Little Miss Jimma Leigh Hawthorne, a Flomaton Elementary 3rd grade student, claims the proud distinction of being the 9th Great Granddaughter of Peter Kelly, Patriot. Peter O'Kelly was born in County Limerick, Ireland in 1751. Leaving Ireland with his family for the New World, Peter landed in Annapolis, Maryland in June of 1766. Peter dropped the "O" from his name to begin a new life in America to be known forever after as Peter Kelly.
Peter, age fifteen and an apprenticed cabinet maker to his uncle William, had sailed the ocean with William and his family to Maryland. Also traveling on the small ship was Peter's family: his father Charles, his mother, eight brothers and one sister. The crossing from the southern coast of Ireland at Waterford to Annapolis took a maddening twenty-nine days. From the time Peter stepped foot in the New World at 15 until the age of eighteen, he had read all the books in the treasured Kelly family library. The cherished books included a Bible, the Confession of Faith, Mathew Henry's Commentary, Baxter's Works, Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress and Buck's Theological Dictionary. Peter had been taught from an early age to read. For a man that had come to America for reasons of civil and religious freedom, Peter was well read and on his way with knowledge of the classics.
Years were spent making his way to Lauren's District in South Carolina. Peter served two months under General Richardson and was in the 'Snowy Campaign." The American frontier was being slowly opened by more newcomers using well-marked trails and roads to new settlements across the wilderness. The native Americans resisted the invasion. Peter Kelly joined the military to help safeguard the citizens and take ownership of what they had come to America for.
Peter spent the better part of his life doing his duty as a Patriot. Peter fought Indian wars all over the Eastern part of his new country and was discharged on June 15th,1777. He again enlisted to serve six months in a Georgia Regiment under Captain James Dillard in 1780 and went on an expedition against the Indians. Often thereafter Peter was called out on expeditions under Pickens and Marion against the Indians.
Shortly after his marriage to Jane Ewing, Peter moved his family to Wilks County, Georgia and lived there until 1782. The family then moved to Greene County, Georgia to live until about 1787. In November of 1792, Peter Kelly and his wife sold 135 acres to Kunkin Cammron in Greene County, Georgia. From Greene County they moved back to Laurens County, South Carolina to live for 14 years. From South Carolina they moved to Livingston County, Kentucky to live until 1811.
Peter's son encouraged him to come to Georgia because of the threat of the war of 1812 loomed. Peter decided he was by now too old to live through more war. He and Jane closed the little cabin in Kentucky and headed to Alabama. At age 60 Peter and his wife Jane moved to Wilcox County, Alabama to live with his son John, not far from McKinley. Wilcox county was eventually divided to have part of the area named Marengo County.
In the 1820's Peter began to provide written testimony to the government concerning the pensions of fellow Patriots, and in doing so he left a detailed record of his exploits. In 1834 he applied for and won a pension to help out his son John's growing family. He was awarded $50 a year. This was the only pay he ever received for his services to the new nation. To Peter this was more than enough.
Peter Kelly's history as a dedicated American patriot can in no way be written here because of the limited space for this article. A book has been written for the family which tells of his participation in battles fought for the young America he helped establish and fight for. The Kelly Family had a host of members that lived and helped to carve out the frontier for settlements and establish the rule of law for the young developing country.
Peter Kelly died at 88 years of age on December 19,1839, preceded by his wife Jane in March of the same year. Peter and Jane were buried in the private Kelly cemetery in front of the old Kelly Home in Catherine, Alabama on a beautiful knoll in a grove of large oaks. The land was sold in 1971 and the Kelly graves were moved to the Dickenson Cemetery at McKinley in Wilcox County.
This writer is a close friend and neighbor to Peter Kelly's 6th Great Granddaughter, Mrs. Vonda Kulman Coleman. Vonda shared her connection to Peter Kelly Revolutionary War Soldier and how the DAR came to be involved in moving the remains of Peter and Jane to a new location. After the Kelly homeplace was bought, the new owners didn't want to have the graves on their land and provide access for future generations of Peter Kelly's descendent lines coming to visit the graves. Vonda and her sister Joyce belong to the Daughters of the American Revolution and asked for the organization to get involved to have the remains of their ancestors moved to a place for them to be allowed to visit. The DAR initiated a long process that involved having Peter and Janes’ bones checked through the process of DNA for authentication. The request was met and approved. In 1978 the Kelly's were moved to the new resting place.
In 2001, the DAR held a ceremony to install a brass monument at the graves of Peter and Jane Kelly to celebrate the American Patriot’s willing obligation and love of his country. In 2014 this writer traveled with Vonda to Wilcox County to visit the graves and take pictures of her ancestors Peter and Jane Kelly. Peter Kelly's descendent line shows Vonda's son Billy is 7th great grandson, his daughter Amanda Coleman Hawthorne is 8th great granddaughter and her daughter Jemmi Leigh Hawthorne is 9th great granddaughter and last in descendent line of Peter Kelly, Patriot.
You can check out Earline’s blog and buy a copy of her first book “Life With the Top Down” at: http://www.earlinesdoins.com
