Good morning all, I am looking for information on Hannah Kelly who married John Garvey in 1870 at St Anne's Church, Ancoats, Manchester England. They had two daughters born in England Ann in 1872 and Martha in 1873. They came to the US in 1874. Hannah was born in England in 1851 to Patrick Kelly and Anna Gavin. She also had a brother William. Does anyone have any information on any of these folks or any ideas how I can find more info on Patrick, Anna and William? Thanks and have a nice day. Pat lennie@ids.net

An index on records and other places shows my Giles Kelley as Jiles(Giles) Kell(e)y Guess that is because all of the census takers, will makers and other people just spelled it like someone else they knew or sounded it out....sometime the documents had it spelled several different ways. Maybe the writer was Catholic and so he spelled it Kelly and so on. June March jmarch@pe.net

The spelling issue seems to have gotten quite a lot of interest. I have no information to shed on the subject, but an interesting family story. My wife's g grandfather, Baron DeKalb Kelley ( Cal), was the family troublemaker. The family, by the way, is Baptist and has a bunch of preachers in it. He for some reason always insisted the family was misspelling the name and it should be Kelly. None of the family history I have been able to track indicates this. On various documents he listed his name as Kelly. His wife, Virginia Fitzgerald Lauder Kelly, died first and is buried in the family plot at Concord Baptist Church, Anderson Co., TX and tombstone reads Kelly. Next to her is buried Baron DeKalb Kelley. The family got back at him. When he died, they buried him as Kelley. It took me a while to find out why there was a Kelly and a Kelley buried side by side in the Kelley plot.

Jan, Adelle, et al - I don't think spelling is a reliable indicator of religious affiliation. My family, Scotch-Irish Presbyterians for as far back as I can trace, spell their name "Kelly." Several sets of "official" records, however, sometimes within a single family group, spell it "Kelley" some years and "Kelly" during other years. Ernie Kelly (or Kelley) (Ernest McNeill Kelly, III) Orlando, FL

My Kelly/Kelleys started out in the 1700's spelling their name Kelley and it would appear that my grandfather changed it to Kelly in the 1880's. Some of my Kelly relatives still spell it Kelley. We are and as near as I can tell always have been Irish Protestants. If the reason your elderly relative gives is valid it has probably been lost in obscurity. It appears now to be a matter of preference. I am sure that census takers took all sorts of liberty with spelling all sorts of names. My Baer relatives are just as likely to end up Bear. Maureen

Dear Kelley/ Kelly researchers, Have been reading this page for some time now and I must admit to a quite unhappy feeling. The information that I have on the Kelley's / Kelly's I am seeking is quite small and none of it can be proven, except that I am here. Anyway thought I would put it out there for whatever reason and see what happens: my Gggrandfather Marion (may be William Marion) Kelly was born Sept 1856 think in Illinois, married Gggrandmother Elizabeth Holder (may have been married to a ??? Quillman) no dates. Elizabeth may have been born 1859 in Illinois. They had 7 Children, David L, born 1875 DuQuoin, Illinois Henry Kelly, born 1877 DuQuoin, Illinois Emily Alice or Alice Emily (depending on the source) born Jan 22 1880 DuQuoin, Illinois, married Willis F. Comstock at Rabbit Row, Lindsay, Lawrence County, Arkansas Feb 10 1895. She died July 26 1939 in Neodasha, Kansas. This is my Ggrandmother. Other children were Sarah Jane, born 1885 may have married ??? Comfort, George E, born 1889 may have moved to Maryland and then to NJ, Nora E, born 1891 may have married ??? Medlock, and William F. born 1896, died 1959 buried in Allen Cemetery, Raymondville, Missouri. Opps! last 4 kids were born in Missouri. And that's it folks!!!! Thanks Barbara

Looking for anyone that may be working on the line of Nicholas Kelly who married Temperance Cromwell on 08 Jan 1807 in Jessamine County, Ky. Her siblings moved to Clay and Owen Counties, In ca 1825.

Here's my story on the topic. When my KELLEY ancestor's first came over from Ireland they settled in Prince Edward Island, Canada. All Candaian records whether be it the Census, or Baptismal records (they were Catholic) show the spelling as KELLY. However, here in the US, all there death certificates, grave markers and other documents say KELLEY. They remained Catholic. Go figure

Well, I have read all the discussion about the KELLEY-KELLY spellings for the last few days and still am not any closer to finding the KELLEY that I need. Its seems that my KELLEY'S have disappeared from this world. I know a lot of them came over here from the "Old" country and the Irish are second to the Germans in settling here but when it comes to tracing them down I have hit a blank wall. I'm not as lucky as most of you are by having been able to go back into the last 2 centuries...........I'm still stuck in the 20th century. HELP. Looking for James Herschel KELLEY b. 1904 or 1905 . Athens TN? m. May 17,1922..Winifred Larose HEDGE one child.dau.Jean Colleen I have the HEDGE side but have nothing on the KELLEY side. I do not know who James parents were. He had a sister Pauline. age unknown. Any help you can give me will be appreciated very much. Jean

Although this thread has been hashed out here before I wish to state for record that maybe, just maybe in the beginning this sort of thing were true....but, in fact is not true to date. My spelling as you can tell is with 'y' but, am not Catholic nor were any of my ancestors as far back as I can date them. I am sure others on this list will also verify the spelling sort of thing...... Mike Kelly firewalker@gibralter.net AKELLY9@aol.com wrote: > > In a message dated 10/10/98 5:43:46 PM Pacific Daylight Time, lb3657@juno.com > writes: > > Dear Jan: > > My understanding of the different spelling of Kell(e)y is the same as your > relative's -- Kelly = Catholic and Kelley = Protestant. Of course mistakes > sure could have happened in recording the names. > > Adelle Kelly > > > I am told by my relative that to spell Kelley with just the 'y', indicates > that the >bearer of the name was an Irish Catholic, and that the 'ey' ending > indicates that > > he/she was a Protestant Irishman, and no self-respecting Protestant > > Kelley would allow the name to be spelled with just the Y. Is my elderly > > relative imagining things? Or am I the only one who has never heard this > > before? > > ==== KELLEY Mailing List ==== > If you have problems or questions about the KELLEY list, please contact me separately by email, ... Paula Kelley Ward (listowner) at: pward@express-news.net

My ancestors, at least as far back in the mid-1700s that I can go, seemed to have always spelled their name KELLEY. Now, they were devout Presbyterians until moving to Bradley Co., TN. I understand several of them became Baptists only because there was no Presbyterian church nearby. I have found only one of them whose name was spelled KELLY -- again due to someone else's error. Part of my family had a house on the Chickamauga Battlefield (s. of Chattanooga, TN) for which a replica was erected on the same spot. Unfortunately for researchers, they have mistakenly named it the "KELLY" House. Does anyone know if the Cumberland Presbyterians were Scotch-Irish rather than Irish ancestry? I don't know for certain, but I am suspecting the Richard, Matthew and John KELLEY who were listed as passenger arrivals from Ireland to Boston in 1765 may have been my KELLEY family. There was also a John KILLEY listed as arriving in 1766, which I believe to have been a misspelling of the KELLEY name. Any leads or suggestions? Pam

My Kelly line is from Dublin and Kildare and have always spelt their name Kelly, and they are protestant. Some surnames I am researching I find I can have up to three different spellings for the same name. Ruth

Hi everyone, When I find any KELLY/KELLEY in the courthouse I am researching I will post them. I found this names in the marriage records: Jessie P. KELLEY married Maggie FREEMAN 12/22/1894 FALLS county TX L. B. KELLY married Della ADKINSON 12/21/1894 Falls county TX If you would like a copy let me know, it will cost $1.00. Theresa Carhart P.O. Box 755 Marlin, TX 76661 theresac@gte.net (main server) or TheresaGen@aol.com (only aol people)

>Subject: RE: Kelley vs Kelly >To: KELLEY-L@rootsweb.com >Resent-From: KELLEY-L@rootsweb.com >X-Mailing-List: <KELLEY-L@rootsweb. >X-Loop: KELLEY-L@rootsweb.com >Resent-Sender: KELLEY-L-request@rootsweb.com My Kelley family, from New York, with an "ey" ending, was Catholic also. Anyone researching NY KELLEY. >==== KELLEY Mailing List ==== >Please share your KELLEY success story with the list. It will give the rest of us hope. : ) > > > > > > > > Theresa Carhart P.O. Box 755 Marlin, TX 76661 theresac@gte.net (main server) or TheresaGen@aol.com (only aol people)

I've heard that same story: Kell*Y* = Catholic, and Kell*EY* = Protestant. Could be. KELLEY is a spelling rarely found in Ireland, I am told. If you are from Ireland, you probably spell the name KELLY. Perhaps our Irish subscribers (who live in Ireland) will comment on this. My family has spelled the name "Kelley" at least as far back as my 3rd-g grandfather, George W. Kelley, and he was a Primitive Baptist preacher in Franklin and Floyd Counties VA. He had an uncle and other relatives who were also Primitive Baptist preachers, in VA and KY. Our oldest family tradition is that this name was originally "O'KELLEY" and that the immigrant ancestor came from Ireland in approximately (best guess) 1690 to Virginia. Since it seems to fit in with this discussion, I am including some notes at the bottom of this message concerning Baptists in England and why they came to the Colonies. Records for the Rev. George W. Kelley have both spellings in them...sometimes in the same document. Of course that could have been county clerks spelling it the way they thought it was spelled. My grandfather was one of five children; one of his brothers spelled the name *without* the "E" while the rest of the family spelled it *with* the "E." My theory is that my ancestors couldn't spell. I know people didn't concern themselves much with consistency in spelling prior to the 20th century, and I think that had something to do with it. In my genealogical software, I have chosen to use the "KELLEY" spelling, for consistency in record-keeping. When I find a record with a different spelling, I note this in my research notes. A few years ago I was corresponding with a Kelley/Kelly researcher who had a lot of information about my family. She chose to spell the name "KELLY" throughout her database and asked if I minded about this. Well, since she included me, my siblings and my parents, etc., in her records, I most certainly did mind! Our name is KELLEY, not KELLY. (Woof!) Here is what another Kelley/Kelly researcher shared with me recently: "My Kelleys came from London to Detroit about 1872. The records in England I've found so far spell the name Kelly. It appears they started spelling the name Kelley over here. My guess is that in the 1870s, it wasn't cool to be Irish so the Brits that had Irish surnames, adapted the spelling to indicate they were different and not to be confused with their Irish counterparts. That's my theory anyway and I'm sticking to it until I find something different." BAPTIST CHURCH in Franklin County, VA, brief history: "...[one of the largest] non-German (generally English) groups [was] the Baptist denomination, which grew largely from roots in the North Carolina Piedmont and in Pittsylvania County... "The Baptists are another religious denomination that has been active in Franklin County for about the same length of time as the Brethren--perhaps even longer. The English Baptists were separatists from the Church of England who also embraced the baptism of adult believers. They were considered dangerous and were persecuted both in England and in the colonies because they espoused religious freedom and independent thought. Although Baptists were active in England in the early 1600s, they were little noticed in the colonies until the Great Awakening, the era of spiritual revival and reawakening that swept through the North American colonies, especially New England, between 1720 and 1760. The evangelizing methods of the Baptists made them an anathema to the Church of England authorities, especially in Virginia, where persecution kept their numbers small...." Source: "Franklin County, Virginia 1786-1986, A Bicentennial History," by John S. Salmon and Emily J. Salmon, 1993, pp. 188-197. Paula Kelley Ward San Antonio, Texas pward@express-news.net "Genealogy is the art of confusing the dead and irritating the living.”

My Kelley family, with an "ey" ending, was Catholic.

I am looking for info. on a John Kelley line. He arrived in NC from Ireland in 1771. There he supposedly married Anna Hunter, taught school, and had three sons: John,Jr., Joseph, and Andrew. After fighting in the Rev. War, he can be found with his sons in Greeneville, TN but there is no mention of Anna. Later he is shown to be married to "Margaret" and they had several more children. If anyone has any info on this line, I would really appreciate hearing from you! Thanks, Kelley Rimer

The story in my family is just about identical to yours. My father and grandfather being devout protestants spelled our name Kelley and let it be known that it had been that way forever. A couple of generations earlier they were all spelling it Kelly and they seem to have been protestants also. I think most Kellys and a lot of us Kelleys are traceable to Catholic Kellys in Ireland. Of course when you go thru a couple of generations on the frontier where many were illiterate, your name is apt to be spelled the way the census taker or preacher heard it, and some apparently didn't hear or spell well. --------Ed Kelley

In a message dated 10/10/98 5:43:46 PM Pacific Daylight Time, lb3657@juno.com writes: Dear Jan: My understanding of the different spelling of Kell(e)y is the same as your relative's -- Kelly = Catholic and Kelley = Protestant. Of course mistakes sure could have happened in recording the names. Adelle Kelly > I am told by my relative that to spell Kelley with just the 'y', indicates that the >bearer of the name was an Irish Catholic, and that the 'ey' ending indicates that > he/she was a Protestant Irishman, and no self-respecting Protestant > Kelley would allow the name to be spelled with just the Y. Is my elderly > relative imagining things? Or am I the only one who has never heard this > before?

I have never found a record of my Kelley's with an "e", but unfortunately never knew my grandfather's side of the family. But even the marriage records and census always spelled my family name with an "ey".