Kelly

William Stark Kelly is my 5th great-grandfather on my father’s side of the family.

William Stark Kelly, 17 March 1739 Ireland – 13 Dec 1826 TN, was a Revolutionary War soldier. It is because of the files of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution that we know about William, his wife and his descendants. Many people have laid claim to William as their ancestor to become members of these organizations and have, therefore, submitted details of their links to him. Piecing together this data forms a reliable Kelly family tree. According to those sources William was born in 17 March 1739 in Ireland, came to the American Colonies in 1755 and settled in Wake County, North Carolina. [i],[ii]

William married Mary Frances (Durham) Kelly [iii], daughter of William Durham and Margaret (Colough) Durham. [ii] Fortunately William’s Will lists the names of their children.

[i] US and International Marriage Records, 1560 – 1900; digital image, Ancestry (ancestry.com: accessed January 2020) William S. Kelly and Mary Frances Durham, m. in NC.

[ii] Russey, George S., The Russey Family in America: A Genealogy of James Russey(1970) Genealogy Gophers (gengophers.com: accessed January 2020) 79.

[iii] Sons of the American Revolution, Membership Applications, 1889 – 1970; Louisville, Kentucky; National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, microfilm; William Kelly.

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