JOHN KELLY
DATE OF BIRTH: abt 1615
PLACE OF BIRTH: Exeter, Devonshire, England
DATE OF DEATH: 28 Dec 1644
PLACE OF DEATH: Ipswich, Massachusettes
SPOUSE(S): Nancy Bishop (m: abt 1640)
CHILDREN: Mary Kelley (b: 12 Feb 1641)
HISTORY:
John Kelly was born about 1615 in Exeter, Devonshire, England. He was the son of Michael Kelly of Radcliff,
Devonshire, England, who removed himself back to the family lands in Kelly, Exeter,
Devonshire, England. (Lands in England owned
or inherited by families, were called Parishes and usually named after the family.) He had two brothers, William and Henry. Whether there were other children in the family,
there are no records. Girls were not
recorded at that time unless they were of royalty, or of importance.
In February, 1633-34 the Council for New England, assembled at
Whitehall, England, as ordered by the King, and adopted an order placing certain
restrictions of the passengers and merchandise to the colony ordered to Massachusetts Bay. Before the ships of 9, then lying in the River
Thames, were allowed to sail, instructions were expressly provided that the Captains in
command of these vessels "shall cause the prayers contained in the Book of Common
Prayers, established in the Church of England, be said daily at the usual hours of Morning
and Evening Prayers, and that they cause all persons on board said ships be present at the
same time."
John and William were on the ship, " James." Their brother, Henry, stayed behind to tend the
family lands, since he was the oldest, and would inherit them per line of succession. There were 9 ships to sail to carry supplies and
stock, etc. In the ship, "Mary and
John," came other friends: Thomas Parker, James Noyes, John Spencer, Henry Short,
Henry Lunt, John Bartlett and many others who also ultimately settled in Newberry. Upon their arrival in New England, most of these
passengers went to Agawam, now Ipswich, Mass., where they remained until spring of 1635.
On Sept 3, 1633, the General Court granted the settlers permission to
set up a trading house on the Merrimack River; and under the date of May 6, 1635, the
House of Deputies passed the following order: Quascacunquen is allowed by the court to be
a plantation, and it is referred to Mr. John Humprey, Mr. John Endicott, Capt. Nathaniel
Turner and Capt. William Trask (whose widow later sold their wood mill to our Joseph
Kelley), or any three of them, to set out the bounds of Ipswich and Quascacunquen, or so
much thereof as they can; and the name of said plantation shall be changed, and shall
hereafter be called Newberry. Further, it is
ordered that it shall be in the power of the court to take order that said plantation
shall receive a sufficient company to make a complete town.
Rev's Thomas Parker and Rogers, and those associated with them, having
permission to begin a plantation "to be called Newberry," made preparations to
remove from Ipswich early in the spring. There
were no roads through the trackless forest, and the transportation of women and children
and household goods overland was impracticable. Tradition
asserts that they went by the way of Plum Island Sound, in open boats, and landed, in the
month of May or June 1635, on the north shore of what is now the River Parker in a little
cover about one hundred rods below the bridge. Nicholas
Noyes, the brother of Rev. James Noyes, was the first to leap ashore.
Inland hills, rising above hill, stood like sentinels over the almost
unbroken wilderness. Centuries before this
memorial landing, Indians had hunted in these forests and fished in the placid stream that
ebbs and flows to the falls of Newberry; but only few of that race remained to resist the
encroachments of the white faced strangers. Dismal
and gloomy must have been the outlook as these brave pioneers gathered together at the
close of the first day and contemplated the prospect before them. They knew of the wild beasts roaming through the
forests, and whether the red man would welcome them as friends or foes, was yet uncertain.
Undismayed by these difficulties and dangers, the new settlers
instinctively turned their attentions to the cultivation of the soil and the development
of Newberry. Here and there, among the
winding river, they appropriated the few clear spots, where the natives had formerly
planted corn, and promptly took possession of the neighboring marshes where the growing of
salt grass promised an abundant harvest. There
was no lack of work. Houses were built, land
ploughed and tilled and sheds erected for the protection of cattle before winter set in. House lots, planting lots and meadow lots were
laid out and granted to individual members of the community, and the original entries,
showing names and dates, can still be seen on the old records of the town; but how many
houses were erected or how many families settled in Newberry during the first year of the
existence is impossible to state with exactness.
Gov. Winthrop, in his history of New England, under the date of June 3,
1635, records the arrival of two ships with Dutch cattle.
The same day, the arrival of the Ship, "James," from Southampton,
bringing other passengers, who had been employed in the projectors of the stock raising
company, to provide food for the cattle and take care of them for a specified term of
years. Evidently, those who were engaged in
this new enterprise intended to utilize the vacant lands and, at the same time, establish
a safe and profitable business for themselves. But,
one of the gentlemen declined to carry out his part of the Contract, and the General Court
finally ordered a division of the grain that had been imported, and instructed each owner
to take care of his own cattle. (This account
was taken from the Historical and Biographical Sketches by John J. Currier 1896, called
" Ould Newberry," printed at Boston.)
This was the beginning of the two distinct lines of the Kellys of
Kelly, Essex, Devonshire, England to New England. William
stayed in Ipswich, Mass. and John, our ancestor, removed to Newberry and was one of the
first settlers, as found in the proprietors book of records, folio forty-four. The record is dated December 1642 and is the first
known list of the settlers of Newberry. The
names are as listed alphabetically:
Walter Allen -- Nathaniel Badger -- Richard Badger -- Giles Badger -- Christopher Bartlet
-- Richard Bartlet -- John Bartlet -- Nicholas Batt -- William Berry -- Thomas Blumfield
-- John Bond -- Mr. John Browne -- Richard Browne -- Thomas Browne -- George Browne --
Joseph Carter -- John Cheney -- Mr. John Clarke -- Robert Coker -- Thomas Coleman --
Thomas Cromwell -- Mr. John Cutting -- Thomas Davis -- Thomas Dowe -- Mr. Richard Drummer
-- Mr. Stephen Drummer -- John Emery -- Richard Fitts -- Willam Franklin -- John Fry --
Samuel Gile -- John Goff -- Mr. Edmund Greenleaf -- Thomas Hale -- Nicholas Holt -- Abel
Huse -- John Hutchins -- William Ilsley -- John Kelly -- Stephen Kent -- Richard Kent Jr.
-- Richard Knight -- John Knight -- Ricard Littlehale -- Mr. John Lowie -- Mr. Percivail
Lowle -- Henry Lunt -- John Merrill -- Mr. John Miller -- William Moody -- William Mors --
Anthony Morss -- John Musselwhite -- Mr. James Noyes -- Nicholas Noyes -- Mrs. John Oliver
-- John Osgood -- William Palmer -- Henry Palmer -- Mr. Thomas Parker -- Joseph Peasley --
John Pemberton -- John Pike, Jr. -- John Pike, Sr. -- Francis Plumer -- John Poor -- Mr.
Edward Rawson -- Henry Rolfe -- John Russ -- Samuel Scullard -- Mr. Henry Sewall --Anthony
Short -- Henry Short -- Thomas Silver -- Thomas Smith -- Anthony Somerby -- Henry Somerby
--Mr. John Spenser -- Wid. ( William ) Stephens -- John Stevens -- John Swett -- William
Thomas -- Daniel Thurston -- William Titcomb -- Abraham Toppan -- Henry Travers --
Nathaniel Weare -- William White -- Mr. John Woodbridge -- Mr. Edward Woodsman --
Archelaus Woodsman. (The above people named
with Mr. were of highly educated status.)
The settlers of Newberry were much like those from much of what is now
Northern Essex County. They were not
religious enthusiasts or pilgrims who fled from religious persecution in England. They were substantial, law abiding and loyal
English tradesmen, of that stanch middle class that were the backbone of England.
Newberry was, therefore, begun as a stock raising enterprise and the
settlers came to engage in that business and to establish homes for themselves. Houses were erected on both sides of the Parker
River. The principal settlement was around
the meetinghouse on the lower green. The
first church in Newberry could not have been formed before June, as some of those recorded
at its formation are not recorded as having arrived until June.
In the division of land, the first settlers recognized the scripture
rule, "To him that hath shall be given," and the wealth of each grantee can be
estimated by the number of acres given him.
When they arrived in Massachusetts, the settlers found the state had
established the Congressional form of religion. Everyone
was taxed to support the Congressional Society and was commanded to attend worship at the
meetinghouse. The Reverend Thomas Parker was
a member of the stock raising company and was also the minister of the settlers. Rev Rogers was the minister sent to Roxbury.
The outlying settlers had a long journey to the meetinghouse. The congregations were in danger of attacks from
Indians and wild beasts on their way to and from worship.
There was a constant dread of attack during the time of services and all
able-bodied inhabitants were required to bring their weapons to church. Sentinels were posted at the doors.
In spite of the hardship and danger, the population steadily increased
in number and gradually improved its worldly condition.
Being cramped for room, the settlers moved up to the upper or training
green. This was in order to get tillable land
and engage in commercial pursuits. This
movement began in 1642. Each member in the
family had been allotted a half-acre for a building lot on the lower green. On the upper green, each was to have four acres
for a house lot. Also, on the upper green, a
new pond was artificially formed for watering cattle and sheep. This gave John two acres on the lower green and 16
acres on the upper Green. He eventually built
a mill on his land to mill lumber.
John Kelly was married in about 1640 to Nancy (Bishop) the daughter of
Thomas Bishop of Roxbury. They were married
at Ipswich, Massachusetts. They had two
children: 1-- Mary -- born Feb 12, 1641 who died about 1680. She married April 12, 1666 to John Belconger. 2-- John -- Brn in Newberry, Ipswich, Mass., July
2, 1642, who died Mar. 21, 1717-18. He
married twice; 1-- Sarah (Knight) daughter of William and Elizabeth Knight of Newberry. They had 10 children. 2-- Lydia (Ames) March 15, 1715-16. No children.
Records state that John Kelly died in 1644, but if this was the case he
left Nancy with two small children and the land in Newberry to care for, as well as the
cattle and sheep, and the mill. There is no
record of her remarrying.