Luke,

Are you certain that the record of William's birth in 1866 is the correct person? It looks to me like William was born out of wedlock in the workhouse to Mary Kelly...that would most likely be her maiden name. When no father is listed, it usually means the mother wasn't married. If Thomas was deceased at his birth, then the record would make better sense, but he was not as you mention he lived until 1888.

Regards,

Hi Carolyn,

I thought that was him, as his grave says he was born in 1866, but I could be completely wrong. I believed my assumption was based on the location of his birth. I believed that the death record I found was the correct one for Thomas, but I might be mistaken. 

William passed in 1936. 

Luke,

His civil death record shows that he was 62 years old in 1936 which would make his birth year closer to 1874. Back then, folks did not often know when they were born, and did not keep track of their birthdays as we do now. The death age in a record can usually go five years either way, so those are not always accurate either. The information on a head stone must be treated with skepticism as times because it is a living person who provided the information.

I just looked at his marriage record from 1893 that states he was an army pensioner...the 1936 death record shows he was a painter. This makes me wonder if the death record is the correct William as I would think that it would say army pensioner, not painter for occupation.

Regards,

Luke and Carolyn,

I found these records on Ancestry

UK, British Army World War I Pension Records 1914-1920 for William Kelly

On the form William identifies himself as a painter, age 45. On most of his children's birth records he shows laborer/ painter as his occupation.

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Regards- Mary

Luke,

 His marriage record shows his mother's surname, Kelly.

Luke,

Could this have been William's father?

Irish Genealogy - Explore your Family History

Irishgenealogy click on record image

Regards- Mary

Hi everyone,

Thank you for all of your help — I really appreciate it!

Apologies for my delay in replying. I’m having some trouble replying on the platform at the moment.

I had thought that the 1888 death record for a Thomas Kelly was him, as it all seemed to align with the informant being Mary Kelly, but I don’t really know. I don’t have enough extra information to determine for certain.

Are we certain that her maiden name was Kelly? It’s difficult to find a civil registration for a marriage for them, and also for William’s birth. Does that mean they were from elsewhere? Or does it just mean that I haven’t found it yet?

Also, where could Mary be on the 1901 census? I know she might have passed by then, but I don’t really know.

Luke,

It has been suggested this is William's wife Ann and family. Where was William?

1901 census

Household members

Hi Mary,

yes, that is almost certainly William’s wife Anne and the family. William was a soldier, so he might have been off fighting in one of the wars.

regards,

Luke

Luke,

Given William’s age in the census, his parents probably married before 1864 when civil records began. I searched Roots Ireland for a marriage of Thomas Kelly to Mary Kelly between 1850 - 1870, and there were five. None in Laois. I would think his mother’s surname is correct in his marriage record because that is probably something he would have known. I think that John Guyder living with them in the 1911 census is probably some relation to Anne. Could be an uncle or cousin visiting.

Regards,

Luke,

In answer to Carolyn's observation, I think John is Anne Guidera Kelly's uncle. There is a tree on Ancestry, Sharon49  That tree identifies Denis Guidera and Mary Cahill as Anne's father's, Thomas, parents. Thomas was born in 1845 in Bushfield, Aghaboe, Laois along with his siblings Mary 1831, Patrick, 1833, and John 1834 (no supporting documentation). The age is off on the death record below but he was living with William Kelly when he died.

In Roger's response to your question about the Guidera family he shows Anne' parent were living on Shannon Street, the same street Ann and William were living on in 1911.

If William identified himself as a pensioner on his marriage record and identified himself as a laborer/ painter on his children's birth records, I am not sure he was currently active in the military. Maybe he was painting a house at another residence or if his mother was still alive visiting her in 1901??

Regards- Mary