Documenting David Wesley Kelley (Part Two)

 Losing a mother at a young age leaves a mark on any child, and for David Wesley Kelley, that loss came early. When his mother, Mary Emma (Irvine) Kelley, died in January 1909, the family's world shifted. Within a year, David's father, David Andrew Kelley, moved his children from Missouri to Jordan Valley Township in Pawnee County, Oklahoma.

The exact reason for the move is not documented, but the timing places the family squarely in the middle of several powerful regional forces shaping the American Midwest and Southwest.

Between 1889 and 1906, Oklahoma underwent a series of land openings and lotteries that made it one of the most aggressively promoted settlement regions in the country. Even after statehood in 1907, the push for new settlers continued. By 1909-1910, all major rail lines -- the Missouri Pacific, Frisco, and Santa Fe -- connected Missouri to Oklahoma. Pawnee County itself sat along the AT&SF line, making it a practical destination for transporting a household, livestock, and equipment.

Railroads didn't just move people; they recruited them. More settlers meant more freight, more towns and more business. For a widowed father with several children, the promise of affordable land and new opportunities may have been compelling. What the motivation, the Kelleys made the move -- and young David Wesley went with them.

Building A Life Back in Missouri

By 1914, David Wesley had returned to Missouri, living in or near Cooper County. There he met Nellie Kathryn Stillwell, and the two married on 23 February 1914 in Potter, Cooper County. Together, they became the parents of twelve children:

• Mary Emma (1915)

• Frances Marie (1917)

• Katherine Virginia Ellen (1919)

• Dorothy Lee Veronica (1921)

• David Wesley Jr. (1924)

• Harold Alphonse Nicholas (1925)

• James Ardinal (1927)

• Florence Irene (1929)

• Charles Edward (1930)

• Alvin Eugene (1932)

• Annabelle Rita (1933)

• Lois Jeanette (1935)

Tragedy touched the family more than once. Three of the children — Frances, David Jr., and Annabelle — died young. Then, in July 1939, Nellie herself fell ill and passed away, leaving David Wesley with nine children still at home.

The 1940 census shows him in the household with his children, doing what he could to keep the family together. But the realities of the time were harsh. Eventually, the younger children were sent to live with relatives — a common and often necessary choice for widowed parents during the Depression era.

Later Marriages

On 29 May 1940, David Wesley married Nancy Lee (Ailey) Johnson, daughter of Joseph Jesse Johnson and Nancy Lee Ailey, and widow of Jobe T. Johnson. They had no children together and remained married until Nancy’s death in 1955.

A few years later, on 12 May 1958, he married Martha Ann (Bramlett) Albright in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri. Martha, daughter of William Henry Bramlett and Elizabeth Susan Hayes, also had no children with David. Their marriage lasted until her death in 1963.

Growing up, my grandfather Alvin — David and Nellie’s son — would tell stories about his father being married “several times.” If David Wesley married again after Martha, no record has surfaced.

A Blacksmith's Hands and a Survivor's Heart

David Wesley spent his working life as a blacksmith. He taught blacksmithing at the school in Boonville, Missouri, trading his skill for his children’s education. He worked on a farm in exchange for burial plots for his family. His life was shaped by hard work, loss, and responsibility.

Depending on which family member you ask, David was “mean.” But that’s not the man I remember. I remember a grandfather who let me sit on his lap, who yelled at “Santa Claus” when Santa scared me, who had a gentleness that came with age and time.

I suspect that what some called “meanness” was really the weight of survival — a widower with nine children, living through the Depression, counting every penny, carrying more than most men ever have to.

Final Years

David Wesley Kelley passed away on 20 January 1981 in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, just months before my tenth birthday. He was 88 years, 5 months, and 17 days old.

He was laid to rest beside his first wife, Nellie Kathryn (Stillwell) Kelley, at the Masonic Cemetery in Bunceton, Cooper County, Missouri — reunited with the mother of his children.