He married Sarah, the daughter of Philip Huntoon of Kingston, N. H. The date and year of his marriage cannot be given here, but it was before 1729. That he had won the good will and the esteem of his wife’s father is clear from the inspection of a deed of land conveyed to him and to his wife, dated July 25, 1729, and recorded in the Province deeds, Vol. 19. It reads in part, stripped of the phraseology of the times, as follows:
“To all people to whom these presents shall come, greeting: Know ye that I, Philip Huntoon, Sr., of the town of Kingstown, in the Province of New Hampshire, in New England, husbandman, Know ye that I, the aforesaid Philip Huntoon, for and in consideration of the natural love and affection which I have and do bear toward and to my beloved daughter and son-in-law, Sarah Kelly and Darby Kelly, of ye said town of Kingstown, county and province aforesaid, and for other good causes and considerations, have given, granted made over and confirmed,” etc.
This is a loving tribute to a son-in-law. It would be of interest to know, were it possible, how he stood with his mother-in-law, but on this point the records are dumb. As a rule, the women were silent in those days. From the language of this deed it is to be taken for granted that he and his wife were residents of the town at the time the deed was made. In the sketch of the family printed in the Reminiscences of New Hampton, it is said that Samuel Kelly, the oldest son of Darby, was born in Exeter in 1733, and died in New Hampton, N. H., on June 28, 1813, aged 80 years. We will now leave Darby to his well-merited rest, and look up the records of some of his descendants.
Samuel Kelly mentioned, married Elizabeth Bowdoin. Here, then, we find a union of three nationalities thus early in the history of the province. Kelly, Huntoon and Bowdoin, respectively, Irish, English and French,—not a bad combination, for each of the three peoples represented have cut quite a figure in the world’s history for the past three centuries. Mrs. Kelly was born in 1740, and died in 1816, outliving her husband three years. Both were buried in the family lot on Kelly Hill, New Hampton.
The family went from Brentwood, N. H., to New Hampton in 1775. Samuel Kelly was a carpenter by trade, and at this time was 42 years old. He is credited with being a man of courage, ability and energy, and at the end of a few years found himself in possession of a considerable part of what is now New Hampton, and this was entirely due to his great perseverance and hard work, aided largely by an iron constitution. He had nine children, six of whom were sons. It is said that his aim was to provide a farm for each. One of his daughters, Sally, died in Machias, Me., in 1840. Another who was married, as the first-named was, moved to Steubenville, O., Two of his sons, John and Dudley, removed to Youngstown, Pa.
Samuel Kelly planned and built the first meeting-house in town. He was a worthy son of Darby Kelly and Sarah Huntoon. He can well be credited as the leading pioneer settler of New Hampton. That his venerable father accompanied him to New Hampton in 1775 is evident from a letter written by Elder Ebenezer Fisk of Jackson, Mich., printed in the Reminiscences mentioned. For, in describing the location of the several families in the town, he wrote, “Next was Darby Kelly whose honored wife died at the advanced age of 103 years.”
Samuel Kelly, son of Samuel, and grandson of Darby Kelly, was born in Brentwood in 1759, and died in New Hampton in 1832. His widow survived him 14 years, dying in 1846, aged 84. He had seven children, four of whom were sons. Of these sons, Michael B. and Jonathan F. Kelly inherited the farm settled on and cleared by their grandfather, the first Samuel Kelly. At the present time, and for a number of years past, it has been owned by the Hon. Joseph H. Walker of Worcester, Mass., who married Hannah M. C. Kelly, youngest child of Michael B. Kelly, and the sister of the late Capt. Warren M. Kelly of Hooksett, and the late Frank H. Kelly, ex-mayor of Worcester.
A Samuel Kelly of New Hampton was on the roster of Col. Hercules Mooney’s regiment in the battle of Rhode Island under Gen. John Sullivan. Later, the name of Lieut. Samuel Kelly of New Hampton is on the roster of the same regiment, and another Samuel Kelly of Meredith was enrolled in a company raised for service at Ticonderoga in 1777.
These were undoubtedly descendants of Darby Kelly. Their residence in one instance is given as at Meredith, and in two as of New Hampton. The evidence for these facts will be found on the pages of the Revolutionary rolls. It is possible that the Lieut. Samuel Kelly may either have been the son or grandson of Darby.
Maj. Nathaniel Kelly, the third son of Samuel, second, and grandson of Darby, moved to Akron, O., before 1835. His son, bearing the same name, with his family followed later. No doubt they are the ancestors of many western Kellys.