Our Patriot Ancestors
     . . . Biographical Sketches

Daniel Kelly

  The name of Daniel Kelly does not appear in any tax assessment returns for the region prior to 1780, nor does his name appear in any roster for the Bedford County Militia. A man by the name of Hugh Kelley was found on the 1774 tax assessment return for Hopewell Township. John Kelly and Jacob Kelly were recorded as 'inmates' on the returns for Hopewell Township in 1775 and 1776. An 'inmate' was a taxpaying renter, and the category referred to men who resided with an established family until they could obtain their own property and build a house for themselves and any families they had. Daniel Kelly could have been related to either Hugh, Jacob or John.

  No man by the name of Daniel Kelly was listed as serving in the Bedford County Militia prior to U. J. Jones claiming that he served in Captain William Phillips' company in the summer of 1780. The only men by the name of Daniel Kelly who were recorded in the published Pennsylvania Archives as serving in the American Revolutionary War resided in Cumberland and Northumberland Counties, Pennsylvania and in New Jersey.

  No pension was filed for a wife or children of Daniel Kelly, so there is no way to know if he was married and had a family at the time of his death.