918 (Evening Star, October 29, 1918), leaving no spouse or children but a legacy of sacrifice buried at Delsaux Farm Cemetery.

Francis Joseph Kennelly (1894–1963), born in 1894, lived a bachelor’s life, with no record of marriage or offspring. His 1944 gambling fine (New Zealand Herald, November 13, 1944) for playing “seven, eight, and pine” suggests a streak of his father’s spirited nature, tempered by a quieter existence until his death in 1963.

Martin James Kennelly (1898–1979), the youngest, born in 1898 in Dunedin, married Florence Maud Russell (1907–1998) in 1925 (NZ BDM 1925/3322). A wool classer in 1918, he rose to Power Board superintendent, fathering Maurice Charles (1927–2007), who wed Claire Agnes Reid, and Eileen Patricia (1936–2018), who married into the Malim family. Martin’s death in Auckland in 1979, buried at Waikumete Cemetery, capped a life of upward mobility.

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Jo Kennelly Posted: 15 Mar 2025

Apologies. Where did this information comes from?
Phoebe Joannah Scannell was born about 1854 in County Kerry, Ireland.
She emigrated to New Zealand in 1873 on the “Dilharree” where she married John Kennelly in 1880.
I might be wrong in prior remarks.
Thanks. Jo

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John Posted: 19 Oct 2025

Johanna "Phoebe" Kennelly was born 28 Jun 1848
County Kerry, Ireland
There is no record of her marrying John Kennelly, my grandfather. Johanna phoebe kennelly was born phoebe smith in 1857 in Belfast Victoria Australia (have her birth certificate and marriage certificate- the later from greymouth nz) She was my grand mother.

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