Who Is Thomas Benton Kelly? My name is Ben Riley Kelly. My father is Keith Kimble Kelly. My grandfather on my father’s side is Kern Riley Kelly. His father, my great grandfather, is Thomas Benton Kelly (18511916).1 2 3 Thomas Benton Kelly does not appear in any official records until March 20, 1887.4 A license to marry Missouri Jane Sheppard Smith is issued that day in Ozark County, Missouri. It is as if he suddenly appeared as an adult out of nowhere, without birth family, without history and without connections. Conclusion: My conclusion is that Thomas Benton Kelly (1851-1916) is the same man as David Franklin Stark (1851- ). For this conclusion to be supported various genealogical evidence is required. I based my conclusion on the following circumstantial evidence. Evidence: 1. David Franklin Stark and I, Ben Kelly, both descend from Aaron Stark (1608-1685). For David Franklin Stark to be my biological grandfather he must descend from Aaron Stark (1608-1685). In August 2005, my wife gave me a birthday present; participation in a National Geographic YDNA project. I swabbed my cheek and sent the sample in to the project. In November 2005, I received the results, tracing my genetic ancestors to the British Iles from Northern Europe, to Northern Europe from the Middle East, and to the Middle East from Africa about 60,000 years ago. In December 2008, I upgraded my Family Tree Maker program and began adding to my research on family history. I was particularly interested in finding more about my great grandfather Thomas Benton Kelly. About the same time, I joined Ancestory.com and was invited to submit my YDNA results to its data base. My results turned up various surnames but no Kelly surnames. I had joined the Kelly YDNA Family group and found only one “match” from Ireland. We determined that, if we were related, our common ancestor would have been in the period prior to surnames, probably more than twenty generations before us. The surname that appeared most often in my 12 loci YDNA results was Stark. I authorized an analysis identifying 37 Loci. All of the closest matches were named Stark and all descended from Aaron Stark (1608-1685) from Connecticut. I then joined the Stark YNDA Family Group and there found many descendant of Aaron Stark who were related within eight to ten generations. I authorized and paid for a 67 Loci YDNA analysis with the expectation that I might receive more specific YDNA data. All 67 Loci data revealed descendants of Aaron Stark (1608-1685 Connecticut). On the basis of my 1 67 Loci YDNA results my Halpogroup is R1b1b2. This Halpogroup is specific to descendants of Aaron Stark (1608-1685). I was not totally surprised to be genetically related to the Stark family. After Mary Effie Beard, daughter of Thomas Benton and Missouri Jane passed away in 1981, I came into possession of her Bible dated 1959. In the Family Register within the Bible she lists Thomas B. Kelly born January 5, 1851 in Ohio, died April 16, 1916. She listed a brother John (only known) and his father as B. F. Starke. Further, in a letter dated June 21, 1983 from my Aunt Leola Kelly Swearengin, my father’s youngest sister, she stated: We found some information that you might be interested in. When we were at Wally’s 2 or 3 years ago I copied this out of an old Bible that Aunt Effie had given to Wally. (Wally is the daughter of Mary Effie Kelly Beard, Thomas Benton Kelly’s daughter.) ‘Missouri Jane Sheppard, born January 8, 1865. Died November 22, 1924. I (Leola) was two years old in 1924. Jonathan F. (Franklin?) Stark was born Jan 5, 1851 died April 17, 1916. I (Leola) wasn’t here yet. (He) changed his name to Thomas Benton Kelly. Verified by Effie Mae Beard. Also, in 1983 I spent some time with my father, Keith Kimble Kelly. He lived in Bradenton, Florida at the time. Independently, he told a story that his grandfather, Thomas Benton Kelly, was really a Stark from Illinois. With my YDNA results confirming that I was a descendant of Aaron Stark, I proceeded to trace Aaron Stark’s (1608-1685) male descendants, looking for a descendant that might be the same age and who disappeared from official records about the time my great grandfather appeared. After examining hundreds of other male descendants of Aaron Stark, and not finding a probable candidate to be Thomas Benton Kelly, I found the family of William A. Stark in the 1850 Federal Census. In subsequent Census David Franklin Stark appeared as the second son of William and Fidelia Ann Stark. William’s first son Jonathon Lloyd Stark was born in Ohio in 1848. He was not really a candidate to be Thomas Benton Kelly because of the year of his birth and the date of his death in Ohio, but his brother David Franklin Stark was born in 1851 in Ohio, the same year as Thomas Benton Kelly. My contention is that David Franklin Stark is the same man as Thomas Benton Kelly. To be the same man, David Franklin has to descend from Aaron Stark (16081685). David’s father is William A. Stark and David is listed as William’s son in the 18605 and the 1870 Federal Census. Who was William A. Stark’s father? In the 1830 6 Census of Ohio, there are several Stark families, one of which entered Ohio and settled in Clermont County in 1818. That family was from New York and was headed by John Stark.7 Clermont County was formed in 1800. In 1805, part of the original Clermont County was included in the newly created Highland County. In 1818, Brown County was created from Clermont, and Adams Counties. We find William Stark in Highland County 2 in the 1850 Census. The 1850 Census is the first Federal Census to name the family members of the head of household. Phidilia is listed as William’s wife. Talitha and Lloyd are listed as his children and are David Franklin’s older sister and brother. Note that the spelling of Fidelia is one phonetic variation. The only family that enumerated sons in the 1830 Census that fell within the appropriate age range to be William A. Stark was Isaac Stark, the son of John Stark. On subsequent Census records, William lists himself as born in Ohio and his father as born in New York and his mother as born in Ohio. Isaac was born in New York. Isaac’s wife Catherine’s birthplace is listed as Ohio. Isaac and Catherine were married 24 February 1822 in Clermont County, Ohio.8 In the 1830 Census they had three sons under the age of five: Isaac Jr. and John are listed in the Index of descendants of Aaron Stark through Isaac Stark. 9I believe that William was born in 1824 and would be the third boy in the Census. At the time of the Census, he had probably not yet celebrated his sixth birthday. In the 184010 Census for Isaac, 2 males are listed in the 10 through 14 year old age category. I believe one to be Isaac Jr. and the other to be William A. John falls into the category below, age 5 through 9. William left home and established his own family by the 1850 Census when wives and children were listed by name. I believe that this circumstantial evidence to be strong enough to establish William A. Stark was the son of Isaac Stark of Clermont County, Ohio, who descended from Aaron Stark (1608-1685). I have been able to connect David Franklin Stark through direct line of descent to Aaron Stark through Aaron’s son William, William’s son Christopher, Christopher’s son Christopher Junior, Christopher Junior’s son John, John’s son Isaac, and Isaac’s son William A. Stark, the father of David Franklin Stark. Therefore, the condition that David Franklin Stark descended from Aaron Stark (1608-1685) is established. My descent from Aaron Stark was established by my YDNA Halogroup. See the Relationship Chart at the end of this report to visualize how the author is related to Aaron Stark (1608-1685). 2. David Franklin Stark did not exist in official records, such as marriage, death, Census Records etc. after March 20, 1887. The last official record of David Franklin Stark is August 14, 1875 when he deserted from the army.11 In 2010, an Ancestory.com records search led me to military records for David Franklin Stark. He joined the United States Army on March 11, 1875 in Nashville, Tennessee and signed for a five year tour of duty. Five months later, on August 14, 1875 twenty-four year old David Franklin Stark deserted from Company G, 16th Infantry Regiment of the United States Army. David Franklin Stark, as David Franklin Stark, disappears from all official records after August 14, 1875. What was David Franklin Stark of Lexington, Illinois doing in Nashville, Tennessee in 1875? The economy of the time created desperate circumstances for the country as a whole. In the year 1873, the banking system collapsed and the economy sunk into a deep depression that lasted for several years. Businesses, including railroads, failed. Farmers lost their farms. The country experienced new levels of poverty, homelessness and broken families.12 3 In the 1870 United States Federal Census, David Franklin’s father, William A. Stark, was living on his farm and was one of the wealthier men in Lexington Township, McLean County, Illinois.13 In the 188014 United States Federal Census, William A. Stark was living in the Village of Lexington, Illinois working as a harness maker. As a young man in Highland County, Ohio in the 185015 United States Federal Census, William A. Stark listed his occupation as harness maker. Had William lost the farm in the crash of 1873? Had David left home and travelled to Highland, Clermont and Brown Counties in Ohio where his mother’s and father’s families lived in hopes of finding work? When no work materialized there, had he, and perhaps his young male relatives and friends as well, traveled to Nashville in search of work? Not finding steady work in Nashville and discouraged at their prospects, had some of them, including David Franklin, taken the only job available, enlistment in the United States Army. Most enlistment at the time was in a particular unit stationed in a particular place. The Army unit stationed in Nashville at that time was Company G, 16th Infantry Regiment of the United States Army. From a book on the reconstruction army16, I came to understand the circumstances that David Franklin faced as an enlisted man in 1875. Desertion was a huge problem for the reconstruction army. One reason was low pay; an enlistment for five years earned the soldier $2.00 per month. The army fed, clothed, armed and sheltered the soldier, but charged him for his ammunition, his sundry items and tobacco. When David deserted, he had not been paid regularly for his service since his enlistment five months earlier. Other reasons for desertion were poor quality food, harsh discipline, and the fact that the reconstruction army was an unpopular police force in the defeated South, post-civil war. Many soldiers who deserted headed west and re-enlisted in a different unit under another name. After his desertion, David could not return to his family home in Illinois, for fear of being caught. Messages would have been sent to law enforcement in those locales by telegraph. Most deserters returning home were easily found and prosecuted. As stated earlier, David Franklin Stark disappeared from all official records after August 14, 1875. 3. We know that David was alive in 1909 living under another name. His mother’s obituary in 190917 states that his mother is survived by four children: Talitha of Fairbury, David of Oklahoma, A. M. Stark of Fairbury and Samuel of Quincy. There was no David Franklin Stark in Oklahoma in the 1900, 1910, or any other official record listing a David Stark in that time period in Oklahoma. His mention in his mother’s obituary is evidence that he was living in Oklahoma under another name. Thomas Benton Kelly is found in both the 1900 and 1910 Census, in Custer County land records. 4. Thomas Benton Kelly did not exist in official records before August 14, 1875. Census records yielded several men named Thomas Benton Kelly, but none that I found could be my great grandfather. Either they were descendants of families named Kelly who recently migrated to the United States from the British Isles or they could be found in subsequent documents that placed them in different families during times that Thomas Benton was recorded elsewhere. 4 5. Evidence suggesting why David Franklin Stark chose to change his name to Thomas Benton Kelly would be helpful. For David Franklin Stark to be Thomas Benton Kelly he would need a reason to change his name. Avoiding arrest and prosecution as a deserter would be reason enough for David to change his name. Why would he choose the name Thomas Benton Kelly? There is circumstantial evidence that points to Thomas Benton Kelly as a choice for a new name. After David Franklin deserted in August 1875, he had to assume another name. He had an older cousin who lived West of Chicago who was a hero in the Civil war. His name was Thomas Benton Kelly.18 After the war Thomas Benton Kelly moved back to his ancestral home in New England. Could this be where David Franklin came up with the name Thomas Benton Kelly? With Thomas Benton back east, it is doubtful the two men would have crossed paths after the war, a distinct advantage for David Franklin. An aside: Jonathon, David’s brother, had reason to change his name and disappear. Jonathon L. Stark joined the United States Calvary, 6th Regiment, Company R, at Fort Riley, Kansas on January 6, 1872 and deserted October 1, 1872 just shy 10 months of service.19 He is in his father’s home in Lexington in the 188020 Census. I am sure that this Jonathon is David’s brother. He lists his birthplace as Beaufort, Ohio. There is no Beaufort, Ohio. There is, however, a Buford, Ohio and it turns out that is where Fidelia is from; strong circumstantial evidence for this Jonathon to be Fidelia’s son and David’s brother. Jonathon shows up next in the 190021 Census as a boarder in Kansas City, Missouri where he works as a railroad conductor. He is 52 years old and divorced. I have not yet found a marriage/divorce record for him. The next record that I find for him is his death record. He died in Franklin County, Ohio on 22 September, 1917.22 He did not change his name but continues to go by Jonathon l. Stark. He cannot be a candidate for Thomas Benton Kelly, since Thomas Benton Kelly is found in the 1900 Census in Oklahoma and died in Fellsmere, St. Lucie County Florida on April 29, 1916. Two brothers in one family deserted military service. One might conclude that there was an inherent weakness in the family’s character. Of the forty names listed on the roster from the National Archives on which Jonathon’s name appears, sixteen deserted; a desertion rate of 40%. As I read about the Reconstruction army of the 1870’s, poor pay, unpleasant duty, mistreatment by officers, etc., resulted in very high desertion rates. 6. The parents of David Franklin Stark and Thomas Benton Kelly are named William and Ann. Is there other evidence that ties Thomas Benton Kelly to David Franklin Stark? On Thomas Benton’s death certificate, his father’s given name is William. David Franklin’s father’s given name was William. Thomas Benton’s death certificate has his mother’s given name as Ann and her maiden name as Campbell. David’s mother’s name is Fidelia Ann Kimble. Thomas Benton’s wife Missouri Jane was the informant on the death certificate.23 “Campbell is phonetically very close to “Kimble”. 7. A Family Bible lists Jonathon as the only know brother of Thomas Benton Kelly. David Franklin Stark’s older brother was Jonathon Lloyd Stark.24 5 8. Thomas Benton’s first male grandchild, my father Keith Kelly’s middle name is Kimble. Kimble is Fidelia Ann Kimble’s family name. In genealogy, as in law, evidence can be direct or circumstantial. Rather than the legal standard of beyond a reasonable doubt, genealogists employ the standard of reasonable plausibility. In other words, does the circumstantial evidence lead the investigator to a plausible conclusion? Of course, in genealogical research, as in law, the verdict is always open to new evidence. I present you a case based on some direct and much circumstantial evidence. Taken together the direct and circumstantial evidence presented here leads to the plausible conclusion that Thomas Benton Kelly and David Franklin Stark are the same man. Webmaster Clovis LaFleur determined the evidence compelling and published William A. Stark as a descendant of Isaac Stark. Likewise, Webmaster Sheila Schmutz determined the evidence compelling and published William A. Stark as a descendant of Isaac Stark. In these two genealogical websites, David Franklin Stark is listed as A.K.A. Thomas Benton Kelly.25 26 Ben Kelly, Oakhurst, CA September 3, 2015 1 State of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State Heath Department, Division of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Birth of Ben Riley Kelly. 2 State of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State Heath Department, Division of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Birth of Keith Kimble Kelly. 3 State of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State Heath Department, Division of Vital Statistics, Delayed Certificate of Birth of Kern Riley Kelly. 4 Source Information Title Missouri Marriage Records, 1805-2002 Author Ancestry.com Publisher Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007.Original data - Missouri Marriage Records. Jefferson City, MO, USA: Missouri State Archives. Microfilm.Original data: Missouri Marriage Records. Jefferson City, MO, USA: Missouri Stat Web Address http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=momarriages&h= 11246492&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt 5 Source Information Title 6 1860 United States Federal Census Author Ancestry.com Publisher Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2004.Original data - United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Eighth Census of the United States, 1860. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1860. M653, 1 Web Address http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1860usfedcenan cestry&h=37457170&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt 6 Source Information Title 1830 United States Federal Census Author Ancestry.com Publisher Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2004.Original data - United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifth Census of the United States, 1830. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1830. M19, 201 Web Address http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1830usfedcenan cestry&h=275273&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt 7 The Aaron Stark Chronicles, Descendants of Aaron Stark http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~clovis/ 8 Source Information Title Marriage records of Clermont County, Ohio, 1800-1850 Author Ancestry.com Note Sponsored by Clermont County Genealogical Society, Batavia, Ohio. Cf. t.p. verso.|||Includes index. Publisher Online publication - Provo, UT: The Generations Network, Inc., 2005.Original data Marriage records of Clermont County, Ohio, 1800-1850. Evansville, Ind.: Unigraphic, 1979.Original data: Marriage records of Clermont County, Ohio, 1800-1850. Evansville, In Web Address 7 http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=genealogy-glh4 9042030&h=245&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt 9 The Aaron Stark Chronicles, Descendants of Aaron Stark http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~clovis/ 10 Source Information Title 1840 United States Federal Census Author Ancestry.com Publisher Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2004.Original data - United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Sixth Census of the United States, 1840. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1840. M704, 58 Web Address http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1840usfedcenan cestry&h=1677731&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt 11 Source Information Title U.S. Army, Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914 Author Ancestry.com Publisher Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007.Original data - Register of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M233, 81 rolls); Records of the Adjutant General’s Office, 1780’s-1917, R Web Address http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=usarmyenlistme nts&h=1328192&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt Bellesiles, Michael A. 1877: America’s Year of Living Violently. New York: The New Press, 2010. 12 13 Source Information Title 1870 United States Federal Census Author 8 Ancestry.com Publisher Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2003.Original data - 1870. United States. Ninth Census of the United States, 1870. Washington, D.C. National Archives and Records Administration. M593, RG29, 1,761 rolls. Minnesota. Minnes Web Address http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1870usfedcen&h =15345476&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt 14 Source Information Title 1880 United States Federal Census Author Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Publisher Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2005. 1880 U.S. Census Index provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints © Copyright 1999 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. All use is subject to the limite Web Address http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1880usfedcen&h =30895339&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt 15 Source Information Title 1850 United States Federal Census Author Ancestry.com Publisher Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2005.Original data - United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Seventh Census of the United States, 1850. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1850. M432, Web Address http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1850usfedcenan cestry&h=13885198&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt Rickey, Junior’s, Forty Miles A Day on Beans And Hay. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1963. 17 The author has a copy of this obituary in his possession. The copy was obtained from the Lexington Genealogical & Historical Society, located at 318 West Main Street, Lexington, Illinois. 16 9 Thomas Benton Kelly was a distant cousin of David Franklin Stark through Thomas Benton’s mother. They lived less than 100 miles apart in Illinois before the Civil War. Thomas Benton Kelly was written up in the Stark Family Association Yearbook, 1909, pp 31-33. The author has a copy of that article and used the article to provide facts about David’s cousin, Thomas Benton Kelly. I believe that David took Thomas Benton’s name when he was on the run after deserting. 18 19 Source Information Title U.S. Army, Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914 Author Ancestry.com Publisher Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007.Original data - Register of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M233, 81 rolls); Records of the Adjutant General’s Office, 1780’s-1917, R 20 Source Information Title 1880 United States Federal Census Author Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Publisher Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2005. 1880 U.S. Census Index provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints © Copyright 1999 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. All use is subject to the limite Web Address http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1880usfedcen&h =46897400&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt 21 Source Information Title 1900 United States Federal Census Author Ancestry.com Publisher Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2004.Original data - United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 10 22 Source Information Title Ohio Deaths, 1908-1932, 1938-1944, and 1958-2002 Author Ancestry.com and Ohio Department of Health Publisher Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006.Original data - Ohio. Division of Vital Statistics. Death Certificates and index, December 20, 1908December 31, 1953. State Archives Series 3094. Ohio Historical Society, Ohio.Ohio D 23 Source Information Title Florida Death Index, 1877-1998 Author Ancestry.com Publisher Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2004.Original data - State of Florida. Florida Death Index, 1877-1998. Florida: Florida Department of Health, Office of Vital Records, 1998.Original data: State of Florida. Florida Death I The author has a copy of the actual death certificate in his possession. 24 The author has this Bible in his possession. 25 The Aaron Stark Chronicles, Descendants of Aaron Stark http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~clovis/ http://homepage.usask.ca/~Schmutz/AaronStarkLines.html. Please copy this link and insert it in the browser bar to access the site. 26 11 Relationship: Ben Riley Kelly to Aaron Stark Aaron Stark is the 8th Great Grandfather of Ben Riley Kelly Aaron Stark b: 1608 Groton, New London, Connecticut d: 03 Jun 1685 Groton, New London, Connecticut 7th Great Grandfather William Stark b: 1664 Mystic, New London, CT, USA d: 08 Sep 1730 Groton, New London, Connecticut 6th Great Grandfather Christopher Stark b: 19 Jun 1698 Groton, New London, Connecticut d: 20 Jul 1777 Wyoming Valley, Armstrong, Pen 5th Great Grandfather Christopher Junior Stark b: 27 Sep 1728 Groton, New London, Connecticut d: Bet. 1781–1785 Probably in Albany County, New 4th Great Grandfather John Stark b: 1763 Duchess County, New York, USA d: 30 Jun 1841 Neville, Clermont County, Ohio, 3rd Great Grandfather Isaac Starks b: 1796 New York, USA d: 19 Mar 1869 Clermont County, Ohio September 06, 2015 11:56:31 AM 12 Relationship: Ben Riley Kelly to Aaron Stark Aaron Stark is the 8th Great Grandfather of Ben Riley Kelly 2nd Great Grandfather William A. Stark b: 1824 Clermont County, Ohio, USA d: 1890 Illinois, USA Great Grandfather David Franklin Stark (AKA Thomas Benton Kelly) b: 05 Jan 1851 Clermont County, Ohio, USA d: 29 Apr 1916 Fellsmere, St. Lucie, Florida Grandfather Kern Riley Kelly b: 02 Jul 1890 Cameron, Le Flore, Indian Territory d: May 1973 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Father Keith Kimble Kelly b: 14 Jun 1911 Butler, Custer, Oklahoma d: 07 Sep 1986 Bradenton, Manatee, Florida Author Ben Riley Kelly b: 14 Aug 1942 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Oklahoma d: Sunday, September 06, 2015 11:56:31 AM 13