John Burr Kelly (1840 - 1906)

Born 11 Apr 1840 in Mount Vernon, Knox, Ohio, United States

Ancestors

Son of William Kelly and Mary (Smith) Kelly

Husband of Loutitia Adelia (Toliver) Kelly — married 4 Jul 1867 in Washington Township, Greene, Iowa, United States

Descendants

Died 7 Nov 1906 at age 66 in Stockton, Rooks, Kansas, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: J. R. Banta [send private message]

Biography

Corporal John Kelly served in the United States Civil War.
Enlisted: August 14, 1861
Mustered out: September 15, 1865
Side: USA
Regiment(s): 2nd Iowa Cavalry

John engaged in farming in Kansas.

John Kelly was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, Post 76, Stockton, Kansas.

John Kelly is buried in Stockton Cemetery.

Cpl. John Burr Kelly was a soldier in the American Civil War and farmer. He was born on 11 April 1840 at Mount Vernon, Ohio, the fourth of seven children and only son born to William Kelly and Mary (Smith) Kelly.^[1]

John's father died before he turned 12 years old, leaving him and his sisters orphaned.^[2] On 3 October 1855 when John was 15 years old, Joseph Wood, John's brother-in-law, was appointed his guardian.^[3]

On 14 August 1861 John enrolled in Company C, 2nd Regiment, Iowa Cavalry at Clinton County, Iowa, and his enlistment rank was 2nd Corporal. He was promoted to Corporal on 1 April 1862. In a letter of 22 November 1862 addressed to Capt. Henry Egbert, he tendered his resignation as Corporal of Company C, citing an absence from the unit. He was discharged at Germantown, Tennessee on 29 February, 1864, then re-enlisted in the same company as a veteran on 1 March 1864. During this second enlistment, he was afflicted with rheumatism and recorded frequent absences while recovering at "convalescent camp" and at regimental hospitals. Finally, he was honorably discharged at Selma, Alabama on 15 September 1865.^[1][4]

According to an affidavit by G.S. Toliver and W.L. Franklin, John lived at Greene County, Iowa from 1865-66. On 4 July 1867, he married Loutitia Toliver, at the home of the bride's father, Hiram Toliver, in Washington Township, Greene County, Iowa.^[1][5] The family came to Kansas in 1880.^[1][6]

John was a Civil War Pensioner under the Dependent and Disability Pension Act of June 1890, and on 12 December 1896 while living at Igo Township, applied to receive an invalid pension on account of numerous health issues he had resulting from the rheumatism he suffered from while a soldier.^[1] He was also a member of the G.A.R. at Stockton, Kansas.^[7]

In 1891, he was serving as postmaster at the Igo Post Office.^[8]

John died on 7 November 1906 at Stockton, Kansas. He is buried in Stockton Cemetery.^[1][9]

Children of John Burr Kelly and Loutitia (Toliver) Kelly:

• William Henry (1868-1940) m. Eva Leona Howe
• Exie Elsie (1869-1952) m. Frank Clyde Gager
• Leno Gertrude (1873-1954) m. William Robert Hays
• Charles Hiram (1875-1899)
• Burnice (1877-1955) m. Elizabeth Berniece Breeze
• Mary Drusilla (1880-1955) m. William Ralph Stewart
• Nancy Eunice (1882-1960) m. Charles Roy Gillilan
• Earl Udell (1886-1961) m. Minnie Bell Young
• John Burr Jr. (1888-1925) m. Garnett L Bullock
• Olive Edna (1891-1960)

Name

John was named for Dr. Jonathan Nash Burr (1800-1889), a physician and prominent citizen of Mount Vernon who co-founded St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church in that town. The two men are not related.

Land Records

Rooks County, Kansas

Medicine Township - T8s R16w S29

• 3 Sep 1883 - 160A SWq/NEq, Sh/NWq, NEq/NWq - Timber Culture Act Certificate of Purchase #9047 (requiring planting of trees on 10A) [1]
• 26 Jul 1894 - 160A SWq/NEq, Sh/NWq, NEq/NWq - Timber Culture Act Patent Certificate #1033 [2]
• 18 Jun 1902 - 80A NWq/NEq, SEq/NEq - Certificate of Purchase #10012 "Public Sale" [3]
• 18 Feb 1903 - 80A NWq/NEq, SEq/NEq - Patent [4]

Building

At 408 Main Street in Stockton, Kansas, there is a building adorned with the name "J. B. Kelly." Supposedly it was built by John sometime in 1902-1906. In 2014 the building housed Johnston Upholstery, and as of 2020 it is home to a toy store called Enchanted Cottage.

Appearance

On his volunteer enlistment, he is described as having grey eyes, sandy hair, a light complexion and standing 5'9" tall.^[1]

Research Notes

• John's whereabouts when the 1860 US Census was enumerated are unknown. Joseph and Anna Elizabeth (Kelly) Wood, his legal guardians, were living in Marion Township, Harrison County, Missouri, but he is not listed in their household.^[10]
• Previously, it has been presumed that the family continued to live in Greene County after the marriage of John and Loutitia, although no family matching theirs has been found in the 1870 U.S. Census for that county. A family was living in Jefferson Township, Madison County, Iowa that matches their profile but the data in the record is so erroneous that more research needs to be conducted to confirm it to be the correct family.^[11] However, the sources seem to agree that they moved from Iowa to Kansas in about 1880, and that their daughter Mary Drusilla was the first to be born after relocating to the new state.^[1][12]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7} John B. Kelly (Corp'l., Co. C, 2nd Iowa Cav., Civil War), pension application no. 846,104, certificate no. 641,465, Case Files of Approved Pension Applications..., 1861-1934; Civil War and Later Pension Files; Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
2. ↑ "Ohio Probate Records, 1789-1996," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9MP-MJ6?cc=1992421&wc=S2HL-GP6 : 1 July 2014), Knox > Bonds 1881-1890 Box 99 no 701-Box 100 no 1801 > image 1932 of 2452; county courthouses, Ohio.
3. ↑ "Ohio Probate Records, 1789-1996," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9MR-DT7W?cc=1992421&wc=S2HY-3TP : 1 July 2014), Knox > Bonds 1880-1883 Box 135 no 2001-2650 > image 412 of 1732; county courthouses, Ohio.
4. ↑ Historical Data Systems, comp. U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2009.
5. ↑ "Iowa, County Marriages, 1838-1934," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KLW2-53L : 4 November 2017), John B Kelly and Luticia Toliver, 04 Jul 1867, , Greene, Iowa, United States; citing reference , county courthouses, Iowa; FHL microfilm 1,034,209.
6. ↑ "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YB3-XX9?cc=1417683&wc=XW71-6TL%3A1589403245%2C1589404221%2C1589404510%2C1589395228 : 24 December 2015), Kansas > Rooks > Medicine > ED 270 > image 1 of 10; citing NARA microfilm publication T9, (National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C., n.d.)
7. ↑ Ancestry.com. Kansas, Grand Army of the Republic Post Reports, 1880-1940 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors.
8. ↑ Ancestry.com. U.S., Register of Civil, Military, and Naval Service, 1863-1959 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Original data:Department of Commerce and Labor, Bureau of the Census. Official Register of the United States, Containing a List of the Officers and Employees in the Civil, Military, and Naval Service. Digitized books (77 volumes). Oregon State Library, Salem, Oregon.
9. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 28 July 2020), memorial page for John Burr Kelly Sr. (11 Apr 1840–7 Oct 1906), Find a Grave Memorial no. 63010370, citing Stockton Cemetery, Stockton, Rooks County, Kansas, USA ; Maintained by Kent (contributor 47258222) .
10. ↑ "United States Census, 1860," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GBS4-9Z2Z?cc=1473181&wc=7QJZ-5J6%3A1589429312%2C1589426386%2C1589422336 : 24 March 2017), Missouri > Harrison > Marion Township > image 8 of 46; from "1860 U.S. Federal Census - Population," database, Fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com : n.d.); citing NARA microfilm publication M653 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
11. ↑ "United States Census, 1870," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6WM7-94C?cc=1438024&wc=922S-D5M%3A518655701%2C518775001%2C518670101 : 11 June 2019), Iowa > Madison > Jefferson > image 14 of 18; citing NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
12. ↑ "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YB3-XX9?cc=1417683&wc=XW71-6TL%3A1589403245%2C1589404221%2C1589404510%2C1589395228 : 24 December 2015), Kansas > Rooks > Medicine > ED 270 > image 1 of 10; citing NARA microfilm publication T9, (National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C., n.d.)

• Find A Grave: Memorial #63010370
• Paternal relationship is confirmed by a triangulated group on GEDmatch consisting of Duane Kelly, LL, and MSM, who share a 21.4 cM segment on chromosome 3. The most-recent common ancestors shared by all three are Leonard Kelly and Barbara (Hatfield) Vernon.

Acknowledgements

Researched and composed by J. R. Banta. Many, many thanks to Peg Armstrong for sharing the research she had done on J. B. Kelly and his family group with me.