Person:Peter Kelly (6)

Peter Kelly was baptised in 1832 at Monasterevin in County Kildare, the son of a labourer named Dennis Kelly and his wife Bridget (Biddy) Murphy. At the time of Peter's birth the family was living at Boherbaun, five miles south of Monasterevin. Shortly after Peter's birth the family moved to the neighbouring parish of Athy, where Peter's four younger siblings were all baptised. In Athy parish the family appears to have lived at Cloney, five miles north of the town, and only a mile from Boherbaun.

Peter left Ireland some time before 1859 and moved to England. In Birkenhead in 1859 he married an Elizabeth (or Eliza) Dempsey, who was from the same part of Ireland as him, having been baptised in Monasterevin in 1833. Highly likely they already knew each other before they moved to England. Elizabeth's father Anthony also came over and Peter and Elizabeth lived with him for a time early in their marriage.

In Birkenhead, from at least 1860 until after 1881 Peter and Elizabeth and their children lived at Orderly Residence - initially at No.7, later at No.1 (although this may have been the same building renumbered). Orderly Residence was one of four streets of back-to-back houses close to the junctions of Brook Street, Watson Street and Price Street. The four streets were parallel to Watson Street and were (moving westwards from Watson Street) Orderly Home, Orderly Residence, Orderly Avenue and Orderly Place. Back-to-back housing was very poor quality - with only one elevation for windows the houses lacked cross-ventilation and probably shared toilets. In 1883 Birkenhead Corporation sought an Act of Parliament allowing it to undertake various improvement works to its streets, including "...the purchase, as insanitary property, of Nos. 20, 22, and 24, Watson-street; Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, Orderly-home; Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, Orderly-residence; Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, Orderly-avenue; and Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, Orderly-place."^[8]. Whether or not the Corporation did actually purchase these four streets is unclear - the streets appear on Ordnance Survey maps until 1911, but were replaced by a playground between 1911 and 1936. However, Peter and Elizabeth certainly left Orderly Residence between 1881 and 1891, which co-incides with the period when Birkenhead Corporation was concerned by the insanitary conditions there.

By 1891, they were living at 167 Brook Street, where they occupied two rooms. They had not moved far though - 167 Brook Street was immediately north of Orderly Residence. In 1901 they were living in one room at 15 Queensbury Street, a turning off Watson Street opposite the entrance to the various Orderly streets. Therefore all their addresses in Birkenhead were within about 100 metres of each other.

Peter and Elizabeth appear to have had at least seven children together. Elizabeth died in 1909. Peter survived her by five years and died in 1914.

1. ↑ Monasterevin, Kildare, Ireland. Catholic Parish Registers.

   1832
   November 18th
   Children: Peter
   Parents: Dennis Kelly & Bridget Murphy
   Sponsors: Patt Lalor & Cath Cassidy
   Residence: Barbaun [Boherbaun]

2. ↑ England. 1861 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG9; Piece 2642; Folio 14; Page 21, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: 7 Orderly Residence, Birkenhead, Cheshire
   Ja[me]s Braman, head, married, male, 40 [1820/1], Dock Lab, b. Ireland
   Bridg Braman, wife, married, female, 36 [1824/5], b. Ireland
   Joseph Braman, son, male, 5 [1855/6], b. Ireland
   Edw[ar]d Newgent, lod, unmarried, male, 26 [1834/5], Dock Lab, b. Ireland
   Ja[me]s Holkin, lod, unmarried, male, 24 [1836/7], Dock Lab, b. Ireland
   Anthony Demsey, vis, married, male, 50 [1810/11], Dock Lab, b. Ireland
   Mary Daly, vis, unmarried, female, 20 [1840/1], b. Ireland
   Mary Braman, daughter, female, 4 [1856/7], b. Ireland
   Peter Kelly, man, married, 24 [1836/7], Dock Lab, b. Ireland
   Eliz Kelly, wife, female, 26 [1834/5], b. Ireland
   Denis Kelly, son, male, 9mo [1860], b. Birkenhead, Cheshire

3. ↑ England. England and Wales. 1871 Census Schedules. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG10; Piece 3746; Folio 134; Page 28, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: 1 Orderley Residence, Birkenhead, Cheshire
   Peter Kelly, head, married, male, 34 [1836/7], Labourer, b. Kildare, Ireland
   Elizabeth Kelly, wife, married, female, 30 [1840/1], b. Kildare, Ireland
   Denis Kelly, son, unmarried, male, 11 [1859/60], b. Birkenhead, Cheshire
   Patrick Kelly, son, unmarried, male, 9 [1861/2], b. Birkenhead, Cheshire
   Michael Kelly, son, unmarried, male, 7 [1863/4], b. Birkenhead, Cheshire
   Peter Kelly, son, unmarried, male, 5 [1865/6], b. Birkenhead, Cheshire
   Mary Ann Kelly, daughter, unmarried, female, 3 [1867/8], b. Birkenhead, Cheshire
   Bridget Kelly, daughter, unmarried, female, 1 [1869/70], b. Birkenhead, Cheshire

4. ↑ England. 1881 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands: . (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG11; Piece 3578; Folio 103; Page 10, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: No.1 Ordely Residences, Birkenhead, Cheshire
   Peter Kelly, head, married, male, 48 [1832/3], Dock Labourer, b. Ireland
   Elizabeth Kelly, wife, married, female, 38 [1842/3], b. Ireland
   Patrick Kelly, son, unmarried, male 18 [1862/3], Dock Labourer, b. Birkenhead, Cheshire
   Michael Kelly, son, unmarried, male, 17 [1863/4], Dock Labourer, b. Birkenhead, Cheshire
   Peter Kelly, son, male, 15 [1865/6], Dock Labourer, b. Birkenhead, Cheshire
   Mary A. Kelly, daughter, female, 13 [1867/8], Scholar, b. Birkenhead, Cheshire

5. ↑ England. 1891 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG12; Piece 2882; Folio 65; Page 5, 5 Apr 1891.

   Address: 167 Brook Street, Birkenhead, Cheshire
   2 rooms occupied
   Peter Kelly, head, married, male, 50 [1840/1], General Labourer, employed, b. Athy, Ireland
   Elizabeth Kelly, wife, married, female, 50 [1840/1], b. Monasterevin, Ireland
   Patrick Kelly, son, married, male, 28 [1862/3], General Labourer, employed, b. Birkenhead, Cheshire
   Annie Kelly, daughter in law, married, female, 26 [1864/5], b. Birkenhead, Cheshire
   James Riley, son in law, married, male, 23 [1867/8], Iron-moulder, employed, b. Birkenhead, Cheshire
   Mary Ann Riley, daughter, married, female, 20 [1870/1], b. Birkenhead, Cheshire

6. ↑ England. England. 1901 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG13; Piece 3389; Folio 89; Page 10, 31 Mar 1901.

   Address: 15 Queensbury Street, Birkenhead, Cheshire
   1 room occupied
   Peter Kelly, head, married, male, 53 [1847/8], Dock Labourer, worker, b. Ireland
   Elizabeth Kelly, wife, married, female, 52 [1848/9], b. Ireland

7. ↑ Deaths index, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   d. Peter KELLY, March Quarter 1914, Birkenhead Registration District, Vol. 8a, page 616, aged 75 [1838/9]

8. ↑ London Gazette, 23 November 1883, page 5649