The Louisiana in the Civil War Message Board

Re: One George Kelso, or two?
In Response To: Re: One George Kelso, or two? ()

I went back to my family to do some research, and much of this will be helpful to others researching George Young Kelso. The Kelso family is actually from Scotland. They were royal favorites to the Scottish Kings until a falling out in the late 1600s. Many of the family members then fled to Northern Ireland. The earliest Kelso I can find so far, is Richard Kelso, probably born in the early 1700s. Richard and his unknown wife had 3 sons and an unknown (so far) daughter. He was a tradesman in Clones, Ireland who walked into history when he invited the great Protestant minister, and leader of the Great Awakening in the USA John Wesley into his home. This event is documented in Methodist history books and mentioned in the obituaries of two of his sons, John and Thomas. The oldest son, George Young Kelso emigrated to Baltimore, MD about 1784. Younger brothers John(b1766) and Thomas(b1784) followed in 1791 after the death of their father Richard Kelso. The brothers reunited, and with the help of a $100 investment by schoolteacher George Young Kelso, they founded the family fortune based upon a butcher shop. The shop grew and prospered leaving the brothers very wealthy millionaires. George died young in 1807, but John lived to 1850 and Thomas died in 1878. Our George Young is either the son of John or George. I believe he is John's son. George was born in Baltimore in 1795 and married Ellen Rich of Boston, Mass. Their first daughter, Rebecca R(b1828), was born in LA. George was buying up land in LA as early as the 1820s, and transporting hundreds of slaves from MD to LA to work his plantations. It appears that Ellen(actually Eleanor) did not like LA, and the family moved back to MD where the next three children, Jane(b1830), future Captain and Judge John Kelso (b1831) and Ellen R (b1833). George's wife Ellen died in 1833, (sorry, can't remember off the top of my head where, but I believe she died in Baltimore) and the family remained in MD assisted by what appear to be two of Ellen's sisters. George traveled back and forth to LA to continue to build his fortune, and sometime between 1834-35 he met my great-great great grandmother,Rebecca Carr, a free woman of color, born in Kentucky, who would have been about 16 at the time and took her as a 'common-law-wife' with whom he had 4 children; Clara (my great great grandmother, born 1836); Georgiana (b1839), John (b1842), and future LA Senator George Young Kelso (b1844). After Rebecca Carr and George Young Kelso separated, he gave her money to enable her to support herself and her children. Later, from what I understand here from Ancestry.com, he took another wife shortly before his death around 1850. The two half brothers, both named John and George, have apparently been confusing both the legal system and genealogist for over a hundred years. I hope this answers your questions--to wit, Black Senator George Young Kelso was half brother to Captain and Judge John Kelso.
Gwen Olson

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One George Kelso, or two?
Re: One George Kelso, or two?
Re: One George Kelso, or two?
Re: One George Kelso, or two?
Re: One George Kelso, or two?
Re: One George Kelso, or two?
Re: One George Kelso, or two?
Re: One George Kelso, or two?
Re: One George Kelso, or two?
Re: One George Kelso, or two?
Re: One George Kelso, or two?
Re: One George Kelso, or two?
Re: One George Kelso, or two?
Re: One George Kelso, or two?
Re: One George Kelso, or two?
Re: One George Kelso, or two?
Re: One George Kelso, or two?
Re: One George Kelso, or two?