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Autobiography of William Kelly
Stubbs Nelson Hart Pickett Home Tervort Wride Davis Bradshaw
LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, Andrew Jenson, Vol. 2, p.771
Kelly, William, a member of the
Mormon Battalion, was born April 6, 1828, on the Isle of Man, the son of John
Kelly and Elizabeth Quinn. [Our Pioneer
Heritage, Vol. 16, p.509 has William Kelly was born in Kirkmarown [Kirk
Marown], Isle of Man, April 6, 1828, the third son of John and Elizabeth Quine
Kelly.
The family set sail for America in 1842, having become members of the Latter-day Saint faith in their native land. They landed in New Orleans and soon afterwards moved to Nauvoo, Illinois. He immigrated to America when quite young and became a resident of Nauvoo, Illinois, where he passed through the scenes connected with the persecutions and driving of the saints from Illinois. While a lad in Nauvoo he became intimately acquainted with the Prophet Joseph Smith, Elder John Taylor and other prominent men of the Church.
Having traveled as far as the Missouri river he enlisted in the Mormon Battalion and marched as a member of that illustrious body to California as a private in Company A. The day before he took his departure from the camps of the Saints on the Missouri river he married Ann Faraker.
After serving his time according to the terms of enlistment and working a short time in or about the mines on the Sacramento river, Cal. he made his way to G. S. L. Valley, where he rejoined his young wife and soon afterwards became one of the first settlers of American Fork, Utah county, where he became a successful merchant and farmer.
During his residence in American Fork he married two other wives, namely, Christine P. Christensen and Elizabeth Cunningham. By his three wives he became the father of 32 children. Bro. Kelly died at American Fork June 18, 1899, leaving two wives, 26 children and a host of grandchildren. For a number of years he was active as a military man and held the rank of major in the Nauvoo Legion.
Description:
In addition to the many Americans who either settled or vacationed in
California in the nineteenth century, the area also drew Britons. Englishman
William Kelly from the Isle of Man Hannah
(1791-1855) visited California in 1849 and 1850, and his account of that
trip was widely read. This database is the first volume of his delightful
narrative. The volume takes him from England to California, between January and
July 1849 and includes descriptions of New York City, Buffalo, Detroit, Ottawa,
Illinois, and St. Louis. He records scenery, wildlife, and Native American
tribes as well as buffalo, antelope hunts, and the party's stay in Utah. The
book provides exceptional detail on the mechanics of a wagon train's
operations. The volume closes with Kelly's arrival in California and his
remarks on gold mining.
Source
Information:
Library of Congress. California As I Saw
It: First-Person Narratives of California's Early Years. Vol. 53. Washington: Library of Congress, 1999.
Kelly, William. An Excursion to
California Over the Prairie. London: Chapman and Hall, 1851.
HISTORY
OF WILLIAM KELLY AND WIFE
by
Martha Leonora K. Stubbs
My father William Kelly came
to America in 1847. On arriving in Salt
Lake City, Utah he lived there a year or two then moved to American Fork. With
his first wife Anna Farragher. He was engaged in a grocery store and restaurant.
Later he was a farmer and stock raiser.
He
married at the age of eighteen years and enlisted in the Mormon Battalion. He
became a Major and marched the entire distance from Council Bluffs, Iowa into
California where he received his honorable discharge. There he remained a few
months and was instrumental with others in discovering the first gold at
Sutters Mill.
He
was the only member of a family of eight, six children besides his parents who
joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Being
great friends with George Q. Cannon and brothers as they came from the same
place as my Father--The Isle of Man, Brother Angus M. Cannon came from Salt Lake City as one of the speakers at my
father’s funeral.
My
father had been married three times, my mother being the second wife. He was the father of thirty-one
children. He died in 1899; age
seventy-one years two months, and twelve days.
Mother joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the age
of twelve years. When only fifteen
years of age she left her parents, brothers and sisters to come to Zion for the
gospel's sake. She with others started across the ocean in October 1853, but
the ship became disabled and caught on fire. They had to return to shore for
repairs. It took eleven months coming to Missouri she walked the entire way to
Utah coming with a company driving Ox teams. She waded the Green River, but she
said she was happy although she had left her parents and relatives behind. They arrived in Salt Lake City in 1854.
In
Salt Lake City, she was taken to the home of William Kelly and wife with their
little family of four. They were very kind to her and in a few years they moved
to American Fork. She married William Kelly, Feb. second 1856, in the Endowment
house at Salt Lake City by Daniel H. Wells.
While mother was raising her family most of her life was spent on the
farm. She with father, passed through a lot of trying scenes likeness to
pioneer life, fighting grasshoppers, crickets, tending cows, making butter, in
every way to make a living for their children.
In
the year 1866, Mothers parents left the old country to come to Zion, her father
died while crossing the plains and was buried in a lonely grave. Her Mother and one sister arrived here. One brother, James fulfilled a mission to
Denmark then returned to Wisconsin to make his home. The other Brothers and sisters died before that time. Grandmothers name was Ann Christensen from
Brudell, Mother was born in Alsberg, Denmark.
Grandmother lived in Pleasant Grove and later with us in American Fork,
where she died in 1890 on March twenty fourth.
Mother’s
grandson Joseph Kelly Nichols went on a mission to Denmark in the year
1911. He gathered genealogy on her
people to the extent five hundred names.
Joseph Kelly Nichols and wife Olive Mahen Nichols were baptized for one
hundred and fifty in the St. George Temple in 191 2.
Mother
raised ten children. She has thirty-six
grandchildren and there are over forty great grandchildren. She died April twenty eight, 1914 at the age
of seventy-seven.
William
Kelly was born in Kirk Morown, Isle of Man April 6, 1828. William Kelly is the third son of John and
Elizabeth Quine Kelly. The family set
sail for America in 1842, having become members of the Latter-day Saint faith
in their native land. They landed in
New Orleans and soon afterwards moved to Nauvoo, Illinois where a farm was
purchased and the family soon became active in church affairs. Being closely associated with the Prophet
Joseph Smith, Elder Taylor and other church leaders. They assisted in the completion of the Nauvoo Temple and received
their Endowments in the Temple December 10, 1845.
William
passed through all the scenes connected with the persecutions of the Saints in
Illinois and left with them in February 1846 to go westward to find a new
location for a home. His parents
remained in Nauvoo and died there. He
was at Council Bluffs when Captain James C. Allen requested a Battalion of Men
and immediately volunteered his services.
He was a member of Company "A".
William
Kelly never forgot the counsel of President Brigham Young to the Battalion
Boys. "They should keep neat and
clean, teach chastity, gentility and civility, and swearing must not be
allowed. They must insult no man, they
were to preach only where people desired to hear, and then wise men were to do
the preaching. They were to take their
Bibles and Books of Mormon and if they had any playing cards, they were to burn
them. He told them if they obeyed the
instructions given them they would have no fighting to do. He said the Battalion would disband about
800 miles from the place where the church would locate and told them to tarry
there, go to work for a season, save their means and bring seeds into the
Valley when they returned".
In
the Pioneer Company of Saints was Anna Farragher, also a convert to the Church
from Kirk Patrick, Isle of Man. They
were married the evening his company set out upon its westward march, July 19,
1846.
After
he was mustered out in July 1847, he went to Sutter's Fort and was instrumental
with others in discovering the first gold on the Sacramento River in
California. In 1 848 he made his way to
Salt Lake Valley where he rejoined his young wife. He had received his pay from the mines in Gold Dust and with this
he purchased a home in Salt Lake City and here their first four children were
born. He died June 18, 1899.
Mrs.
Christina Kelly, a pioneer and a leading citizen, died at her home in the First
Ward last Monday She has not been strong for some time, and for the past three
weeks has been confined to her bed with Bright Disease, which was the cause of
her death.
Christina
Kelly was born in Denmark, August 3rd 1 837.
She and her immediate family joined the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints when she was but twelve years of age. She was the first to immigrate to Utah, but
was later followed by her parents, a brother and sister, as a girl of 15 years
she made the journey alone from Europe to Utah, being 11 months on the way.
"From Missouri she walked the entire way to Utah, coming with a company
driving ox teams, arriving in Salt Lake City in 1855. The following year she came to American Fork, where she has since
resided until the time of her death, April 27, 1914.
On
the 2nd of February 1 856 she married William Kelly, and through their union, a
family of ten children were born, all of them whom survive her. They’re being 5 boys and five girls. She also has 36 grandchildren. She was always a zealous and ardent believer
in her God and constantly taught her children the Divinity of Joseph Smith's
Mission. She died a Faithful Latter-day
Saint with a full hope in the resurrection and the redemption of mankind.
The Isle of Man is a unique destination with over 10,000 years of
history, its own currency, stamps, native tongue and mile upon mile of unspoilt
countryside and secluded beaches, yet less than 60 miles from the north west of
England.
It is set in the Irish Sea, the Island measures just 33 miles by
13 (50 x 20kms), but within these shores there is such a wealth of discoveries
to be made. It is a very different island, with its own laws and the world's
oldest continuous parliament - Tynwald.
This Isle has a fascinating, and sometimes turbulent, past of this
Island, much influenced by the Celts and Vikings over the centuries. All over the Island you'll find intriguing
evidence of the Island's culture and history... Celtic crosses, ancient Viking
burial grounds and medieval fortresses.
The Isle has the world's largest operational water wheel, the Lady
Isabella, one of the finest Victorian, the Gaiety Theatre in Douglas, transport
systems over 100 years old still in regular service plus a wealth of thrilling
motor sports events, including the T.T. for which the Island is world famous.
The history of Mann, from the ninth century colonisation by the Norse, is a turbulent tale of Vikings, English and Scots striving for supremacy and ultimately Lordship of Mann. Occasionally peace broke out, but kings such as Olaf I, who reigned for half a century, were rarities - and even he was publicly murdered. Other notable kings included his father, Godred Crovan, who is traditionally credited with uniting Mann with the Scottish Isles.
By 1405, England had gained
control of Mann and a grateful Henry IV granted kingship of the Island to Sir
John Stanley after his intervention at the Battle of Bosworth. The Stanleys
soon established themselves against Scottish and Spanish threats, thereby
protecting the western seaboard of England. Later they supported the Royalists
during the English Civil War, and despite the execution in 1651 of James
Stanley for his Royalist sympathies, the family dynasty ruled until 1736.
Most Kings and Lords of Mann spent
little time on the Island, leaving government, defence and justice to their
officials and soldiers, who were based in the fortresses of Peel Castle and
Castle Rushen. Peel Castle was extensively developed over five centuries to
protect Peel's natural harbour from attack, and occupies the richest
archaeological site on the Island.
Castle Rushen is situated at the
centre of Castletown, the Island's former capital. It is one of Europe's most
finely preserved medieval castles. Norse kings were the first to fortify the
strategic site at the mouth of the Silverburn River, the central stone Keep
dating from the thirteenth century. It was here that Magnus, the last Viking
King of Mann, died in 1265.
The Scottish and English successors of
Magnus were radically to develop the castle over the next three hundred years,
its towering limestone walls becoming a brooding presence in the south of the
Island and a constant reminder to the local populace of the dominance of the
Kings and Lords of Mann.
The Isle of Man
occupies a central position, not only in the Irish Sea, but also in the British
Isles. The Island is some 33 miles (52 kilometers) long from north to south and
13 miles (22 km) wide from east to west at the widest point.
The coastline, which is over 100 miles (160 km) long, encompasses
an area of 227 square miles (572 sq. km). Despite its comparatively small size,
the Island contains a wide variety of scenery. A range of hills stretch
obliquely across the Island, the highest of which is Snaefell at 2,036 feet
(621 meters). Between these hills lie well defined valleys, which provide
endless changes of scenery. Around the Island’s flat northern plain are long
sandy beaches, which contrast markedly with the rocky cliffs and sheltered bays
around the rest of the coastline. Over two thirds of the land mass is
cultivated, principally the fertile northern and southern plains.
It is said that the Isle of Man is like the whole of Britain in
miniature and yet with a population density of just 316 people per square mile
(125 per sq. km) there is room to breathe and grow.
The major settlements in the Isle of Man are Douglas (population
23,487) in the east, 
neighboring
Onchan (8,656), Ramsey (6,874) in the north, Peel (3,819) in the west and
Castletown (2,958), Port Erin (3,218) and Port St Mary (1,874) all in the
south. The 1996 Census recorded a resident population of 71,714 (34,797 males,
36,917 females), which represented an increase of almost 3% since the 1991
Census. This increase occurred mainly within the working age range through the
immigration of economically active persons, which reflected the expansion in
the Manx economy over the previous 5 years and underlined the close
relationship between economic and demographic growth.
Due to the influence of the surrounding Irish Sea, the Island’s
climate is temperate and lacking in extremes. In winter, snowfall and frost are
infrequent. Even when snow does occur, it rarely lies on the ground for more
than a day or two. February is normally the coldest month, with an average
daily temperature of 4.9 C (41 F), but it is often relatively dry. However, the
Island is rather windy. The prevailing wind direction for most of the Island is
from the Southwest, although the rugged topography means that local effects of
shelter and exposure are very variable. In summer, April, May and June are the
driest months whilst May, June and July are the sunniest. July and August are
the warmest months, with an average daily maximum temperature around 17.6 C (63
F). The highest temperature recorded at the Island’s weather centre at Ronald
sway is 28.9 C or 84 F. Thunderstorms are rare.
Although geographically small, there is climatic variation around
the Island. Sea fog affects the south and east coasts at times, especially in
spring, but is less frequent on the west coast. Rainfall 
and the
frequency of hill fog both increase with altitude. The highest point of the
Island (Snaefell at 2,036 ft) receives some two and a quarter times more
rainfall than Ronald sway on the southeast coast, where the annual average is
863 mm. (34 inches).
Peel Castle & St Patrick's Isle
St
Patrick's Isle is one of the smallest Islands in the Irish Sea and yet one of
the most historic, with an extraordinary history stretching back over eight
thousand years.
It has been the home of princesses and bishops, monks and Vikings,
peasants and fisherman.
The story begins some six thousand years before Christ when
hunter-gatherers made their way here, attracted by the abundant fish, and the
fresh water of the nearby river.
By the time of the Dark Ages and the unrest throughout Europe, the
isolation of St Patrick's Isle made it an ideal place for safety, for storing
grain in times of siege, and for establishing the King's court.
It was here, tradition tells us, that the great Saint Patrick
stepped ashore to bring Christianity to the Isle of Man, and a monastery and
early churches were established.
This wealth attracted the Vikings who had started to plunder the
Irish Sea coasts by the 10th century, and by the 11th century they had built a
fort on the Island under the intriguingly named King Magnus Barelegs.
After the Viking period, the Isle of Man was fought over by the
Scottish and English powers, and eventually it came under English rule at the
beginning of the 14th century, and was gifted to a certain Sir John Stanley by
King Henry IV. From this time on, St Patrick's Isle was used both by the Church
and the Lords of Mann, though not without frequent arguments as to who was
really in control.
Eventually the castle was abandoned in the 18th century when the
garrison was moved out to one of the other Island towns. Soon afterwards the
lead was stripped from the Cathedral roof, and the stained glass removed.
Gradually, the buildings deteriorated until today, all we see is a picturesque
ruin, albeit on a dramatic sea swept location. The soft pink sandstone has been
scoured by centuries of wind racing in off the Irish Sea, and the pillars and
arches of the buildings are weathered into strange shapes. Nowadays, 
instead of the
singing of monks or the shouting of soldiers, it is the constant arguing of
seagulls that fills the air, along with the endless sound of the sea, over
which so much richness and tragedy has come to this tiny Island over so many
thousands of years.
The Story of Mann
Celtic Crosses and Viking Invaders
The dramatic and fascinating Story of Mann will captivate any
visitor with even the slightest sense of history.
This is 10,000 years of the Island's often-turbulent history
brought to life in an imaginative and thought-provoking way, along a heritage
trail, which begins at the award-winning Manx Museum in Douglas and takes you
on a journey of discovery to sites all over the Island.
Unlike ancient Britain, the Isle of Man escaped invasion by the
Romans or Normans. In the 9th century the Vikings overran the Celtic Manx, and
in 1266 the Island passed to the Scottish crown. Not until the middle of the
14th century did the Island become an English possession.
All this and more is retold in
the remarkable Story of Mann.
Meet the Kings and Lords of Mann in Castle Rushen,
a superbly - preserved medieval limestone fortress with Viking orgins, which
even today is used as a courthouse.
Marvel at Peel
Castle, the ruling seat of the Norse Kingdom of Mann, and Odin's Raven - a
replica Viking ship built in Norway and sailed to the Isle of Man in 1979 to
celebrate 1000 years 
of Tynwald, the
Island's Parliament.
Step backs in time a hundred years or more and compare the
lifestyle of rural folk with that of a wealthly Victorian farming family.
Cregneash Village Folk Museum is an original 19th-century crofting village,
where the restored thatched cottages are a living example of traditional Island
skills such as spinning, weaving, and farming with a horse and plough. In
startling contrast is the imposing Victorian house, which now forms the
centrepiece of the Grove Rural Life Museum.
Discover the Great Laxey Wheel
and mines, the Calf of Man, the unique Manx cat and Loaghtan sheep.
And wonder at archaeological sites, prehistoric burial chambers, Celtic-Viking stone
crosses, the churches of Maughold and Kirk Michael, and many other
attractions along the route of this memorable journey into the Isle of Man's
long and fascinating past.
Laxey Wheel
Set high on the hillside towards the hamlet of Agneash and
overlooking Laxey Village is the Great Laxey Wheel. This was built in 1854 to
pump water from the workings of the Great Laxey Mining Company. Mining was of
considerable importance to the economy of Laxey and the Great Laxey Mine was
one of the major producers of lead and zinc in the British Isles.
The Laxey water wheel was designed by the Manx engineer Robert
Casement. The Mersey Iron Works of Liverpool forged the wheel’s axle but the
cast iron rims were made on the Island by Gelling's Foundry at Douglas. Manx
artisans shaped the timbers of the wheel and the whole structure was assembled
here on the Island.
The official
opening of this huge wheel took place in September 1854 and the Honorable
Charles Hope, the Lieutenant Governor of the Island, set it in motion. The
wheel was named "Lady Isabella" in honor of the Governor's wife. The
wheel has a diameter of 72 feet 6 inches, (over 22 meters), and a width of 6
feet. It is capable of pumping 250 gallons of water per minute from a depth of
almost 1,500 feet. The mineshaft from which the water was pumped was sited
about 450 yards from the great wheel. The power from the wheel was transmitted
to the pumping mechanism by a series of rods supported by and running along an
imposing masonry viaduct.
In 1929 when mining came to an end, Mr. Edwin Kneale of Laxey
acquired the Lady Isabella and it continued as a great tourist attraction. The
wheel was as much associated with the Isle of Man as were the cats without
tails and the world famous succulent kippers. In 1965 the Manx 
government
bought the water wheel and the restoration work, which followed, preserved it
for future generations. Since 1989 it has been under the control of Manx
National Heritage.
The "Lady Isabella" is claimed to be the largest water
wheel in Europe: possibly in the world.
In the meantime, after over a century and a half, and in the words
of a popular, modern song – "The Laxey Wheel keeps turning, turning,
and turning. In Lady Isabella's memory..."
Kelly from the Isle of Man
From Greenland's
icy mountains
To India's coral strand;
Along the Colorado
And across the Rio Grande
From Mexico to Mandalay,
Hong Kong to Singapore;
On the banks of the Brahmaputra,
And the hills of Bangalore;
From Cleveland in Ohio
To San Francisco Bay
There's a world-wide race of rovers
You may come upon some day.
You may find them setting fur
traps
On the snow line in Alaska.
You may find them driving combines
In the cornbelt of Nebraska.
You may find them drilling oil wells
In the sands of Az-Zahran
And you'll find their name is Kelly -
And they're from the Isle of Man.
In Saskatoon, Saskatchewan,
In Vancouver and St. John,
From Yellowknife to Gypsumville,
From Goose Bay to Edmonton;
In Alberta and Ontario,
In logging camps and mines,
In Winnepeg and Ottawa,
In the glare of neon signs
In a thousand northern settlements
On a thousand lakeside shores,
Behind the hardware counters
Of a thousand general stores.
In Wollongong and Woomera,
In Melbourne and Mackay,
In Broken Hill and Brisbane,
In Finke and Flinders Bay;
And you'll find them up in Arnhem Land,
Yamba, or Yarraloola,
Or riding a train on the Nullarbor Plain
From Naretba to Tarcoola.
You may find them riding boundaries
With horse and tucker bag,.
Or camping out in Coopers Creek
With billy can and swag.
You may find them driving transports
Through the blue to Alice Springs;
You may find them flying doctors
Who haven't got their wings.
You may find them putting pineapples
And peaches in a can,
And you'll flnd their their name is Kelly -
And they're from the Isle of Man.
You may find them on a thousand
ships
Of a thousand shapes and sorts,
That take a thousand cargoes
To a thousand foreign ports.
From London, Glasgow, Liverpool,
Southampton, Bristol, Hull,
To Hamburg, Stockholm, Helsinki,
Marseilles and Istanbul.
To Freetown, Lagos, Capetown,
Manilla, Port of Spain,
Kuwait, Colombo, Buenos Aires,
Christchurch - and back again.
And you may find them on the
bridges
Of a thousand salt-stained Tramps,
Or checking in the engine rooms
Oil pressures, fuels and amps.
Or on liners, or on tankers,
Wherever ships may sail ;
Behind the canvas dodgers
Of many a ship's taffrail.
You may find them on the Oceans,
And on all the Seven Seas,
From the Arctic to Antarctica -
What latitude you please.
You may find them in the tropics,
And if you look beneath the tan
You'll find their name is Kelly-
And they're from the Isle of Man.
Or you'll find their name is
Callow,
Caley, Callin, Cain,
Christian, Corlett, Corrin,
Cowley, Cowell, or Craine.
Or you'll find their name is Faragher,
Or Garrett, or Kaneen,
Kennaugh, Kewley, or Kerruish,
Kissack, Kneale or Kneen.
Or you'll find their name is Mlylchreest,
Qualtrough, Quane, or Quayle,
Quilliam, Quilleash, Quiggin,
Shimmin, Quirk, or Sayle.
But no matter
what the name is
They share a common birth,
For they all hail from the Island
That's the grandest place on earth.
And like cushags blooming in the fields
From Rushen to Lezayre,
Those omnipresent Manxmen
Are blooming everywhere.
