Hello! I've been trying to find information on my Irish ancestors and am so happy to find this group! There are so many Kellys in the US!

I am a singer/conductor, harpist, romance writer and water aerobics instructor, married to a German. We have two daughters, both in their 20s. They know a lot about their German heritage, some of their DAR and Portuguese heritage and I so want them to know about their Irish roots.

It's been difficult to get information because my father, John L. Kelly from New Jersey, USA, divorced my mom and we never saw him again. I've been steadily piecing things together. There is no family tree on Ancestry.com, except the one I'm building.

My mother is vague about where in Ireland my great-grandfather came from, but she thinks it was County Cork. Or not. She was never sure. She met and married my father two years after my grandfather died, so he was a murky figure to her. I wish I could have asked these questions to my Uncle Mike, who was my father's older brother. He'd never give me info on my father, but I probably should have asked him about his father and grandfather. I didn't because I really didn't know that it really would mean so much to me now.

Here is what I think I have. My great, great-grandfather was William J. Kelly, born in March 1859. My great, great-grandmother, Agnes Kelly - no maiden name that I can find - was a mulatto born in Ireland. They left Ireland for the USA in 1889. The census of 1900 says my great-grandfather Michael was born in Ireland. In 1910 it says Michael was born in New York. Siblings included Julia Kelly, born in New York, William Kelly, born in Ireland in 1900 and Laura Kelly, also born in Ireland. Laura and William may have changed the spelling of their surname to Kelley, so they would be Lace Curtain Irish as opposed to Shanty Irish. At least that's my theory. My father's family, those I knew, did claim Shanty Irish as a badge of honor.

William's son, my grandfather, was Michael J. Kelly, born in July, 1887. He must have been born in Ireland, but was the one who was claimed to be born in New York in 1910.

Is that clear as mud?

They all lived in Oswego, NY, USA in 1900 through to 1910. Eventually my great-grandfather Michael moved to New Jersey and lived in Bergen County. His business was listed as Advertising, which could have been anything. He died in 1953.

I'm looking forward to meeting you all and look forward to chatting with you!

Doreen

Doreen great to hear from you and you have an interesting story. I don’t know how far we can go to help you in your quest, but some pointers may be of use.
Your Ggf coming from Cork could refer to has place of departure rather than his home. Cobh was the biggest port catering for the huge exodus of Irish in the years after the famine. There was no Kelly clan indigenous to Cork, but in 1609 the Kellys of Queens Co were transplanted by a Cosby to parts of North Cork and Kerry.

Your Gggm. Agnes being mulatto is very interesting. Ireland was not a multi-racial society at that time, and to be other than white was very rare indeed. This raises many interesting questions. Did her people arrive with General Ginkell during the Williamite wars (1689 -1691). It’s known that many Dutch colonial mercenaries fought on the Williamite side. Or it’s possible she was the issue of one of the many Irish who did well in the plantations of Jamaica under the British administration in the 17th century.

Although living here in Ireland, research is no easier because records were destroyed (willfully) during the Civil War of 1922. Because of this we suggest to all those researching their Kelly roots, to seriously consider doing a DNA test. It has helped many, myself included, to “cut to the chase” and give a proper starting point. Then things could start to happen.

Stay in touch and we would be delighted to see you here in Ireland in the future. In the mean time on behalf of the Clan I wish you and yours Health, Happiness and Contentment for 2013.

Joe.

31st Dec. 2012.

Hello, Joe!

Thank you for your reply! I'm finally getting some traction on getting the scoop with my Kelly forbears and am so happy for the information, especially the Cork info. It will narrow down my search of the immigration/ship logs, which are huge.

I did track the family to Oswego, NY and I live about 2 hours away from there. I imagine a pilgrimage to the library to look at birth and death records may turn up some long lost cousins.

I will post what I find. There are so many twisty turns to this story!

I wish you a happy New Year, full of health and happiness! Doreen

Hi Doreen, and all other Kelleys,

I am in the same metaphorical boat as you, Doreen, searching for where I came from. Only my Kelley ancestors went to New Foundland , Canada probably about 1830.
Only information I was given was County Cork, but as Joe has already pointed out that was just where they were picking people up. Still, I read that travel back then was hard so probably the people boarding at Cork would have been within a days walk or travel on horse if that.

I went to Ireland about 12 years ago. Landed in Shannon and left from Shannon. It was a beautiful experience.

I think I will probably be doing the DNA testing eventually. Right now I am hoping to find histories of Kelley Families and where they are all from. I have read there are at least seven or eight Kelley families with different points of origin. Does anyone know where those different points of origins are?

I am wondering what basic blood type the Kelley family had? Does anyone know? I heard theer was a lot of negative blood, mostly O negative?

The good thing about my bloodline is that it went from relatively isolated Ireland to very isolated New Foundland. I am first generation American. Still it is all very hard to trace. So I am depending on learning history hoping that will help give me some connection to my roots. Where did the Irish people come from? There were so many invasions of Ireland? Did the seven different clans of Kelleys come about from the different invasions?

I wish us both luck with our search.