Kelly Collection – Antebellum Broad River Bargeman – Boatman – Planter / Section I

William Kelly was born 1794 in Newberry County and died in 1860. He was married to Elizabeth Sims, daughter of Patrick Henry and Lucy Beaufort Sims.  Plantations are mentioned in his will and the estate inventory listed 82 slaves. Their daughter Harriett Sims Kelly – Kelley married Dr. Charles W. Hodges, born in Hodges S.C. and practiced medicine in Maybinton and Fishdam (Fish Dam). They are buried in Fish Dam Meeting House near Carlisle, S.C.  – Ronnie Abrams, 2008   *** They also had a daughter Sophie and a son William, who was studying medicine in 1850. Courtesy of Smithsonian History

The Columbia Canal, we learned, was built by Irish indentured servants between 1820 and 1824. They were brought to South Carolina in bondage and made to earn their freedom by digging the canal. Courtesy of Discovering SC – Remembering the Canal 

Rivers would serve as the most important means of transportation in the state for the next 50 years. As river traffic increased, and Columbia began to grow, it became necessary to build a canal. It would be completed by 1824. The canal was excavated below the falls on the Broad River, just north of the city. It had an eight foot-wide towpath on each side. The state sponsored Columbia Canal was a notable example of engineering expertise in the nineteenth century. Robert Mills, a federal architect, was instrumental in its development. Furthermore, later ca. 1830 – A separate canal – the Bull Sluice – was constructed in 1830 north of the Columbia Canal on the Broad River. This 1/2 mile canal had one lock. Intended to bypass Bull Shoals, this short canal utilized a natural channel between Guignard’s Island and the east bank. A wing dam and a stone lock with an eight foot lift was constructed. In 1830, in spite of the fact that the inland navigation system was already in serious decline, Columbia merchants insisted on an extension canal to link the Bull Sluice project with the Columbia Canal. The contractor was William McKinsee, and the total cost of the Columbia Canal was $206,000.

The main canal was approximately 12 ft wide. See a brief history of river traffic and the Columbia Canal system@ The Columbia Canal and Warehouse…

City Directories and History: In 2011, the owner of the William Kelly Collection provided them to R&R’s Co-Founders, for research and preservation purposes.  The collection has subsequently been donated to an archival repository.  The approximate 350 documents from this collection, are a remarkable history of one man’s business dealings along the Broad River, and his barge traffic along the river as far as Charleston, S.C. There are hundreds of locations, individuals and commercial establishments recorded in these papers and R&R is proud to provide this information for your use. R&R suggests that knowing the history of the Columbia Canal and the vast fluctuation of cotton prices in the 1820 is also helpful in understanding the difficulties of farm life. Historian, John H. Moore wrote – “Times were not good…The price of cotton grown in the Midlands certainly tumbled, from 30.8$ a pound in 1818 to .12$ a pound in 1823 and continued to decline from 1826-1833 to .9$ a pound.” Columbia and Richland County History. A decline in prices seemed to heavily affect the planters in upcountry, S.C., some of whom had borrowed significantly in the 1810’s to buy additional land and slaves. It was perhaps these difficulties that drew Wm. Kelly’s attention toward visits to both Alabama and Florida.

LOCAL RESEARCH:

The 1820 Census states the Wm. Kelly had a household of (3) individuals and (7) slaves.  In 1840 it shows that he had (10) individuals in the house and owned some (37) slaves.  The 1850 Census states he was a planter with real estate worth $17,500., In his household were: Wm. Kelly (age 55), Elizabeth S. Kelly (age 50), W. Kelly (age 19) a medical student, and Sophia Kelly (age 17).  His obituary takes notice that he attended the Cane Creek Revival in 1841 at which time he joined the revival with Rev. James C. Postell (1789 – 1854) and the Rev. John R. Pickett (1814-1870), each highly respected clergyman from the low-country of S.C.  William Kelly’s son, J.W. Kelly became converted at the revival and later became a Methodist minister. He was assigned to the City Mission of Charleston, S.C. in 1858 and in 1860 he was called to Black Swamp Methodist Church as well as many other low-country churches.

The 1860 Census shows that his lifestyle had improved dramatically as a planter – businessman, owning 1,000 acres of improved land, 957 un-improved land, worth $20,500. having the following livestock: horses (10), mules (16), cows (20), oxen (12), other cattle (13), sheep (20), swine (50) – Total livestock value of $5,000. He also had considerable amounts of wheat, corn, oats and cotton. Furthermore, the 1860 the Census shows he had $29,370. worth of real estate, $100,000. in personal value (including slaves), he was age 65, living at Fishdam Ford, Union Co., S.C. with his wife Elizabeth age 59, Dealla —-, and Mary age 13.

The Columbia Canal and Warehouse:

The canal originally opened in 1824 as part of a transportation network that connected South Carolina’s up-country with the port of Charleston. The canal allowed for the shipping of freight around the rocky fall line of Columbia. (The fall line is the furthest inland a boat can navigate a river before encountering glacial boulders. The canal allows boats to bypass the rocks.) By the 1850s, railroads supplanted the canal system and the state legislature began looking for alternative uses for the canal. 

The late 19th century river ferry at Lockhart is an excellent example of the type barge boat used by William Kelly to deliver goods both up and down stream. Courtesy of the Osborne Collection.

Under the MORE INFORMATION / PDF link, found under the primary picture, is an incomplete listing of some of the names associated with this collection.  And under each of the chronological groups listed below are folders consisting of hundreds of his papers.  They are also used in miscellaneous location linking individuals and communities.  For instance,  if a receipt lists someone in Charleston, S.C. or Chester, S.C., the receipt is linked to that specific topic and geographic location.

DOCUMENTED PLANTERS USING HIS SERVICE:

John T. Hill of Hillside Plantation – Un. Co., T.D. deGraffenried – Chester Co., Richard Woods – Chester Co., Cpt. Johnson M. Woods – Chester Co., Sgt James Faucetts Woods – Chester Co., S.C., Rev. George B. Tucker – Union Co., James B. Jeter – Un. Co., Thomas G. Chalk – Cherokee Co., Thomas Johnston – Newberry, Co., W. Land and Littleton Land – Chester Co., Wm. D.C. Triplett – Chester Co., William Sartor McJunkin (Married Wm. Kelly’s daughter) – Union Co., J.B. Ellis – UN, A.W. Dubois –

R&R HISTORY LINK: Connections – Kelly’s Collection of Documents – SECTION II

Whitmire, S.C. resident, Mr. Ronnie Abrams provided the following information on his family in ca. 2008.  He wrote: “My 4th great grandfather William Kelly was born 1794 in Newberry County and died in 1860. He was married to Elizabeth Sims , daughter of Patrick Henry and Lucy Beaufort Sims. Three plantations are mentioned in his will and the estate inventory listed 82 slaves.

Their daughter Harriett Sims Kelly married Dr. Charles W. Hodges, born in Hodges S.C. and practiced medicine in Maybinton and Fish Dam. They are buried in Fish Dam Meeting house cemetery. Their daughter Lucy Sims Hodges married my great grandfather James Madison Henderson, Jr., son of J.M. Henderson, Sr., whom the Henderson Island plantation of 500 acres in the Broad River is named for.”

When William Kelly died in 1860, his son-in-law, Mr. Wm. R.A.  Thomas was in charge of his affairs and estate.  No expense was spared in the marking of his death.  A fine metallic casket was ordered from the Cameron Company of Charleston, S.C. and a tombstone ordered from Leavell of Columbia. The two cost the estate: $555. including interest payments and settled in 1862. See payment this page.

ALSO SEE SECTION II OF THE WILLIAM KELLY PAPERS – LINK ABOVE OR CLICK HERE

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DOCUMENTS RELATED TO THE BUSINESS OF WILLIAM KELLY CA. 1820 – 1863

Documents and images related to the William Kelly Collection are property of the WU Pettus Archives, Rock Hill, S.C. 

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R&R HISTORY LINK: Lyle’s Ford was a regular stop on the Broad River route….

R&R HISTORY LINK: HIRAM HUTCHISON DID BUSINESS WITH KELLY

R&R HISTORY LINK: BUILDING THE HOUSE AT GOSHEN – UNION CO SC

R&R HISTORY LINK: LANDSFORD CANAL – A MILLS DESIGN ON THE CATAWBA RIVER

User comments always welcome - please post at the bottom of this page.