OneofthereasonswhichinducedKennedythusearlytobeginthebusinessofmule-spinninghasbeenrelatedasfollows。WhileemployedasapprenticeatChowbent，hehappenedtosleepoverthemaster’sapartment；andlateoneevening，onthelatterreturningfrommarket，hiswifeaskedhissuccess。”I’vesoldtheeightys，”saidhe，”ataguineaapound。””What，”exclaimedthemistress，inaloudvoice，”soldtheeightysforONLYaguineaapound！Ineverheardofsuchathing。”Theapprenticecouldnothelpoverhearingtheremark，anditsethima-thinking。Heknewthepriceofcottonandthepriceoflabour，andconcludedtheremustbeaverylargemarginofprofit。Sosoonashewasoutofhistime，therefore，hedeterminedthatheshouldbecomeacottonspinner。
inasmallwayinManchesterin1791，inconjunctionwithtwootherworkmen，SandfordandMacConnel。Theirbusinesswasmachine-makingandmule-spinning，Kennedytakingthedirectionofthemachinedepartment。Thefirmatfirstputuptheirmulesforspinninginanyconvenientgarretstheycouldhireatalowrental。Aftersometime，theytookpartofasmallfactoryinCanalStreet，andcarriedontheirbusinessonalargerscale。KennedyandMacConnelafterwardsoccupiedalittlefactoryinthesamestreet，——sinceremovedtogiveplacetoFairbairn’slargemachineworks。Theprogressofthefirmwassteadyandevenrapid，andtheywentonbuildingmillsandextendingtheirbusiness——Mr。Kennedy，asheadvancedinlife，gatheringhonour，wealth，andtroopsoffriends。Notwithstandingthedefectsofhisearlyeducation，hewasoneofthefewmenofhisclasswhobecamedistinguishedforhisliterarylaboursinconnexionprincipallywiththecottontrade。Towardsthecloseofhislife，hepreparedseveralpapersofgreatinterestfortheLiteraryandPhilosophicalSocietyofManchester，whicharetobefoundprintedintheirProceedings；oneofthese，ontheInventionoftheMulebySamuelCrompton，wasforalongtimetheonlyrecordwhichthepublicpossessedofthemeritsandclaimsofthatdistinguishedinventor。
Hisknowledgeofthehistoryofthecottonmanufactureinitsvariousstages，andofmechanicalinventionsgenerally，wasmostextensiveandaccurate。AmonghisfriendshenumberedJamesWatt，whoplacedhissoninhisestablishmentforthepurposeofacquiringknowledgeandexperienceofhisprofession。AtamuchlaterperiodhenumberedGeorgeStephensonamonghisfriends，havingbeenoneofthefirstdirectorsoftheLiverpoolandManchesterRailway，andoneofthethreejudgesselectedbecauseofhissoundjudgmentandprovedimpartiality，aswellashisknowledgeofmechanicalengineeringtoadjudicateonthecelebratedcompetitionofLocomotivesatRainhill。
BythesesuccessivestepsdidthispoorScotchboybecomeoneoftheleadingmenofManchester，closinghislongandusefullifein1855
atanadvancedage，hismentalfacultiesremainingclearanduncloudedtothelast。Hisdeparturefromlifewashappyandtranquil——soeasythatitwasforatimedoubtfulwhetherhewasdeadorasleep。