John Reid Alexander Bryson Kelly (1809 - 1888)

Born 14 Oct 1809 in Troy, Rensselaer County, New York, USA

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 18 Apr 1888 at age 78 in Danbury, Ottawa County, Ohio, USA

Biography

John Reid was born in 1809. John Reid Kelly and his wife Elizabeth Pettibone were married in the Lighthouse Keeper's House, Danbury, Ohio. He passed away in 1888. ^[1]

John Kelly was born in Troy, New York, to parents of Irish birth. In 1818, when John was nine years old, he and his father came to Sandusky, Ohio, at that time a wilderness inhabited by Indians and wild animals. Nevertheless, his father soon brought the rest of the family to Ohio.

At an early age John developed an intense love of reading, which in strong measure made up for his scanty schooling. In his prime of life his favorite books were the Bible, the Iliad, and the works of Shakespeare, Goldsmith, Scott, Burns, and Byron, and he loved to recite from memory long passages from Burns. He also read and remembered legal maxims and had a rare ability to apply them to everyday situations, which led in time to being called upon by his neighbors for legal advice. He served his township as justice of the peace for twelve years and served also in other minor positions. In 1862 he ran for the Thirtieth Senatorial District in the General Assembly of Ohio as a Republican candidate and won the seat, serving as a state senator in the years 1862-63.

A formal biographical sketch of the Hon. John Kelly states that he firmly believed in an overruling Providence, in retribution for evil-doing, and in good works as an infallible index of good character. But he insisted on doing his own thinking and accepted nothing upon authority; and felt that the average Church creed was too detailed and definite to be wholly true, or even reverent [J. H. Beers & Co., Commemorative Biographical Record of the Counties of Sandusky and Ottawa, Ohio, pp. 69-70].

Sources

• Information developed from Find A Grave Memorial No. 36005231

.^[2]

• Tom Bredehoft, information from the Bredehoft Family Generations at The Next Generation of Genealogy Sitebuilding. Click the Changes tab for the details of edits by Tom and others.
• Tom Bredehoft, Pettibone Registry, page 404, see K. Pontius Click the Changes tab for the details of edits by Tom and others. ^[3]

1. ↑ Entered by Tom Bredehoft, Jan 21, 2012
2. ↑ Entered by Tom Bredehoft, 2/9/2013
3. ↑ Entered by Tom Bredehoft 15/7/2013.