USA > Maine > Genealogical and family history of the state of Maine, Volume II > Part 84
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(I) William Kelley, descended from the above family, came from Cape Cod or Mo- hegan Island to Phippsburg, Maine, in the seventeenth century. He was probably a rela- tive of the ancient jurist Judge Kelley, and also of David Kelley, of Newbury, Massachu- setts, believed to be father of Joseph Kelley, of Norwich, Connecticut, who was a seafaring man. The family records make slight mention of the Phippsburg ancestor, which omission is explained if he followed the sea and was often absent. His wife's name is not recorded.
(II) Jolin, son of the emigrant William Kelley, was born in Phippsburg, Maine, where he was a lifelong resident. He married (first) Mary Percy, and ( second) Jannette Gilmore. He had ten children, among them sons John, William, James, Thomas and Francis.
(III) Francis, youngest son of Captain John Kelley, was born in Phippsburg, March 7, 1802. For forty-two years he was one of the ablest shipmasters sailing from the Kenne- bec. He first shipped on his father's vessel when but fourteen years of age, and later en- tered the merchant service, rapidly acquiring a good knowledge of navigation. He was for years engaged in the North Atlantic, Mediter- ranean and West Indian trades, and retired late in life to his residence in Bath, Maine, where he died, August 8, 1892, leaving a good estate. He married, September 20, 1827, at Bath, Mary Rooke, born in Phippsburg, April 5, 1806. Children : 1. John R., of whom fur- ther. 2. Mary, married Captain Hiram Percy, and died aged fifty years. 3. Frances, died at Bath, aged forty-nine years.
(IV) Captain John R., eldest child of Cap- tain Francis and Mary (Rooke) Kelley, was born at Phippsburg, June 14, 1828, and died in Bath, Maine, May 12, 1901. He attended school first in the old stone schoolhouse in Phippsburg, and later in Woolwich. He be- gan his seafaring career as a boy on his fa- ther's ship, at the age of sixteen. He rose rapidly through the various grades, and when only nineteen years old brought his father's ship home from New Orleans to Philadelphia. At the age of twenty-three he became master of the ship "Genoa." His career as master extended over a period of thirty-one years, and was highly successful, he having never suf- fered a more severe accident than the loss of the foremast of his last ship, the "Tacoma." During his career he commanded both steam and sailing vessels, his principal experience with the former class being the Patten steam- ship "Montana," which he took to the Pacific coast and navigated on a line between San
fokelles
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Francisco and Portland, Oregon, and in the "Nevada," which plied between San Francis- co and Panama. In most of the ships he sailed he was part owner, Charles Davenport and the Pattens being usually the other principal part- ners. His last voyage was made in the ship "Tacoma," around the Horn to San Francisco, where he left the ship and the sea in 1882, and returned to Bath, Maine. After his return he had three ships-the "John R. Kelley," "E. F. Sawyer" and "Charles E. Moody"-built at the yards of Goss, Sawyer & Packard, and after the collapse of that firm he became in 1886 senior partner in the new firm of Kelley, Spear & Company, which launched its first vessel from the Goss & Sawyer yards in 1887, and its one hundred and sixth in 1901, a week prior to his death. In 1890 the firm was or- ganized as the Kelley-Spear Company, incor- porated, of which Captain Kelley became presi- dent. For nineteen years prior to his death Captain Kelley was a trustee of the People's Safe Deposit and Savings Bank, and for ten years its president. He became president of the First National Bank in 1899, having previ- ously served that institution as vice-president and director. He had been president of the Sagadahoc Real Estate Association for about two years, vice-president of the Worumbo Mills for a like period, and trustee of the Old Ladies' Home for a number of years.
Captain Kelley's extensive knowledge of maritime affairs and his integrity and fairness led to his frequent appointment as referee in admiralty cases, and his opinion was consid- ered as a synonym for justice. He had also served as trustee of some of the largest es- tates ever probated in this country, and was executor of the three hundred thousand dollar estate of the late Charles E. Moody. He was managing owner of a great fleet of vessels, and had large interests of his own, but it was the responsible positions which he held which wore upon him most, and the work and worry inci- dent to his multiplicity of duties was undoubt- edly largely responsible for the breakdown of his splendid constitution, which began, how- ever, with a severe accident which occurred about ten years before his death. He was thrown from his sleigh and dragged by one foot behind a galloping horse over a rough, icy street for about one hundred yards. He was seriously ill for some time afterward, was left permanently lame, and suffered internal injuries the effects of which he felt to his last days. In politics he was independent. He served the city as councilman two years, and as alderman three years. He was a Master
Mason, and an honorary member of Dunlap Commandery, Knights Templar. He died May 12, 1901, and the Bath Daily Times paid him the following high tribute: "He was a thorough business man, a person of the most sterling integrity, and a genial gentleman who will be sadly missed, not only by the business interests to which his ability and integrity were of such untold value, or by the friends to whom his hearty handshake meant so much, but by many of the less fortunate among Bath- ites who have been the beneficiaries of his charitableness and generosity. He sympathized with the poor, and gave largely of his sub- stance to all who were worthy. He contributed freely to the cause of religion, and has at various times remembered the Congregational Church of Woolwich, Winter Street Congre- gational Church, and the People's Church of Bath, with generous contributions. Most ex- tensive means were brought to his aid during his long and painful illness, and after every re- source had been exhausted which the kind and loving hands of his family could bestow upon him, he laid down life's work without a mur- mur, and Bath loses one of her grandest and noblest citizens.'
Captain Kelley married, August 18, 1852, Abihail P., daughter of Colonel Joshua and Abihail (Gould) Baker, of Woolwich, Maine, pioneer settlers of that town. She was edu- cated in the Woolwich public schools, and subsequently taught school in her native town until her marriage. She was a woman of more than ordinary intelligence, a devout and consistent Christian, and for many years a leading member of the Advent church, con- tributing by her substance and influence large- ly to the prosperity of the church of which she was a devoted and enthusiastic leader. Al- though of a quiet and unassuming disposition, she was to the last of her life a great reader, and always took a lively interest in current events. For years many a needy family en- joyed the comfort of her charity and assist- ance, and by them she will always be greatly missed and lovingly remembered. She died September 5, 1908, and a local paper said of her : "Although she had lived far beyond the average span of life, she retained with won- derful vigor all the faculties of a richly culti- vated mind and special senses, being able to read the finest type without the aid of glasses, and altogether she was one of those older lov- able types of womanhood the number of which are passing away too rapidly from our midst. The last days of her life were very pathetic, and those who witnessed them and felt the
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influence of her strong Christian individuality will forever remember her beautiful interpre- tation of the Holy Scriptures and the doctrine of immortality." Florence, only child of Cap- tain and Mrs. Kelley, now wife of G. Fred Mitchell, devotedly ministered to the widowed mother in her declining years with all the skill and comforts which affluence and loving hearts could command.
KELLY Many English surnames are de- rived from towns, villages and parishes, and it is also a well- known fact that communities were named in honor of influential families. The ancient par- ish of Kelly in Devonshire may have taken its name from a family, or vice versa. It has been the manorial seat of the family from the time of Henry Il, and was originally spelled Kel- leigh. In Scotland the name appears to have undergone a slight change in its orthography, the carldom of Kellie deriving its title from a district in Fife, anciently called Kellie-shire. In Ireland the name of Kelly or O'Kelly is said to have been derived from the Gaelic word Ceallach, meaning strife or war, and it is claimed by Irish antiquaries that its pedigree can be traced backward through sixty-five gen- erations to one Milesius of Spain, whose line of descent is traceable quite directly to Adam. The name Kelly is decidedly a modern innova- tion. Those of the name about to be men- tioned are undoubtedly the posterity of the Devonshire Kellys.
(I) In 1635 John Kelly, said to have come from Newbury, England, settled in New- bury. Massachusetts, and resided there until his death, which occurred December 28, 1644. His original land grant appears to have been unsatisfactory to him, as instead of using it for a house lot he erected his dwelling on the north side of Oldtown Hill, quite a distance from the settlement, where he was exposed to the attacks of wild beasts and the savages. This action displeased his fellow colonists, who passed an act of remonstrance in town meet- ing declaring that in case of disastrous conse- quences "his blood should be on his own head." He insisted in remaining where he was, however, depending upon his ability to defend himself, and it is related that on one occasion, when a wolf entered his sheepfold in the night, he attacked the animal with a club and killed it. The records of Newbury state that John Kelly was granted a house lot and a planting lot of four acres each, located on the neck, and their boundaries were defined. There is a story current in the family that their
immigrant ancestor possessed considerable property, and that he brought with him from England two chests containing valuable goods. Coffin's History of Newbury says, in reference to John Kelly, that he was the son of an Irish- man who went to Newbury, England, became enamored of a lady of rank and, having proved his courage and worth by preventing her fa- ther's house from being robbed, was permitted to marry her. This story has never been cor- roborated by any record. The Newbury rec- ords do not give the maiden name of John Kelly's wife. He had a daughter Sarah and a son John, and the former, whose birth took place February 12, 1641, probably became the wife of John Belconger, April 12, 1666.
(II) John (2), only son of John ( 1) Kelly, the immigrant, born in Newbury, July 2, 1642, died in West Newbury, March 21, 1718. He acquired by inheritance the homestead on Old- town Hill, also the house lot originally as- signed to his father, and received grants of land from the town. He was admitted a free- man in 1669, and joining the first church he supported its pastor, Rev. Thomas Parker, in the latter's long contest with some of its mem- bers. About 1694 he removed from Oldtown to the "Upper Woods" (now West Newbury), and was one of the original members of the church organized there in 1698. He was the authorized ferryman at Holt's Rocks. He married, May 25, 1663, Sarah Knight, born March 23, 1648, daughter of Richard Knight. She died prior to March 15, 1716, when he married for his second wife Lydia Ames, of Bradford. His children were: Richard, John, Sarah, Abiel, Rebecca, Mary Jonathan, Joseph, Hannah and Abigail.
(III) Abiel, third son and fourth child of John (2) and Sarah (Knight) Kelly, was born in Newbury, December 12, 1672. In 1696 he, with others, made known their desire to have the church in West Newbury located on "Pipe Stave" Hill instead of on the plains, and in 1718 he, his brother Jonathan and eight others were granted eighty rods of the flats above Holt's Rocks for a fishing ground, on condition that they each give one salmon an- nually to Rev. Mr. Tappan and the Rev. Mr. Tufts. In 1728 he removed from West New- bury to the North Parish of Methuen, which is now Salem, New Hampshire, acquiring by purchase eighty acres of land on Spicket Hill and two hundred acres lying partly in Haver- hill and partly in Methuen. In 1729 he united with the church in West Newbury. In 1738 he was chosen parish clerk, and in the follow- ing year furnished some of the materials for
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erecting the meeting house. He also served upon the committee which laid out the North Parish cemetery. The entry of his death in the Salem records reads as follows: "Abiel Kelly desest on June ye 18, 1750." He was married January 15, 1697, to Rebecca, daugh- ter of Samuel Davis, of Haverhill. Their children were: Richard, Abiel, Mary, Abigail. Hannah, Mehitable and Ruth, the two last named twins.
(IV) Captain Richard, eldest child of Abiel and Rebecca (Davis) Kelly, was born in West Newbury, October 24, 1697. He purchased jointly with his father a tract of land in Amesbury ( West), where he resided until re- moving with his parents to Methuen, and in 1738 he was a member of a committee formu- lated for the purpose of providing building material for the meeting house. He was bap- tized January 21, 1728, and admitted to the church in Haverhill, from which he was dis- missed the following year in order to unite with the North Parish Church of Methuen. His military title of captain was acquired by services as such in the provincial militia. Sep- tember 28, 1721, he married Susannah, born in Amesbury, February 20, 1697, daughter of William Hoyt, and great-granddaughter of John Hoyt, one of the first settlers of that town. Of this union there were seven chil- dren : Rebecca, William, Richard, Sarah, Sam- uel, John and Susannah.
(V) John (3), fourth son and sixth child of Captain Richard and Susannah (Hoyt) Kelly, was born in the North Parish of Meth- uen, April 8 or 28. 1735. He established his home in the North Parish ( Salem) upon six- teen acres of land which he purchased of Joseplı Haynes, and his death occurred at about the beginning of the nineteenth cen- tury. He was a stonemason by trade and fol- lowed that occupation in connection with farm- ing. He served in the revolutionary war as drummer in Captain James Jones' company, according to its pay roll dated after the Con- cord fight. May 8, 1759, he married Catharine Langley, of Andover, daughter of an English- man who, after his marriage with a Miss Sink- ley against the wishes of her parents, fled with his bride to New England. Mrs. Catharine Kelly died in Kennebunk, Maine, about the year 1825, aged ninety-five years. She was the mother of ten children: Langley (par- ticipated in the battle of Bunker Hill), Lucy Porter, Phineas Tyler, Isaac, John, Catharine, Abiel, Mary (Polly), Joseph and Susanna.
(VI) Phineas Tyler, second son and third child of John (3) and Catharine (Langley)
Kelly, born in the North Parish of Methuen, July 27, 1764, died suddenly in 1804. He settled in Saco, Maine, being the first to en- gage in the manufacture of hats in that town, and a considerable portion of the wealth he acquired in this business he invested in ship- ping. For his first wife he married Charlotte Warren, of Saco, who bore him two sons; she died August 18, 1796, aged twenty-six years, of spotted fever, which was brought to the town by one of her husband's ships. Mr. Kelly afterward married her sister Elizabeth. He was the father of two sons: Foxwell, who died in infancy, and John.
(VII) John (4), youngest son of Phineas T. and Charlotte (Warren) Kelly, born in Saco, April 24, 1789, died April 10, 1865. He was a lifelong resident of that town. He was married. February 12, 1812, to Azubah Hutch- ins, born in Conway, New Hampshire, No- vember 7. 1793, died July 10. 1867. She bore him nine children: 1. Phineas, born in Con- way, April 5. 1814, died in Augusta, Maine, September 27, 1847. 2. James F., born Jan- uary 3, 1816, died March 29, 1866. 3. Char- lotte E., born June 20, 1818, died September 23, 1848. 4. Mary Francis, born November 19, 1820. 5. John A., born July 16, 1825. 6. Abel H., see succeeding paragraph. 7. Har- riet V. A., born August 8, 1831. 8. Henrietta, born September 2, 1833. 9. Martha, born Sep- tember 20, 1834, died October 7 of the same year.
(VIII) Abel H., fourth son and sixth child of John and Azubah ( Hutchins) Kelly, was born in Saco, July 27, 1828. He completed his education at the Thornton Academy, and having learned the carpenter's and pattern- maker's trades, he entered the service of the Saco Water Power Company. A close ap- plication to his calling brought on a pul- monary affection, necessitating a change of employment, and he secured the position of keeper of the town jail. He continued in that capacity until his death, which occurred Feb- ruary 7, 1864. He married Emma C. Dyer, of Sebago, Maine, February 19, 1854, and had a family of four children : I. Melville Hutchins, who will be again referred to. 2. Emma D., born August 28, 1856, died August 28, 1879. 3. Cora A., born December 3, 1860, died in infancy. 4. Abel H. Jr., born May 12, 1863. died in infancy.
(IX) Melville Hutchins, eldest child of Abel H. and Emma C. (Dyer) Kelly, was born in Standish, Maine, at the home of his grand- father, Mr. Dyer, February 17, 1855. After concluding his attendance at the Saco high
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school, he secured a position with G. A. Car- ter, local agent for the Western Union Tele- graph Company and the Eastern Express Company, acquiring a good knowledge of tel- egraphy and the express business. Hle acted as telegrapher and clerk of both corporations until the Eastern Express Company was merged into the American Express Company, when he and Mr. Carter established an in- surance business, which they carried on in conjunction with the local express agency. In August. 1884, Mr. Kelly severed his connection with Mr. Carter in order to accept a clerk- ship in the Saco and Biddeford Savings In- stitution, and in the following May was ad- vanced to the position of treasurer, in which capacity he is still serving. The Saco and Biddeford Savings Institution was chartered in 1827 and is therefore one of the oldest cor- porations of its kind in the United States. At the present time its deposits amount to over three million six hundred thousand dollars, considerably more than half of which has been acquired since Mr. Kelly assumed the treas- urership. In addition to his duties at the Sav- ings Institution Mr. Kelly has acted as treas- urer of the Provident Association for nearly twenty-five years, and is also secretary and treasurer of the Mutual Fire Insurance Com- pany. For two years he served as city auditor. and was for a similar length of time a mem- ber of the board of aldermen. In politics he is a Republican and a Prohibitionist. He is one of the prominent members of the Free Will Baptist church, having been identified with its Sunday school from his youth to the present time and in the latter has served in various capacities, including that of superin- tendent. He has also served as church treas- urer.
On September 6, 1880, Mr. Kelly was united in marriage with Georgianna, daughter of Major James H. Cutts, of Farmington, Maine ; she died August 22, 1886. Of this union there were two children: Cora Hill, born August 11, 1882, clerk in the Saco and Biddeford Sa- vings Institution. Albert Hersey, born May 3, 1885, died in infancy. Mr. Kelly's second wife, whom he married December 14, 1887, was Ella M., daughter of Samuel W. Lunt, of Biddeford. In common with the majority of this name in New England she is a descendant of Henry Lunt, who was a passenger from England in the ship "Mary and John" in 1630, and settled in Newbury, Massachusetts, in 1635. The name of Lunt is in all probability of Scandinavian origin, and was established in England prior to the Norman conquest. The
children of his second marriage are: Josephine Lunt, born December 5, 1888, graduate of Thornton Academy. Ernestine Chase, born February 25, 1890, graduate of Thornton Academy. Kathryn Brewster, born July 26, 1891, a student at Thornton Academy. Dor- othy Madison, born June 26, 1894, a student at Thornton Academy.
CUTTS The Cutts family is of English descent, and the final s, which the early ancestors in America did not use, was subsequently added, as will be seen. The name is a prominent one in Saco, and an avenue in that city was named in honor of the family. A William Cutt was taxed there as early as 1640, and also at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1680, as was Lawrence Cutt. Richard, Robert and John Cutt, perhaps broth- ers of William and Lawrence, were early set- tlers in Portsmouth. In 1646 Richard Cutt succeeded Sampson Lane, one of Captain John Mason's stewards, as occupant of what was known as the "Great House" at Strawberry Bank (now Portsmouth). John Cutt was one of the five selectmen of Portsmouth in 1657, and Anna Cutt, a sister, married John Ship- way. Richard Cutt is said to have resided for a time on the Isle of Shoals before settling in Portsmouth. With the exception of William, all are supposed to have arrived in New Eng- land after 1640 and prior to 1646.
(I) Robert Cutt emigrated from England to the Barbadoes, where he married a young English lady named Mary Hoel, and subse- quently coming to New England located first on Great Island (now New Castle), near Portsmouth, afterward settling in Kittery, Maine. He died in Kittery and was probably buried in the old cemetery near Spruce Creek. His children were : Richard, Elizabeth, Bridget, Sarah, Mary and Robert.
(II) Richard, eldest child of Robert and Mary (Hoel) Cutt, was probably born in New England and died about the year 1743. He was married in 1686 to Joanna, daughter of Thomas and Lucia (Treworgye) Wills, and had a family of thirteen children : Robert, Elizabeth, Mary, Richard, Sarah, Bridget (died young), Thomas, Bridget, Lucia, Ed- ward, Samuel, Joseph and Joanna.
(III) Thomas (1), third son and seventh child of Richard and Joanna (Wills) Cutt, born April 15, 1700, died January 10, 1795. He was married April 23, 1723-24, to Dorcas, daughter of Judge Joseph and Hannah (Stor- er) Hammond. His children were: Mary, Lucy, John, Thomas, Robert, Joseph, Hannah
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and Samuel. (N. B. Commencing with the fourth generation the letter s was added to the name.)
(IV) Samuel Cutts, youngest child of Thomas and Dorcas (Hammond) Cutt, born September 20, 1744, died November 16, 1820. His wife, whom he married October 15, 1767, was Sarah, daughter of Judge John and Mary ( Plaisted) Hill. She bore him ten children : Mary, Sarah, Hannah, Thomas, Samuel, Elisha, Robert, Betsey, Dorcas and Abigail.
(V) Thomas (2), fourth child and eldest son of Samuel and Sarah (Hill) Cutts, born March 30, 1775, died March 2, 1857. His marriage took place November 30, 1797, to Sarah, daughter of Oliver and Mary ( Burns) Colburn. Of this union there were nine chil- dren : Samuel, Thomas, Dorcas, William, Abi- gail, George, James H., Sarah Ann and Oliver.
(VI) Major James H., fifth son and seventh child of Thomas and Sarah (Colburn) Cutts, was born August 11, 1810. He resided in Farmington, Maine. January 28, 1834, he married Olive, daughter of John and Olive (Colburn) Colburn. Her death occurred in Farmington, May 12, 1887. She was the mother of ten children: Edwin R., Helen (died in infancy), Helen M., Maria Colburn, Charles Colburn, Jonathan Colburn, Olive Colburn, Ocena, Sarah and Georgianna.
(VII) Georgianna, youngest child of Ma- jor James H. and Olive ( Colburn) Cutts, born in Farmington, May 2, 1856, died in Saco, August 22, 1886. She was married, Septem- ber 6, 1880, to Melville Hutchins Kelly, of Saco (see Kelly).
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WOODSIDE Rev. James Woodside, im- migrant ancestor, was born and educated in England and took orders in the Church of England. He appears to have come to America from Ireland about 1718 to Falmouth, Maine, now Portland. He removed thence to Brunswick, Maine. then called Maquott, and Pejepscott, four miles from St. George. He came with forty families of above one hundred and sixty persons in the ship from Derry Lough, Ire- land, in 1718, according to the history of Brunswick. The settlement was surprised by Indians in July, 1722, but the inhabitants took refuge in Woodside's house and the Indians were repulsed, but Woodside's cattle were killed and his provisions and movables de- stroyed by the savages. The facts of the case are related in a petition asking for relief or for the appointment to the post of the late Mr. Cummins, searcher of ships in the Boston
harbor in New England. Governor Shute en- dorsed the petition, stating that Rev. Mr. Woodside went over from Ireland to New England with a considerable number of peo- ple, that he and they sat down to plant in a place called Brunswick ; that he was the means of saving the lives of many people in the late insurrection of the Indians, that his generosity was taken notice of by Dr. Mathers, and that the Indians cut off all his cattle.
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