Kelly Kaleidoscipe

Thomas<James<John<Alexander       

Photo: (standing) Lois (daughter of William), Clay, Bob, Mag; (seated) William, Lois, James, Mame

JAMES KELLY
1818-1892

James Kelly was born in Marion County, TN on April 29, 1818 to John and Nancy Mayo Kelly.  On April 26, 1843 James married Lois Ashworth Bridges*, daughter of James and Mary McKim Bridges in Athens, TN.  Lois was born in McMinn County, TN November 1, 1827. The couple lived in McMinn County, TN from 1843 to 1845-46.  Their oldest son, William, was born in Athens in 1844.  Before 1846 the family moved to Peavine, GA where John and Margaret were born.  By November, 1851 they moved to Kelly’s Ferry, TN where Lydia was born.  In 1855 they moved to Chattanooga where Martha and Thomas were born.  Martha lived only a year.  In 1857 they started toward  Texas from Walker County, GA coming from Chattanooga to Fredonia, Arkansas on their flatboat (8 ft. Long and 18 ft. wide).    

Their first stop two months into their trip was at Gaines Landing, Arkansas.  At the Sabine River Landing at Fredonia James sold his boat, established his family in a camp in the ‘yard’ of a friend and set out for Texas.  It took him two years to reach Erath County as he stoped along the way to teach school in various settlements.  In 1858 he arrived in Stephenville where he started a school and sent for his family.  In Stephenville Frances, Mary and Henry were added to the family.  During the Civil War James was the tithe master in Erath County and served as judge of courts organized to handle criminal complaints.  

In 1865  the family moved to St. Elmo in Travis County.  Here Robert was born.  James died  July 30, 1892 at the age of 74.  After his death Lois and children moved to Comanche County where their home was located on the county  line so that sitting in the living room put one was in Comanche County and in the bedroom one was in Hamilton County.  Lois died there in February 3, 1909 at the age of 87.  James and Lois Kelly were buried in Boggy Creek Cemetery near Austin.  After their deaths Margaret, Mary and Robert moved to Hamilton, TX where they lived until their deaths and burial in the IOOF Cemetery.

James and Lois were the parents of 10 children:
1)     William  Bridges  b. February 9, 1844, Athens, TN.; married Asther Agnes Flaniken
2)     John James   b. October 9, 1846, Peavine, GA; married Martha Elizabeth Williamson
3)    Margaret McKim   b. December 7, 1848, Peavine, GA.; "Mag”
4)    Lydia Ann   b. November 27, 1851, Kelly’s Ferry, TN; married Nathaneil Merritt Singleton
5)    Martha Smith   b. March 11, 1855-d. September 4, 1956, Chattanooga, TN
6)    Thomas White  b. January 27, 1857. Chattanooga, TN
7)     Francis McNeal  b. July 14, 1859, Stephenville, TX; married William Rufus King
8)    Mary Tennessee   b. October 19, 1861, Stephenville, TX.; “Mame”
9)    Henry   Clay   b. September 5, 1965, Stephenville, TX; married Idodra Singleton
10) Robert Bruce   b. September 5, 18 68, Cypress Creek, TX

*Lois Bridges family arrived in the United States in Massachuetts  in 1625 with the immigration of Henry Tibbitts.  Arriving with Henry was his young son Jeremiah.  Henry<Jeremiah Sr<Jermiah Jr<John Sr<John Jr<Nathaniel<Mary Tibbetts McKim<Mary McKim Bridges<Lois Bridges