Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Kelly family papers, 1831-1982
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Kelly family
- Title
- Kelly family papers
- Dates
- 1831-1982 (inclusive)18311982
- Quantity
- 2 cubic feet, ( (3 document cases, 2 card file boxes, 1 oversize folder))
- Collection Number
- Mss 871
- Summary
- Papers of the Kelly family of Oregon, primarily Clinton Kelly (1808-1875), Albert Kelly (1814-1873), Plympton Kelly (1828-1906), Penumbra Kelly (1845-1928), and Silas Gilby Kelly (1848-1920), and the related Plummer, Niblin, and Povey families. Included is family correspondence, genealogical materials, land records, Plympton Kelly's Yakima war diary, extensive diaries of Silas Gilby Kelly of Hillsdale, Oregon, and documents relating to the Willamette Steam Ferry Company, 1854-1868.
- Repository
-
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org - Access Restrictions
-
The collection is open to the public.
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
The present collection is related primarily to the descendents of Samuel Kelly (1776-1834) and his wife Nancy Kennedy Kelly (1781-1841) who lived in Virginia and Kentucky. Their son Clinton Kelly (1808-1875) was a Methodist preacher and an anti-slavery advocate. A native of Kentucky, he came overland to Oregon with his family in 1847 and took a donation land claim on the east side of the Willamette River, opposite Portland. He platted the land in 1872, and the area was eventually annexed by the city. Clinton's oldest son (by his first wife, Mary Bastin), Plympton Kelly, fought in the Yakima Indian wars of 1855-1856. Another son of Clinton Kelly (by his third wife, Moriah Maldon Crain) was Penumbra Kelly (1845-1928), who lived much of his life in Portland, Oregon, and married Mary Marquam in 1875. He served as a member of the Oregon House of Representatives, County Commissioner, and Sheriff of Multnomah County.
Clinton Kelly's younger brother, Albert Kelly, (1814-1873) was born in Clifty Creek, Pulaski County, Kentucky. In 1837 he married Nira Chandler Bingham (1816-1898) in Athens, Ohio, and in 1847 they traveled overland to Oregon with Kelly's family. They settled eventually on a donation land claim southwest of Portland, an area that now includes Albert Kelly Park. In the early 1870s the Kellys moved to Yakima County, Washington, where Albert died in 1873. His wife Nira moved to Portland around 1886.
A son of Albert and Nira Kelly, Silas Gilby Kelly (1848-1920) was a farmer of Hillsdale, Oregon, and married Nellie Griffith Baker. A daughter of Albert Kelly, Martha Elizabeth Kelly Plummer (1850-1935), married Orlando Pleasant Shields Plummer (1836-1913), a physician of Portland, Oregon. Their daughter, Marian Lee Plummer Povey (1885-1975) married John Harold Povey (1884-1964). Another daughter of Orlando and Martha Plummer was Agnes Plummer Burns (1877-1975), who married William Wesley Burns (1861-1937) and lived in Troy, Oregon.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The collection includes family correspondence, genealogical materials, land records, Plympton Kelly's Yakima war diary, extensive diaries of Silas Gilby Kelly of Hillsdale, Oregon, Laura Kelly papers, and documents relating to the Willamette Steam Ferry Company, 1854-1868. An unidentified woman's diary, 1858-1876, is probably that of Nira Bingham Kelly, wife of Albert Kelly. Other diaries include those of Dr. Orlando Plummer and Harold Povey. The family correspondence includes letters from family members in Kentucky, and branches of the Kelly family, including the Niblins, the Binghams, the Plummers, and the Poveys. Among the Plummer materials is a day book containing financial records and other data, 1833-1888, of J. B. Plumer [sic], a store keeper of North Liberty, Pennsylvania. Among the land records are title abstracts relating to the Plummer Building in Portland, Oregon, located on the north-west corner of SW Madison St. and SW Third Avenue. Genealogical and biographical materials include the 1940 reminiscences of Maria Kelly Delashmutt, daughter of Albert Kelly; and reminiscences of Agnes Plummer Burns.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Alternative Forms Available
Photocopy and transcript of the Plympton Kelly's Yakima War diary is included in the collection.
Restrictions on Use
The Oregon Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library before any publication use. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.
Preferred Citation
Kelly Family papers, Mss 871, Oregon Historical Society Research Library
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in the following series:
- Series A: Correspondence and general files, 1831-1982
- Series B: Diaries and notebooks, 1855-1919
- Series C: Certificates and maps, 1866-1919
Acquisition Information
Gifts of Mrs. Robert J. Kelly, 1974 January, Library Accession 12811; Mrs. Frank W. Klatt, 1976 July, Library Accession 13752; Esther Kelly Watson, 1980 January, Library Accession 14993; and Mr. Donald E. Clark, 1987 August, Library Accession 18353.
Bibliography
The Kelly family : Thomas Kelly (1742-1812), his descendants and interrelated families [compiled by Laura Kelly and Esther Kelly Watson], [Portland, Or. : L. Kelly and E. K. Watson, 1972-1987].Related Materials
Ledgers of Clinton Kelly are designated Coll 38, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Series A: Correspondence and general files, 1831-1982Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1/1 | Inventories of Kelly family
materials
Includes detailed calendar of letters.
|
1950 |
| 1/2 | Family letters |
1841-1859 |
| 1/3 | Family letters |
1860-1889 |
| 1/4 | Family letters |
1890-1928 |
| 1/5 | Abstract of title, 2829 SE
Clinton Street, Portland |
1945 |
| 1/6 | Address of Mrs. Plympton
Kelly at public school at Lents |
1903 May 12 |
| 1/7 | Agnes Plummer Burns
papers |
1958-1961, undated |
| 1/8 | Albert and Nira Kelly family
papers |
1841-1898 |
| 1/9 | Bills and receipts (primarily
from Clinton Kelly) |
1851-1876 |
| 1/10 | Clinton Kelly
papers |
1862-1901 |
| 1/11 | Ephemera and
reminiscences |
1852-1940 |
| 1/12 | Eulogy of Plympton
Kelly |
1906 |
| 1/13 | Genealogy of Thomas Kelly
family |
1904, 1948, undated |
| 2/1 | J. B. Plumer [sic] day
book |
1833-1888 |
| 2/2 | Laura Kelly
papers |
1905-1970 |
| 2/3 | Laura Kelly, high school
graduation book |
1917 |
| 2/4 | Miscellaneous family
correspondence, mostly Niblin family |
1892-1937, undated |
| 2/5 | Miscellaneous
papers
Includes account books, documents, indentures, and alcohol
abstention pledge forms.
|
1831-1863 |
| 2/6 | Orlando Plummer--Medical
Society certificate |
1872 |
| 2/7 | Penumbra Kelly--Workers' time
book |
1870-1875 |
| 2/8 | Plympton Kelly--Copy of diary
of Yakima Indian War (manuscript) |
1855 November 22-1856 March 16 |
| 2/9 | Plympton Kelly--Yakima War
diary (original) |
1856 March 17-May 13 |
| 2/10 | Plympton Kelly--Yakima War
diary (photostat of above) |
1856 |
| 2/11 | Plummer and Povey family
papers |
1870-1960 |
| 2/13 | Plummer Building, Portland,
Oregon--Legal papers |
1879-1911 |
| 3/1 | Reunion announcements and
family newsletters |
1968-1982 |
| 3/2 | Scrapbook |
circa 1874-1888 |
| 3/3 | Willamette Steam Ferry
records |
1854-1868 |
Series B: Diaries and notebooks, 1855-1919Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
Silas G. Kelly diaries and
account books |
||
| Box/Folder | ||
| 4/1 | Diary |
1868 |
| 4/2 | Account book |
1869-1874 |
| 4/3 | Book of workers'
hours |
1871-1873 |
| 4/4 | Account book |
1873-1875 |
| 4/5 | Diary |
1875 |
| 4/6 | Diary |
1877 |
| 4/7 | Diary |
1880 |
| 4/8 | Diary |
1881 |
| 4/9 | Diary |
1884 |
| 4/10 | Diary |
1887 |
| 4/11 | Diary |
1889 |
| 4/12 | Diary |
1890, 1896 |
| 4/13 | Diary |
1891 |
| 4/14 | Diary |
1892, 1897 |
| 4/15 | Diary |
1893 |
| 4/16 | Diary |
1894-1895 |
| 5/1 | Diary |
1907 |
| 5/2 | Diary |
1909 |
| 5/3 | Diary |
1910 |
| 5/4 | Diary |
1911-1912 |
| 5/5 | Diary |
1913 |
| 5/6 | Diary |
1914 |
| 5/7 | Diary |
1916-1917 |
| 5/8 | Diary |
1918 |
| 5/9 | Diary |
1919 |
Orlando Plummer
diaries |
||
| Box/Folder | ||
| 5/10 | Diary and medical
notes |
circa 1855 |
| 5/11 | Diary |
1910 |
| 5/12 | Diary |
1911 |
| Box/Folder | ||
| 5/13 | Harold Povey
diary |
undated |
| 5/14 | Harold Povey autograph
book |
1892-1899 |
| 5/15 | Nira Bingham Kelly
diary
Entries are written in an 1858 diary book and include
entries for 1858, then for 1874-1876. There is no name on this diary, but based
on internal evidence it is probably that of Nira Bingham Kelly (1816-1898),
wife of Albert Kelly.
|
1858, 1874-1878 |
Series C: Certificates and maps, 1866-1919Return to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Folder | ||
| Oversize folder | Missionary Society of the
Methodist Episcopal Church--Membership of Philander B. Kelly |
1866 January 22 |
| Oversize folder | Missionary Society of the
Methodist Episcopal Church--Membership of Lee W. Kelly |
1866 January 22 |
| Oversize folder | Marriage certificate for
George W. Povey and Thirsa [?] J. Page |
1873 |
| Oversize folder | Donation land claim
certificate for Plympton Kelly, Multnomah County, Oregon (signed by President
Grant) |
1873 July 24 |
| Oversize folder | Certificate of marriage, O.
P. S. Plummer and Martha E. Kelly |
1874 July 4 |
| Oversize folder | Olivet College--Diploma for
Nannie L. Parsons |
1876 |
| Oversize folder | State of Oregon, Oregon
Volunteers--Commission for George W. Povey |
1898 May 15 |
| Oversize folder | Commission of George W. Povey
as Assistant Quartermaster of Volunteers (signed by President
McKinley) |
1899 August 28 |
| Oversize folder | United States, Civil Governor
of the Philippine Islands--Appointment Of George W. Povey as Treasurer of the
Province of Isabela |
1901 August 24 |
| Oversize folder | Oregon State Board of
Pharmacy--Certificate to Agnes Plummer |
1906 |
| Oversize folder | Plat map, area in southwest
Multnomah County |
1919. |
| Oversize folder | Plat map, Povey property in
southwest Multnomah County, Oregon |
undated |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Farms--Oregon--Multnomah County.
- Ferries--Oregon--Willamette River.
- Land tenure--Oregon--Multnomah County.
- Overland journeys to the Pacific.
- Pioneers--Oregon.
- Women--Oregon--Diaries.
Personal Names
- Burns, Agnes Plummer, 1877-1975.
- Kelly, Albert, 1814-1874.
- Kelly, Clinton.
- Kelly, Laura.
- Kelly, Nira Bingham.
- Kelly, Penumbra.
- Kelly, Plympton J., d. 1906.
- Kelly, Silas Gilby.
- Plummer, O. P. S. (Orlando Pleasant Sheilds), 1836-1913.
Corporate Names
- Willamette Steam Ferry Company.
Family Names
- Bingham family.
- Kelly family.
- Niblin family.
- Plummer family.
- Povey family.
Geographical Names
- Hillsdale (Or.)--History.
- North Liberty (Pa.)--History.
- Portland (Or.)--History.
Form or Genre Terms
- Diaries.
- Genealogies.
- Letters (correspondence)
- Reminiscences.
- Scrapbooks.
Other Creators
-
Personal Names
- Burns, Agnes Plummer, 1877-1975. (creator)
- Kelly, Albert, 1814-1874. (creator)
- Kelly, Clinton. (creator)
- Kelly, Nira Bingham. (creator)
- Kelly, Penumbra. (creator)
- Kelly, Plympton J., d. 1906. (creator)
- Kelly, Silas Gilby. (creator)
Family Names
- Niblin family. (creator)
- Plummer family. (creator)
