Tag Archives: Kelley family

Peeking in the House of the Widow Kelley (52 Ancestors #10)

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kitchen-630790_1280Elizabeth Kelley was a widow for half of her adult life. Her husband, Joseph, died in 1834, leaving Elizabeth to raise their young children. Their oldest child was only 14. Surprisingly, Elizabeth never remarried. Instead, she spent the rest of her days as the Widow Kelley.

Elizabeth — or Betsey, as she was sometimes called — lived in Hopewell Township, Perry County and it was there that she died in 1852. I’m confident that her house is no longer standing. I don’t have photos of it and I don’t have a time machine to go back and visit, but I can still get an idea of her household by looking at her estate papers. The inventory of her personal property included:1)FamilySearch.org, Ohio Probate Records, 1789-1996, Elizabeth Kelley estate, Perry County estate cases 171-173; Perry County Probate Court, New Lexington, Ohio.

6 bedsteads and bedding
1 bureau and 1 chest
Window paper and a bread bowl
Coffee pot and coffee mill
Crockery
A table with 6 chairs
Sheep shears
A copper kettle and a large iron pot
A cider mill and press
A wool wheel and reel
6 bread baskets
A 2-horse wagon and a 2-horse plow
3 cows and 4 hogs

The item that caught my eye:

kelley-estate

“1 atlas, old books, geography, &c &c”

All in all, a fairly typical mid-19th century Ohio farm house. But there’s something intimate about seeing the specifics of her household items. We can imagine a table with 6 chairs. We can imagine her covering her windows with window paper and grinding coffee beans in coffee mill. We can wonder who read the old books and did they use the atlas to learn more about their world?

I wouldn’t turn down a photo of Elizabeth’s house, but even if I had one, it wouldn’t give me such a good look inside.

References   [ + ]

1. FamilySearch.org, Ohio Probate Records, 1789-1996, Elizabeth Kelley estate, Perry County estate cases 171-173; Perry County Probate Court, New Lexington, Ohio.

Addie Sarah Kelley: The Maiden Aunt (52 Ancestors #4)

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Addie Sarah Kelley was the unmarried daughter who became the maiden aunt. She was born in 1869, the 5th child of John and Susan (Tucker) Kelley. There would be three more Kelley children who would come along later.

Of the five Kelley daughters, Addie was the only one who didn’t marry. She lived with family members her entire life. Her father, John, died in 1891; Susan was the head of the household in 19001)Susan Kelley household, 1900 federal census, Hopewell Twp., Perry County, Ohio, ED 62, sheet 5A, nos. 100/106., with Addie and her brother William and Jesse living with her. By 1910, Susan and Addie had moved in with William and his new wife Nora Edith2)William Kelley household, 1910 federal census, Hopewell Twp., Perry County, Ohio, ED 128, sheet 8A, nos. 185/185..

Susan died in 19143)Susan Kelly (sic) death certificate, certificate #10989 (1914), Ohio Historical Society, Columbus. Also available on FamilySearch.org. and Addie continued to live with her brother William and his family4)William Kelley household, 1920 federal census, Hopewell Twp., Perry County, Ohio, ED 65, sheet 1A, nos. 1/1.. Even after William’s sudden death in 19275)William Kelly (sic) death certificate, certificate #22222 (1927), Ohio Historical Society, Columbus. Also available on FamilySearch.org. , Addie continued to live with William’s widow and children6)Edith Kelley household, 1930 federal census, Hopewell Twp., Perry County, Ohio, ED 11, sheet 6A, nos. 123/123..

Who was Addie? Was she a dutiful daughter who felt obliged to take care of her widowed mother? Did Addie have a physical or mental challenge, and others were actually taking care of her? Was she bitter that her sisters and brothers married and she did not? Was she carefree, “unencumbered” from the responsibilities of having a family of her own, or was she protective of her nephews, viewing them as the sons she never had?

Addie died of a cerebral hemorrhage on 22 May 1936 and was buried in Highland Cemetery  in Glenford, Perry County four days later7)Addie Kelley death certificate, certificate #34195 (1936), Ohio Historical Society, Columbus. Also available on FamilySearch.org.. When the weather clears, I want to visit her grave. I have a feeling that Addie doesn’t have many visitors.

Addie Kelley 1920 Census

Addie Kelly (sic), 1920 census. 50, single, and living with her brother and his family.

References   [ + ]

1. Susan Kelley household, 1900 federal census, Hopewell Twp., Perry County, Ohio, ED 62, sheet 5A, nos. 100/106.
2. William Kelley household, 1910 federal census, Hopewell Twp., Perry County, Ohio, ED 128, sheet 8A, nos. 185/185.
3. Susan Kelly (sic) death certificate, certificate #10989 (1914), Ohio Historical Society, Columbus. Also available on FamilySearch.org.
4. William Kelley household, 1920 federal census, Hopewell Twp., Perry County, Ohio, ED 65, sheet 1A, nos. 1/1.
5. William Kelly (sic) death certificate, certificate #22222 (1927), Ohio Historical Society, Columbus. Also available on FamilySearch.org.
6. Edith Kelley household, 1930 federal census, Hopewell Twp., Perry County, Ohio, ED 11, sheet 6A, nos. 123/123.
7. Addie Kelley death certificate, certificate #34195 (1936), Ohio Historical Society, Columbus. Also available on FamilySearch.org.

How I Found My Orphaned Milkmaid (Susan Tucker Kelley – 52 Ancestors #40)

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Susan (Tucker) Kelley

Susan (Tucker) Kelley

Finding the parents is the ultimate question in genealogy. The parents of my great-great-grandmother Susan Tucker should have been easy to trace. But the search for Susan and her origins ended up being the case study I used when I applied to become a Certified Genealogist.

Discovering Susan’s maiden name wasn’t difficult. I first found it on the death certificate of Susan’s daughter, my great-grandmother Melzena Kelley Ramsey. 1)Melzena Ramsey death certificate, certificate #41254 (1914), Ohio Historical Society, Columbus. Also available on FamilySearch.org. I had also quickly found the burial place for Susan and her husband John Kelley in Hopewell Methodist Episcopal Cemetery in Perry County, Ohio. 2)Susan Kelley, FindAGrave.com. The tombstone listed Susan’s date of death as 23 February 1914. Bingo! She should have a death certificate and that should name her parents.

I found her death certificate 3)Susan Kelly (sic) death certificate, certificate #10989 (1914), Ohio Historical Society, Columbus. Also available on FamilySearch.org easy peasy. Her parents names, however…

Susan Kelly [sic] death certificate, Ohio certificate number 10989 (1914), downloaded from FamilySearch.

Susan Kelly [sic] death certificate, Ohio certificate number 10989 (1914), downloaded from FamilySearch.

Father: First part name unknown Tucker. Mother: Unknown.

Ok. Maybe her obituary has something.

susan-kelley-obitFinding that obituary 4)Mrs. Susan Kelly obituary, New Lexington (Ohio) Herald, 5 March 1914 was the shortest Genealogy Happy Dance in history. “Yes! I found it! Wait, it doesn’t tell me anything.” What about Susan’s marriage record to John Kelley?

John Kelley and Susan Tucker marriage, marriage volume 4, page 231, Perry County, Ohio. Downloaded from FamilySearch.

John Kelley and Susan Tucker marriage, marriage volume 4, page 231, Perry County, Ohio. Downloaded from FamilySearch.

That marriage record 5)John Kelley and Susan Tucker marriage, marriage volume 4, page 231, Perry County, Ohio. Downloaded from FamilySearch. was less than helpful. Hmmm, they didn’t get married until 1863. Susan should be in the 1850 and 1860 censuses with her parents.

Susan Tucker in Metzer Kindall [sic] household, 1850 U.S. census.

Susan Tucker in Metzer Kindall [sic] household, 1850 U.S. census.

Metzer Kendall household, 1860, Perry County, Ohio. [Note: this household goes across two pages; this image is a composite from both pages.]

Metzar Kendall household, 1860, Perry County, Ohio. [Note: this household goes across two pages; this image is a composite from both pages.]

Who are these Kendalls and why is Susan living with them in 1850 6)Metzer Kindall household, 1850 U.S. census, Hopewell township, Perry County, Ohio, page 384B. and 1860 7)Metzar Kendall household, 1860 U.S. census, Hopewell Township, Perry County, Ohio, page 413.? It was at this point that I started calling Susan “my little orphaned milkmaid.”

What I Did Next

I researched the people who I knew were in Susan’s family: her husband John Kelley and their children. After searching through probate, land records, county histories, and other records, I found no more clues as to Susan’s parents.

Since they didn’t give me the answers I sought, I turned to the next group of people I had associated with Susan: Metzer and Sarah Kendall. Who were they? Metzer Kendall married Sarah Nixon in Perry County in 1845. 8)Perry County, Ohio marriage volume 2-3, page 117, Perry County, Ohio Probate Court. I found no earlier marriages for Sarah, which seems to eliminate the possibility that Susan was her child from a previous marriage. Susan was not mentioned in any of their probate, land records, or in their biographies in the county history.

The Tuckers, Kendalls, and Nixons

I knew three things about this group: Susan was a Tucker, she lived with Metzer and Sarah Kendall, and Sarah Kendall’s maiden name was Nixon. Are there any other connections between the Tuckers, Kendalls, and Nixons? I found one:

William W. Tucker married Mary Ann Nixon in 1836 in Perry County.9)Perry County marriage volume 1, page 183, Perry County, Ohio Probate Court. The 1840 census of Jackson Township, Perry County lists a William W. Tucker with the following household:10)William W. Tucker household, 1840 U.S. Census, Jackson Township, Perry County, Ohio, page 130.

  • 1 male age 20-30
  • 1 male age < 5
  • 1 female age 15-20
  • 2 females < 5

This looks like a young family – a young husband and wife and three small children. Susan was born in 19 March 1840, so she would fit as one of the females under the age of 5.

Following William and Mary Ann, there were no clues in their land records; they sold all land that they purchased, and there are corresponding purchases for all the land they sold. No probate records have been found for them in either Perry or Hocking counties (where they also owned a small amount of land).

The Breakthrough

It was a short record in the Perry County Clerk of Courts records that started to crack the brick wall. On 29 January 1848, it was ordered that Levi Nixon be appointed guardian of:

  • Rachel Tucker, age 11 (born c1837)
  • Greenbery Tucker, age 9 (born c1839)
  • Susan Tucker, age 7 (born c1841)

Further, Isaac Nixon and Solomon Nunamaker were sureties with $100 bond.

Now we have even more of a connection between Tuckers and Nixons. Further, the age of the children exactly fit the ages of the children in William W. Tucker’s 1840 household. Also, the age for Susan in this January 1848 record is consistent with my Susan, since she wouldn’t have had her 8th birthday until March 1848.

The Final Piece

The next phase of research was into Levi Nixon and Isaac Nixon, the guardian and the surety. The History of Fairfield and Perry Counties, Ohio (1883) noted that Levi was the son of Robert and Catherine Nixon.

Robert Nixon’s will, dated 1828, was probated in Perry County. It names the following:

  • wife Catherine
  • sons John, Levi, Isaac, Jonathan and Elijah
  • daughters Elizabeth, Mary Ann, Susannah, and Sarah

All of the Nixons who have a connection with Susan Tucker are in this record. Guardian Levi. Surety Isaac. Foster mother (for lack of a better term) Sarah. Knowing that things like guardianships and sureties typically were not carried out by strangers, my conclusion is the following:

Susan Tucker was the daughter of William and Mary Ann (Nixon) Tucker. Something happened to William and Mary Ann between 1840 and 1848. They had no outstanding property in 1848, so there was no probate. The legal interests of the Tucker children were small, accounting for the small amount of the surety. Susan’s guardian was her uncle Levi, with surety provided by her uncle Isaac. Susan actually lived with her aunt Sarah.

No one piece of documentation states that Susan Tucker was the daughter of William Tucker and Mary Ann Nixon, or that Susan was the granddaughter of Robert Nixon. But taken as a whole, this conclusion fits the facts.

References   [ + ]

1. Melzena Ramsey death certificate, certificate #41254 (1914), Ohio Historical Society, Columbus. Also available on FamilySearch.org.
2. Susan Kelley, FindAGrave.com.
3. Susan Kelly (sic) death certificate, certificate #10989 (1914), Ohio Historical Society, Columbus. Also available on FamilySearch.org
4. Mrs. Susan Kelly obituary, New Lexington (Ohio) Herald, 5 March 1914
5. John Kelley and Susan Tucker marriage, marriage volume 4, page 231, Perry County, Ohio. Downloaded from FamilySearch.
6. Metzer Kindall household, 1850 U.S. census, Hopewell township, Perry County, Ohio, page 384B.
7. Metzar Kendall household, 1860 U.S. census, Hopewell Township, Perry County, Ohio, page 413.
8. Perry County, Ohio marriage volume 2-3, page 117, Perry County, Ohio Probate Court.
9. Perry County marriage volume 1, page 183, Perry County, Ohio Probate Court.
10. William W. Tucker household, 1840 U.S. Census, Jackson Township, Perry County, Ohio, page 130.

Read the Instructions… If You Can

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Yesterday, I mused about my great-great-grandfather John Kelley and why he’s listed on the 1860 agricultural schedule with no livestock and no crops. I gave three theories why this might be:

  • He raised something completely different, something that isn’t listed on the schedule.
  • He didn’t tell the enumerator what he raised.
  • The enumerator didn’t write it down or didn’t copy it over from his notes to this final copy.

No Story Too Small readers are awesome! Some came up with additional theories. Jade pointed out that the schedule was supposed to report the activity of the year prior to the official census date of June 2; perhaps John had recently acquired the land and hadn’t yet harvested anything. Great suggestion! In this case, however, John had acquired the land after his mother died in 1852.

Jade also wondered if there was a crop failure. We can’t discount that. (I’ve often said that if you want to gamble, don’t go to Vegas; just own a farm.)

Purslaneforever wondered if perhaps John leased the farm to someone else and that’s why the crops don’t show up. That got me wondering — how would a leased farm show up in the 1860 agricultural schedule? Would it be under the land owner or the person leasing it?

I couldn’t find the enumerator instructions for the 1860 agricultural schedule. There’s good reason for that. According to the Census Bureau, “No printed instructions were issued with reference to the schedules of 1860.” (Instructions for 1850 – 1900 are available as a PDF from the Census Bureau).

1860-instructions

Really? They give the enumerators a form with 48 columns without any instructions?!

There were instructions for the 1850 schedule:

“1. Under heading 1, entitled ‘Name of individual managing his farm or plantation,’ insert the name of the person residing upon or having charge of the farm, whether as owner, agent, or tenant.”

The enumerator in 1860 (Dawson (?) Teal) was not the same enumerator as 1850 (J. Shelley). Would he have followed the 1850 instructions and listed farms under the name of the person having charge of the farm (in other words, the lessee/tenant)? Or would he have listed everything under the owner, regardless of who had charge? Or would he have split the two: listing the land under the owner and the crops and livestock under the lessee/tenant?

Unfortunately, we may never know. My experience with Perry County land records is that leases were not commonly recorded in this time period. Also, there would be informal arrangements that wouldn’t even have been written down, let alone recorded at the courthouse.

So, we should add a fourth possibility to why John Kelley didn’t have any livestock or crops listed:

  • He leased the land to someone else and the enumerator opted to list the crops and livestock with the lessee.

I’m a big proponent of going through the enumerator’s instructions to see how they were supposed to record things. It would have helped had the 1860 agricultural schedule had some instructions!

Not John Kelley's farm, but for some reason, this is how I picture it. Maybe I'm just bitter that I don't know what he raised in 1860.

Not John Kelley’s farm, but for some reason, this is how I picture it. Maybe I’m just bitter that I don’t know what he raised in 1860.

Was John Kelley Really a Dirt Farmer? (52 Ancestors #31)

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I’m going to admit something right off the bat. I’m a non-population census geek. (I hope you were sitting down for that one.) As genealogists, we use the census to build the foundation of our research (at least in the U.S. for the period 1790-1940). But the part that we most often use — the pages that list the people who were living in the household — is just one part of many censuses. It’s called the “population schedule.”

Some census years had other schedules. Some of them focused on agriculture, while others focused on industry. In 1880, there was even a schedule for the “Defective, Dependent, and Delinquent” classes. (Give me some time with the DDD schedule and I’m a happy, happy girl.) These “other” census schedules can give us more context around our ancestors. Or, in the case of John Kelley, not so much…

John Kelley, my great-great-grandfather, was born in Ohio (probably Perry County) in 1820. In 1860, he was living alone in Hopewell Township. (He wouldn’t marry Susan Tucker, my great-great-grandmother, until 1863.) The 1860 census lists his occupation like it lists most of my ancestors: “farmer.”

John Kelley, 1860 U.S. census, population schedule, Hopewell Township, Perry County, Ohio, p. 404, household 1090, family 1056.

John Kelley, 1860 U.S. census, population schedule, Hopewell Township, Perry County, Ohio, p. 404, household 1090, family 1056.

$3000 worth of real estate and $150 worth of personal property. Not bad. But what did John grow on that farm? I turned to the 1860 agricultural schedule to find out.

1860 agriculture schedule, Hopewell Township, Perry County, Ohio.

1860 agriculture schedule, Hopewell Township, Perry County, Ohio.

So he had 55 acres of improved land, 23 acres of unimproved land, and a horse. No livestock — not even a cow. Hmmm…  He must have raised some crops…

john-kelley-1860-ag4aNo wheat, rye, corn, oats, rice, tobacco, ginned cotton, or wool. Let’s scroll to the next page where more crops are listed…

john-kelley-1860-ag2aNo peas, potatoes, barley, or buckwheat. No butter, cheese, hay, or clover.

john-kelley-1860-ag3aNo hemp (yes, it was a real crop), flax or flax seed. No silk cocoons (I keep hoping to find an ancestor who had some), maple sugar, cane sugar, or molasses. No honey and no beeswax.

What did John raise on that farm?! For 1860, I still don’t know. The possibilities are:

  • He raised something completely different, something that isn’t listed on the schedule.
  • He didn’t tell the enumerator what he raised.
  • The enumerator didn’t write it down or didn’t copy it over from his notes to this final copy.

There is a fourth possibility. I’ve joked for years that I come from a long line of dirt farmers. Maybe John Kelley really was one.

John Kelley died 7 July 1891 and is buried in Hopewell Methodist Church Cemetery in Perry County, Ohio.

EDIT: I’ve formed another possibility about John’s listing in the 1860 agricultural schedule.