Phebe and Charles, Littleton Kelly's Slaves

©  Kathy Duncan, 2019

A little-used resource is the Coroners' Reports of South Carolina that cover the period 1800 to 1900 for six counties, including Fairfield County and Kershaw County, where my family lived. One of those reports concerns Littleton Kelly, one of the sons of John Kelly Sr. of Fairfield County, South Carolina.

On 25 February 1832, Littleton Kelly's farm was in the middle of a winter storm. So much sleet, probably what we would call freezing rain, was falling that great tree limbs and trees were falling. Hearing the retort of breaking tree limbs, Littleton Kelly stepped to the door of his house to survey the danger. It was shortly before noon. Littleton noted that a large pine tree nearby was loaded with sleet. Then he realized the tree was falling toward a small slave house. He only had time to call out, "Take care" before the tree fell and crushed the small building. Littleton immediately ran toward the building and began pulling the timber walls apart in an effort to reach the inhabitants. He was aided in this by William Freeman who was visiting that day. When they reached the inhabitants, Littleton realized that Charles and Phebe were "breathless." Their skulls had been crushed in the disaster. Another unnamed slave woman was with them, but her injuries were minor, and she survived.

Charles and Phebe were removed and taken to Littleton's kitchen to shelter their bodies from the inclement weather.

The following day, an inquest was held at Littleton's house to determine if Charles and Phebe had died accidentally and not through any other means.

Littleton's wife Jane was one of the people who provided a deposition for the inquest.

Her deposition relates basically the same story as the depositions of William Freeman and her husband, Littleton. It also reveals, that like many women in this time period, she was not literate.

Littleton Kelley and family removed from Fairfeld County, South Carolina to Hinds County, Mississipi before 1839. Jane died in 1838 or early 1839.

Solomon R. and Asenith (Williams) Thompson, the Later Years

©  Kathy Duncan, 2019

If you follow James Tanner's genealogy blog as I do, then you know one of his rules of genealogy is that there is an end. The end is the point at which the records for a surname or a person run out. Perhaps, but I find that I keep poking anyway.

The last record that I have found for my ancestress Asenith E. (Williams) Thompson is a release of dower that finds her still living in 1884 after the death of her husband Solomon R. Thompson in 1882.

That dower release, along with three other deed records, paints a possible picture of the last years of Solomon R. and Asenith E. (Williams) Thompson.

In 1871, Solomon and Asenith Thompson's son Rev. Eugene W. Thompson bought half a tract of land in Lancaster County, South Carolina from his father Solomon R. Thompson. In 1874, Eugene purchased the other half of the tract from his father. At the time, Eugene was still a practicing minister in North Carolina. He was living in Charlottesville in 1870. He was probably planning ahead for the day when he would retire and return to South Carolina to be near his elderly parents. However, Eugene died in Morganton, Burke County, North Carolina in 1877. If his widow relocated to Lancaster County, it was for a very brief time. Mostly, she seems to have lived in Lincoln County, North Carolina, near her brother Col. David Alexander Lowe in Lowesville, which is where she was on the 1880 census.

Rev. E. W. Thompson's estate was probated in Burke County, North Carolina through 1885 when his son Julian L. Thompson came of age. Meanwhile, the land in Lancaster County remained in the family. I suspect that is where Solomon R. and Asenith Thompson were still living in 1880. In that year. the census records Solomon as farming, which required land. Since there are no more records of land disposed of by Solomon and no probate records for him, it would seem there was no more land belonging to him. It makes sense that the old couple had stayed on the farm, waiting for Eugene to return when he retired. After Eugene's death, they simply stayed on. Property tax records, if available, would shed additional light on this.

Then Solomon died in 1882, leaving Asenith a widow. His tombstone in Fork Hill cemetery must have been something she attended to, probably in conjunction with her remaining two daughters, Henrietta Southerland (Thompson) Floyd and Eliza Ann Rebecca (Thompson) Kelley.

Rev. E.W. Thompson's estate was finally settled in mid-1885. Julian was now eighteen. The land could now be disposed of without dealing with Julian's guardian. As dependents of a deceased Methodist minister, Jane C. and  Julian had been receiving a distribution from the Methodist church for several years. Selling the land at this point made sense. Asenith was about 74 years old and continuing to live on the farm by herself would have become increasingly difficult. My best guess is that she moved in with one of her daughters or split her time between her two daughters' households. In 1884, Asenith released her dower right to the land, allowing Jennie C. and Julian to proceed with selling it.

Lancaster Co., SC; Conveyance Bk E p. 62

At the time the land sold, Jennie C. and Julian Thompson were still residents of Lincoln County, North Carolina.

It is not known how long Asenith lived after she released her dower rights. Both of her daughters remained in South Carolina until 1892 and then removed to Texas. If Asenith died before 1892 and was buried by her husband in Lancaster County, she does not have a tombstone. It is possible that she remarried and was buried under another name. It is also possible that she made the trip to Texas with her daughters and died there. She would have been about 82 in 1892. It is not inconceivable that she lived that long and went west. I don't think her daughters would have left her behind in South Carolina if she was still living at the time they left.

When Eliza Ann Rebecca (Thompson) Kelley and Henrietta Southerland (Thompson) Floyd went west with their families, they loaded up their wagons and traveled only as far as the nearest railhead, where they loaded the wagons onto boxcars, and then continued west to Texas. While not an easy trip, it was much less strenuous than going by wagon the whole way.

My great-grandmother, Henrietta Elizabeth "Bessie" (Kelley) Brown said that she had one mean grandmother and one sweet grandmother. The sweet grandmother was Asenith E. (Williams) Thompson. Bessie was born in 1875; she would have been nine in 1884. Certainly, old enough to remember her grandmother, but her memories may mean that Asenith lived a few years older.

This may be as far as I can go with Asenith E. (Williams) Thompson. It may be the end. But I think I will keep poking around.

Asenith E (Williams) Thompson, 1884

©  Kathy Duncan, 2019

A release of dower is always an exciting record to find. At the very least, it establishes the wife's given name. The absence of a release of dower can also establish if a wife is deceased.

This particular release of dower reveals that my ancestress, Asenith E. (Williams) Thompson survived her husband Solomon R. Thompson by at least a year and a half. Up until this moment, I had no idea if she had predeceased him or survived after him.

In 1874, Solomon R. Thompson deeded land that he had acquired from John S. Blackmon in Lancaster County, South Carolina, to his son Rev. Eugene W. Thompson. Eugene died three years later in 1877, leaving a wife Jennie C. (Lowe) Thompson and a young son, J. L. Thompson. There was no release of dower with this deed even though I knew that Solomon's wife Asenith was still alive on the 1880 census three years later.

Then Solomon R. Thompson died in 1882. A year and a half later, on 20 February 1884, Jennie C. Thompson must have been trying to get a clear title of that piece of land, so she could sell it. At that time, she must have sought a release of dower from her mother-in-law, who was still living. This belated dower is at present the only documentation that I have that indicates Asenith E. (Williams) Thompson was still living as late as 1884.

Lancaster County, SC; Conveyance Bk D, p. 446

Hogan to Williams Land Deed Revisited

©  Kathy Duncan, 2019

Each land deed generates two records - one when it was acquired and one when it was disposed of. Land deeds can also state family relationships explicitly or implicitly. For that reason, I had to slow down and look more closely at the land deed from William Hogan to Lawrence Williams in Kershaw County, South Carolina during 1803. In the process, I may have also found William Hogan's father-in-law. There is still lots more research to do here.

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1805 April 1
The State of South Carolina Know all men by these presents that I William Hogan of the County of Kershaw in the State aforesaid Planter in consideration of Fifteen Pounds Sterling to me paid by Laurence Williams of the said County of Kershaw in the State aforesaid Planter have granted, bargained, sold and released and by these presents do grant, bargain, sell and release unto said Laurence Williams. All that Plantation or Tract of Land containing one hundred Acres more or less, situate in Camden District on Hollow spring of Spear' Creek and on the great Road from Camden to Fridigs Ferry on the Congaree River bounded when Surveyed on all sides by Vacant Land which said Tract of one hundred Acres more or less was granted to William Saunders on the first day of February one thousand seven hundred and ninety by his Excellency Charles Pinkney Governor Etc. which Grant is recorded  in


The first half of the deed relates the residences of both William Hogan and Laurence Williams, which was Kershaw County. Additionally, there is a description of the property on Hollow Spring of Spear Creek on the great road from Camden to Firdigs Ferry on the Congaree River that can be used to identify it in other documents and possibly on a map. There is important information on who owned the land previously: William Saunders, who was granted the land in 1790 by Governor Pinkney. Since secondary sources, claim that William Hogan's wife Jemima was a Sanders, this tidbit takes on an elevated importance. Is William Saunders the father-in-law of William Hogan? Is there a deed or probate that transfers the ownership of this land from Saunders to William Hogan? In 1784, South Carolina passed an act whereby people could purchase 100 acres of vacant land for 10 pounds. This appears to be one of those tracts of land.

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recorded in the Secretarys Office in Columbia in Book B No. 5 page 69 reference being thereunto had will more fully appear. Together with all and singular the Rights Members Hereditaments and Appurtenancies to the Premises belonging or in any wise incident or Appurtaining To Have and to hold all and singular the premises before mentioned unto the said Laurence Williams has Heirs and Assigns forever. And I do here by bind myself my Heirs, Executors and Administrators to Warrant and forever defend all and singular the said Premises unto the said Laurence Williams his Heirs and Assigns against me and my Heirs and against all and every other person or persons whatsover lawfully claiming or to claim the sameor any part thereof.Witness my hand and Seal this Eighth day of January in the year of our Lord one thousand Eight hundred and three and in the twenty-seventh Year of the Independence of the United States of America. Signed, Sealed and delivered in the presence of [witnesses]
William Payne
Cordall Hogan

[Signed by] William Hogan

The last half of the deed documents where the land grant that William Saunders received can be found - in Columbia, South Carolina. It is likely still with this group of Columbia records. Now, to find it. The original deed is dated in 1803, two years before it was filed in 1805, so that means that these individuals were all living in 1803, but may not have still been living in 1805. The witness Cordall Hogan is likely a relative of William Hogan's. Son? Brother? Lastly, William Hogan signed the deed, so he is at least somewhat literate.

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South Carolina  }  Cordel Hogan personally appeared before me
Kershaw District}
and made oath that he was present and saw the within named William Hogan, sign, Seal and as his Act and Deed deliver the within written Deed and that he also saw William Payne subscribe his name thereto as a Witness together with this Deponant. Sworn this 1st day of April 1805 before me.
Jas. Brown J. P.                                                           Cordel his X mark Hogan

South Carolina Kershaw District. I Isaac Alexander one of the Justices of Quorum for the State aforesaid do hereby certify to all whom it may concern that Jemima Hogan, wife of the within named William Hogan did this day appear before me, and on being privately and separately examined by me did declare that she does freely and voluntarily and with out any compulsion, dread or fear of any person or persons whomsoever, renounce release and for ever relinquish to Laurence Williams within named his Heirs and Assigns all her Interest and Estate and also all her right of Dower of in and to all and singular the premises within mentioned and released. given under my hand and Seal this third of July Anno Domini 1803.
I Alexander JPQU                                    Jemima her X mark Hogan
                                                                                               
In April of 1805, Cordel Hogan swore that he was present when William Hogan signed the deed and William Payne witnessed it. Again Cordel signs with just his mark. It is curious that William Hogan is literate but his brother or son, Cordel, is not.

In July of 1803 Jemima Hogan, wife of William Hogan, released her dower right to the land. She also signed with her mark, indicating that she is not literate. This documents that the William Hogan who sold land to Laurence Williams for a nominal fee was married to a woman named Jemima.

My next step is to find out how William Hogan acquired this piece of land from William Saunders and how Laurence Williams disposed of it. I need to locate the original grant to William Saunders. And I need to look at all of the transactions involving William Hogan, Cordel Hogan, Laurence Williams, and William Saunders. 


                                                                                          

William Hogan and Lawrence Williams, Kershaw County, SC

©  Kathy Duncan, 2019

Based on my new findings, I've been off and running looking for Lawrence Williams and wife Rachael Hogan. I do not have anything definitive yet, but I do have this very promising lead.

There is a land deed in Kershaw County, South Caroline from William Hogan to Lawrence Williams in Deed Book E, page 43, dated 1 April 1805. What makes it promising is that William Hogan is selling one hundred acres of land to Lawrence Williams for the nominal amount of fifteen pounds. That suggests William Hogan might be Lawrence Williams' father-in-law. This transaction may have occurred roughly around the time Lawrence Williams and Rachael Hogan married. Much more research needs to be done to establish this connection. This record also indicates that William Hogan's wife was Jemima Hogan. A quick google search of him indicates that he was a Revolutionary War soldier, so it may be possible to draw a conclusion about this connection once more research is done.

Eliza (Thompson) Kelley's Tribal Application

©  Kathy Duncan, 2019

This post might just as easily be entitled "Chasing Down a Rabbit Hole Pays Off."

In my previous post, I speculated that if Madie (Kelley) Beal applied for membership in the Eastern Band of Cherokees, then other family members might have applied, especially Madie's great-grandmother, Eliza Ann Rebecca (Thompson) Kelley, who was still living in 1924 and who also happens to be my great-great-grandmother.

Well, be still my heart, she did. Eliza Ann Rebecca (Thompson) Kelley's rejected application for membership in the Eastern Band of Cherokees reveals a wealth of family information that I've never found anywhere else. Her rejected application is in the record group known as the 1924 Baker Roll. As near as I can tell, applications for the Baker Roll closed in 1928, so people were actively applying in 1926 and 1927 when most of these family applications and depositions were given.

This is the value of conducting whole family research. Ultimately, it leads backward. In this case, a comment on the blog caused me to gather up my research on Lewis H. Kelley/Lonnie C. Clyburn and finally post it here. Then I fleshed out my information on his daughter Madie (Kelley) Beal, and in the process, I stumbled across a record of her in the 1924 Baker Roll applications.  Those papers sent me back into that database looking for an application from Eliza Kelley, which for some reason was indexed as Solomon R. Thompson, who I knew was her father. I might have overlooked that because Solomon R. Thompson died long before 1924, but I've learned that it always, always pays to take a look.

Because Eliza's application is 24 pages long and not all of it reveals direct information on the family, I am only going to include a few pages of it. Her application was dated 5 May 1926.

The first page confirms what my great-grandmother, Henrietta Elizabeth "Bessie" (Kelley) Brown always said about the Kelleys leaving South Carolina in 1892 to go west. This document also adds one new interesting piece of information: the Thompsons removed to Concord, North Carolina in 1861. On the surface that seems like an error since the family seems to have only been in South Carolina before moving west. However, it makes a certain kind of sense. Eldest son Rev. Eugene W. Thompson went to North Carolina to serve in the Conference and from there he entered the Confederate army as a chaplain. Since the Civil War was just getting started, with South Carolina being the center of the initial action, they may have felt that North Carolina would be safer. However, we also know that they were back in South Carolina by 1863 when Eliza Thompson married M.P. Kelley.

The second page is genealogy gold. First, it confirms that Eliza's mother was Asenith Williams. Better yet, it places the marriage date for Solomon R. Thompson and Asenith Williams in 1832. That would make Asenith the mother of all of Solomon R. Thompson's children. Since there are huge gaps between their births, it has been difficult to determine if the eldest son Rev. E.W. Thompson was a half-brother or full brother. She also states that after her parents married they lived in Lancaster and Kershaw Counties.

She then provided the information that Solomon R. Thompson was the son of Lodwick Thompson and Priscilla Reeves. Then comes the new information regarding her maternal grandparents, who were Lawrence Williams and Rachael Hogan. Even after blowing Rachael's surname up on my computer screen, I am not certain what her surname was. That ink blotch at the end makes it unclear. My strategy will have to be to search for all names of about that length which begin with Hog. Right now, I can see that research will include Hogue as well as Hogan.

Eliza's application, like her granddaughter Madie Beal's, contains a deposition from J.C. Montgomery who lived with Solomon R. Thompson at the time of his death.

In addition, there was a deposition from T. P. Robinson, another resident of Titus County, Texas, who also knew Solomon R. Thompson in Lancaster County, South Carolina.

In the following letter, Eliza (Thompson) Kelley listed all of her children, related how many children each of them had, and then listed her children who were still living. Note that daughters were mostly referred to by their maiden names. One page of this letter provides the names of her living children with the daughters' married names and their residences. What is striking is that Eliza also thought to include her deceased sister's children in this record. While this is not a Bible record, it is the next best thing since Eliza herself can be considered a primary source in terms of her own children:

Mt Pleasant Texas
April 23, 1926
Cherokee Indian
School
Cherokee North Carolina

Mr A W Simington
Special Allotting Agent
Dear Sir    I
Mrs Eliza A Kelley am asking to file an
aplication to enroll for my
claim in the cherokee
Indian of the Eastern Band.
I am the mother of
Mrs Annie R Price Mrs
Madie I Beal grandmother

and I would be glad to prove
our claim I am
the mother of 13 children here
are the names
John G Kelley Father of 11 children
Willie H Kelley - 6
Mancil P Kelley - not any
Nannie J Kelley - mother 1
Richard S Kelley - Father 8
Henretta B Kelley - mother 9
Ross T Kelley - Father 3
Lewis H Kelley - 5
Eugene F Kelley - 5
Edna V Kelley - not any
Joseph H Kelley - not any
Annie R Kelley - mother 3
Carrie I Kelley - 3

there are 7 of my children
living and 6 dead All
married but one if we
can get on roll we
sure would be glad for
we are all poor but
thands God we try to live
for good and if we
can get our claim
onest we are entiled to
it My Father Solomon R
Thompson
always taught us that
we was a part cherokee
Indian and his mother
Persilla Reeves

always told him that he was
apart cherokee Indian and she
come
from West Virginia to SC
and if I am not mistaken
I have two letters concerning
our Indian blood and
there are two men in
Titus county that came
from SC that no us
well I will close hope to get one
The Roll I am as wel
your friend
Mrs Eliza A Kelley
Mt Pleasant
Tex

R S Kelley  Riply RFDH
W H Kelley Briant Mill Tex RI
Mrs Henretta B Brown Avery Tex R3
E. F. KelleyAvery ex
M P Tallahesse Florida
E W Foster 411 Adam Wichita Falls
Annie R Price Mt Pleasant Tex
this is my childrens
also that are alive

My sister died Nov 16
And these are her children
names that are a live
Mrs Della Owens Mt. Plesant
Mrs Ema Thomas
Mrs Lulu Buchanan Jacksonville Tex
Mrs Minnie Landem Mt Pleasant
Shellie Floyd Mt Pleasant Tex
Alline Mays Mt Pleasant Tex
Charlie Floyd C? Tex
Ida Gingles Denison Tex
there are the names of
my Sisters children her
husband Mr J W Floyd
is Still a live but
? low with carbunkle
on his neck the Dr dont
think the will get well

My new family tree looks something like this now:

Madie (Kelley) Beal's Papers, At Last

©  Kathy Duncan, 2019

For several years, Kelley and Clyburn researchers beat a path to Madie (Kelley) Beal's door because as a surviving daughter of Lewis H. Kelley's first marriage, she might be able to clear up the mystery of his parentage. Was he Lewis H. Kelley, son of M.P. and Eliza (Thompson) Kelley or Lonnie Cecil Clyburn, son of Capt. Lewis Lee and Mary Jane (Kelley) Clyburn?

To add fuel to the fire, Madie claimed to have gone to a lawyer with her grandmother, Eliza Kelley, to draw up some papers that proved the parentage of her father, Lewis H. Kelley. She refused to share those papers with anyone and said everyone could wait until she died to find out who Lewis's parents were.

Yet, she shared the following key document. In this letter, Eliza (Thompson) Kelley related who her grandparents were; however, this letter does not directly reveal anything about Lewis H. Kelley.

Dea Children
My gran mother was a full Cherkee Indian her maiden name was Preciller Reeves and she married my Gran father Lodwick Thompson and he was an Inglishman but lived his life out in Kershaw Countie S. C. my father was the eldest son he was borned in 1804 my Gran mother came from West Virginia that is all I no about my gran mother
Your loving mother
Mrs. E. A. Kelley
Mt Pleasant
Tex 1926

This letter was written at the same time that Madie (Kelley) Beal was applying for tribal membership in the Eastern Band of Cherokees. My guess is that Eliza was answering questions about her ancestry so that Madie could use the information for her application. Madie's application, although it was rejected, is part of what is now called the 1924 Baker Roll.

The individuals in Eliza's letter and their connection to Madie are shown in this family tree:

Madie's application for tribal membership hinged on her being the granddaughter of Eliza (Thompson) Kelley, which meant that her father Lewis was Eliza's son and not the son of M. P. Kelley's sister Mary Jane (Kelley) Clyburn.

This first page of Madie's application traces her descent from Solomon R. Thompson to Eliza Ann Rebecca Thompson, through Lewis Hamilton Kelly, and to herself.

The second page reveals information about her parents' marriage, her father's alternate name - Lonnie C. Clyburn, and names her maternal grandparents.

Elsewhere, Madie stated that her father had gone to court and legally changed his name to Lonnie C. Clyburn in Lamar County, Texas.

In the process of making application, Madie submitted three supporting depositions. One was from J.C. Montgomery, who stated that he knew and lived with Solomon R. Thompson in Lancaster County, South Carolina:

Another deposition was from Eliza (Thompson) Kelley's brother-in-law J. W. Floyd of Mt. Pleasant, Texas, who was also personally acquainted with Solomon R. Thompson:

The last deposition was from a George Scott who knew Lewis H. Kelley aka Lonnie Cecil Clyburn:

It was thrilling to read depositions from two people who personally knew my great-great-great-grandfather Solomon R. Thompson. Then I started thinking that if Madie Beal was applying for tribal membership in the Eastern Band of Cherokee, surely other family members were also submitting applications. Surely, my great-great-grandmother Eliza (Thompson) Kelley applied, and if she did, her application might contain very valuable information. Even a rejected application can contain priceless family information.

Lewis H. Kelley Becomes Lonnie Cecil Clyburn

©  Kathy Duncan, 2019

Every family tree has at least one individual who is difficult to research because seemingly conflicting documents make it difficult to arrive at what we would consider "the truth" or a conclusion. The problem is compounded when the individual deliberately muddied the waters.

My research strategy is to collect as many primary documents as possible, put them in date order, look for patterns, and weigh what I am seeing against history and logic. Sometimes a calculator comes in handy. Documents generated by the individual are, in a way, the narrative of that person's life. Ultimately, I ask myself, "Is the narrator reliable?"

My great-grandmother's brother Lewis H. Kelley is one of those problematic individuals. Among the Kelleys, he was the brother who was the black sheep. As my grandfather once said, "Lewis Kelley was always one step ahead of the law." However, to the children Lewis raised under his alias Lonnie Cecil Clyburn, he was the illustrious Dr. Clyburn and long lost child of a prominent family in South Carolina. But which one was he really?  Lewis H. Kelley or Lonnie Cecil Clyburn? That has been a question that family researchers chased for so many decades that now many of them are deceased.

Lewis H. Kelley

Lewis H. Kelley was born 12 October 1877 in Kershaw County, South Carolina. He was the twin brother of Ross Tildon Kelley. They were the children of Mansel Pinkney and Elizabeth A. R. (Thompson) Kelley.

The Kelleys left South Carolina in 1892, traveling to Texas.

On 8 November 1899, Lewis H. Kelley married Ula Morgason in Red River County, Texas. He was about 21 years old. Below is a typed copy of their marriage license. A look at the original marriage license would be better. On the 1900 census, the newlyweds were living with his parents in Titus County, Texas. Lewis's birthday is noted as being in October of 1877 and his occupation is that of a farmer.

By 1910, Lewis and Ula Kelley were in Marion County, Texas. Lewis was still farming. They had two daughters: nine-year-old Viola Kelley and six-year-old Madie Kelley. Both girls were born in Texas. That census was dated 27 April 1910.

According to a letter written to Charles R. Kelley, son of Ross Tildon Kelley, by Madie Idell (Kelley) Beal, daughter of Lewis H. Kelley, her father abandoned their little family later in the year while she was still six years old. One of the most striking things about the letter is her attitude toward her father, which seems both plaintive and angry.

Sept. 15 - 85 -
Dearest Charles & Lore -
And a very good morning to you both.
So glad to hear from you. As I did not know I had a cousin that cared enough to write to me. in fact i did not know how many children unckle Ross [Kelley] had. I thought he only had one son and one step son. You see when my father left us I was only six years old. And we lost contact with papa's family until 1919 when papa came to see me.
I don't remember ever seeing unkl Ross. Just what my mother could tell me about him. Grandmaw Kelley came to visit me in Nov. 34 and spent about a month with me. We talked quiet [sic] a

lot about the babys [probably the twins] when they small.
Big Bear has sent me your letters. As I guess he has told you I am back in Texas on a visit. Guess he will come after me some time last of this month or some time in Oct. Would sure love for you all to come see me. When I get back home. We can talk a lot then.
You did not give me names and phon numbers or addresses off the ones in California. they don't live too far from us.
Sorry I don't have a picture off unkle Ross. Wish I did. You know back in those days they diden't make pictures like they do now.
I have a picture of Aunt

Aunt Annie [(Kelley) Price] and Aunt Carrie [(Kelley) Gunn] and Grandpaw & Grandmaw Kelley [M.P. and Eliza (Thompson) Kelley] - and one of unckle Hale [Kelley]. An one of unckle Richard [Kelley] and Wife with their first baby. which a son -
I have a picture off unkle Will [Kelley] and Aunt Eller. They used to visit me. And after Aunt Eller passed away unckle Will would come visit with me for week at a time. I sure loved him.
I am sure glad you got in touch with me. Maybe we can enjoy the company off each other for waht time I have left to live.
Will Say by for now. and hope to see you & Lore soon. Answer when you can -
My love to you both, Madie

P.S.
You ask why my father left us. Well he sold some morgased [sic] proprety. And the law was after him so he left, changed his name and lived happy ever after. he had rather give up his family than to go to jail or pay for the property.

In 1985 when this letter was written, Charles Kelley and other family researchers were trying to untangle the story of Lewis H. Kelley aka Lonnie Cecil Clyburn and his parentage. That quest made Madie Beal very popular. She was the recipient of many visitors and letters. She claimed that she had gone with Eliza (Thompson) Kelley to see a lawyer and had drawn up some papers that would reveal who Lewis's parents were. However, Madie did not intend to share them with anyone while she was living. She said those papers would be revealed after she died. When she died, no one could find these mysterious papers. My research indicates that she did, in fact, have papers drawn up. However, I think she also had already shared the document that her grandmother Eliza Kelley had written, but no one at the time recognized it for what it was.

More on Madie Beal and her legal papers later. The upshot is that Madie Beal believed that Lewis Kelley was the son of M. P. and Eliza Kelley, and that belief was based on what her grandmother Eliza Kelley told her.

One of the important details of Madie's letter is that her father did not reenter her life until 1919 when he came to see her. That is a very specific date. What made 1919 stick in her memory? The other significant event of 1919 was the death of Madie's elder sister Viola (Kelley) Hatch during childbirth in January of 1919. It seems very likely that Lewis Kelley aka Lonnie Clyburn reappeared in Madie's life because of the death of her sister. My guess is that he turned up for the funeral. Viola died at the age of 18. Madie was 15 at the time.

On 15 December 1911, Lewis Kelley married Mettie Bartlett in Lamar County, Texas. However, he married her under his new alias, Lonnie Cecil Clyburn.

It must have been around this time that Lewis claimed that his real parents were his Aunt Mary Jane Kelley and her husband Capt. Lewis Lee Clyburn of Camden, South Carolina. The biggest problem with this claim is that Mary Jane (Kelley) Clyburn gave birth to a daughter Edna Ann Blanche Clyburn on 28 March 1877, which would be less than seven months before the birth of Lewis H. Kelley. What really needs to be taken into account is that the Clyburns were a wealthy, socially prominent family with no motivation to give away one of their children. The Clyburn children were educated, and one son, who was about ten years older than Lewis, became a doctor. Did Lewis fantasize about belonging to the Clyburns instead of the Kelleys?

On 15 June 1912, L Clyburn filed this document in Red River County, Texas attesting to having a medical certificate issued by the State Board of  Medical Examiners for the State of Texas.


























This document has two interesting pieces of information. The first is that L. C. Clyburn's date of birth is given as 1876 instead of 1877. This is either a mistake made by the clerk or a deliberate attempt on Lon Clyburn's part to shift his date of birth by a year, perhaps to obscure his identity as Lewis Kelley. However, shifting his birth to a year earlier would not strengthen his case that he was Mary Jane (Kelley) Clyburn's child since that would place his birth less than five months before the birth of Blanche Clyburn. Since later documents repeat that his birth date was 12 October 1877, this seems like an error made by the County Clerk.

The other piece of information on this document is that L. C. Clyburn was educated at Johns Hopkins Medical School. Besides the not finding either L.C. Clyburn or Lewis H. Kelley among the graduating students of Johns Hopkins Medical School, there are other problems with this claim that make it highly unlikely.

Johns Hopkins Medical School opened in 1893 when Lewis H. Kelley was 16 years old. The first graduating class was in 1897 when he was 20 years old. In 1899 he was marrying Eula in Red River County and then farming in Titus County in 1900. At that point, he is a farmer in Texas - not a student and not a doctor. By 1903, Johns Hopkins was very proud of the fact that their exacting entry requirements kept their classes so small that they had graduated less than 500 medical students. In both 1904 and 1905, their graduating classes hovered at around 50 students. In 1905, they began requiring their students to have a bachelor's degree heavy in science course work.

In 1910, Lewis H. Kelley was farming in Marion County, Texas. At that point, he was not a student and not a doctor. However, just two years later, he had a new name, a new wife, and presumably a new education and career.

By 21 January 1913, Red River County, Texas filed suit against L. Clyburn for unlawfully practicing medicine. As of 1907, Texas had begun tightening its requirements for receiving a medical license in the state. In just a few short months, the state had reason to question L. Clyburn's qualifications. Lon Clyburn's new father-in-law had posted surety in July of 1912 for him and stood to lose a substantial amount of money.







































By 27 June 1913, Lon C. Clyburn also had a new baby son, Lonnie Frank Clyburn.

On 4 May 1914, Eula (Morgason) Kelley obtained a divorce from Lewis H. Kelley in Wood County, Texas.




























Eula also paid for both her attorney and the court filing fees.



























In 1915, when daughter Thelma Louise Clyburn was born in Amarillo, Texas, L. C. Clyburn's occupation on her original birth certificate is given as a "business man" and not a doctor.

Years later, after the death of L. C. Clyburn, Thelma's birth certificate was amended. One of the changes on it is in regard to her father's occupation. On that document, he was a doctor.

This record, kept by the US Veteran's Dept. shows that in 1918, Lon Cecil Clyburn's birth date was given as 12 October 1877. He served in the Medical Department, but not as a physician.

Lon Cecil Clyburn's service records indicate that he served just shy of five months and was discharged with a 50 percent disability without ever being deployed overseas.

Lewis Clyburn died on 4 June 1924 in Chicota, Lamar County, Texas at the age of 46. His death certificate records his birth date as 12 October 1877. Remember, this is same birth date as Lewis Kelley's twin brother Ross Tildon Kelley. If Lewis/Lonnie was not the son of M.P. and Eliza Kelley, why didn't they ever tell him what his real birth date was? The parents on this death certificate are given as L. L. Clyhren and Mary Jane Kelley by an informant named Morris. This Morris has no known family connection, so the information provided is not first hand.

Dr. L. C. Clyburn's obituary appeared in the Paris News. It is an interesting example of trying to have it both ways. It states that he was "raised an orphan boy" and that he was "survived by his mother, whose home is at Mount Pleasant," which was a reference to Eliza Kelley.

Taken as a whole, these documents reveal a man who abandoned his first set of children for nine years, married a second wife without divorcing his first wife, claimed to be a graduate of Johns Hopkins Medical School against all evidence to the contrary, and was charged with unlawfully practicing medicine. The idea that he was the cast off child of Capt. Lewis Lee and Mary Jane (Kelley) Clyburn seems highly unlikely.

Capt. Solomon Reese Obituary

©  Kathy Duncan, 2019

This little obituary is a very exciting find for me. It is the obituary of my ancestor Solomon Reese. He wrote his will, which stated that he was ill, on 11 October 1834. Evidently, he already feared that he would not recover. The will mentioned only his wife Mahala by name. He referenced his first wife and their seven children and his three children with Mahala, but none of them are named. This may have been because he was ill and was not feeling up to going into that level of detail, but given some of the wills that I've read in the time period in Tennesee, I often suspect that lawyers were charging by the word.

In any event, this little gem is brimming with information. It gives me the exact date of his death: 8 November 1834. The place of his death: Lincoln County, Tennessee. The cause of his death: fistula. It gives his age: 39. It references his "large and respectable" family which is supported by his will. It tells me that he sported the title Captain. And it hints that he may have belonged to a fraternal organization.

Nelson Kavanaugh Owes Land Tax

©  Kathy Duncan, 2019


Nelson Kavanaugh owned the land in Madison County, Kentucky, which he inherited from his father William Kavanaugh, just long enough to owe taxes on it. I wonder if that is what motived him to sell it to his half-brother, Charles? This is from the 1830 Madison County, Kentucky tax book.

Nelson Kavanaugh, A Slave in the Family

Nelson Kavanaugh Gets His Freedom and His Land

Nelson Kavanaugh's Emancipation

Nelson Kavanaugh in the Republic of Texas

Nelson Kavanaugh Loses His Papers