I woke up this morning at 5:00am thinking about Henry Kerley. I had dreams involving him, or rather, looking for information about him.
Henry L. Kerley was the son of James Kerley and Elizabeth Ann Roric (Roarke, Rorok, Rourke, spelled a dozen different ways). He was born in Burke County, North Carolina, 4 Jun 1827. The Kerley family moved from North Carolina about 1830, to Wayne County, Tennessee. After the 1850 Census, the Kerley family moved again, to North East Arkansas, Randolph County for Henry L. Kerley, while a couple of his brothers moved to Stone County and Izard County, Arkansas.
Henry L. Kerley married Sarah Staggs about 1851, probably in Tennessee. The Staggs family was also active in Wayne County.
They had 9 children:
1. Solen E. Kerley b. Dec 1851, Maynard, Randolph, Arkansas
2. Isabelle Tennessee Kerley b. abt 1853
3. Mary P. Kerley b. 20 Mar 1855
4. Thomas Benton Kerley b. 20 Sep 1856
5. Sarah A. Kerley b. abt 1858
6. Martha E. Kerley b. abt 1861
7. Henry H. Kerley b. 10 Feb 1864
8. Jacob A. Kerley b. Feb 1869
9. Annie Kerley
Here is a transcription of his obituary.
"H L Kerley, better known as Uncle Henry, departed this life 30 July 1912 in his 86'th year. Uncle Henry was born in Burt Co North Carolina 4 June 1827. He moved from there to Tennessee, and from there he came to randolph Co Arkansas in 1850 and settled on a farm near where he died. When the Civil War broke out he was among the first to volunteer. He served through the war and held many honorable positions in the Southern army. He professed faith in Christ and joined the Missionary Baptist Church at an early age, and lived aloyal and faithful member. He was married in 1851 to Miss sarah Stoggs and to this union 9 children were born. Mrs Kerly having departed this life, he was agin married in 1876 to Mrs America Harris. To this union 3 children were born. Uncle Henry had become an invalid many years before he died. He leaves a wife, 6 children, and ahost of relatives and friends to mourn their loss. After the funeral services conducted by Rev C A Fowler, he was laid to rest in Overby Cemetery." PSH, 23 August 1912, pg 5
I feel the desire to write a family history for my Grandma's family -- in order to share it with her sister and cousins. I am not sure how to do this in a way that is cohesive, easy to understand, etc.
I think a book format dividing the ancestry into two main sections, The Kerley and allied families, and The Sullivan and allied families is the way to go. I feel ill-equipped to share what information I have in a non-genealogist way. Any ideas would be quite helpful.
Now, I am going to take a couple more Motrin and hope that this headache will subside by the time my children get up. :)
Dece
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Henry Kerley
Posted by Dece at 6:03 AM
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1 comments:
It seems these Kerley's are definitely tricky, aren't they? I'm so glad you found my blog, Family Stories! I know if I could just straighten out all those Kerley's, I could figure out my Martin's. It seems untangling the Kerley's in North Carolina is in order ~ as soon as I can find the time. LOL.
~Caroline Pointer
Family Stories
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