Welcome! I really enjoy exchanging information with people and hope this blog will help with that. Some of the surnames I'm researching:

Many old Cape families including Kelley, Eldredge/idge, Howes, Baker, Mayo, Bangs, Snow, Chase, Ryder/Rider, Freeman, Cole, Sears, Wixon, Nickerson.
Many old Plymouth County families including Washburn, Bumpus, Lucas, Cobb, Benson.
Johnson (England to MA)
Corey (Correia?) (Azores to MA)
Booth, Jones, Taylor, Heatherington (N. Ireland to Quebec)
O'Connor (Ireland to MA)
My Mayflower Ancestors (only first two have been submitted/approved by the Mayflower Society):
Francis Cooke, William Brewster, George Soule, Isaac Allerton, John Billington, Richard Warren, Peter Browne, Francis Eaton, Samuel Fuller, James Chilton, John Tilley, Stephen Hopkins, John Howland.

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Eleazer Kelley b. 1728 and Hannah Baker b. 1729, Yarmouth, Mass.

Eleazer Kelley was born 1 November 1728 in Yarmouth, Massachusetts. Eleazer lived in a part of Yarmouth that became the town of Dennis in 1793. He is my fifth great-grandfather on my Grandmother Mildred (Booth) Rollins’ side of the family. He descends from David O’Kelia, the first of the Kelley name to live in the area in the 17th century. Eleazer’s line of descent from David is Eleazer3, Jeremiah2, David1.  I spell the last name “Kelley" for consistency but it was often spelled Killey in records pertaining to Eleazer.

When he was 20 years old, Eleazer married his first cousin Hannah Baker on 9 February 1748/49 in Yarmouth (now Dennis). Although we now frown on marrying first cousins, it wasn’t unusual then as people were living in fairly isolated villages with a limited number of candidates of the same religious and social class.

Hannah was born Yarmouth 12 January 1728/29, the daughter of Silas and Deliverance (Kelley) Baker.

Hannah and Eleazer had thirteen children together, recorded in Yarmouth:
1.      Eleazer born 4 December 1751, married Sarah Chase
2.      Hannah born 28 September 1753, married Anthony Baker
3.      Sarah born 1 August 1755, married Elisha Hall (she’s called Sally in marriage record)
4.      Browning born 24 July 1757, married Susannah Chase
5.      Elihu born 28 May 1759, married Thankfull (?Baxter)
6.      Wilbur born 28 March 1761
7.      Deliverance born 3 December 1762
8.      Silvanus born 29 October 1764, married Hannah Thacher
9.      Bathsheba born 12 April 1766, married ____ Thacher
10.  Mary Kelley born 8 May 1768, married Isaac Nickerson
11.  Elizabeth Kelley born 14 March 1770, married James Kelley
12.  Thomas born 8 January 1775, married Priscilla Baker
13.  Abner born 11 December 1776, married Lettice Gage

 
I descend from Elihu Kelley, whom I wrote about here.   My research on the rest of the children is still a work-in-progress; I’d love to hear from any of their descendants.

Eleazer lived in the area that is now West Dennis, near the Bass River. Several of his sons, including Elihu, stayed on the land and ran a ferry across Bass River to Yarmouth.