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Melissa HAMES (b 1809)

Melissa Hames is my maternal great-great-grandmother.

Most of what is known of Melissa Hames is sourced from the Kelly family Bible. Although the information provided in that Bible is not contemporaneous, it is direct and some of it may well be primary. Melissa was the third wife of her husband, Thomas Kelly. She was about 25 years younger than he. It is not unreasonable to imagine that Melissa came to the attention of Thomas Kelly as she tended to her older sister Molly Hames, Thomas Kelly's wife, at the end of Molly's life in 1825. She married Thomas one year after Molly's death.

Melissa appeared in the household of Thomas Kelly in the census records of 1830, 1840, 1850 and 1860. Her husband, Thomas lived through the Civil War but died in 1866. In the 1870 Census, Melissa was living with her eldest son, Thomas N Kelly.

Melissa died just 13 years after her husband Thomas. She was only 69 years old. The timing of her death in 1879 resulted in a record of that death being recorded in a United States Mortality Schedule in 1880. The record shows that the cause of death was paralysis, presumably the result of a stroke. She was buried in the graveyard of Fosters Chapel Methodist Church in Union County, South Carolina.

Sources and Notes:

Melissa's birth: The Kelly family Bible reports "Melissa Hames Born 14th Decr 1809." This differs from the date found on the tombsone in Fosters Chapel in Union, SC, that reads "Kelly, Melissa 12/11/1808 - 6/18/1879.

Melissa's marriage to Thomas Kelley: The Kelly family Bible reports "Thomas Kelley & Melissa Hames Married 1st July 1826."

1830 US Census household of Thomas Kelly: Ancestry.com, 1830 United States Federal Census Union District, SC, p. 178, line 14/27. Content: fwm 1011001000000 fwf 0210100000000 mslv 221000 fslv 320100. Thomas would presumably be the free white male in the first column that represents those under 5 years of age. There were four white males in the household: age <5: [Thomas N (2)]; age 10-14: [Joseph (12)}; age 15-19: [Ellis (18)]; age 40-49 (46): [Thomas]. There were four white females in the household as well: age 5-9: [Clarissa (9) and Emma (7)]; age 10-14: [Susan (11)]; age 20-29: [Melissa Hames (21)]. The household included 11 slaves.

1840 US Census household of Thomas Kelly: Ancestry.com, 1840 United States Federal Census Union District, SC, p. 218, line 8. fwm 1011000100000 fwf 0102001000000 mslv 330000 fslv 331000 Agriculture 9. There were four white males in the household: 1 age <5 [ Jimerson (4)]; 1 age 10-14: [Thomas N (12)]; 1 age 15-19: [probably Joseph (22)]; age 50-59: [Thomas (56)]. There were four white females in the household as well: 1 age 5-9: [Mary M (8)]; 2 age 15-19: [Clarissa (19) and Emma (17)]; age 40-49 [sic]: [Melissa Hames (31)]. There were 11 slaves in the household.

1850 US Census household of Thomas Kelly (14 Nov 1850): Ancestry.com, 1850 United States Federal Census; Census Place: Union County, South Carolina; Roll: M432_859; Page: 79; Image: 406. The household (dwelling 1173 and family 1173) includes (1) Thomas Kelly (age 65, male, planter, real estate valued $4000, born VA), (2) Melissa Kelly (age 40, female, born SC, cannot read/write), (3) Thomas Kelly (age 21, male, laborer, born SC), (4) Jamison Kelly (age 14, male, born SC, attended school), (5) Sarah Ann Bentley (age 7, female, born SC, attended school). Sarah Ann Bentley is the daughter of Melissa Hames' sister Martha.

1860 US Census household of Thomas Kelley (10 Jul 1860): Ancestry.com, 1860 United States Federal Census; Census Place: Union County, South Carolina; Roll: M432_859; Page: 79; Image: 406. The household (dwelling 778 and family 697) includes (1) Thomas Kelley (age 75, male, farmer, real estate valued at $2000, personal estate valued at $20,000, born SC), (2) Elizabeth (sic) [Melissa] Kelley (age 50, female, born SC), (3) Thomas Kelley (age 31, male, farm manager, born SC).

1870 US Census household of Thomas N Kelley (02 Aug 1870): Ancestry.com, 1870 United States Federal Census; Census Place: Pinckney Township, Union County, South Carolina; Roll: M593_1510; Page: 481; Image: 315. The household is comprised of (1) Thomas N Kelly (age 41, male, farmer, real estate $1700, personal estate $700, born SC, can read/write, citizen), (2) Melissa (age 60, female, born SC, can read/write), (3) Mary (age 23, female, born SC, can read/write), (4) Elsy (age 2, male, born SC), (5) Nancy (age 1, female, born SC), and (6) Walker (age 14, male, born SC, attending school, cannot read/write).

1880 US Federal Census Mortality Schedule:: Ancestry.com. U S Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1880. Census Place: Pinckney Township, Union County, South Carolina. Year ending 31 May 1880. The record shows that Malissa Kelly, white, female, age 69, widowed, died in June 1879 of paralysis. The attending physician was A W Thomson. Malissa was born in SC but both parents were born in VA.

Melissa's death: The Kelly family Bible gives the date of Melissa's death as 18 Jun 1879.