The Gasconade Missouri Bunch
In the mid-1820's three men named Kerley settled in Gasconade County, Missouri: James, William and Henry. We do not know where these guys came from or who their parents were. We do know, however, that William and Henry were brothers. In 1841 a woman named Sarah Yeates wrote a will and in that document she left some land to her two sons: Wiliam and Henry Kerlee. (Since Sarah had a different last name than her two sons, she apparently married a Yeates after having previously married a Kerley. Whether her Kerley husband died there in Gasconade County, MO, or at some other location before the family moved there to Missouri is unknown.) That document conclusively establishes the brotherly relationship between Henry and William. I suspect that James was brother to Henry and William. He was in the same location at the same time as those two guys. There are, however, two puzzling facts that cast doubt on that idea.
In 1826, when he was 16, James became an orphan. At that time, a fellow named William Pryor was named his guardian. Neither Henry nor William were given this responsibility at that time. Why not? We know that William was definitely living in that area at that time. So, why wasn't William named guardian for his younger brother? Who knows? In any event, when James died 10 years later, Henry was appointed the administrator of James' estate. See record dated July 26, 1837. So, this administrator appointment seems to confirm a relationship between James and Henry.
Second, if James' parents were both dead in 1826 (when he became an orphan), then Sarah Yeates cannot be his mother because she wrote her will in 1841 -- 15 years after James' parents died. That means that James cannot be brother to Henry and William. So, there are a lot of mysteries surrounding this family.
We can ascertain the ages of these guys by looking at the applicable census records. Henry repeatedly told the census takers that was born in 1805 in Kentucky. See the Gasconade County census records for 1850, 1860 and 1870. Based on the 1830 and 1840 censuses for Gasconade County we can estimate that William was born in the mid-1790's (unknown location). We also know that James was born 1810 (unknown location), became an orphan in 1826 when his parents died, and then he died in 1836.
So, the only solid lead we have here in trying to find out where these guys came from is Henry's statement that he was born in Kentucky in 1805. Based on my other research, there was only one other Kerley family that was definitely living in Kentucky in 1805, and that was Major William Kerley and his family. 3rd Generation: William (the Major) and John Jr.(sons of John) So, we might expect that these Gasconade County guys were members of that family. However, that does not appear to be the case. These guys were not sons of Major William. Major William left a clear record in his will of all of his kids, and these three guys were not listed there. So, could these guys be sons of one of Major William's sons? Probably not. None of Major William sons were born early enough for them to father William in the mid-1790's. ( Major William had two sones who were born in the early 1780's and that would make them too young to be having kids just 10-15 years later.
So, if these Gasconade Guys were not members of the only known Kerley family living in Kentucky in the early 1800's, they must belong to another, not-documented Kentucky Kerley family. The names James, Henry and William were extremely common among all of the Kerley branches of that era, so I suspect that these Gasconade Guys were more likely than not members of the extended Kerley family that is the subject of this web-site. At this point, I have assigned this group to being the sons of John Kerley, Jr. The only evidence I have for this assertion is the fact that we know the John Jr. was living in Kentucky in 1835 (when his pension was documented). See 3rd Generation: William (the Major) and John Jr.(sons of John) I recongize that is slim evidence for this assumption, but until something more definitve pops up, it is the best I can offer.
In any event, here is the known family tree for this group.
William Kerley b: Aug. 7, 1799, d: 1844 in Gasconade County, Missouri
+Sarah Jarvis b. ?, m. abt 1820 d. abt 1834 in Gasconade Co., MO.
Ruth Jane Kerley b abt 1828 in MO
+ William Brumley b. abt 1818 in MO. m. Feb. 18, 1847 in Gasconade Co, MO.,
Rebecca Ann Kerley
+ Irvin Hensley m Dec. 28, 1849 in Gasconade Co., MO
Nancy Kerley
+ Elijah Owens
Hannah (Sarah) Kerley
+ John B. Jarvis m. July 14, 1847 in Gasconade Co. MO
Henry Kerley
+Margaret Colvin b. ?, m. July 23, 1835 in Gasconade Co., MO. d. ?
James Kerley
+ Jane Hensley m. Aug 28, 1859
Alsey Kerley d. April, 1857
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Henry Kerley b. 1805 in Kentucky; d. Nov. 16, 1872 in Gasconade Co., Mo
+Elizabeth Daniel m. March 14, 1833
Sarah C. Kerley b abt 1830
+ James Johns m. July 4, 1852
William Kerley b abt 1832
+Nancy Miller b. abt 1814, m. Jan 14, 1838 in Gasconade County, MO
Anna Kerley b abt 1839
+David Lain m. June 18, 1855 in Gasconade Co., MO
Benjamin Kerley b abt 1841
+ Jane Pryor m. July 14, 1860 in Gasconade Co., MO
James Kerley b abt 1845
+ July Anne Howe m. Sept 14., 1865 in Gasconade Co. MO
Irvin Kerley b abt 1848
+ Sarah Murphy m. March 24, 1867 in Gasconade Co. MO
+ Ellen Griffey Ward m. March 20, 1856 in Osage Co., MO
Henry Kerley b. Dec. 10, 1857, d. Dec. 29, 1910
+ Elizabeth Alice Williams m. Sept. 4, 1789
William Kerley b abt 1861
Benton Kerley b Sept 7, 1862 in Gasconade Co., Mo; d. Jan. 124, 1915 in Osage Co., Mo
+ Catherine Cooper Oct 27, 1882
Lucinda Kerley b abt 1865; d. Jan. 3, 1950
+ Fielden Middleton
Annie Kerley b abt 1866
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James Kerley b abt 1810; d. July 1836 in Gasconade Co., MO
+ Mary Flatt m. Jan 7., 1830
Louisa E. Kerley b. abt 1830
William J. Kerley b. abt 1833
+ Luvina Murphy m. March 3, 1854 in Franklin Co., MO
John Kerley b. Jan., 1836
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Elizabeth Kerley b. abt 1820
+ Hensley m. 1841 in Gasconade Co., MO
Gasconade County was created in 1820 from Franklin County, and originally included all of present-day Gasconade, Crawford, Pulaski, Osage, Maries and Phelps counties along with parts of Dent, Laclede, Miller and Camden counties.