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.
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