Author: Connie Kelly
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Phoebe Catherine “Katie” Sansom
136 years ago today, March 4, 1890, Chris’s great grandma, Katie Sansom Kelly was born in Clark County Missouri. She was the second daughter of William Henry Sansom and Ellen Lenore (Rose) Sansom. Her father was a blacksmith/wood worker/wagon maker in Kahoka first, then Keokuk later. She married Lee Kelly in Keokuk in 1910. Lee…… Read more
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Kellogg Ancestors in America
TLDR: My 8x great grandfather, son of an English colonist, was stolen by the French and Indian soldiers, became a successful interpreter and trader , was assigned to one of the first recorded expedition to Illinois by the French, and later was reclaimed by the British, quoted in Royal Society papers, given a commission in…… Read more
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Bill Kelly
A year ago today we lost Chris’s father, Bill Kelly. He was 85. Born in Keokuk Iowa in 1939, he was the second child of Henry and Alberta (Chrisman) Kelly. He graduated from Keokuk High School in 1957 as Senior Class President and then attended Carthage College, graduating in 1961. He married Judy Perry in…… Read more
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Murder? ! ?
I came across an incredible story about the death of my 4x great grandfather. My paternal grandmother’s father was Ray Myers. His maternal grandfather was George J Byars Jr. George died on 12 Oct 1873 in Steen Township in Knox County, Indiana. George had come to Indiana from Smyth County, Virginia with his new wife…… Read more
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Dr Francis Joseph Smith / Birth name: Josephus Jacobus De Aerts
I’ve been adding my family tree to the WikiTree website which spurred me to do a bit of a deeper dive on my 6x great grandfather Dr. Francis Smith. Dr Smith is the father of by 5x ggmother Sarah Smith Shoemaker, mother of my 4x ggmother Deborah Cramer Holden, mother of my 3x ggfather William…… Read more
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My cousins General Nathanael Greene and Mary Mott
I was watching Ken Burns’ new documentary on the Revolutionary War and they mention and quote General Nathanael Greene quite often. I remembered when previously writing a post about the Greene family of Rhode Island, reading that this General was a descendant of the same family so I decided to add him to my family…… Read more
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Ken E. Starr
Feb 1st 2026 is the 35th anniversary of the death of my paternal grandfather, Ken Starr. Ken Starr was born on 1/19/1919 and died on 2/1/1991. He was the 2nd son of Ernie and Ina Holden Starr. Ernie and Ina had married in 1914 and their first son, Clifford, was born in July of 1915.…… Read more
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January 30, the day of the birth of my Grandma and the day of the death of her Grandma
Today would have been Grandma Carroll’s 108th birthday. It’s easy math for me as she was 50 years and 5 days older than me. It’s also the anniversary of her grandma’s death. My 2x great grandma, Nancy Hendricks, died on this day in 1967, one year before I was born. I’ve written a few different…… Read more
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The Webster line- A Famous Dictionary and Half-Hanged Witch
My great grandmother, Ina Holden Starr’s mother was Grace Mabel Webster, born in 1873. I had been told she descended from the same Websters that we all know from the dictionary, Noah Webster, so I wanted to confirm this with my own tree. I traced the Webster line back to my 14x great grandfather, John…… Read more
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The Easley Line- French Huguenot Refugees
My 10x great grandfather, Robert Easley Sr was born about 1655 in England. He came with his father, Henry, to London from France after the St. Bartholomew Massacre had made France unsafe for Protestants. It’s believed other branches of the family went to Switzerland where they were silk merchants (there called Islyn). His grandfather, Claude…… Read more