Thomas Kennedy
(1776-1832)
The Maryland Constitution in 1818 maintained religious test requirements that effectively prohibited Jews from being elected to state office. Kennedy, a Scottish Presbyterian immigrant, was elected to the House of Delegates in 1817 from Washington County. Kennedy believed religious discrimination was wrong. He began a bitter, eight-year struggle culminating in 1826 with the constitutional changes that freed Jewish citizens of Maryland from political discrimination. Kennedy also served in the Maryland Senate and established the 'Hagerstown Mail' newspaper. He is buried in Rose Hill Cemetary.
Marker is on Potomac Street (Maryland Route 65) 0.1 miles south of Memorial Boulevard, on the left when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
