Roger Kelsey (say 1633 – ⊥ 1708-04-07) and Rebecca (say 1638 – ⊥ 1708-11-27) were my 9th-great-grandparents, being the parents of John Kelsey. Their identity is derived from parish records; see the entry for their son for details.

Rebecca is my most distant known alternating-sex (maximum X) ancestor. Her maiden name is still being sought.

Origins

The name Roger Kelsey is distinctive, but efforts to track down his origins have not yet borne fruit. I lack even a general idea of where the Kelsey family originated.

There is a Kelsey DNA Project on FamilyTreeDNA.^⟮1⟯ However, it has only a small number of testees, with no structure emerging from them, and almost no genealogical information. Roger himself does not appear to have any male-line descendants, since his only son surviving to adulthood only had two surviving daughters, so Y chromosome tests cannot be directly used. However, with more testing, a Kelsey family might be identified in the area with a common haplogroup.

There is also a Kelso DNA Project with a small number of Kelsey testees, but none informative.^⟮2⟯

Family

Roger and Rebecca had these known children:

• Rebecca (* c.1658); her age is given as 35 at marriage to Robert Martin in 1693^{⟮3⟯Hampshire Allegations for Marriage Licences Granted by the Bishop of Winchester, 1689 to 1837, v. 2, p. 16. Archive.org}, although ages are often inaccurate and this birth year would create a gap in known children. No baptism was found.
• John (* say 1660), my ancestor. No baptism found; their first known child was born in 1685.
• Roger (β 1668-05-11 – ⊥ 1668-12-06).
• Mary (β 1670-10-24), married William West in 1693 when she is said to be of age 20.^{⟮4⟯Hampshire Allegations for Marriage Licences Granted by the Bishop of Winchester, 1689 to 1837, v. 2, p. 330. Archive.org} She was in fact 22, a significant but still plausible inaccuracy; she is stated to be of North Stoneham with father Roger, so is clearly the same person.

There is a Jane Kelsey who married John Davis in North Stoneham in 1706. It is not clear which generation she belongs to.

Maximum X

Rebecca is my most distantly known alternating-sex ancestor. Her descendancy along these lines can be tentatively traced with what records have been found:

• Rebecca, wife of Roger Kelsey.
  • John Kelsey, married Mary.
    • Mary Kelsey, married William Lambell. Four sons mentioned in her mother’s will:
      • William Lambell, not traced further.
      • John Lambell, not traced further.
      • Richard Lambell, not traced further.
      • Thomas Lambell, not traced further.
    • Ann Kelsey, died young.
    • Rebecca Kelsey, married George Durman.
      • John Durman, married Sarah Holloway.
        • Isabella Rebecca Durman, married Thomas Godbehere.
          • Thomas Godbehere immigrant, married Isabella Taylor. American descendants quickly proliferate.
            • Sarah Sabilla Godbehere, married Thomas Reed Holland. Not traced further.
            • Arvazina Godbehere, died young.
            • Rebecca Godbehere, married Henderson Fisher. Four sons, with more descendants, not enumerated.
        • Sarah Durman, married Thomas Weston. One son mentioned in her uncle’s will:
          • Thomas Weston, not traced further.
        • Ann Durman, married James Woods. Four sons mentioned in her uncle’s will:
          • Richard Woods, not traced further.
          • John Woods, not traced further.
          • Aaron Woods, not traced further.
          • George Woods, not traced further.
    • Ann Kelsey, died young.
  • Roger Kelsey, died young.

Footnotes

1. ↑ https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/kelsey
2. ↑ https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/kelsofamilyproject/
3. ↑ Hampshire Allegations for Marriage Licences Granted by the Bishop of Winchester, 1689 to 1837, v. 2, p. 16. Archive.org
4. ↑ Hampshire Allegations for Marriage Licences Granted by the Bishop of Winchester, 1689 to 1837, v. 2, p. 330. Archive.org