Second Generation

William Denis O'Kelly born about 1732 first appears in John Daniel McCurry's Rev James O'Kelly Pedigree in 1936 and I suspect he was the older brother of Rev James O'Kelly and was so named after his Irish Grandfather also named William.

To complicate this matter a William O'Kelley born 1754 appears on page 42 of the 1966 book published by J Fred O'Kelly titled James Stamps O'Kelley and Lucy Woodruff England and he appears as William D O'Kelley in Alethea Jane Macon's 1969 book Four O'Kelley Sons and Some of their Descendants. It is in Four families through Georgia: a southern history of the Adcock, Blackwell, O'Kelley, Yates and related families published in 1985 by Harold O'Kelley where we are told that William born in 1754 was the Lt William Denis O'Kelley who appears in our national archives as a Ensign and later a Lieutenant in the 4th Virginia during our Revolutionary war. While these authors claim Lt William Denis was born about 1754 I find that impossible as by August 1977 that a 23 year old nobody could be serving as in the 4th Virginia. I find it far more likely that John Daniel McCurry's pedigree is correct, that William Denis O'Kelly was the eldest brother of Rev James O'Kelly and by the time of our Revolution he was an experienced veteran soldier of the French and Indian Wars when at the age of 45 he was made an officer in the 4th Virginia.

Ruth Barton Pulliam's grandmother passed down to her that we came from the O'Kelleys of Co Meath where we were prominent and the protestant faith indicates that William Kelly who died at Kells in 1748 was our last Irish grandfather and as a merchant and a gentleman he would have been the influence of a commission for William.

Most of William's records bear Wm. D. Kelly including his signature card where he signed a report as Wm D Kelly but there are a handful of his records that bear O Kelley, O'Kelly, or Kelley.

William Dennis O. Kelley as he sometimes appears does have many Revolutionary War Records. They are contained in two folders below on this page and that is because they are actually stored under two different names. Capt William Croghan who commanded the company in the 8th Reg was promoted to Major and took over command for the company that Lt William D O'Kelley served in.

Folder 1

Folder 2

1. William Denis O'Kelly^1,3,4,11 may have born in 1732 Virginia. He married Elizabeth Dean about 1756 and they likely moved to Jackson Co Georgia about 1800 and he may have lived a very long life. Elizabeth Dean may have been a niece of Anna Dean as I suspect her father might have been Charles Dean.

William Dennis O'Kelley and Elizabeth Dean had the following children:

+4	iv.	James O'Kelley likely was the James Kelley in the 10th Virginia 7 Company from Caroline Co Virginia and died at Brandywine September 11 1777 and he is buried in a mass grave at the Birmingham-Lafayette Cemetery in West Chester PA.
+5	v.	William O'Kelley likely died as a child
+6	vi.	Charles Dean O'Kelley My Ancestor confirmed by DNA Test of Rick O'Kelley and documents
+7	vii.	Francis O'Kelley Married Delilah Crowder, her ancestor was one of the Founding families of America
+8	vii.	John O'Kelley proven by Rev James O'Kelly Pedigree and Mecklenburg Marriage record with Charles Kelley as second
+9	ix.	Elizabeth O'Kelley - proven by 1860 Census
+10	x.	Nancy O'Kelley - I believe Nancy named her son James O'Kelley Daniel Tucker after her father and her father-in-law proven by 1860 Census Daniel Tucker's ancestor was one of the Founding families of America


William Kelley I suspect have been over looked or dismissed by past researchers as the name of Charles Dean O'Kelley's father because he did not fit with family lore but in my opinion as a retired homicide investigator there exists sound evidence in the form of three government document that cannot be so easily pushed aside. The evidence of the 1752 Lunenburg Co Tithe Census,1769 Lunenburg Co Virginia Tithe Census and 1782 Mecklenburg Co Va Head of Household census, the naming customs of the native Irish and English make it likely that William was the name of Charles Dean O'Kelley's father. How do we know that Charles Dean O'Kelley came from Mecklenburg Co Virginia before their migrated to Georgia? The early bible records for George Wellborn O'Kelley the son of George Washington O'Kelley gives Mecklenburg VA as his father's birth place and that George Washington was the son of Charles born about 1760 and Mecklenburg is where we find the marriage record for Francis Kelley and Delilah Crowder and where we find Charles Kelley's name on a 1779 Mecklenburg Militia roster and Charles Kelley's land and tax records up to the year 1805 but it may be that our family came to Mecklenburg from Granville North Caroline as William Kelley appears in the NC census in 1762 and a James Kelley and Francis Kelley appears in the 1769 NC census also in the same county so where our family was before Mecklenburg is still very much a mystery.