Porch Swings, Fireflies, and Jelly Jars: Jane (Thomas) Staggs, Heir of John Kelly

Saturday, July 21, 2018

Jane (Thomas) Staggs, Heir of John Kelly

It pays to keep reviewing what appears to be redundant information. Initially, I found the following notice for a suit over partitioning John Kelly's estate in Kershaw County, South Carolina. It was published in The Camden Weekly Journal in Camden, South Carolina on 6 March 1860. The startling thing was it name people I was unfamiliar with. My best guess is that they are the grandchildren of an unknown first wife and John Kelly. Their daughter evidently married William B. Thomas and removed to Pickens County, Alabama. Their children were Nancy (Thomas) Redding, John K. Thomas, Charlotte (Thomas) Staggs, Thomas Thomas Jr., Frances (Thomas) Booth, and William Thomas.

This notice, appearing a little over a month later, also in The Camden Weekly Journal, and was something I had glossed over because it appeared to be the same notice. Notices routinely ran for about three months, so reading the same thing over and over seems sort of pointless. However, it turns out that this is not identical to the previous one. This one names an additional grandchild: Jane (Thomas) Staggs.

This accounts for the 17-year-old Jane A. Thomas in William Thomas's Pickens County, Alabama household in 1850. I had wondered if she was a daughter or a very young second wife. I had also wondered if she was a daughter from a previous wife of William's. The second partition notice clarifies that she is another heir of John Kelly's.

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About Me:

My favorite memories from childhood include visits to my grandparents in East Texas. At dusk we'd run around my grandparent's yard, catching fireflies and putting them in jelly jars. When darkness descended, we'd return to the porch. It was a special treat to sit in the porch swing. Inevitably, the adults would launch into family stories of Pink Kelley's brush with Sherman's troops, of Great Uncle Hood Brown's tragic death, and of the Kelley family's wagon trip to Texas, among many others. The stars on those nights were magical.

I began my genealogy research in the summer of 1975, less than a month after my high school graduation. When I married in 1983, I started researching my husband's family as well. I was fortunate to start this hobby as a youngster because it gave me an opportunity to correspond with researchers who are long gone; to ask questions of family members -although not enough, never enough; and travel a bit. The result is a lot of information. I've come to the realization that I will probably never be able to afford to publish, so this is my publication.

This blog contains a mixture of information on my husband's family and mine. I've expanded into a second blog called Flimsies and Frippery with the intention of focusing on quilts and dolls, but I have several historical research entries there with more planned, which is why I don't get more quilting done.

Ultimately, genealogy is my passion. This is where I plan to record family stories, research adventures and misadventures, and those serendipitous moments that happen out of the blue. You should be warned that I have a bad habit of going back and adding information and links to individual entries, so it is beneficial to check back often if there is a family of particular interest to you. If you wander in and discover that you are a cousin, please contact me.

Since many younger family members who are new to genealogy are starting to contact me about their ancestors, I've started adding family trees to help them see how everyone is connected. The trees are divided between my family and my husband's. You will find them below under the label's Family Trees - My Husband's Side and Family Trees - My Family's Side.

For better or worse, this blog reflects the research, thinking, and writing of a human.