---------- From: J L RIDLEY[SMTP:lb3657@juno.com] Sent: Saturday, 10Oct98 7:42 PM To: KELLEY-L@rootsweb.com Subject: RE: Kelley vs Kelly Hi everybody, The other night, I was sharing some family geneaolgy records with an elderly family member. We happened to be looking at the 1850 Federal Census listing for Montgomery County, IN and I was showing the listing for an ancestor, John Kelley. I know it is the listing for him, because 3 of his children are still living in the household and 3 others are in the farms on either side of him. Our branch of the Kelley's has always spelled the last name with 'ey' at the end. However, on the listing it was just 'y'. I had noticed this the first time I saw it but didn't think it was a big deal since all the rest of the info matched. I just assumed that the census taker who came to the door spelled the name the way it sounded to him. My elderly relative, however, was quite upset, and absolutely sure that no matter how much of the other information matched, this gentleman could not be 'our John Kelley'. Why? Because the last name was spelled without the 'ey'. 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? Thanks, Jan Hi, I've heard the same thing, although as a genealogist, I understand that the misspellings are rampant in census records. Perhaps, the census taker spelled it the way it sounded, and your ancestor never saw the way he had spelled it, and assumed that the census taker had spelled it correctly. This is what was told to me by my Kelley grandparents "We spell it with an ey to differentiate ourselves from the heathens that drink". ( No offense to any of the Kelly's - please!) My Kelley's were Presbyterian, but what is kind of funny is I found after my grandmothers death, what can only be described as a holy card. I had written on the back Aunt Tillie Shawgo 1971. I believe that it must have come from a funeral on my grandmothers mothers side of the family. The Kelley line was on my grandfather's side. Interesting, isn't it?? TTYL, Janet