Saturday, July 26, 2008

Query: Sword/Kelly of Henry and Marion counties

I am trying to trace my great-aunt Elizabeth (Sword) Kelly. She was known as Bess or Bessie, and was born 28 January 1885 in Lyon County, Kansas. She was married circa 1914 in New Castle, Henry County, Indiana to a Mr. Kelly and divorced before 1920. In the 1920 census she was in the 15th ward of Indianapolis, Marion County, working as an attendant at the Central Indiana Hospital for the Insane. She had a sister, Margaret (Sword) Van Nuys, who was married to Dr. Walter C. Van Nuys, the director of Indiana's Epilyptic Village at Hillsboro, Henry County, Indiana. Their son (and therefore Bess Kelly's nephew) was Dr. John Ditmars VanNuys, Dean of Indiana University's College of Medicine until his early death in 1964. Another sister of Bess was my grandmother, Beatrice (Sword) Rhodes of Tampa, Marion County, Kansas.

I'm told Bess Kelly lived an "unhappy" life. I do not think she ever remarried. There is a Bessie Kelly buried at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis--she was buried in Section 11, Lot 43 on July 5, 1960. Are there records available that might prove if she is the correct Bessie Kelly that I am seeking?

John M. Rhodes
409 Bloor St E., #602
Toronto, Ontario M4W 3T2
Canada
johnmrhodes@roges.com

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