KELLY KIN kon't

created and maintained by Mary A. Kelly (aka Bunny)

DID MARIA FLEMMING KELLEY MARRY A SHEA?

When Mary-Ann KELLEY, the only daughter of Daniel and Maria, was married to William WHALEN, in Carleton Place, Ontario on 25 Nov 1889 her parents' names were shown as Daniel KELLEY and Marie SHEA. How can this be? Apparently Daniel had died between the 1861 and 1871 census; as Maria is shown as a widow in 1871. (Although the surname Kelly is shown on the 1881 Ottawa Census). Perhaps whoever registered the marriage was hard of hearing? Daniel's death or burial have not yet been uncovered (yikes!)

MY LATEST FINDS!

This week (13 Aug 97) I finally located some of the family on the 1881 census, after the tip about a cemetary listing for a 'Maria Fleming', from a new friend on the web. Maria, James, William (Kelly) and Mary-Ann (Mercier) are listed in the City of Ottawa (Wellington Ward). Hooray! A kind gentleman, in resonse to a genealogy list request, checked the Ottawa directories for me and determined that: Maria Kelley resided at 43 Portland St in 1880; 45 Portland St in 1882 along with James Kelly, foreman. Maria died in 1884 (I haven't located her death record yet, and get conflicting info over the net), but James was still living at 45 Portland St from 1884 to 1887. The 1891 directory then shows a James P. Kelly, section Foreman, CPR living at 92 Arthur St; and then in 1895 it shows his widow Margaret COLGIN (COLVIN) at the same address, as a boarder in the house owned by James COLVIN, livery. She is later located at 719 Somerset St.

I was able to verify that all of the above are'our' family. (another Hoory!) I located the marriage of James and Margaret with the discovery of their 'Marriage registry' through the films at the LDS church today (23 Sep 97). The marriage occurred on 09 Oct 1884, at St Mary's Church, ALMONTE, Ont: witnesses were William Kelly and Jane Colvin. From info gathered it would appear Margaret may have had a brother James Colvin (per directory 92 Arthur St was a 'livery' run by a James Colvin) and a sister, the Jane Colvin, marriage witness. It was only with the help of all my 'genealogical' friends over the internet that I was able to find all of this latest information. The 'net' truly is an invaluable tool! (James died early of 'lung disease' (consumption) and does not appear to have had any children - a sad end for one of the twigs on our family tree.) His obituary in the Ottawa Journal mentions that "he was a member of the Catholic Foresters and the United Brotherhood of Railway Trackmen, of which he was one of the founders, and until his illness, the grand president".

We have still to locate in 1881 the other 3 Kelley/Kelly brothers - John, Michael and Thomas and their sister Mary Ann Kelley (they all appear to have changed the spelling to Kelly, perhaps because of the 'protestant thing'); she may have been living with one of her brothers, or working in another household? - she would have been approximately 30 years old. I am currently going through all the Ontario Marriage Records that I can find to see if I can locate any of the siblings, spouses or locations. I am also trying to locate the marriage of my grandfather, William (also known as Will) to his first wife Margaret CLARKE. While going through the 1881 Ottawa census I noticed that the Kelly family was at the end of their 'ward' and that near the beginning of the next 'ward' there was a large Clarke family, with a daughter Margaret - perhaps they lived near each other and this is her - I WILL find out.

KNOWN FACTS?

• Maria Fleming/Flemming Kelly/Kelley
  • was born in Ireland
  • signed away her Right of Dower to the Wolford Twp. property in 1873
  • was listed on the 1881 census under KELLY in Ottawa
  • is buried the Notre-Dame de Ottawa cemetery in 1884.
• Mary Ann Kelly
  • married in Carleton Place in 1888, and was listed as a resident of that town
  • died of consumption on 12 Oct 1900, Carleton Place, Ont.
• William Kelly
  • was born 08 Apr 1857, Wolford Twp, Ontario
    • parish records have not yet been discovered for any event during the family's residence in Wolford Twp.
  • died 08 Nov 1938, Sudbury, Ontario
  • around age 20 started working for the Canada Central Railway on 14 Feb 1877 as a trackman.
  • was appointed section and extra-gang foreman in Ottawa in 1880 (C.C.R. was absorbed by the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1880)
  • was appointed assistant roadmaster in Montreal in Feb 1885
  • his first wife, Margaret CLARKE died in May 1890 in a conflagration at the Longue Point Asylum (Montreal) (a fire in which 86 women died). I have posted a transcription of a newspaper article of this disaster.
    • the date of their marriage is unknown. It would have been sometime between 1884 (after the death of his mother Maria) and May 1890 (death of Margaret Clarke).
    • While researching the 1881 census I found that the Kelly family was near the end of the Wellington Ward listings - near the beginning of the next ward, Victoria, there was a Clarke family with a daughter named Margaret - a possibility? I had better try to find out their addresses circa the 1881 census if possible
  • a Wm Kelly, roadmaster, 615 St Catherine Street, Montreal, Quebec; is listed in the Montreal Directory 1888-89 (LDS film - Jun 97)
    • it has not yet been verified that this is our William
  • Will was finally assigned to Sudbury as roadmaster on 1 Jul 1890; a position he held until his retirement in 1925 (for a total of 48? years of service)
  • he was married to Marie-Laura Domithilde RICARD, daughter of Francois RICARD and Adelaide MOUSSEAU, of Isle Calumet, Quebec, on 11 Oct 1893 in Arnprior, Ont. Laura had been working with her sister as a school teacher in the North Bay area, which had been newly opened up the the railway

'THINGS' THAT I MUST FIND OUT!

• where was the family between 1873, after leaving the farm, up until 1880 when Maria, James, William and Mary-Ann (Mercier) are located in the Ottawa Directory? Do directories exist prior to this date and is the family listed prior to 1880? If so, were any of the other siblings with them (John, Michael, Thomas or Mary-Ann)?
• most of the Flemings I have come across have been protestant; perhaps Maria married into a Catholic family?
• next door to Lot 24, Conc 5, Wolford Twp (occupied by Daniel and Maria Fleming Kelley) there may have been a Mary Jane FLEMING married to John CONNOR, (lot 25, conc 5) - a coincidence? Were the two women related in any way? I must try to find out!
• check Ottawa directories to see if Kelly (Wellington Ward){YEA! they are there?} and Clarke (Victoria Ward) families are listed, then determine if the addresses were close together
• where is their sister Mary Ann during the 1881 census? (she didn't marry until 1889)she may have been a skilled seamstress and could have been living with one of her brothers or another relative. Why wasn't she with her mother and younger brothers in Ottawa? Both of her brothers worked for the C.P.R. and would presumably have been able to support the family?
• try to find a Carleton Place Directory, late 1880s for Mary Ann Kelley's residence - could have been with a brother?
• check marriage records between 1881 and May 1890 for Will and Margaret Clarke's wedding
• try to find out if Wm Kelly in Montreal directory is 'ours'
• locate COLVIN family on 1881 census: father Daniel, mother, Jane and (possible) children Jane, James and Margaret - place of Margaret's birth was Ramsay Township and the marriage took place in Almonte, Ont.

Suppositions

• Maria remarried sometime after 1873 (when she left the farm)
• Maria and the girls supported themselves as dressmakers?
• "SHEA" lived somewhere around Carleton Place, near Ottawa?

A page from a Ship's list

Ship - Britannia, arrived Quebec in 1842

Name                    Age         Occupation

Solemon Morris          40          Labourer
Thomas Eagan            40          Labourer
John Walsh              26          Labourer
Patt Sammon?            26          Labourer
Mary Sammon      	26          Matron
Thomas Fadden           30          Labourer
Mary Fadden        	26          Matron
Michael Gallagher       20          Labourer
John Cannon         	30          Labourer
Margret Cannon          26          Matron
Margret Morris          20          Matron
John Mc Keal            26?         Labourer
Patt Mc Keal            27          Labourer
Annie Mc Keal           30          Matron
Micke? Parker           35          Labourer
Anthony Moran           30          Labourer
Bridget Moran           28          Matron
Mary Flemmin?           27?         Spinster
Mary Walsh          	16          Spinster
Mary Glynn              20          Spinster
Patt Gannon         	22          Labourer
? Burke                 18          Labourer
John Burke              16          Labourer
Sarah Rigk?         	21          Spinster
Hannah  Hamilton        20          Spinster
Patt Loftis             50          Labourer
Catherine Loftis        40          Matron
Ellin Loftis            20          Spinster
John Loftis             18          Labourer