Samuel  A.  Kennedy,  M.D.,
Shelbyville

          Men are apt to be judged by what they have achieved in life.  The professional man is usually rewarded according to his merits; and, when we look into his history, we discover that he has been the architect of his own success; that, step by step, he has surmounted difficulties, and, by earnest, hard and honest industry, has removed obstacles that constantly arose in his path.  The subject of this sketch is a fair representative of a successful physician, who, by his own unaided efforts, has risen to the honorable position of being classed as one of the leading medical practitioners of Shelbyville.  The Doctor's great-grandfather, James Kennedy , was a native of Ireland, who emigrated to Maryland before the Revolutionary war, where the Doctor's grandfather, Andrew, was born, grew to maturity and learned the trade of a printer, moving to Northumberland Co., Penn., in 1792.  Here the Doctor's father, Andrew, first saw the light, grew up, and married Nancy McMullan, of that State, to whom were born twelve children, Samuel A., being the fifth in the family.  He was born in Northumberland Co., Penn., March 20, 1835, and his youth was passed in his native county, where he attended the common schools, also the Lewisburg Academy, which completed his literary education.  In 1853, Samuel A. Kennedy came to Shelby Co., Ind., and entered the office of his uncle, Dr. John Y. Kennedy, where he remained as a student three years.  During this time, viz., in the winter of 1854-55, also that of 1856-57, he attended lectures at the Ohio Medical College, graduating March 1, 1857.  He immediately located in practice at Fairland, and in 1859, moved to Shelbyville, where he has since continued in the enjoyment of an extensive and lucrative practice.  He was married, June 17, 1857, in Shelby Co., Ind., to Eliza M. Kennnedy, daughter of  Dr. John Y. Kennedy, to whom have been born six children.  Dr. Kennedy is a physician of more than ordinary ability, and in the sick chamber is kind and sympathetic, encouraging the patient to bear up under his afflictions, and inspiring in him a confidence of a speedy recovery.  In his every-day life he is free and courteous in his manners; and, by his uniformity of character and strict integrity in his professional career, he has won the respect and confidence of all classes.
Atlas of Shelby Co., Indiana, Chicago:  J.H. Beers & Co, 1880, p 28.

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