Finding this 1880 census document for the Kelly family was not a straightforward process. The online database I use to search these records apparently had the last name entered incorrectly — but understandably given the original document — as “Kelby” instead of “Kelly”. I succeeded in tracking this down by searching for Michael’s [...]

The following obituary appeared in the The Bancroft Blade On September 2, 1921. I have attempted to recreate the text here in its entirety, although some of the original text is difficult to properly recognize.

 
Michael Kelly, Nebraska pioneer who departed this life at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Alvin Browning in this city [...]

This is the marriage certificate for Michael Kelly and Joanna Evans. The license was signed on 19 May 1873, and the ceremony performed on 26 May 1873, in Oakland, Burt County, Nebraska. Michael was 26 years old at the time, and Joanna was 16 years old (verbal consent of her father is indicated [...]

Here is another question related to Michael Kelly. Was he born in 1848 or 1849? I have several documents that contain conflicting information about this, and it is not obvious to me which one should be considered accurate. I will describe the documents in chronological order, since one assumption we can make [...]

Here is a family-tree question that I need help with. I have conflicting information about Michael Kelly [b. 1849 d. 1921]. What were his parents’ names? I have two documents that appear reasonably authoritative, but contradict one another.
The first document is a newspaper clipping, apparently published around 1984. The [...]

My parents were given these family-tree documents around 1962 by the Kelly family. Nobody knows exactly when the data was compiled, but it was apparently very close to that time since the documents include data from 1958. Three pages are included, with the first page apparently discussing my grandfather’s sister Margaret, and the [...]

These census documents provide information about the household in which my maternal grandmother was raised. The fist document is from the US Census in 1920. The second document is from the Iowa State Census in 1925.

April 1920 – Madison Township, Fremont, Iowa

The United States census from April 1920 shows Willis Ackley (60), his [...]

This is a photograph of my great-great grandfather Michael Kelly with (I assume) his first three children. My best guess is that it was taken in the late 1890’s. Handwritten notes on the back of the photograph list four names: Grandfather Kelly “Mike”, Aunt Nell, Dad Kelly (J.R.), Aunt Jane (standing). From [...]

My grandmother’s birth certificate, documenting her birth on October 30, 1902 in Madison Township, Fremont County, Iowa. Her father is listed as Willis E. Ackley, and her mother is listed as Mary Coppage.

Document image courtesy of Virginia Hansen.

Original Documents
The original source documents are provided below. Most browsers will let you “right-click” [...]

My grandfather’s “Certificate of Delayed Birth Registration”, apparently filed in June 1948 when he was about 46 years old. His birth is declared to be October 27, 1901, having taken place in South Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska. His father’s name is listed as Henry Boese (known to have used the last name Base [...]