For years and years, researchers have been listing the wife of John Kelley Sr., who died in Fairfield County, South Carolina, in 1842 as Charity. The problem has been that not one person has ever offered up any documentation for that.
The closest I've come is a book of Hinds County, Mississippi tombstone transcriptions that states that John Frost Kelly who died in 1874 and was supposedly buried in the Utica Cemetery was the son of John and Charity Kelly and that Lydia Ann "Seastreak" buried in the "James Lee/John Kelly cemetery" was the daughter of John and Charity Kelly. Many of John Kelley Sr's children removed to Hinds County, Mississippi. The problem is that Frost Kelly's tombstone cannot be found in the Utica Cemetery. And no one has been able to take a picture of Lydia Ann "Seastreak's" tombstone. I've read on Findagrave that most of those tombstones where she is buried have fallen over flat, and many are broken. Apparently, many of them are hidden under brush or a thin layer of dirt. I once thought Lydia "Seastreak's" tombstone must be eroded since her name was Seastrunk and the years for her birth and death are way off. Now I think her stone was already broken when the cemetery was transcribed with the damage running through the area were the years and the end of her last name are. Please, someone, photograph that stone and prove me wrong! Those two tombstones represented the only documentation I knew of for the existence of a wife named Charity for John Kelley Sr.
John Kelley Sr. bought a lot of land in Fairfield District, South Carolina, but he sold very little of it during his lifetime.
However, on 27 September 1825 John Kelley Sr. of Fairfield District, South Carolina sold 147 acres of land on Little Sawney's Creek to his son Littleton Kelley. That land was bordered by the lands of John Kelly and Sarah Milling, formerly David Milling's.
The best part of this document is that John Kelley Sr's wife Charity released her dower rights to that land on 11 May 1826 and signed with her mark. So far, this is the only deed record that includes her.
Charity Kelly was likely John Kelley Sr's last wife, but mathematically, she could not have been his only wife. Therefore, she is not the mother of all of this his children. My ancestor John Kelley Jr. was born about 1786. Some of his siblings may have been older than he was since their ages are not all accounted for. However, of the siblings who are accounted for, their births range from about 1786 to about 1823. That would be a span of almost 40 years, much too long for one woman.
Knowing that Charity Kelly was John Kelley Sr.'s wife as of 1826, sheds some light on the possible wives in John Kelley Sr.'s census entries.
John Kelley Sr's wife, possibly Charity, predeceased him, and he died in 1842. Unpacking John Kelley Sr's household on the census is difficult. He had thirteen surviving children, many of whom were deceased before 1850. Many of their birthdates can only be guessed or fit into a range of several years.
John Kelley's Sr. household in Fairfield District, South Carolina in 1790:
John Kelly 2 4 4
Two males over 16 = John Kelley Sr. and unknown
Four males under 16= John Kelley Jr., Elisha Kelley, Middleton Kelley, Hiram Kelley?
Four females = a wife, Mary Kelley, and two unknowns?
1800 Fairfield District, South Carolina:
John Kelley 4201 - 0101
Four males 1 - 9 =
Two males 10 - 16 = John Kelley Jr.?
One male 26 - 45 = John Kelley Sr.
One female 10 - 16 = Mary Kelley?
One female 26 - 45 = wife
1810 Fairfield District, South Carolina:
John Kelly 32201 - 001
Three males 1 - 9 =
Two males 10 - 16 =
Two males 16 - 17 =
One male 45+ = John Kelley Sr.
One female 16 - 26 = Mary Kelley? or a new wife?
The 1810 census marks a significant change in John Kelley's household. His wife who should have been in the 26 - 45 age range or older is gone. Now the eldest female is 16 - 26 years old. She is either daughter Mary Kelley, or Mary Kelley is married and John Kelley Sr. has a new, younger wife. At least four more Kelley children were born between about 1810 and 1823, among those children were Lydia Ann (Kelley) Seastrunk and Frost Kelley.
1820 Fairfield District, South Carolina:
John Kelly 110101 - 2011
One male 1 - 9 =
One male 10 - 16 =
One male 16 - 26 =
One male 45+ = John Kelley Sr.
Two females 1 - 9 = Lydia Ann Kelley, Louisa W. Kelley
One female 16 - 26 = unknown
One female 26 - 45 = Charity?
1830 Fairfield District, South Carolina:
John Kelly 020120001 - 1020001
Two males 5 - 9 =
One male 15 - 19 =
Two males 20 - 29 =
One male 60 - 69 = John Kelley Sr.
One female 5 - 9 =
Two females 10 - 14 =
One female 40 - 50 = Charity?
1840 Fairfield District, South Carolina:
J. Kelly 0001000002
One male 15 - 19 = unknown
Two males 70 - 80 = John Kelley Sr. and unknown
On the final census, John Kelley Sr. does not have a wife, so presumably, Charity Kelley was deceased. The unknown male age 15 - 19 is likely one of the Kelley's youngest sons, perhaps Obadiah K. Kelley. The other male age 70 - 80 is unknown.
Based on the census, Charity would have been born between 1790 and 1800 in an unknown location. She can't be the Charity Carrie Gray who has been linked to John Kelley Sr. because she is over 20 years younger than that Charity. At this time, Charity's maiden name is unknown.
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