I thought I'd kill several birds with one stone here (please excuse the expression). First a success story: I have just recently discovered a direct Kelly line to my ancestors. I have received an answer to an inquiry letter I sent to Ireland. Turns out that this woman's mother was a niece to my great- grandfather. This woman lives on the farm that my g-grandfather emigrated from, in Co. Kerry (Killarney). It was mainly from working through all the great genealogy internet sites and from the info I had gotten from newsgroups like this, that I was able to reach this success. Thank you all for your help! As for the Kelly/Kelley spelling differences-I do believe a lot has to do with who was doing the spelling, but also it seems to be a bit of a choice wether to spell it with one e ot two e's. My very Catholic Kelly/Kelley line seemed to choose wether they wanted to spell it with one or two e's. My great- grandfather, Patrick, was baptised Patrick Kelly in Ireland, according to the church records. Also, his Certificate of US Citizenship from Salt Lake City, UT, spelled it 'Kelly'. He came to US with a sister and at least two brothers. One brother, John kept the Kelly spelling, he lived in Illinois. Patrick, and his brother Dennis, lived in Massachusetts, and changed their name to Kelley, but no one seems to know why. Kelley was my maiden name, but when looking for ancestors I look for both versions for good reason. I think it is wise for all of us to do so. And to whomever (I lost the name) was looking for Kelly relatives in NY, I do have a Kelly (possibly of the first name "Sheldon"), who was one of the brothers from the above mentioned family, who was from Mineville, NY (Essex Co.). What part of NY are your ancestors from? Best of luck to you all, Patsy