THE PARTY OF KELLS WHO EMIGRATED FROM IRELAND TO NORTH AMERICA IN 1846
In March 1846, during the Irish Famine, a large group of Kells and near
relatives emigrated to Eastern Canada from the small town of Ballyconnell,
County Cavan, Ireland. They travelled from Ballyconnell to the nearby
town of Belturbet, County Cavan, and from there probably by coach to the
port of Londonderry, Ireland. From Londonderry they would have taken
one of the regular sailings to the port of Liverpool, England. At
Liverpool the group and about 300 other passengers embarked on the
ship, "Princess Alice", to sail for Canada. In May 1846 they arrived
safely in Quebec after a voyage of about 45 days across the Atlantic
Ocean. The journey, however, was, not uneventful. In dense fog the
ship struck a rock in the lower reaches of the Saint Lawrence River
and was badly holed. The ship's pumps and temporary repairs enabled
the "Princess Alice" to reach Quebec and disembark its passengers.
Shortly afterwards the ship sank.
The composition of this group of Kells is not known with complete
accuracy. Tradition has it that it comprised 19 people though
there is evidence that there were 22, including 3 children under
4 years of age. The members of the group were most likely: -
1. George Wood Kells, joint leader, who was the son of Robert
(1757 - 1834) and Margaret Kells (nee Wood) of Buffalen and
Ballyconnell, County Cavan. George was born on the 16th October
1796 at Ballyconnell, County Cavan, and died on the 16th March
1886 on his farm in Peel, Wellington County, Ontario. Before
emigrating he worked as a shoemaker and grocer at various places
in County Cavan, including Killashandra, Swanlinbar and Ballyconnell.
2. Margaret Ann (Maryanna) Kells (nee Lawrence), George's wife.
George and Maryanna (his second cousin) were married on the 29th
July 1824. She was born in 1801 and died on the 23rd February
1875 at Peel, Ontario.
3. Aaron Kells, a son of George and Maryanna, who was born at
Ballyconnell, County Cavan, on the 19th March 1829 and died on
his farm at Ashgrove, Peel, Ontario, on the 21st December 1883.
On the 29th January 1854 he married Maryanna Moore, a daughter
of the Rev. Thomas and Maryanna (nee Grimes) Moore, and they had
a family.
4. Maryanna Kells, a daughter of George and Maryanna, who was
born in County Cavan on the 15th June 1831 and died at Peel,
Ontario, in 1893. She was married twice; her first husband
was John McKinstry and her second husband was John Higgins;
she had no family.
5. Jane Kells, a daughter of George and Maryanna, who was
born at Ballyconnell, County Cavan, about 1833 and died at
Dundalk, Ontario, on the 27th April 1899. She married Robert
Hassard of Peel, Ontario, in June 1857 and they had a family.
6. Richard Kells, a son of George and Maryanna, who was born
in County Cavan on the 22nd December 1833 and died at Wallace,
Perth County, near Palmerston, Ontario, on the 24th January
1922. He married Jane Speers on the 1st July 1867 and they
had a family.
7. Thomas Kells, a son of George and Maryanna, who was born
in County Cavan on the 19th May 1836 and died a bachelor at
Peel, Ontario, in 1890.
8. William Lawrence Kells, a son of George and Maryanna,
who was born at Ballyconnell, County Cavan, on the 6th April
1840 and died at Listowel, Ontario, on the 22nd December 1907.
On the 6th October 1866 he married Eliza Jane Stoddard (1849 -
1932), a daughter of Robert Stoddard and Sophia Forsyth from
County Fermanagh, and they had a family.
9. Elizabeth Kells, a daughter of George and Maryanna, who
was born in County Cavan on the 27th January 1842 and died
near Moorefield, Ontario (date not known). She married Philip
Ott (1839 - 1920) and they had a family.
10. David Kells, a son of George and Maryanna, who was born at
Ballyconnell, County Cavan, on the 29th May 1844 and died at
Drayton, Ontario (date not known). He was married twice; his
first wife was Mary Mathewson who died and his second wife
was Jane McGee. He had a family.
11. Johnston Kells, joint leader, who was a son of Edward and
Elizabeth (nee Johnston) Kells of Killynaff, County Cavan.
Johnston was a second cousin of George Wood Kells and was born
in January 1809 at Killynaff. He worked as a teacher and as
a civil engineer in Ireland and in Canada. He died in Toronto,
Ontario, on the 2nd March 1878.
12. Jane Kells (nee Herbert), Johnston's first wife. She was
born in September 1814, married Johnston in 1834 and died in
Kingston, Ontario, on the 15th August 1849. He married his
second wife, Hannah Cowen [Cowan?], about 1850; she was born
in County Fermanagh, Ireland.
13. Frances Anna Kells, a daughter of Johnston and Jane,
who was born on 24th November 1835 at Templeport, County
Cavan, and died on the 25th August 1921 at Los Angeles,
California. She married Joseph Waddingham and they had
a family.
14. David Kells, a son of Johnston and Jane, who was born
on 7th August 1837 at Lisnarrick, County Fermanagh, and
died on 5th June 1892 at New York. He married Nellie Agnes
Warner and they had a family.
15. Herbert Kells, a son of Johnston and Jane, who was born
on 31st July 1839 at Lisnarrick, County Fermanagh, and died
on 2nd February 1907 at Astoria, Long Island, New York. He
married Mary Jane Robinson (1842 - 1930) on the 20th October
1870 and they had a family.
16. Thomas Kells, a son of Johnston and Jane, who was born on
8th June 1841 at Stradone, County Cavan, and died in July 1893
at Brooklyn, New York. He was married twice; he married Sarah
Elizabeth Ross (1849 - 1890) on the 6th February 1867 and, after
Sarah's death, Rose King on the 4th December 1890. He had a
family.
17. Edward William Kells, a son of Johnston and Jane, who was
born on 1st July 1842 at Lisnarrick, County Fermanagh, and died
(date not known) in a train crash in the USA. He married Adelia
Garen on the 3rd March 1868 and they had a family.
18. Elizabeth Kells, a daughter of Johnston and Jane, who was
born on 6th August 1845 at Lisnarrick, County Fermanagh, and died
on the 25th September 1931 at Santa Paula, California. She
married David John Hersey on the 25th December 1868 and they had
a family.
19. Jane Kells who was George Wood Kells' sister. Jane was
born about 1786 and died at her brother's home at Peel, Ontario,
in September 1863.
20. Jane Kells who was George Wood Kells' niece. She was born
in 1835 and her parents were Henry (1790 - 1875) and Mary Jane
Kells (nee Sommerville). Her father, mother, brothers and
sisters emigrated from Ireland to Australia about 1850.
21. Eliza Lawrence who was George and Maryanna's niece.
22. Frances Kells who was Johnston's sister.
N.B. The dates of birth, marriage and death are not always
fully reliable as different sources sometimes give different
dates. For example, the Baptismal Records of Tomregan
Parish Church, Ballyconnell, record that Jane (Janie) Kells,
daughter of George and Margaret Ann Kells of Ballyconnell
was baptised on 29th December 1833. Yet other family
sources give her date of birth as the 19th September 1838.
