Kitty Kenney

Caroline "Kitty" Kenney (1880 – 1952) was a sister of Annie Kenney, one of the most well known British suffragettes to go on hunger strike,[1] for whom the Blaythwayts planted commemorative trees[2] in their Eagle House garden in Batheaston. Her other sister Jessie Kenney was abroad when they discovered her involvement in explosives.[3]

Kitty Kenney
Kenney by Colonel Linley Blathwayt at Eagle House
Born	Caroline Kenney 1880 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Died	1952 United States of America
Nationality	British
Education	Maria Montessori
Occupation	Headteacher
Known for	Suffragette

Biography

Caroline (Kitty) was the sixth child (of 12 siblings, only 11 of whom survived infancy)[4] and one of the seven daughters of Horatio Nelson Kenney (1849–1912) and Anne Wood (1852–1905). Her sisters included Sarah (Nell), Ann (Annie), Jessica (Jessie), Alice and Jane (Jennie). Annie and Jessie took leading roles in the Women's Social and Political Union. Kitty and Jennie had been trained by Maria Montessori. They were employed; they ran a recovery centre for suffragettes in Kensington at a gothic pile known as Tower Cressy. The suffragettes needed to convalesce after they had been imprisoned and force-fed.[5]

Suffragette's Rest

Jennie and Kitty Kenney, Florence Haig, Marion Wallace-Dunlop, Mary Blathwayt and Annie Kenney at Eagle House

In August 1909 Kitty was first invited to Eagle House to join her two sisters.[3]

In 1910, Kitty and her sister Jennie, who were both teachers, joined Annie at Eagle House, home of the Blaythwayts which was also known as the Suffragette's Rest during the summer, to recuperate from illness. Both had surgery and further nursing care from the Blaythwayts and remained at Batheaston for some months.[6]

Kitty Kenney had been given a Hunger Strike Medal 'for Valour' by WSPU.

Adela Pankhurst, Kitty and Annie Kenney, 1910

America

In 1916 the Lennox School, a primary school to prepare girls to enter the Finch School, was founded in New York.[7] The Lennox School employed Kitty and Jennie Kenney as joint heads until they retired in 1929.[5]

Kitty moved to Philadelphia and then finally to California. She died in 1952.[5]

See also

• Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom

References

1. The Militant Suffrage Movement : Citizenship and Resistance in Britain, by Laura E. Nym Mayhall, Assistant Professor of History Catholic University of America
2. "'Lost arboretum' project to honour Bath suffragettes".
3. Elizabeth Crawford (2 September 2003). The Women's Suffrage Movement: A Reference Guide 1866-1928. Routledge. p. 320. ISBN 1-135-43402-6.
4. Woodhead, Geoffrey (2003). The Kenney family of Springhead. The Working Class Movement Library, Salford.
5. "THE KENNEY PAPERS A Guide". University of East Anglia. 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
6. Rayburn, Antonia (1973). The Militant Suffragettes. London, UK: Michael Joseph Ltd. p. 142. ISBN 0 7181 1020 X.
7. "JESSICA COSGRAVE, EDUCATOR,. 78, DIES: Founded Girls' School, Now Finch Junior College – Was Widow of Editor". The New York Times. 1 November 1949. Retrieved 20 November 2015.