Eliza Havens Kelly

The picture at left is of Eliza Havens of Glen Meyer, Houghton Township, a daughter of William Havens (1802-1858) and his wife Mary Ann Shaw, and a granddaughter of William Havens (c. 1764- ) and Elizabeth Schram. Her great grandfather William Havens (1738-1800) and his family remained loyal to the Crown in the American Revolution then pioneered in Grantham Township, Lincoln County in 1787. Her great-uncles John Havens (1769-1806) and George Havens (1774-1842) as young men had an early interest in the Long Point Settlement. On May 30, 1793, the two brothers filed a joint Upper Canada Land Petition requesting land at Long Point. This was found inadmissible by the Executive Council, which was not yet granting land in that area. John filed a second petition dated June 16, 1795, stating that he came to this country in 1787 and married in Abraham Smith’s family. He requested 200 acres near to Mr. McMichael’s improvement to the west of Murphy's Creek (Walsingham Twp). John’s brother George filed a second petition dated May 30, 1796, noting his father's earlier service during the American Revolution and requesting two hundred acres of land at Long Point. John continued in Norfolk County and George returned to Grantham.

Eliza Havens was born on the William Havens Junior family homestead in Clinton Township, Lincoln County on July 19, 1843 and married William Kelly in Lincoln County on December 11, 1861. The couple lived in Grimsby Township for a few years then by 1864 settled on a farm in Houghton Township, Norfolk County near Glen Meyer.

Squire William Kelly

The Sage of Houghton Township

By Carol Morrow

William Kelly, at right, was born in Grimsby Township, Lincoln County to Irish immigrants Michael and Margaret Caroline (Tully) Kelly on August 14, 1842. The following biography was written by descendant researcher Carol Morrow.William Kelly, “the sage of Houghton,” and “Squire Kelly” as he was dubbed, was a mover and shaker from an early age. He was already adept at deal making before he ever stepped foot in Glen Meyer. William was left alone by his father, Michael Kelly (c. 1808-1880) who worked on the Welland Canal and traveled from their home near Smithville (in Lot 13, Gore between Concessions 7 and 8, Grimsby Twp.), returning home only on weekends. The boy had a lot of time on his hands to perfect the art of persuasion and the skill of business. William had a natural charisma and a keen eye for a business deal. He had two older sisters and a mother at home, but he was no slouch. He was an ambitious sort, hard working, a strong family man, and excellent provider.

His mother Margaret Caroline (Tully) Kelly, born about 1811, died in 1861 or just before, and soon after he and Eliza Havens where married in December 1861. They moved to Houghton Township, Norfolk County near Glen Meyer, taking William’s father with him. When his sister Caroline was left a widow in 1871 in Grimsby Township with a young family, he took her into his home in Glen Meyer. He acquired several properties in the Glen Meyer community and several of them were turned over to his sons to start them off as they married. When his daughter Ida died in 1903, he took in her young family or found homes for them with relatives.

William served on the Township Council for several years, and was on the Norfolk County Council in 1897. Their home was Lot 20 in the first concession of Houhgton Township where they farmed 50 acres, and they had further holdings of 190 acres in Lots 19 and 20 East of the North Road of Houghton. This property was next door to the Whit Mehargs.

William found time to be involved in two churches in the area. The Kellys were Catholic, but there was no Roman Catholic church in the area at the time, and so they attended the Baptist Church in Glen Meyer, where William was Sunday School superintendent. He also led in the Methodist Church (that would have to be the one in Kinglake).

William loved baseball and sponsored many a game in the community. He also loved his cars, and drove almost up until the time of his death at age 93. He was a much loved and respected person in the area, and long remembered even after he retired in 1911 with his second wife Martha Vannatter to Tillsonburg, and his death in 1935. He is buried with both his wives in Glen Meyer Baptist Cemetery, North Walsingham Township, Norfolk County.