per Irene Clark Email 12 Apr 2004, Margaret and John did not have children.
per Irene Clark Email 12 Apr 2004, Margaret and John did not have children.
William Kelly was a member of the Mormon Battalion during the Mexican War. Here is a report on the Mormon Battalion by Duane Merrill, grade 4
"The Mormon Battalion was made up of 500 of the best men of the Mormon Pioneers who were on their way to Utah. The Pioneers had sent to President James Knox Polk and asked to be hired to transport products to the Oregon country. The President said he wished to hire 500 of their men to fight against the Mexicans in the Mexican War.The Mormon Battalion left Winter Quarters in the summer of 1846 and marched all the way to California. This is known as one of the most famous marches of all history. President Brigham Young had told them that they would not have to shed any blood, and that proved to be true. The men spent their time teaching the Spaniards how to build houses and dig wells and many other useful things."
A BRIEF HISTORY OF WILLIAM EDWARD KELLY AND HIS FAMILY
(including 80 endnotes with 5 maps)WRITTEN BY PAULA DIANE STUCKI ANDERSON
William Kelly’s Great-Great-Granddaughter
(30 July 2007)for the full text of this article cut and paste the following link into your web browser:
http://www.dianneandpaul.net/genealogy/WilliamKelly.html
Written by Nadine Varney Ramirez
Great Great Granddaughter in Thomas Samuel Kelly line
With the assistance of Irene Clark (great granddaughter) and Paula Anderson (descendant of 2nd wife)Ann Faragher (Fargher) was the first child born to William Fargher and Ann Kelly at their farm named Ballacooil, in the parish of Patrick, on the Isle of Man. Her birth is not recorded in that parish record but proof has been found to place her in that family. Of the several birthdates to be found, the one most reliable is 19 Feb 1819, which was the date she gave when she was endowed in the Nauvoo Temple. She was the oldest of twelve children, her siblings being Margaret, Thomas, Elizabeth, Catherine, John, Jane, Martha, Elinor, Ellen, Eliza Hesther and William Robert. John and Elinor died as infants. Nothing has been found to tell us about Ann’s childhood.
In September, 1840, Elder John Taylor began preaching the gospel on the Isle ofMan as taught by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This was prompted
by the fact that his wife Leonora was a native of the Isle of Man and so the desire was
there to share the gospel with her family. Ann must have heard him preach early in his
ministry and was converted to the truth. We wish we knew the details of that conversion.
In the 1841 census, Ann is listed as living with the Charles and Ann Cowley family who
were also converts. She is not listed as an employee of the family but remained with
them throughout their immigration to America. Family legend has it that "she was
disowned by her folks when she joined the church and came to America”. Her sisters
Elizabeth and Ellen also immigrated to America in later years but only Ann did so for
religious reasons. She wanted to be with the Saints in America and she never saw her
family or her homeland again although she wrote letters in her later years to at least one
sister, Margaret.
Ann was part of the Nineteenth Company that sailed on the “Swanton” with 212
Saints aboard, bound for Nauvoo via New Orleans on January 16th, 1843, under the
direction of Elder Lorenzo Snow. Captain Davenport, and officers of the crew, were
kind and courteous to the Saints. The steward, a German by birth, was a general favorite
and respected by all. The story continues:
“During the latter part of the voyage he took sick, and continued growing worse and worse until death seemed inevitable. All means proved unavailing, and the captain, by whom he was much beloved, gave up all hope of his recovery. One
of our members, Sister Martin, prevailed on the captain until he gave his consent for Elder Snow to administer to him. After devoting a few moments to secret prayer, he laid his hands on the head of the young man, prayed, and in the name of Jesus Christ, rebuked the disease and commanded him to be made whole. Very soon after, to the joy and astonishment of all, he was seen walking the deck, praising and glorifying God for his restoration. The officers and sailors acknowledged the miraculous power of God, and on landing at New Orleans, several of them were baptized, also the first mate, February 26th, 1843.”"At New Orleans the emigrating Saints left the Swanton, and, on board the
Amaranth, wended their way up the Mississippi River to St. Louis, where they arrived Wednesday, March 29th, 1843. There they had to remain a few days, lying in a boat, waiting for the river to open, before they could continue the journey to Nauvoo."
Descriptive of the arrival of the company at Nauvoo, the following occurs in theHistory of Joseph Smith, under the date of April 12th, 1843:
"Before the elder’s conference closed, the steamer Amaranth speared in the sight of the (Nauvoo) Temple, coming up the river, and about noon, landed her passengers at the wharf, consisting of about 240 Saints from England, under the charge of Elder Lorenz Snow, who left Liverpool last January, after a mission of nearly three years. I, with a large company of the brethren and sisters, was present to greet the arrival of our friends.."
We can only imagine Ann's joy to have the Prophet greet them upon their arrival.
Ann was, no doubt, present in Nauvoo during those last precious months of the
Prophet’s life. She mourned with the Saints upon learning of his martyrdom in Carthage.
We are not sure whether she was baptized before leaving the Isle of Man or upon
her arrival in Nauvoo, but certainly she was before being endowed in the Nauvoo Temple
on 31 Jan 1846. Thousands of Saints received their first endowments during that period.
She was a part of the exodus across Iowa which began 4 February 1846 and endured the
deprivations and hardships of that journey.Ann was very refined and kind-hearted and everyone seemed to love her. She
had lovely black hair and eyes and most people thought her very beautiful. We are
not sure when Ann came to know William Kelly, also a convert from the Isle of Man,
who came to Nauvoo with his family via the same overseas route and arrived on 27 April
1844. He was a tall and handsome man with fair skin and dark eyes and hair who had
been endowed in the Nauvoo Temple one month prior to Ann. Ann was nearly 9
years older than William, who was only 18 (born 6 Apr 1828) at the time of their
marriage. William was the only one of his family to go west with the Saints. It is clear
that both of them sacrificed much and were faithful to what they believed.
Ann and William were probably part of the same pioneer company while crossing
Iowa. Whatever their courtship, they were married on 15 July 1846 at Council Bluffs,
Pottawattamie, Iowa, one day before William enlisted with the Mormon Battalion as a
private in Company A and began that year-long march ending in San Diego. Ann was
left under the care of John Taylor who sponsored her during the trek to the Salt Lake
valley. When winter came, Ann and others moved across the Missouri River and set up a
community known as Winter Quarters near present day Omaha, Nebraska. She was a
member of the 11th Ward at Winter Quarters until the following spring when the first
wagon trains were preparing to go west.
Ann traveled without a companion in her wagon but was with friends from the
Isle of Man who helped her with the care of her team and other daily chores necessary
while crossing the plains. She traveled with the Edward Hunter Company with Joseph
Horne, Captain, leaving on 17 Jun 1847 and arriving in Great Salt Lake Valley 29
Sep 1847. Here she waited for William’s return, living at the Old Fort that had been
constructed for the purpose of housing the Saints during their first two winters in Salt
Lake. Church meetings, socials and school were part of the daily activities at the fort.
William was discharged after completing the Battalion march to San Diego on 16
Jul 1847. William headed north with the Levi Hancock Company to the Sacramento area
but didn’t return immediately to the Great Salt Lake valley. He, along with other
Battalion soldiers, worked at Sutter’s Fort. A family story says he was present when gold
was discovered but he was not on the list of workers that day. We do know that he was
one of many who panned for gold until he joined a group of 12 soldiers under Marcus
Shepherd who returned to the valley in September 1848. After rejoining his wife, Ann,
he used his gold flakes to buy property in Salt Lake City and support his family. After a
more than 2 year separation, we can only imagine their joy at being reunited.
While living in the 7th Ward of the Pioneer Stake in Salt Lake City, their first four
children were born to them-Mary Ann (21 Jul 1849), William Edward (17 Aug 1850),
Eliza Elizabeth (30 Jan 1852) and Joseph Lamoni (9 Apr 1853). It is probable that
William was called by church authorities to move south to help settle the Lake City
(American Fork) area between the birth of Joseph and their 5th child Enos Moroni
on 7 Apr 1855. Here William became a successful merchant and farmer. They
established a boarding house for the convenience of travelers which Ann managed, and a
store in the northwest part of town. Ann was a very good cook and hostess. She loved to
sing and tell of her beloved homeland. Even though she was always busy, she willingly
became a counselor in the first Relief Society organized in American Fork on 24 Oct
1856. She was very much loved and served for twelve years.
In September, 1855, a large company of Danish Saints arrived in Salt Lake City.
It is possible that a request for help with the boarding house was made to church
authorities by William and Ann. Regardless of how it happened, Kirsten Pedersen (later
known as Christena Petersen) was taken into their home as a housekeeper. She was only
18 years old, vigorous, healthy and strong and could not speak a word of English. Her
cheerful disposition, her willingness to learn and her dependability endeared her to
William and Ann. It is said that a visiting authority called upon William and Ann to
accept Christena into plural marriage and, with the agreement of all three, William was
married to Christena Petersen on 2 February 1856. This marriage was sealed in the
President’s Office on 1 February 1857. They had ten children. William set up his
second wife, Christena, and her family on the farm in the southeast part of town.
Ann had a son, Hyrum Kelly (born in 1856 and, sadly, died in 1857), and a son
David Hyrum, who was born 25 Apr 1858. Shortly afterward, William Kelly married his
third wife, Elizabeth Cunningham, on 19 July 1858, in the Endowment House. Elizabeth
(Betsy) had immigrated from Scotland with her family and had come to Zion with the ill-
fated Willie Handcart Company. At the time of their marriage, William was 30, Ann
was 39 and Betsy was not yet 15. Ann bore William her eighth and last child, Thomas
Samuel Kelly, on 29 Feb 1860.
In 1868, a branch of the ZCMI (Zion’s Cooperative Merchantile Assn) was
organized in American Fork. The competition ruined the retail business of William and
severely reduced his ability to support his families. William withdrew himself from all
association with the church when chastised by Church leaders for refusing to pay tithing
and for manifesting a defiant spirit. When notice was served to William Kelly that he
could be "cut off" from the church, he asked no quarter, and was excommunicated on
3 Apr 1873 for apostasy. Despite William’s excommunication, he encouraged his
children and wives to attend Church and was respected and well-liked by others.
Christena gave birth to four more children and most of Betsy's children (nine) were born
during or after 1873. All of these children were blessed and baptized at the proper time.Christena continued to treat him with a kindly, dignified respect and cared for him in his
old age. Elizabeth, bore him 11 children.
Sometime during these years, William began to drink and, as is often the nature of
drinking, it negatively affected his behavior and his relationship with his wives. Ann is
said to have loved her husband dearly. However, their relationship continued to
deteriorate until Ann felt it was intolerable and obtained a divorce from William on 20
June 1877. Her daughters Mary Ann and Eliza were married by this time. Ann's son
Enos was "idiotic"and therefore continued to be dependent upon Ann for his care until
her death three years later. Enos then went to live with Christena who cared for him.
That act speaks volumes about the relationship between the wives despite the divorce.
Her son Joseph Lamoni took care of his mother after the divorce and remained
unmarried until after Ann's death. Ann finished her life in American Fork where she
died from pneumonia on 3 Jan 1880 at 60 years of age. It is said that she died broken-
hearted about her relationship with William but always had a strong testimony of the
gospel and was faithful to her convictions. She was a good woman and one of which her
descendants can be proud. She was very courageous in filing for divorce during a time
when divorce was very rare. Just two months after the divorce was final, she was
branding her own herd of cattle and that shows strong character, determination and a
desire to take care of herself and her family.
We also must be careful in judging William. As did Ann, he gave up his
homeland and his family for the gospel's sake. He obeyed the prophet and became
one of the Mormon Battalion, returned to Utah and became one of the first settlers, along
with Ann, in settling American Fork, Utah. He obeyed the call to take plural wives and
was the father of 32 children. We honor and revere them for the gospel heritage we have
as a result of their sacrifices and service to us, their descendants.
Marriage Notes for William Edward Kelly and Ann FARAGHER-2579
Per Paula Anderson email 22 Sep 2009 "As for Ann Faragher and her divorce from William Kelly. I did not make copies of the 60 pages but Irene has all the pages if you want more info. The divorce dragged on for about two years and Ann accused William (several times) of hiding assets."
David Hyrum Kelly never married - per Irene Clark Email 12 Apr 2004.
An Elizabeth Corris also appears in the 1880 census in Brooklyn, Kings, NY. The household is listed thus: Charles C. Stratton, widowed, age 36, born NY, occupation book binder, father born NY, mother born NY.
Elizabeth Corris, MotherL, widowed, age 56, born Ireland, father born Ireland, Mother born Ireland,
Edward C. Stratton, son, age 6 born NY, father born NY, mother born NY
William C. Stratton, son, age 4, born NY, same.this note comes from Irene Clark on 23 Feb 2004: I was able to find a Family Ordinance Record of Charles Clifford Stratton and Elizabeth Jane Corris, with son Edward Campbell Stratton, born 30 Jul 1872. The other son was 2 years younger and was named William C. Stratton, but I don't have an exact birthdate.
This is not our Elizabeth!!!
This person is dead.
This person is dead.
This person is dead.