Sunday's Obituary - Mary Casey Kelly

DIED

Saturday morning, November 6, 1886, at her last residence two miles from Greenwood, Neb, Mary, wife of Wm D Kelly. Deceased was born in Tuam County, Galway, Ireland, November 12, 1830.

The funeral will take place from St. Theresa's Catholic Church, Lincoln, on arrival of the first train from the east Tuesday 9th inst.

Source: Daily Nebraska State Journal, November 7, 1886

Mary Casey Kelly was my great-great grandmother. She is buried at Calvary Cemetery, Lincoln, Nebraska.

Mary Casey Kelly
Calvary Cemetery
Lincoln, Nebraska

Tombstone Tuesday - Ode Rector and Nellie Kelly Rector

This is the tombstone of Ode E Rector (Odin Ellis Rector), a long time pharmacist in Lincoln, Nebraska and his wife, Nellie Kelly Rector. They are buried at Wyuka Cemetery in Lincoln, Nebraska.

On the other side of this marker are the inscriptions for Ode Rector's parents, Henry Clay Rector and Martha Hurst Rector. Each of their graves are marked by stones inscribed "Father" and "Mother."

I've never found any evidence that Ode and Nellie had any children, which is why I was really taken with the additional stones marking their individual graves.

O.E.R. - Ode E Rector

N. K. R. - Nellie Kelly Rector

Nellie Kelly was a sister of my great grandfather, Daniel Kelly. Daniel, his wife Mary, his parents and other members of the Kelly family are buried at the Catholic cemetery across the street from Wyuka, Calvary Cemetery.

Tombstone Tuesday - Mary Casey Kelly

Mary Casey Kelly was my great great grandmother. She was born in Ireland and married William D Kelly shortly after both arrived in the United States. The marriage probably took place in either New York or New Jersey. They then moved west to Elgin, Illinois, where their two oldest children were born. From there, they went to St. Paul in Ramsey county, Minnesota. In 1864, they were on the western expedition led by Captain James Fisk. After an altercation with native Indians in the Dakotas, the train came east again. William did not want to return to St. Paul, so the family settled in Omaha, Nebraska; later to Council Bluffs, Iowa and eventually to Greenwood, Nebraska in Cass county and the adjoining Mill Precinct in Lancaster county, Nebraska.

Kelly tombstone, Calvary Cemetery, Lincoln, Nebraska

Finding Mary and William's tombstones was a turning point in my genealogical research. I discovered Mary's birth and death dates, her maiden name and confirmation that she was the wife of William.

Sadly, William does not have an inscription on the marker, however, his grave is marked by a stone reading "Papa" next to Mary's that reads "Mamma".

Kelly monument at Calvary Cemetery in Lincoln, Nebraska

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I vividly recall the first time I visited the Kelly family plot at Calvary Cemetery in Lincoln, Nebraska. Here I found my great-great grandmother, Mary Casey, wife of William D. Kelly. I felt so connected to them after this first visit. Many of the other family members are buried here - although the graves are unmarked or else the stones have long since sunk into the ground. My other family members in this area of Calvary include my great grandparents, Daniel Kelly and Mary "Minnie" Welch Kelly, who lived near Greenwood, Nebraska and in the Mill Precinct of Lancaster County, Nebraska; Dan's brother Michael C. Kelly and his wife, Mary "Mollie" Kelleher, who were killed in a car-train accident near Greenwood, Nebraska. Mollie had been married to Dan and Michael's brother, William, until his death.

Nearby is Dan's sister, Mary Kelly Fitzgerald, wife of John Fitzgerald. He's another of the "in-laws" who has always fascinated me. He was one of the first, if not the first, millionaire in Nebraska. He was a railroad contractor and banker in both Cass County (Plattsmouth and Greenwood) and Lincoln. There is no visible stone for John Fitzgerald.

For a short biography of John Fitzgerald, visit the interactive site, Gilded Age Plains City. Once you begin to look around other parts of that web site, I challenge you to be able to spend no less than an hour reading the stories, looking at the photos and exploring the interactive maps of the Lincoln of that age. This is, by far, one of the most entertaining and educational histories of the capitol city that I've encountered.



Every time I visit the Kelly-Fitzgerald plot at Calvary, I feel as though I am transported back in time - to a period ranging from the 1880s through the deaths of Dan and Minnie in the early 1940s, well before I was born. This cemetery is on my route to and from work each day, so not a day goes by that I don't think about my family who settled in Nebraska 150 years ago.