Barbara Breedlove Rollins' Family Files

THE KERLEY FAMILY AND THE RELATED DUNN FAMILY

A.)   The Earliest KERLEY Ancestors, and information about the KERLEY Family in America.

William de KIRKELEE, born about 1200, at Northumb, Suffolk, England, is the earliest known ancestor. From this person are descended persons with the surnames of KIRKLEY, KIRKLY, KIRTLEY, KERLEY, and KERLY.[COMMENT-1] A widely recognized authority on Irish names, Edward MacLYSAGHT in Irish Families, indicates that KERLEY is indeed Irish and means "The son of Feargal." In Ireland, the predominant area in which the family was found was Connacht, particularly the counties of Galway and Roscommon.

There was an oral history in the KERLEY family that four KERLEY brothers came from Ireland and landed in Charleston, about the year 1800 or earlier. "One of them went North, two went to Tennessee and Kentucky, and one went to Texas. The one who went to Texas was my grandfather, being the father of John Jackson KERLEY."[COMMENT-2] Ione KERLEY TAYLOR's assumption quoted here is inconsistent with her continued history in that she later says, "At the close of the war, he [her grandfather DANIELS] moved with his family and Mother (Cynthia DANIELS HARRIS) to Springfield. I do not know any name but Grand-Ma. Her husband was one of the original 'four'. For some unknown reason, he disappeared and was never heard of since." If he disappeared and was never heard from since, how does she know he went to Texas?

Other comments about the history of the KERLEY family reported by Ione KERLEY TAYLOR include these:

When we moved out here [Hardeman County, Texas], we heard of a KERLEY family at Big Valley, near Chillicothe. Father went to see them. All agreed to be from the original "four".... And then there is our own Uncle Joe KERLEY and wife, Fanny MATHEWS, who lived in Limestone Co. and raised a family of six boys and six girls. All are now deceased. The older ones all were confident that every "KERLEY" is from the "original four".

and

A new comer from Ireland was in Los Angeles. He saw a KERLEY dental sign and called to see him, Adolphus [her brother]. He said the name was familiar, that he lived in Ireland near a little town, Kil-KERLEY. There was an interesting conversation that followed.

Observations about the origin of the family from Joe Holt ANDERSON, Jr., whose mother was Lena Lorice KERLEY, follow:

I confess to having been a bit shook up by the lack of evidence for the KERLEYs' Irish background, whose truth I'd accepted most of my life. There even was an oral tradition, though my mother never got too specific about it, that a wealthy kinsman had died back in Ireland and that the American KERLEYs had pitched in for years to raise enough money to send a representative back to claim the estate. It took so long, or so went the story, that by the time he got there, the fortune had reverted to the Crown.

Add to that and similar stories the several names more Irish than English found in the family...Emmett, Ione, Tinian, Lorice. I had assumed that there were Lorices earlier than the three you and I knew, and I was a little surprised to find in your work no mention of any of them any earlier than my mother. The obvious assumption I had long held was that "Lorice" was a corruption of the Spanish Dolores and probably dated back to the Spanish shipwrecks on the west coast of Ireland following the Armada's defeat by the English. (I had an Irish-born Marita working for me a few years ago who said, "I was 18 years old before I learned that my real name was 'Margaret' and not Marita.") Regardless of whether Arthur KERLEY was b. Charleston ca. 1770 or arrived U.S. by 1800, he clearly was here well before the potato famine of the late 1840s; if the family really was Irish, that fact may have been suppressed in part because of the anti-Gaelic (and anti-Gallic) feelings expressed in the Alien Laws of 1798. (Were those enforced in South Carolina? The were in Delaware. I read recently from a believable though not authoritative source that Thomas JEFFERSON thought the Federalists' real reason for the Alien and Sedition Laws was to effect the deportation of Pierre Samuel du Pont de NEMOURS.)

I realize of course that the "four brothers"--more frequently three brothers--is a familiar theme in genealogic folklore. The BYRDs of Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland supposedly descended from three early 17th century brothers....

I also wonder whether two legends may have become tangled in the story of Irish KERLEYs: the other being that of the long beard and strange trousers of Grandpa BARRETT. It sounds much like a caricature of the vaudeville-stage Paddy. It would be interested if you had a date for the allegation that J. J. KERLEY and presumably his kin were staunch Methodists. Although you undoubtedly know more about Methodist history than I, an Anglican view might be that Methodists were proliferating (as a separate denomination) in North America long before they were in the United Kingdom....

The only KERLEY listed in the 1790 census of South Carolina was Joseph KERLEY, at York County, showing one male sixteen or older, one male under sixteen, and four females. In 1800, there are three "KERLY"s in York County. Joseph KERLY shows one male at least 10 but less than 16, one at least 16 but not 26, and one at least 45, with one female between 16 and 26 and one female at least 45. Next door is Jesse KERLE with one male under 10 and one between 26 and 45, two females under ten, and one between 26 and 45. On the next page is Josiah KERLY living alone, between 26 and 45.

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B.)   Arthur KERLEY and wife Sarah BARRETT.

Arthur KERLEY was born in South Carolina, about 1770, although it was the belief of his great granddaughter, Ione KERLEY TAYLOR that he was born in Ireland and came to the United States about 1800. He married Sarah BARRETT who was born about 1790 in South Carolina and who died after 1860 in Limestone County, Texas. I do not know her parents, but information on her line is contained on the Barrett page. Arthur died in Mississippi about 1835.

The following is a biography written about Joseph KERLEY, a son of this ancestor:

J. W. KERLEY, a pioneer of Limestone County, was born in South Carolina, a son of ARTHUR KERLEY. The latter was born in the same state in 1770, was a farmer and died in Mississippi about 1835. He married SARAH BARRETT, and they had the following children: CAROLINE, deceased, was the wife of JOHN COLLINS; J. W. (sic), deceased; ELIZABETH, deceased, was the wife of NELSON LINDSEY; J. W., our subject; SARAH, widow of W. W. WELLS; MARGARET, wife of a Mr. FOYE; and MATILDA, wife of JOHN LINDSEY.

J. W. KERLEY was a farmer in Lauderdale County, Mississippi, for sixteen years before he came to Limestone County in 1850. He began teaming between here and Houston until the War, and then entered Government service in the same capacity, operating between San Antonio and Limestone County. He lost everything he had except a small piece of land, and after the War, began farming and stock raising. He now owns 652 acres of land, most of which is pasture. He is still interested in stock, and has 300 head of sheep and a five (sic) herd of cattle.

In 1861 Mr. KERLEY married MARTHA FRANCES MATTHEWS, whose father was murdered for his money at Memphis, Tennessee. Their children were: DAVID, JOSEPH, MATILDA, wife of MACK OLIPHANT; BETTIE, wife of D. A. HODEK; GEORGE, MYRTIE, JOHN, FANNIE and BEATRICE. The family are members of the Methodist Church.[COMMENT-3]

Sarah BARRETT KERLEY is shown on the 1860 Limestone County, Texas, Census, p. 61 at 70 years of age, born in South Carolina, then living with son J. W. KERLEY and his family. I know that the following of her children at one time lived in Limestone County: John Jackson, Joseph W., Matilda, Elizabeth, and Sarah.

The most interesting account of the life of the Arthur KERLEY family is far from the most uplifting and inspiring, but it's so colorful you can't help enjoying it, even if it's your family.

John A. KERLEY, a descendant through Vernon Vinson KERLEY's line says, "I recently received a copy of The First Hundred Years of the Pine Springs Community of Lauderdale County, Mississippi by Mary Ellen NEW WHITE 1992. It contains the first stories of the Arthur KERLEY Family that I am aware of and I thought you might enjoy reading it. The original book is well done and I can provide info on how to get copies for those interested in an original.

On October 27 in the fall of 1835, John J. KERLEY, a native of South Carolina, bought 40 acres of government land in Pine Springs. [SE1/4, SE1/4, S-9] It may have been that Johnny KERLEY, a bachelor, had come to the county with other travelers to prepare a place for the rest of the KERLEYs to come later. There is no record of when the rest of the family came, but three years later, his 21 year old sister, Caroline KERLEY (b. Sept. 17,1817, S.C.), married John B. COLLINS, a Lauderdale County deputy sheriff, on April 12, 1838. After their marriage, John and Caroline COLLINS moved to the new courthouse at Marion where they lived on a farm belonging to Gabriel COLLINS, John COLLINS' brother.

The KERLEYs, who were poor, put up a settler's cabin with dirt floors. We do not know how many were in Johnny's family; they had no slaves, but it appears they scratched out a little farm, hunted game, and otherwise looked out for themselves. As far as is known, they may have been orphans, although one older person, Arthur, may have been the father. Arthur's health was not robust. Johnny had a younger brother, Joseph.

Nothing definite has been learned about the makeup of Mrs. Caroline COLLINS family, the KERLEYs of Pine Springs. It appears that although the 40 acre plantation in Sec. 9 was patented to John J. KERLEY, Arthur KERLEY, somewhat an invalid (or maybe very old), seems to be the father (grandfather?) of the clan. There is no evidence that Arthur had a wife, which leads us to believe that Mrs. KERLEY may have died before they moved to Mississippi. The three known KERLEY children were Johnny, Caroline KERLEY COLLINS and a younger boy named Joseph.

The KERLEY boys, perhaps because of the debilities of the father, seemed to lack a sense of direction as far as improving their plantation was concerned. They usually had a corn and pea patch, and the boys hunted game and worked for wages on their neighbors' farms, leading a hand-to-mouth existence. When a William E. FORT bought land next to the KERLEY's in 1840, their life became somewhat brighter.

The year after Eliza Ann FORT married David M. Brown (1836), her father, Burrell J. FORT, Sr., in Alabama, died rather unexpectedly. William E. FORT, Burrell FORT's son and Mrs. Eliza BROWN's only full brother, lived with his step-mother for a time, but he soon left the FORT plantation, married, and brought his wife to Mississippi to live near his sister.

On October 28, 1840, William E. FORT and his new wife, Mary, bought 40 acres of land in Pine Springs from Samuel C. HATCHER [NW1/4, SE1/4,S-9] and 80 acres more in the same quarter from William PRIOR. [E1/2, SE1/4, S-9] This land was adjacent to the KERLEY's 40 acres, and apparently William, who was 21, and Johnny KERLEY, about the same age, became buddies. William likely had Johnny and Joseph KERLEY help him and his two slaves when he built his log home.

William FORT's house was more than a squatter's cabin; it was a double-cabin log home located in the northwest corner of his new plantation. They all worked together to clear the land along Rogers Creek for planting.

The FORTs and KERLEYs had been neighbors a couple of years when Johnny found a girl he liked. Mrs. Mary FORT encouraged him to get married. Johnny's girl was young Miss Jane Elizabeth BLAND, and she consented to be his bride. One wintry January day in 1842, Johnny, with William along to be his bondsman, rode to Marion to get a wedding license. They met Elizabeth's father, Mr. E. BLAND, at the courthouse, as he had to sign his consent because the bride was under age. John TRUSSELL, acting in his official capacity as a member of the Board of Police, performed the civil ceremony, and Johnny brought his bride home to the squalid KERLEY cabin in Pine Springs.

Then a sad thing happened. We do not know how it came about, but on July 27, 1844, William E. FORT, only 25 years old, died. What a blow that rest have been for his young wife! There was not a stone to mark where William FORT was buried; the FORTs were Baptist, as were David and Eliza BROWN, so it is likely he was buried at Pace's church. Since his grave has been lost, it is equally possible that he was buried in the nearby Pine Springs graveyard.

Young widow Mary FORT, with David BROWN to advise her, administered William FORT's estate. They had no children; Mary was William's sole beneficiary. When the operation of the plantation proved too much for Mary to handle, she offered to sell it to Johnny KERLEY.

Oh, how Johnny wanted that land! The KERLEY' s cabin was cramped with John, his wife, old Arthur, and the teenager, Joseph. Johnny went to Julius ALFORD, who often had money to lend, to see about getting a loan. ALFORD made the loan but required Joseph to sign the note with John.

In February 1847, John J. KERLEY, with both David M. BROWN and neighbor John PERRY signing the deed as witnesses, paid Mrs. Mary FORT $225.50 for her house and 120 acres. [We lose sight of Mary FORT after the sale. Perhaps she stayed with David and Eliza BROWN before she went back to her people in Alabama or perhaps, being young, she quickly married again.]

By adding to his original acres, Johnny now owned the whole southeastern quarter of Sec. 9. Johnny and Elizabeth moved into the bigger house, leaving Mr. KERLEY and young Joe in the old cabin.

Tale-bearers and gossipers (sp.) speculated on how easy-going Johnny KERLEY was able to buy such a fine farm. He usually didn't have 2 cents to rub together. The talk among the people (and possibly drinking customers) was that the KERLEYs were selling corn whiskey, and it turned out to be true! Soon after John and Elizabeth moved out, the sheriff came to the old KERLEY cabin to arrest Arthur, the head of the clan, for retailing liquor. Possibly because of his physical condition, Arthur was not taken immediately to jail but was ordered to appear at the 1847 September term of the Circuit Court to stand trial.

[It was not illegal to make or sell whiskey, but without a retailer's license to sell 'spiritous beverages', the penalty was considerable. This law has passed to cut down the number of grog-shops where eye-gouging fights often happened.]

Caroline's husband, John B. COLLINS, incensed over Arthur's treatment, went looking for blood. He whupped-up on some fellow and was arrested for assault and battery with intent to kill. COLLINS appeared at the March 1848 Circuit Court term, but his lawyer asked for a continuance. It was granted. Complete court records are not available so we do not know who John assaulted.

In September 1847, COLLINS and the boys somehow transported Arthur KERLEY to town. The frail man must have presented a pitiful figure, for the court told him to 'go hence, with the state to pay the court cost.' Scarcely a month after Arthur's acquittal, Johnny and Elizabeth put the 160-acre farm in Joe's name and left the county.

After Johnny left and the whiskey sales were curtailed, Arthur KERLEY had no income. Neighbors helped out, but David BROWN went to the Board of Police and was allotted $5 per month for the support of indigent Arthur KERLEY. In February 1849, Joe, farming the place, took over Arthur's upkeep and the Board of Police allowed him $60 for Arthur KERLEY's support for the year.

In the final days of Arthur's illness, John BARNETT took him into his home to be nursed by Mrs. BARNETT. He was with the BARNETTs' four months before he died in June, 1850. Mr. BARNETT was paid $35 from the county fund for Arthur's keep and burial expenses. The county had no poor farm, but took care of its few paupers by collecting a special poor tax.

With Arthur KERLEY dead, there was no reason for Joe to remain in Pine Springs. He sold the farm to Thomas W. WELLS of Tennessee. It was not noted which road he took when he left, but he was young and free and the world beckoned. No KERLEYs have been found on subsequent census or county records.

The State vs. John B. COLLINS case of assault came before the Circuit Court in 1849. John, by asking for a jury trial, was acquitted. It was hard to get a jury of peers to convict on assault cases; many jurors tad been in fights of their own and were inclined to be sympathetic toward the accused.

COLLINS went back into politics. He stumped for the office of Justice of Beat 3 and was elected in the November 1849 election. Jubal HANCOCK, Probate Court judge, was John's bondsman when John was sworn in. Life became easier for COLLINS after the election. With age and experience, John had gained wisdom.

[In the community graveyard next to the school, now called Pine Springs Cemetery, there is a neat row of nine COLLINS graves. They were marked with home-made cement headstones which have since been crumbled by the ravages of time. Today's older citizens say the stones were intact when they were youngsters, but they do not recall the individual COLLINS names. It is known that John and Caroline COLLINS, and their son, James M. COLLINS, and the two infant sons of Dink COLLINS, were buried in Pine Springs. It is not known who is buried in the other four graves. Perhaps Caroline's mother, and her father (Arthur KERLEY?) were the two oldest graves. They both died before 1850.]

Children of the family include the following, although the order listed by Ione KERLEY TAYLOR differs, being Caroline, Sarah, Elizabeth, Matilda, Margaret, John Jackson, and Joseph W.:

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C.)   John Jackson KERLEY and his wives Jane Ellen BLAND, Elizabeth B. (Ellen) DUNN, and Cynthia Jane DANIEL HARRIS.

John Jackson KERLEY, son of Arthur KERLEY and wife Sarah BARRETT, was born March 18, 1819, in Charleston, Charleston County, South Carolina. He died in Chillicothe, Hardeman County, Texas October 25, 1891. John Jackson KERLEY married three times, the first being to Jane Ellen (or Elizabeth, according to the article quoted above) BLAND, who was born in 1826. Ione KERLEY TAYLOR stated that the marriage occurred in Butler County, Alabama, and gave the name as Jane Ellen BLANE or BLAND, but marriage records reflect that John J. KERLEY married Jane E. BLAND January 7, 1842, in Lauderdale County, Mississippi. John Jackson KERLEY's second marriage was to Elizabeth B. (Ellen) DUNN, born in May, 1825, in South Carolina (T. T. KERLEY in 1900 census says born in Ireland, in 1910 census says born in Mississippi) and died August 6, 1862, at Mexia, Limestone County, Texas. What is know or can be surmised about her family is described in the next section. John Jackson KERLEY married third Cynthia Jane DANIEL HARRIS, who was born January 4, 1842, in Alabama, and who died in March 28, 1925.

John Jackson KERLEY moved with his parents from Charleston, South Carolina, to Butler County, Alabama, the home of the BARRETT family, John Jackson KERLEY's mother's family. John KERLEY and his brother Joseph KERLEY appear on the tax rolls in 1846 for Lauderdale County, Mississippi, showing the same on each record: "1 poll; Tax .50 - .37 1/2 - .25 - .06 1/4". It may be that it was in Lauderdale County, Mississippi, that John Jackson KERLEY met and married his second wife, Elizabeth B. (Ellen) DUNN, as described in the following section. The family then moved on to Limestone County, Texas. John Jackson KERLEY bought a farm in the Point Enterprise Community near where Mexia was built. While in Mexia, his second wife, Ellen DUNN KERLEY, died. He married Cynthia Jane DANIEL HARRIS who was the granddaughter of a brother of Sarah BARRETT KERLEY. Her first husband, Thomas HARRIS, was killed in the Civil War. She had a daughter by this marriage, Emma T. HARRIS, born July 7, 1862, and died June 28, 1947, who married Rockwell H. STUCKEY. Both are buried in Chillicothe.

J. J. KERLEY farmed in Point Enterprise, Limestone County, through the Civil War. Since J. J. KERLEY was 42 years old when the was began and was too old for war service, he hauled supplies for the army from Galveston to Springfield in Limestone County. The house where the family lived had three rooms downstairs and one upstairs and was built of cedar. At the close of the war, the J. J. KERLEY family moved to Springfield, also in Limestone County.

Father opened a general store in Springfield. There was trouble there then with the Negroes. The white people were practically ruled by the Negroes. The big Negro Boss, "Old Abe", he was called, carried his guns. He lived in a dug out and had a "trusty" to watch for him. The "trusty" finally killed him. A white man, by the name of APPLEWHITE was killed here by the Negroes. Father bought a gun and kept it in the store, close at hand, in case of necessity. Reconstruction days here were rocky.

Two who falsely claimed equal shares in the Mexia business, finally withdrew their claimed shares and left Father practically "broke". Prominent business men remarked, "We know that Mr. KERLEY was one of the best fixed financial men in the County, but we all know who broke him." But he came back! He had bought 100 acres 1 1/2 miles north of town, and built a large two story house for a new home. Also, the old fashioned kitchen in the back yard with smoke house and cellar.... This place, he beautifully improved. He put in a large orchard of various fruits. He made three fish ponds and stocked them with good fish. Also, a windmill from which he had a fair water works system for all purposes that needed water....

About 1878, he and Mother [Cynthia Jane] took over the old Southern Hotel in Mexia. We lived here about three years, and we children enjoyed it. We were usually in some mischief.... We caught the little pigs that came around the backyard, just to see the Mother put on a show and run us in. Two pet coons took up with us looking for something to eat....

We moved again back to the new home. Some farming was done. A cane grinder and vat, or large pan for making sorghum and cane syrup, were prepared. Also an apple press for draining the juice for cider and for making vinegar. A cotton gin and grist mill were installed. The cotton press was operated by a mule going round and round. Also, a very large and heavy Negro was worked in the press. Sometime later, Father bought out a more modern gin business in town. There were two gins and, I think, two presses. All were operated by machinery. Leonard had become a very capable engineer. Several traveling men in the machine business wanted him, but Father refused them all....

Our father was interested and deeply concerned about his family. He entered into some of our play and pranks with mirth and amusement. "They are too smart, Jane, just too smart", so Father said to Mother. He was very serious when serious things happened to us. Such as, Lillie drank of the ash-hopper lye; Doctors were in demand; also, I drank from a bottle of chloral.... The old lazy mule kicked Adolphus and broke his jawbone. Scott had a powder marked face from the explosion of a giant fire cracker. Father was so hurt about this.... Leonard was bitten several times by a dog, which was a long time getting well. Our Dr. said, "One of John KERLEY's children couldn't be killed."....

Leonard had a mink tied up in the yard. It bit our baby, Beaulah - This made father angry. He pulled loose the leash and threw the mink over the fence. No more minks in the family....

Spiritual life was not neglected. Father urged our going to Sunday School and church. I remember hearing him say, "I am willing and ready to go." This has long been a comfort to all. Mother was a Primitive Baptist....

Finally he sold the home place and the gin business and moved to Chillicothe, Hardeman County, in the year 1890. He bought one half section of land eight miles north of Chillicothe. He brought out one hundred cows and several horses. Tom KERLEY was here. Father visited him earlier. We thought he was the cause of Father moving out here in his advanced age.[COMMENT-9]

John Jackson KERLEY was granted a Mercer's Colony Certificate Patent by Sam HOUSTON.[COMMENT-10] After Springfield lost the county seat to Groesbeck, John KERLEY and his wife Cynthia and children moved back to Mexia. John also moved his general store to Mexia. [COMMENT-11]

The Mercer's Colony certificate for John J. KERLEY is recorded under file number Robertson-3-3820 in the records of the General Land Office of Texas. It was dated April 20, 1857, and shows him entitled to 640 acres in Freestone County as the head of a family. He was patented 240 acres in Hill County and 400 acres in Limestone County by patents numbered 174 and 175 in Volume 31 at the General Land Office. These are dated August 25, 1860.

The 1850 Limestone County, Texas, Census, records John J. KERLEY, 30, male, farmer, value of real estate $250 (?), born South Carolina; Elizabeth KERLEY, 22, female, born South Carolina; Mary KERLEY, 2, female, born Texas; Elizabeth KERLEY, 25, female, born South Carolina; and Matilda KERLEY, 19, female, born South Carolina.

The 1860 Limestone County Census records J. J. KERLEY, 40, male, farmer, real estate value $2,700, personal property value $2,550, born South Carolina; E. KERLEY, 34, female, born South Carolina; M. E. KERLEY, 12, female, born Texas, attended school during year; S. A. KERLEY, 8, female, born Texas, attended school during year; E. J. KERLEY, 6, female, born Texas, attended school during year; T. T. KERLEY, 4, male, born Texas; I. M. KERLEY, 1, female, born Texas; William STRANGE, 30, male, farm laborer, born Mississippi.

J. J. KERLEY was among the earliest purchasers of property in Mexia.[COMMENT-12] The town was dedicated August 23, 1871.

There is a deed of trust (called a deed) at Volume B, page 589 of the Deed records of Limestone County:

State of Texas

County of Limestone

Know all Men by these presents that I J. W. KERLEY of the County and State aforesaid for and in consideration of the indebtedness of myself and brother J. J. KERLEY doing business in the town of Mexia under the style of KERLEY & Brother are indebted to P. J. WILLIS and Bro. of Galveston as evidenced by our joint and several promissory note of which the following is a correct copy. Mexia, Limestone Co. Texas. February 15, 1873, Four months after date we or either of us promise to pay to the order of P. J. WILLIS & Bro at their office in Galveston for value received this sum of Eleven thousand eight hundred and fifty and 67/100 dollars with interest from date until paid at twelve per cent per annum signed J. W. KERLEY, J. J. KERLEY .....

There are quite a few deeds from and to each of them.

John Jackson KERLEY and his first wife, Ellen Jane BLANE had no children. By his second wife, Elizabeth B. (Ellen) DUNN KERLEY, John Jackson KERLEY was the father of the following children:

John Jackson KERLEY and his third wife, Cynthia Jane DANIEL HARRIS KERLEY were the parents of the following children:

Most of the children of John Jackson KERLEY and Cynthia are buried in Chillicothe. Perhaps a related family is that of Sidney A. KERLEY, born about 1870 in Texas, the son of native Texans. He married about 1881 Josephena __ who was born in Texan the daughter of native Texans, and they and eight of their twelve living children are listed four families from Torrent T. ALLISON and wife Alma, step cousins of Lena Lorice KERLEY ANDERSON, in Texhoma, Texas County, Oklahoma in 1910. The ALLISON family is described in the chapter on MEEKS under the topic "Sarah Ann FULLERTON and Her First Marriage to John COBB".

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D.)   The Possible Relatives of Elizabeth B. (Ellen) DUNN KERLEY.

I know virtually nothing about the family of my great great grandmother, Elizabeth B. (Ellen) DUNN KERLEY.[COMMENT-14] According to the traditional information we have Elizabeth B. (Ellen) DUNN was born in May, 1825. On the 1850 census, she said she was born in South Carolina; her son T. T. KERLEY on the 1900 census said she was born in Ireland and on the 1910 census said she was born in Mississippi. (While these are not true, they may well indicate places she or her family lived near the time of birth.) She died August 6, 1862, at Mexia, Limestone County, Texas.

A scrap of paper about a hundred years old found with family papers, pictures, and keepsakes says: "Address our letters to G. H. DUNN or E. N.(K?) DUNN: Meridian Miss. No 3827 5th street 39 ave." This is the only clue I have as to her family. Meridian is in Lauderdale County, Mississippi. As indicated above, John Jackson KERLEY and his brother Joseph KERLEY were taxed in Lauderdale County, Mississippi, in 1846 but not in 1845 nor in 1847. John Jackson KERLEY married his first wife in 1842. It seems from the NEW article quoted above that she lived several years, not "only a few months after the marriage" as Ione KERLEY TAYLOR indicated. However, by June 18, 1848, he and Elizabeth B. (Ellen) DUNN were married and living at Mexia, Limestone County, Texas, when their first child was born.

If you draw a line on a map from Butler County, Alabama, to Limestone County, Texas, Lauderdale County, Mississippi, is not far from that line. It seems probable to me that Elizabeth lived in that County about 1846 or at least was visiting there at that time and that then and there she met and married John Jackson KERLEY. However, the questions remains, with whom did she live? While I feel comfortable that I can connect her with George Hugh DUNN and his wife Ellen N. KENNEDY DUNN or with their brother and sister John Cooper DUNN and wife Elizabeth Ann KENNEDY DUNN, all long time residents of that county, there is no evidence I know of that these couples resided in Lauderdale County before 1853, about seven years too late. The note refers to George Hugh DUNN, the address being consistent with that for George and his wife Ellen N. KENNEDY DUNN as reflected by the old Meridian City Directories and in her Confederate widow's pension application.

The brothers are described in John C. DUNN and DUNN's Falls by James T. DAWSON.[COMMENT-15] Mr. DAWSON quotes a descendant of John Cooper DUNN, Elaine MULLINS, as stating that the family consisted of four brothers and one sister, being James, William, David, John Cooper, George Hugh, and Jane. I have written to ask her if her source for this is a written list or Bible record or perhaps from knowing those who were discussed by older relatives. It may be possible there was another sister who moved away at marriage and then died early and was not often mentioned, and I would suggest that Elizabeth B. DUNN KERLEY should be that sister. For possible confirmation of this theory, see this source, noting Elizabeth Dunn who had brothers with similar names and married "Mr. Curley, having a daughter Elizabeth who married a Hickman and lived in Nexia, Texas.

Briefly, the family history information contained in DAWSON's book is as follows:

Legend has it that as John DUNN rode his horse through the area of the present-day DUNN's Falls during 1853, he heard a gush of water and investigated its source, thereby discovering DUNN's Falls. In researching this legend, it seemed strange to this writer that no evidence whatever could be uncovered concerning the existence of the falls prior to 1853.... It would seem that the falls discovered by John DUNN were of insignificant proportions indeed, and that the notoriety of DUNN's Falls after 1853 was the result of John C. DUNN's creation, rather than his discovery of the falls.

It was only logical for John DUNN, interested in establishing a manufacturing enterprise, to see the possibility of water power in a small stream flowing within seventy yards of a high bluff. Evidence indicates that, in 1853, John C. DUNN diverted Chunky Creek, where it flowed through his property, by building a dam and redirecting the stream over the bluff, thereby creating the sixty-five foot DUNN's Falls. He then also created a millpond, using the falls to supply water power for his mill.

.... Finally, on June 9, 1853, Moses VAUGHN and W. J. GADDIS sold their property to John C. DUNN and his father-in-law, Dr. William Potter KENNEDY, for $1,400.00....

John C. DUNN was a mechanic by occupation, according to his listing in the census of 1860. With his abilities as such, he soon had industry thriving at DUNN's Falls. One of the industries was an early ceramic plant utilizing clay from the clay hills in the area. In 1860, he had not only the ceramic plant but his mill and a three-story water-powered cotton factory and appeared to be prospering....

This mortgage also included a fee of $50.00 to M. W. BUCKLEY, who apparently represented John C. DUNN and his wife in a suit against his brother, George Hugh DUNN, and his wife. The deed is not clear on the details of this suit in which George Hugh DUNN won a judgment. The lawsuit between John C. DUNN and his brother probably involved the settlement of Dr. William Potter KENNEDY's half-interest in the DUNN's Falls land. Both John C. and his brother George were married to daughters of Dr. KENNEDY, who is buried in the Enterprise, (Clarke County), Mississippi cemetery. Unfortunately, there are no dates on his tombstone to verify that his death occurred at this time in 1883. Interestingly, the attorney, M. W. BUCKLEY, was the son-in-law of John C. DUNN.[COMMENT-16]

Although George Hugh DUNN won a judgment in the case, there is no evidence that George became involved in the DUNN's Falls operations. In 1885, George Hugh DUNN moved to Meridian from Enterprise and became a fireman. George died in Meridian in 1894. He had enlisted with Regiment Company D of the Confederate Army's 37th Mississippi Infantry about February 1862. On July 16, 1913, when his wife, Ellen Kennedy DUNN, filed for a Confederate pension, she was living in Meridian at 3827 Fifth Street....

Other information (summarized) includes that John Cooper DUNN and the others were probably children of John C. DUNN who died in Green County, Alabama about 1828 or 1829, having married a second wife Sophia O'NEAL on April 21, 1825. John Cooper DUNN was born in Belfast, Ireland, on March 24, 1820, died in Mississippi on February 11, 1904. DAWSON assumes that the widow, the former Sophia O'NEAL, was living with the daughter of her marriage to John C. DUNN the elder and a daughter of hers from a previous marriage, but I think it could well be that our Elizabeth was living with her in 1830 in Greene County, Alabama, while the older boys were living with other relatives, whom DAWSON assumes to be uncles to the boys.

John Cooper DUNN and wife Elizabeth Ann KENNEDY were the parents of the following children:

George Hugh DUNN and wife Ellen N. KENNEDY moved to Mississippi, to Clarke County, in 1853 according to DAWSON's book, but in the 1853 state census George H. DUNN appears in Lauderdale County with one male and one female. Clarke County and Lauderdale County adjoin, and the DUNN's Falls area is close to the borderline between the two of them, slightly in Lauderdale County, but the Enterprise Community is in Clarke County. The family moved to the town of Meridian in 1885 according to the DAWSON book. The 1888 Meridian City Directory reports that they resided at 2827 5th Street (evidently a typographical error, this should be 3827) in Meridian. Ellen N. DUNN lived at 3827 5th alone as George's widow in the 1908-1909 city directory. George's occupation in the 1888 directory shows to be "apprentice, WILLIAMS & BRIGGS", but I don't know what type of business this represents. George was born February 15, 1821 in South Carolina, indicating that the family moved from Ireland to South Carolina in between March of 1820 and February of 1821. He grew up near Boligee, Alabama. In 1848, he joined the Presbyterian Church at Eutaw in Green County, Alabama and married Ellen KENNEDY in 1853. His obituary was published in the Daily Item on October 31, 1894. He and Ellen were the parents of at least one child, Annie DUNN OGBURN, wife of Nick OGBURN, and mother of Eva OGBURN who became the mother of opera singer John ALEXANDER.

Other DUNN brothers included, according to Elaine MULLINS, James DUNN, William DUNN, and David DUNN, all probably born before 1820. DAWSON reports that David DUNN may have been in this area of Mississippi earlier than John Cooper DUNN and George Hugh DUNN, since there is a David DUNN in Clarke County in the 1850 census, at age 35, who would therefore have been born about 1815. He and his wife Alice have five children, being William, James, and Mary who were born in Alabama, Milley who was two and Elizabeth who was eight months having been born in Mississippi, which would indicate they were there by 1848. I need to check the census record and find out the time gap between Mary and Milley.

In 1838 there was a Francis DUNN who lived in Lauderdale County. In 1839, Francis DUNN lived there as did John DUNN and Wain DUNN. In 1840, Francis and John are found there. In 1846, E. A. DUNN is listed. The 1850 census shows John DUNN on page 336. In 1853, George H. DUNN appears on the state census with one male and one female. In 1860, Henry DUNN, J. C. DUNN, Thomas DUNN, and A. I. DUNN appear. I have not looked at census records for 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, or 1920, nor have I looked at the Clarke County records for earlier periods.

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E.)   Thomas/Thompson Tinian/Timothy KERLEY and wife Willia Celestia MEEKS.

T. T. KERLEY to me is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma, much the same as Winston CHURCHILL felt about Russia. We'll start with his name. I do know, I think, that he was T. T. KERLEY and that he was called Tom. I know that his tombstone says he was Thomas Tinian KERLEY and that his Hardeman County, Texas, descendants were all firmly convinced that was his name. I know that his signature on the Bible of his son, Vernon Venson KERLEY, reads "Thompson T. KERLEY" and that his branch of the family, living in Oregon, was so sure T. T. KERLEY's middle name was Timothy that they named a great grandson of his that in his honor.[COMMENT-17] I know that the two times I've seen instruments signed with anything other than T. T. KERLEY they read Thompson T. KERLEY. I know that I have seen a letter in my mother's possession that I firmly believe to be in his handwriting that is signed only Timothy, which letter is interesting enough for other reasons to be quoted below. That letter deals with I.O.O.F. matters, and I wonder if they did not adopt Biblical names for use in those functions, but I certainly am only guessing. I know that of the four names, Thomas, Thompson, Timothy, and Tinian, the one least likely to be made up from thin air and not actually associated with the individual is certainly Tinian. While I have not found "Tinian" listed either as a surname or a given name in other sources, I have found the name TINAN which appears on the 1659 census of Ireland, principally in Kilkenny, TININ which appears on the Birth Index of Ireland in 1890 in the Drum District, Cootehille Union, Cavan and Monaghan Counties, and TYNAN which appears on both those documents principally in Queens.[COMMENT-18] TINNEN, TINNON, and TYNON appear on early census records, including among the DUNNS in Lauderdale County, Mississippi. The surname TYNAN is Irish, an Anglicized form of the Gaelic O'TEIMHNEIN, meaning descendant of Teimhnein, and is a form of the old Irish personal name Teimhean meaning "dark".[COMMENT-19] My best guess as to his real name is Thompson Tinian KERLEY, henceforth referred to usually simply as T. T. KERLEY.

T. T. KERLEY was born November 21, 1855, at Mexia, Limestone County, Texas, I think. In the 1900 census, he or someone reported the date of his birth to be November 1858 and that his age was age 41. He was the eldest son of John Jackson KERLEY, being the son of Elizabeth B. (Ellen) DUNN KERLEY, the second wife. According to the marriage license, he married Willia Celestia MEEKS, October 21, 1881, in Limestone County, when she was 17, except that according to all the information we have about her date of birth, she would have been 15 then, having been born November 29, 1865, at Hope, Bienville Parish, Louisiana. They were married by J. T. S. PARK, a Baptist minister. Willia Celestia died January 16, 1919, in Chillicothe (Hardeman County, Texas) from the flu epidemic. After suffering paralysis in 1922, T. T. KERLEY died October, 1929, in Chillicothe.

On the 1880 census, he is listed in Limestone County on page 442, living with Thompson FARMER, a brick mason. He is shown as a laborer, age 24, born in Texas, father born in South Carolina, mother born in Alabama. In 1900 he said his mother was born in Ireland. In 1910, he said his mother was born in Mississippi. Both years he said his father was born in North Carolina. John J. KERLEY was born in South Carolina, and in 1850 Ellen DUNN KERLEY said she was born in South Carolina, too. In 1910 Willia's parents were both wrong, too, I think. (Both were reported born in South Carolina.) In 1900 Sarah Ann FULLERTON COBB COHEN? MEEKS said she was born in Alabama. Willia said her mother was born in Alabama and her father born in Georgia. In 1910 he said he was a deputy tax assessor collector. In 1900 he said he was a farmer.

T. T. KERLEY was a farmer and managed the Farmers Co-Op store in Mexia before moving to Chillicothe. He moved to Chillicothe, purportedly in 1888, being one of the very first families to arrive there. There is a deed recorded at Volume 16, page 329 of the Deed Records of Limestone County, conveying 42 acres from T. T. KERLEY and Willie C. KERLEY to John H. REEVES. This is dated January 11, 1890 and filled January 3, 1896. It represents that the KERLEY's are at that time residents of Limestone County. In Chillicothe they lived and farmed southwest of town. He dealt in feed, coal and wood as well as being a blacksmith. During his life he also ran a cold drink stand, assessed taxes and worked as a clerk for the Nuckles Brothers in Chillicothe. Later he sold coal in his own business near the railroad.

One of the most interesting exchanges of correspondence I've seen is two letters, one being from "Timothy" and I believe written in the handwriting of T. T. KERLEY and the second being addressed to T. T. KERLEY. The back of the letter addressed to T. T. KERLEY says "T. T. KERLEY, Addressed". The envelope of the other letter reads "Mrs. L. JORDAN or Betsy Jane, Mexia, Tex". If this is indeed from T. T. KERLEY, it may never have been sent since it was found in his papers. I don't know which was first, since only one is dated, but the letter from Timothy mentions a date of April 13. I would assume it is a draft of one that was sent, perhaps the final copy being a cooler, more carefully worded letter. They are:

To Betsy Jane

In your Locals of Friday Apl. 13 I notice that you accuse our order of paying no attention to the Solemn obligations which we taken on our Selves. and am now ready to perjure our Selves by Breaking them we are allways ready to perjure our Selves when Such Subjects as you and your Husband makes application to join our order. It takes Better Material than you or him either. for our Brothers & Sisters to extend the Right hand of fellowship with. you put us down as Renegades & Cowards. but remember you must not Judge others by your Self for if we had been Renegades & Cowards we Should have wanted Some more of the Same Stripe with us and therefore would have taken you and your husband. Instead of pouring oil on the Troubled waters to Stop this bitter feud in our order Such caracters as you and your husband had better cultivate your weak brain that you may keep your names out of Such orders. for our order is now about two years old and never before did we have any thing But love and harmony in our order. nor never will So long as Renegades and cowards Keep their names out of our order.

Timothy     

Science Hill, Sept. 1st, 1886

T. T. KERLEY,

Sir: On yesterday without just cause or provocation, you called me a liar. I have always endeavored to avoid personal encounters - have attempted to live peaceably with all men, and thus far have not had to resort to brute force. I want to say that I cannot tamely submit to this indignity, and trust that you will retract - that you make the amende honorable. this much I demand of you, as a gentleman, and hope not to be disappointed. An immediate reply solicitece [?].

Respectfully
[unreadable word] L. JORDAN

Thomas T. KERLEY died intestate, and his probate is Cause Number 706 in Hardeman County. His property is shown to include Lot 1 and the N 40 feet of Lot 2, Block 105, in Chillicothe, valued at $1,200.00 and Lot 12 and the N half of Lot 11, Block 105, in Chillicothe, valued at $1,100.00. He had $395.20 in the bank. The old homestead was at Avenue N and 4th. Later they moved to a more modern house at 300 Avenue N, when Alma Ellen ANDERSON was in 3rd grade.

He had a long white beard which was shaved only after he became paralyzed. Lena said that was the first time she had seen him without the beard. There was a misshaped place on his lip which had been concealed by the beard. He was bed-ridden the last seven years of his life, and Jack and Lena took care of him and the house.

Alma Ellen remembers her grandfather as a kind and good man. People then expected children to move when told to do something, and he was no different. She remembers his being particular about the screen doors. They were taught not to slam it and when they forgot he would call them and say to close that door right. They kept pigs in the big yard and perhaps a cow. At the first really cold weather, they would kill a pig. The well was close to the house so they could draw water from the porch. Joe ANDERSON put in a bathroom in the house. T. T. KERLEY would walk to town with a round-handled cane. Alma Ellen remembers him as a dignified old man.

I believe the name "Willia" was pronounced as though it were spelled "Willie". There is a deed recorded at Volume Y, page 394 of the Deed Records of Limestone County, conveying 60 acres from Mark MEEKS and wife Sarah MEEKS to Willia C. KERLEY "for the love and affection we have for our daughter Willia C. KERLEY." There are no other conveyances from Mark and Sarah MEEKS in the Limestone County Deed Records. This is dated February 22, 1883, filed for record November 16, 1886. There are other indications that Willia Celestia MEEKS KERLEY owned property in her own right, which is unusual for a married woman. I don't know more about the circumstances of this at this time, although I have some deeds reflecting it.

Even if she was unusual in that she owned property, she was very much simply a wife and mother, her obituary never even mentioning her by name:

It is with much regret that we have to mention the death of another of the good women of the community. Shortly after eight o'clock this morning the frail form of Mrs. KERLEY, wife of Mr. T. T. KERLEY succumbed to the ravages of disease and her spirit took its flight to the better world. Deceased contracted influenza about ten days ago and made a heroic fight against the grim monster with strong hope of gaining the victory. Up until yesterday she appeared to be improving and it was thought she would get well.

Deceased had lived in Chillicothe a long time and she and her family have the esteem of many of our best people. She was a quiet, unassuming woman, devoting her time largely to the proper rearing of a group of boys and girls her Maker had committed to her care, and made but few acquaintances. But those who knew her as friend and neighbor esteemed and respected her. The News sympathizes deeply with loved ones in the inexpressible grief visited upon them in the loss of wife and mother.

The mortal body will be consigned to mother earth tomorrow afternoon, but at this hour we have not heard where services will be held or the name of the officiating minister. [COMMENT-20]

The children of T. T. KERLEY and wife Willia Celestia MEEKS were as follows:

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