MIDDLETOWN UPPER HOUSES

a history of the north society of Middletown, Ct.
from 1650 to 1800
with genealogical and biographical chapters
on early families.

Charles Collard Adams
New York: Grafton Press, 1908.

THE KELSEY FAMILY

[transcribed by Coralynn Brown ]




   
1. Mark Kelsey1 ,(Kilsey, Kellsey), married Rebecca ____. Resided in Wethersfield. Had eight children, of which the sixth - was:

    2. Ezekiel Kelsey2,, who m. Jan. 13, 1742-3, Sarah' Allis (Ellis), b. Oct. 6, 1715, dau of William3 Allis (John, William) and Mary Griswold, dau. of Jacob. Their second child was:

      3. Igrael Kelsey3,, b. Nov. 20, 1745 ; m. Dec. 29, 1768, Mary Sanborn, bapt. May 10, 1747, dau. of Jedediah Sanborn. He resided in Kensington Society of Wethersfield. He purchased in 1771 the Hugh White estate, in the Northwest School district of Upper Houses, which included a grist mill and thirty acres of land. This section of the town became known as " Kelsey Quarters." He built the brick mansion covered with stucco which still stands and is now (1908) owned and occupied by his descendants. In 1802 he gave the land for the cemetery in which Aaron White's burial was the first. He was a captain in the War of 1812. Prominent and ingenious he invented a water-wheel and went to Philadelphia to superintend the erection of one there. Fond of music he composed psalm tunes still in use. His death was on May 16, 1824, and he is buried in the cemetery which he gave to the town. His widow d. Apr. 14, 1827.
      Children:<
      • Mary, b. Apr. 2, 1770.
      • Israel4,, b. Sept. 5, 1771.
      • Polly, b. 1773; d. early.
      • Joseph, b. Apr. 10, 1775; rem. to Hartford.
      • Jesse, b. 1776 ; rem. to Berlin.
      • John, b. Dec. 25, 1778 ; rem. to Buffalo, N. Y.
      • Calvin, b. Dec. 28, 1779; purchased the homestead still occupied by his descendants.
      • Polly, b. June 30, 1782 ; in Blair.

        4. Israel Kelsey4,, b. Sept. 5, 1771; m. July 8, 1792, Martha Edwards Stocking, b. Mar. 17, 1771, dau. of Capt. Zebulon Stocking and Martha Edwards. She d. Jan. 29, 1847, he Sept. 1, 1852. He conducted the mill purchased by his father. Nearly all his children were born in the old brick house. They rem. to the village, buying a " White " house near the river.
        Children :
        • 5. Franklin5,, b. Jan. 10, 1793.
        • Beverly, b. 1795.
        • 6. Zebulon Stocking5,, b. Jan. 7, 1796.
        • Florilla, b. Aug. —, 1798; d. Dec. 11, 1876.
        • 7. Martha Edwards5,, b. Jan. 28, 1801; m. D. L. Wright.
        • Sherman, b. 1803 ; d. unm., Cuba, 1823.
        • Chester, b. 1805. His widow at age of 101 is seen in the 1904 reunion group in an automobile; d. aged 103.
        • Israel, b. Sept. 13, 1807.
        • David Stocking, b. 1811; d. Jan. 24, 1870, Galveston, Texas.
        • 8. Mary Ann5,, b. Sept. 13, 1813; m. E. S. Champion.
        • 9. Elizur Goodrich5,, b. 1816.
        • 10. William Stocking5,, b. Oct. 3, 1818.

          5. Franklin Kelsey5,, b. Jan. 11, 1793; d. July 2, 1861; m. Margaret Stewart. He was, like his father, an inventor, but reaping little from his ingenuity except from improvements in mfg. rope. It is claimed that he was the inventor of the vibrating propeller. The first was sunken at Hoboken. He sold out to Ericsson who reaped the benefits. The gold medal he received was sold to obtain money to help carry on his investigations. He invented a flying machine, which did not prove a success. The patents issued to him were : Flax and hemp machine, Nov. 26, 1824; cordage, Feb. 8, 1825; washing machine, Sept. 28, 1827; management of bees, Aug. 26, 1828; door spring, Nov. 27, 1848; vibrating propellers, Nov. 2, 1852. He served at Saybrook in the War of 1812.

            His only child to reach maturity was Lewis Lafayette Kelsey6, b. Nov. 6, 1823; d. Mar. 1, 1872; having married June 25, 1850, Caroline Canfield, b. June 2, 1830; d. July 3, 1906.
            Children:
            • Margaret Stewart7, b. Dec. 7, 1852 ; m. Nov. 4, 1875, Robert P. Hubbard, b. Mar. 6, 1847; res. Middletown, Conn. Children:
              • Lewis Kelsey, b. Oct. 10, 1876; d. Feb. 25, 1903, in Senior class at Cornell Uni.
              • Alfred, b. Jan. 8, 1878.
              • Julia Augusta, b. Aug. 7, 1881.
              • Carolyn Kelsey, b. June 7, 1886.
            • Franklin Lewis, b. Dec. 22, 1857 ; m. Dec. 8, 1881, Elizabeth Churchill. Six children. Res. Englewood, N. J.
              James Canfield, b. May 4, 1866; d. Jan. 12, 1904; m. May 28, 1894, Carrie A. Weston; res. West Somerville, Mass. Children:
              • James Canfield, b. Oct. 28, 1896,
              • Marion, b. Sept. 8, 1898.

          6. Zebulon Stocking Kelsey5,, b. Jan. 7, 1796 ; d. Dec., 1877; in. Nov. 8, 1816, Sally Edwards of Upper Houses. Rem. to Huntington, O. They had nine children. The second was George Ranney Kelsey, b. Apr. 25, 1817; d. Mar. 20, 1887. He ret. to Cromwell and manufactured buckles in the old " Miller " mill on Chestnut brook. He rem. to West Haven, where he built up the great buckle business; built the horse railroad from New Haven to Savin Rock, built the Sea View House, and greatly developed that summer resort.

          7. Martha Edwards Kelsey5,, b. Jan. 28, 1801; d. Oct. 20, 1890, West Haven, Conn. ; m . Capt. Doty Lord Wright of Clinton, in the sea coast trade. Brought the first oranges to New York from Florida. Three children lived to adult age.
          Children:
          • Virginia, b. Jan. 14, 1823 ; m. Oct. 27, 1845, George Ranney Kelsey, her cousin. Three children. She d. Sept. 23, 1905.
          • Governeur, b. Mar. 22, 1825, killed Oct. 28, 1843, by a fall on shipboard.
          • Elizur Lord, b. Dec. 29, 1827; d. Aug. 3, 1864; m. Sarah Treat. (See the Treat Family.) Child:
            • Benjamin Elizur, b. Aug. 3, 1864, C. E.; res. New Haven, Conn.

          8. Mary Anna Kelsey5,, b. Sept. 13,-1813; d. Mar. 4, 1854, Green-port, Long Island, N. Y.; m. Aug. 5, 1847, Elisha Sylvester Champion, b. June 4, 1815; Lynne, Conn. ; d. Nov. 15, 1866, Greenport, son of Col. Sylvester Champion and Nancy Chadwick. Lumber merchant.
          Child:
          • Henry Alexander, b. Oct. 30, 1848, Clinton, Conn. ; m. July 24, 1867, Lyme, Conn., Hepzibah Champion De Wolf, b. June 10, 1845, Lyme, dau. of Winthrop Jeremiah De Wolf and Hepzibah Anderson. Railway mail agent; res. New London, Conn. Children:
            • Mary Kelsey, b. Feb. 18, 1869.
            • Florence Mabel, b. Sept. 22, 1876.

          9. Elizur Goodrich Kelsey5,, b. 1816; d. Sept., 1872; m. Julia Maria White, b. Jan. 2, 1820; d. 1904.
          Children:
          Florilla Valant, b. Mar. 26, 1838; m. May 2, 1854, Charles L. Sage (Luther W., Solomon, Solomon, Timothy, David), a veteran of the Civil War. Both buried in Middletown, Conn. Children res. in Hartford, Conn.
          • Sherman, b. Dec. 12, 1840; d. May 5, 1843.
          • Henry Israel, b. May 8, 1843; d. 1867 in Florida.
          • Rosa Estelle, b. Feb. 28, 1846; m. Jan. 16, 1871, Capt. Joseph J. Mahaffy, who d. Jan. 30, 1906, a skilful navigator for many years. Widow res. in New Haven, Conn.
          • Dora Elizabeth, b. Nov. 12, 1848; m. Oct. 23, 1867, William James Allen; a veteran of Battery D ; R. I. Artillery in Civil War, who d.____. Widow is Matron of the Connecticut Woman's Relief Corps Home for Disabled Veterans and their Wives, also for Widows, located in Cromwell. Of their four children:
            • Dora May, b. Mar. 26, 1870; in.. June 17, 1890, George McClellan Hungerford; res. Bridgeport, Conn.

          10. William Stockings Kelsey5,, b. Oct. 3, 1818, Upper Houses; d. July 29, 1854, Cromwell ; m. Aug. 3, 1840, New York City, Elizabeth Grace Teale, b. Eng., dau. of John Crandell Teale; came to the U. S. in 1810, and Grace Elizabeth Popham, who was dau of Sir Thomas Furzen Popham, who came, 1808, from England to New York City, where he d. in 1834. Mrs. Elizabeth Grace (Teale) Kelsey, now (1908) eighty-seven years of age, makes her home in New Haven with her daughters.
          Children:
          • 11. Martha Elizabeth6,, b. June 10, 1841; in. Dec. 25, 1860, Wm. A. Waterbury.
          • 12. Cornelia Theresa,, b. Mar. 13, 1843; in. Howard Smith.
          • Henrietta Maria, b. Apr. 10, 1845; d. July 20, 1848.
          • Davis Lewis, b. Sept. 3, 1847; m. Sept. 3, 1877, Elizabeth Cannon. He d. Feb. 3, 1907. Widow res. Waterbury, Conn.
          • Maria Lucinda, b. Apr. 22, 1849; m. Dec. 31, 1868, Egbert E. Pardee, Judge in Borough Court; res. West Haven, Conn.
          • Revilo Hubbard, b. Feb. 5, 1851; m. Oct. 27, 1873, Inez Crawford. Merchant, Middletown, Conn
          • Mary Ann, b. Feb. 15, 1853; d. July 28, 1880; m. Frank L. Hubbard, of Meriden.
          • William Wright, b. Nov. 7, 1854; m. June 5, 1882, New London, Conn., Lillian Dart Rogers. Gen. Agt. steamship lines ; res. New Haven, Conn.

            11. Martha Elizabeth Kelsey6,, b. June 10, 1841, Upper Houses ; m. Dec. 25, 1860, William A. Waterbury of Stamford, who has been in the railroad business for over forty years and now retired, resides in New Haven, Conn.
            Children:
            • Carrie Amelia, b. Oct. 2. 1861; m. Oct. 14, 1884, New Haven, Nelson D. Coe of Winsted ; res. New Haven, Conn. Children :
              • Harriet Waterbury, b. Sept. 13, 1885; m. June 8, 1905, Julius E. Brooks. Child:
                • Beverly Coe, b. July 9, 1906.
              • Frederick Kelsey, b. Dec. 18, 1887.
              • Frederick Smith, b. Mar. 7, 1865; m. Aug. 10, 1887, Sadie L. Dudley. Physician; res. New Haven, Conn. Children:
                • Frederick William, b. Apr. 15, 1889
                • Lois Dudley, b. Jan. 2, 1891.
              • Lyman Hawley, b. July 26, 1871; d. Sept. 27, 1871.
              • Harriette Frances, b. Nov. 22, 1875; in. Oct. 17, 1894, Charles E. Burton ; res. New Haven, Conn.

          • 12. Cornelia Theresa Kelsey6, b. Mar. 13, 1843, Upper Houses, now Cromwell; m. Dec. 31, 1865, West Haven, Conn., Howard Smith, b._____, West Haven, son of Granville Smith and Abigail Thomas. He is a farmer and rem. Apr. 18, 1868, to Watertown, Conn., where he purchased the "Maple Shade Farm," on which they still reside. He is an enterprising farmer and citizen. Mrs. Smith has taken a deep interest in the Kelsey genealogy, furnishing this chapter. She has erected memorials in Cromwell Cemetery to her ancestors and has greatly interested herself in the work of the Society of Middletown Upper Houses.
            Child:
            • Edwin Elizur, b. July 16, 1867, West Haven; m. Oct. 15, 1891, New Haven, Conn., Grace Hotchkiss Fuller, b. May, 1868, only dau. of Alpheus B. and Emily A. Hotchkiss. He is an ingenious mechanic, mfr. of bee hives and other articles ; res. Watertown, Conn.


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