REV JOSEPH B KELLEY, 1875-1970

 Joseph Bunyan Kelley

15th Pastor of Herrin FBC

1909-1910

The building in Herrin that he served in

Born: October 13, 1875, Jackson County IL

Died: February 15, 1970, Johnston City IL

Listed as “Joe” in our church history, he was born near DeSoto in 1875, to Thomas Jefferson and Martha Jane (Hindman) Kelley.  He had 7 known siblings (two died as children).  He married Nora Izella Beasley in 1901 and they had 6 known children.  Nora passed away in 1932, and Joe married Erma Sizemore-Erwin in 1934.  He and Erma had one known child together.  Joe passed away in his home at 714 Broadway in Johnston City.  He is buried (along with a lot of his immediate and extended family) at the DeSoto Cemetery.

Rev Kelley's obituary, 1970

His father Thomas was also a preacher.  While we don’t know what specific churches he was affiliated with, Thomas’ obit states he was a “Baptist minister and was well known to a number of citizens of Carbondale, having at different times preached at all the churches surrounding this city.”

Rev Kelley's father's obituary, 1916

Census info:

1880 - living in DeSoto, IL

1900 - living in DeSoto, IL… Preacher

1910 - living in Herrin, IL… Minister

1920 - living in Helvetia, IL… Preacher

1930 - living in Peoria, IL… Night watchman at a tractor factory

1940 - living in Fondulac, IL… Watchman at a tractor factory

1950 - living in Cobden, IL… Farmer

Tidbits:

• Ordained at the Elk Grove Baptist Church in 1897 (might be Elkville?)

• Charter member of the IBSA in 1907

• Pastor of Central Baptist Church in Cobden in 1918

• Lived on Wright’s Crossing Road in Union Co in 1950, near today’s Blueberry Hill Farm

• Retired from ministry in 1955 at the Beech Grove Baptist Church near Thebes, IL

Info from the WWI Draft Registration Card in 1918:

• Lived in rural Cobden

• Minister at Central Baptist Church in Cobden

• Medium height

• Slender build

• Blue eyes

• Brown hair

Rev Kelley’s grandparents:

His maternal grandmother, Sarah Bandy (born in Tennessee) married Joe’s grandfather, Hosea Hindman (born in South Carolina), at the age of 15, in 1839.  They had two daughters in 1840 and 1841, then Hosea passed away about 1842.  She married Jonathan Reeder in Sept of 1850.  He joined the Union Army and went off to War in 1862. He passed away June 1864, but it’s not clear if he died while in service.  Then Sarah married Richard Epperson in October 1864.  He passed away just a little over a year later, in December 1865.  She had been a widow three times before she turned 41.  She did not marry again, to our knowledge, and it’s also unknown when she died.

His paternal grandparents, Joseph Kelley and Malinda Shadowens were originally from Virginia. Grandfather Joseph died young (in his 30’s), and Malinda married David Davidson in 1844.  They had one son together, and by the 1850 census, Malinda is a single mother again. In the 1860 census, she is still single, but listed as a Kelley and not a Davidson.  She lived to be 66 years old.