The Family Detective

You get to a point on your tree where you have to decide that you've reached your limits. For the Kelly line it ends with John Kelly. He is a name on some certificates. But I could write a simple story about him. How much is true needs to be established. In my story those words in red are information found in sources such as death certificates and newspapers. John Kelly came from an Irish background. He spent some time around the Campbelltown area before settling near Yass . He married Mary Kerasen (Kerrison?) and lived on the Bendinine estate. Their daughter was Mary Ann . The family lived close to where the Cotter Family lived on the estate and this may be a factor in Mary Ann marrying Edward Cotter . He lived in the area during some interesting times. Banjo Paterson was a boy, and his father managed the Bendinine estate. During this time the bushranger Johnny Gilbert was killed in a shoot out close to the edge of town. As I get more ... If I can get more, I can...

As mentioned in my previous post I no longer believed that the rest of the family history world were right about Mary Ann Kelly's parents being John Kelly & Mary Madigan and Mary Ann being born in 1850. It just didn't add up. Luckily Daffyd Cotter and P Teale have listened too. Both ordered certificates for Mary Ann's death and wedding and some interesting facts have come to life. YES, I've admitted before that death certificates can be a bit hit and miss but here are some new leads from the 2 certificates: Mary Ann Kelly Born in Campbelltown Father's Name: John Kelly Mother's Name: Mary Kerasen Living at time of marriage: Bendinine The ages & birth dates are still a muddle. The death certificate states married age was 20 (making her married in 1881 but our records show the marriage was in 1876. The death details would have her born around 1861. So we have a discrepancy of dates around 5 years. If she was married at age 20 in 1876 this would put...

There's a lot we know about Mary Ann Kelly. She was the wife of Edward Cotter (Son of Michael) and had many children. Her many grandchildren and great grandchildren have created family trees with details surrounding her birth and dates for her christening. But it is her death that makes me question the validity of the details of the trees and I think we need to look closer to find more proof. What we know from the newspapers: Her husband was Edward Cotter. She lived in Burgooney. She died on 5 December 1926 in West Wyalong, N.S.W. Australia. We know her children consisted of 8 sons & 3 daughters. [At the time of Edward's death a year later the papers reported 6 sons & 3 daughters were still alive in 1927] She was Church of England by faith and buried in a local cemetery Both newspapers state her age at 65. This would put her date of birth around 1861. However many family historians have claimed immigration records and christening records pur ou...