The River Road Kellys: A Story of Hard Work, Love, Real Estate and Good Luck
~ Report by Myra McFarlane ~
March, 2021
On March 17th, 28 lucky souls were fortunate to meet Theresa Kelly, of the River Road Kellys, who shared with us the story of her family. Ms Kelly held our rapt attention on zoom for the better part of 30 minutes and patiently answered our questions in a lively Q & A.
The story begins in Ireland, on the Loftus Estate, County Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1802, when young William Kelly is born. By 1822, a mere twenty year old has done the long walk, and the “living wake” to New Ross, where he embarks on the voyage to Quebec and the New World, never to see the home of his birth again.
By 1827 he was ready to bring a bride to Upper Canada, and he was married to Margaret Kilfoy (Kilfoyle) in the Quebec City Cathedral in October of that year. And then their adventures began.
William, who was literate and had a trade, worked for Philemon Wright for five years. For reasons unknown, he quit his employment with Wright, and signed on as a stone cutter for the building of the Rideau Canal in 1827. By 1837 he had saved enough money to buy his first property, where Vernon is today.
Ms Kelly, who is a retired high school English teacher and academic coach for our own Ottawa 67’s, was careful to contextualize William’s achievements. Until 1829 education of Catholics was forbidden in Ireland. As any good storyteller would, Ms. Kelly paused to let that sink in.
How did William manage to learn to read and write, (beautifully - we have samples of his handwriting) and how did he learn his trade? You had to be there to hear the speculation!
Between 1837 and 1850, William and Margaret had bought and sold several properties, moving from Vernon to the River Road, where he bought his final property in November 1850. (Lot 17, Concession 1, a parcel of 44 acres). William died in 1870, and is buried in St. Brigid’s cemetery, along with many other Kellys.
William and Margaret had four children: Patrick, John, David and Mary. We know very little about Mary, except that she inherited almost nothing on her father’s death. John died in 1866, and the river road properties (there were two by 1870) were willed to Patrick and David.
Ms. Kelly is descended from Patrick Kelly and Catherine McEvoy. Patrick and Catherine had had thirteen children, among them John, who married Teresa Daly, our own Ms Kelly’s very spirited grandmother! The house that Ms Kelly lives in now was built as a cottage for Mrs. Daly in 1932, not the original Patrick/Catherine house, which is no longer in the Kelly family.
John Kelly and his wife Teresa had 13 children, and number 9 was Ms Kelly’s father Dominic, who married Mary Quigley and they were blessed with our own Ms Kelly!
Theresa’s memories of growing up on River Road centre on religion, education and the family and larger community. The family were active parishioners of St. Brigid’s Church, and the “new” part of the cemetery is on land donated by the Kelly family.
The Kellys were also instrumental in the establishment and maintenance of the first Separate School in Osgoode TWP, which was built in 1874, and expanded in 1902 to a larger one room schoolhouse. Theresa’s memories of this school, and of the community commitment to Catholic education are personal, as both her parents were teachers. Mary Kelly, Theresa’s mother, taught in that very school for many years, until our own Ms. Kelly graduated. This was unusual in those days, as most female teachers were asked to retire when they got married. This writer thinks that Theresa is too modest on her mom’s behalf to say that Mrs. Kelly was asked to first fill in and then stay on because she was a great teacher!
Other memories revolved around the neighbourliness of the families on the River Road. Although by tradition most Catholic and Protestant families did not socialize, when there was a need everybody pitched in. Ms Kelly’s father Dominic had a wonderful memory of his first “bee” and the very good advice he was given by his uncle, for the mealtime that came at the end of the work. “Try to sit near the end of the table. If you sit in the middle, you will spend most of your time passing food to the others.” Great advice for anyone!
If you drive up and down the River Road today, you will find 18 Kelly households, all descendants of the remarkable William Kelly, born just two years into the 19th century in Kilkenny Ireland.
While Ms. Kelly drew on many of her own memories and family sources, there are two texts available for loan at the North Gower Archives: The William Kelly Story (1802-1870) by Lorne Kelly, and the parishioners of St. Brigid’s Church and St. John the Evangelist, who created the wonderful church history entitled 150th Anniversary - 1854-2004. You could borrow them if you wanted to know more - I certainly did!
Thank you, Ms Theresa Kelly, and we look forward to seeing you again on the River Road!