Wikipedia, the BGN case file, two 1873 sources and numerous other documents make the connection. Are they all unfounded?
The only other source for the name would be one of only three minor Kelsey families in Clear Lake between 1861 and 1866. None of these are likely to be honorees for a creek and town name.
1 | • YYYY | Timeline as presented by SK | Link |
2 | Comments by AF/C4H | ||
3 | • YYYY | Timeline as augmented by AF/C4H |
4 | • 1841 | Nancy Kelsey, wife of Ben, is the first white woman to travel across the county over the Sierra Nevada into California | |
5 | • 1846 | Bear Flag Revolt, Nancy helps make the Bear Flag | |
6 | Really? Are they suggesting that Kelseyville ia named after her? | ||
7 | • 1847- | Andrew Kelsey lived in the area ... | |
8 | • 1848 | The Mexican-American War ceded Alta California to the United States as a Territory | |
9 | • 1849 | within two miles of Mr. Kelsey's house ... about twelve miles from Mr. Kelsey's | Alta California 15 November, 1849 |
10 | • -1849 | until his death | |
11 | • 1850 | murdering Andrew Kelsey and a Mr. Stone, who were residing at 'The Lake.' | Daily Pacific News 30 May 1850 |
12 | • 1850 | Ever since the murder of Andrew Kelsey at the Clear Lake by the Indians | Daily Alta California 11 March 1850 |
13 | • 1850 | California becomes a state | |
14 | • 1852 | California's special census of 1852 has no records for the Clear Lake area. Ben Kelsey and family are listed as living in Napa. | |
15 | • 1853 | The first house in the county (outside of that built by Stone and Kelsey), was built by Robert Gaddy, now living near the mouth of Kelsey Creek, by Charles Ferguson, and C. N. Copsey, in 1853, and was a log cabin. | Palmer 63 |
16 | • 1854 | Mary (Reeves) Nobles We were the first family to come into Big Valley. The Hammachs and the Reeves arrived in lower lake about the same time, but the Hammacks stayed there a day or two to make repairs on their wagon, while the Reeves came on ahead. The only other Americans were the cattlemen Robert Gaddy ... and Tucker | Mauldin 871-889 William and Mary Nobles / Wolfe |
17 | • 1854 | Mary (Reeves) Nobles: Father took up 160 acres ... But before the [Vallejo] case was settled, American farmers were allowed to file claims under the 'Squatters' Rights Law', and that's what father had to do right away. Within a week after he came into the valley, he had to leave mother and four young children camping in a strange land of bears and indians, and go to Napa to file claim. | |
18 | • 1857 | The first settlers here were of course, Stone and Kelsey, but it was long after their day before any idea of locating a town here was had by the citizens of that section. The first business place was opened here by a blacksmith by the name of Benham, who opened a shop here in 1857, and he had associated with him a wagon maker named German. No other place of business was begun until 1864, when T. F. Fall opened a store, which was the pioneer in that line. No other Kelesys are mentioned. |
Palmer 63 |
19 | • 1858 | Uncle Sam post office is established in what is now Kelseyville, the oldest town in Lake County | |
20 | Palmer: 'To this township [Big Valley] belongs the honor of having the first settlement in the county', but not necessarily the oldest town. | Palmer 161 | |
21 | • 1860 | U.S. Census had no Kelseys listed in the Uncle Sam Post office,and there was no reference to Kelsey, Kelsey Creek, or Kelseyville | 1860 Census |
22 | Misleading: Towns and adresses were not recorded, just a 'residence number' and a 'family number'. Since families had many children, it is better to compare data using the number of residences. There were 72 residences in the Uncle Sam PO, and no Kelseys. The census refers to the whole area, then part of Napa County, as 'Clear Lake Township' -- where 'Township' would be equivalent to the modern 'Supervisors District'. |
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23 | • 1861 | Lake County Formed | |
24 | • 1861 | William Nobles: Finally, in 1861, we settled permanently in Kelseyville. But there wasn't any town then. Everybody lived on farms and raised stock. Father did a thriving business shoeing horses and mending farm machinery. | |
25 | • 1861 | William Kelsey arrived in the area | |
26 | William KelsAy shows up first in the 1870 census in the Big Valley (not Kelsey Creek) division under Uncle Sam PO. 1850: Barthena https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M65M-SRQ https://www.geni.com/people/William-Kelsay/6000000001504499788 |
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27 | • 1861 | KELSEY vs KELSAY IN THE ANNALS OF LAKE COUNTY by Roy M. Sylar [undated, but added in 1976 ] Seldom does the substitution of a single letter present the opportunity to upset the tecord as does the 'a' and 'e' in the names of Kelsey and Kelsay, both prominent in the early Lake County history The KELSAY name was introduced when William and Barthena Harmon Kelsay ... permanently settled in Lake County in 1861. It was through the influence of the Kelsays that the growing village of Uncle Sam was renamed 'Kelseyville' in honor of their Kelsey cousins. Mauldin 8301-41 'widow' Permilia Kelsay was also in the Harriman party. William and Barthena Kelsay (1850), become W & Paichena KelsEy (1860) and W & Parthencia (1870) |
Rootsweb |
28 | • 1861-1865 | US Civil War. Lake county was probably not heavily involved. | |
29 | • 1863 | State School Fund, —Tne following is the semi-annual apportionment of the State School Fund, for the counties of Napa and Lake. ... Kelsey Creek, 58 ch.. $33.64 The school was not located near present day Kelseyville, but at Hell's Bend of Kelsey Creek. |
Napa County Reporter 28 November, 1863 |
30 | • 1863 | thence South to the line between Ormiston and the widow Kelsey ; thence East to the gate on Ormiston’s Eastern line ; Thence on or near the old road as it now runs,.to Kelsey Creek; thence across said Creek at the most suitable point near the present, with leave of suitable deviation to its intersection with the county road al J. H. Jamison’s The reference is to Kelsey Creek, and the 'widow Kelsey' is presumably the 'Mrs P.' in the 1870 census |
Napa County Reporter 3 January 1863 |
31 | • 1864 | (Election) For county seat - Kelsey Creek | Statutes of California, 1863-1864 p97 |
32 | • 1865 | .. in Kelseyville, in front of Leech's building, over Uncle Sam's Post Office This is the first use of 'Kelseyville' that I have found. This gathering marked the end of the civil war: 'The rebel portion of the community stood off at a proper distance with lowering countenances, which plainly indicated a hopeless cause.' |
Sacramento Daily Union 18, April 1865 |
33 | • 1865 | Kelsey creek becoming furiously rampant | Sacramento Daily Union 11 December, 1865 |
34 | • 1865 | Stagecoaches listed for Upper Lake to Napa: Upper Lake, Lakeport, Kelsey Creek, Lower Lake | Guide Book to the Pacific |
35 | • 1866 | Lake County. — The Clear Lake Journal has the following : .. We understand that the citizens of Kelsey Creek intend presenting the claims of that town for the county seat to the Legislature ... The two names are used interchangeably. |
Sacramento Daily Union, Volume 30, Number 4632, 26 January 1866 |
36 | • 1866 | we came to the little town of Kelseyville ... There is a hotel. and a law office, a doctor's office, a public square, and a good place to ford Kelsey creek .. | Russian River Flag 31 January, 1866 |
37 | • 1866 | until I arrived at the banks of Kelsey creek. Having no means of crossing I took dog ferriage by wading it; and being near a town of the same name-- I entered it, a perfect stranger to the inhabitants thereof-- ...
The little town of Kelsey is situated on the Napa road, and contains ten or twelve houses. The places of business being closed, my efforts to obtain information on the subject which had so engrossed my attention proved fruitless;
This is an early description of the newly-forming town of 'Kelsey Creek' or 'Kelsey' - or possibly 'Kelseyville' |
Russian River Flag, 14 March, 1866 |
38 | • 1866 | First recorded land deed to Burton Kelsey | Deed |
39 | Wrong. The deed is clearly dated October 16, 1874.
Deeds were suspended due both to the McKee Treaty, and Vallejos's claim to Lup Yomi. Palmer: L 45 After many and vexatious delays, the matter came up for final hearing before Judge Ogden Hoflman, in September, 1866, who rendered the decision quoted above. This gave eminent satisfaction to the settlers, who met at Lakeport October 6, 1866, for the purpose of having a good jollification over the triumph of their cause. The land was surveyed, and entered up in the regular way, and each man secured his home ; and the work of the former years had not gone for naught, nor been charged up against them as so much added value to their places, for which they must pay or leave. |
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40 | • 1867 | The courthouse burned, and all county records were lost. | |
41 | • 1867 | Burton Kelsey is shown as a registered voter in 'Lakeport'. Several other Kelseys in Lakeport, Kelsey and Lower Lake are registered with the same date, 25 April, 1867 |
Great Register of Lake County p10 |
42 | • 1867 | Pacific Business Directory. Mentions 'Kelseytown' and 'Kelseyville', but identifies three businesses as '(Kelsey Creek)', implying that the town and creek names had started to be individuated. | Directory |
43 | • 1868 | four miles beyond Kelseyville | |
44 | • 1868 | Kelsey Creek appeared on a U.S. map | |
45 | The river, or the populated place? That is not remarkable for the river. When did Adobe Creek appear? Morse's 1845 map doesn't know of Lake County at all. Vallejo's map shows only 'Rio de Lup Yomi' for Kelsey Creek, 'Rio' for Middle Creek, and 'Discharge from the Lake' for Cache Creek. Colton's 1856 shows the position of the lake and of Cache and Putah creeks. Details emerge slowly: one shows Cache and Putah both draining from the Lake. Weber's 1918 map shows Kelsey and Cache creek emerging into separate mouths, which they did not between 1820 and about 1960. Road maps alternate between 'Uncle Sam' and 'Kelseyville'. | ||
46 | • 1870 | U.S. census for Lake County listed 9 Kelseys: 4 in the Big Valley area and 5 in the Kelsey Creek division | |
47 | There were 279 dwellings in 'Kelsey Creek' and 406 in 'Big Valley' - all under the Uncle Sam PO. That's 684 total. There was one Kelsey family in Kelsey Creek (Mrs P, probably Permilia) and one in Big Valley (William) | ||
48 | • 1870 | Census shows Burton Kelsey as living in Upper Lake. | |
49 | • 1871 | First map for the Town of Kelsey was filed with the county recorder | |
50 | Close, but no cigar. SK historians fail to understand its significance ---- |
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51 | • 1871 | J. H. Goldsmith .. Editor Judge W, C, Wallace has appointed the LAKEPORT AVALANCHE as the paper in which all the legal and official advertising in and for Lake county shall be published, in accordance with an 'Act to Protect Litigants.' All advertisements required by law to be published must appear in the AVALANCHE. Palmer, pp 179-180 is not aware of this paper. |
Lakeport Avalanche May 13, 1871 |
52 | • 1871 | Notice to Property Owners Public Notice is hereby given that the Plat and Field notes of the Town of KELSEYVILLE, was this day filed in the office of the County Recorder of Lake County, State of California, and all persons, companies, corporations and other claimants claiming land in said town are hereby notified to apply to the County Judge of said county, and file their application for said land, and pay the amounts of assessments as required by law within 6 months from the date of this notice. All lands not applied for, and assessments not paid in the time above required, will be entered by said county judge as delinquent, and, after thirty days notice, shall be sold at public auction. Witness my hand at Chambers, in the town of Lakeport, this the 6th day of May A.D. 1871 J. B. HOLLAWAY, County Judge. (ap13-4w.) [Transcribed by AF] |
Lakeport Avalanche May 13, 1871 |
53 | So there you have it. The legal founding of the Town of Kelseyville, 6th May, 1871: 'the Plat and Field notes of the Town of KELSEYVILLE, was this day filed in the office of the County Recorder'. And according to the 1870 census, there are only three minor Kelseys in the county, none of whom merit being honored with a town name. | ||
54 | • 1871 | Josiah Smith, of Kelseyville, (Uncle Sam Post Office) Another reference indicating that nobody local used the post office name for the town. As a general comment, having searched the Lakeport Avalanche (April-August 1871) and the Lakeport Bee (1873-1882), the town is almost always referred to as 'Kelseyville'. Most stagecoach companies continue to identify the stop as 'Kelsey Creek'. Otherwise, the use of 'Kelsey' or 'Kelsey Creek' is mostly in the context of the 'Kelsey Creek Precinct' or 'Kelsey Creek Division'. None of these mention 'Uncle Sam' at all. |
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55 | • 1873 | This refers to Kelseyville throughout. | Menefee Historical and Descriptive Sketchbook of Napa, Sonoma, Lake 1873 |
56 | • 1873 | 'Mr S[tarkey] informed us that he visited this valley in the spring of 1848 and states 'Mr Kelsey, after whom the creek and town are named, was then the only American settled in Clear Lake valley, and resided in an adobe house about a mile or less from where the town of Kelseyville stands. ... Subsequently Kelsey was killed by the Indians.
'. This is the earliest record I have found that specifically identifies [Andy] Kelsey as the honoree. Interestingly, the owner of the copy saw fit to highlight it as important. |
Lake County Bee 19 April, 1873 |
57 | • 1874 | Burton Kelsey patented land | |
58 | This is the actual date of the patent quoted above as 1866. It also appears in the California Land Records. And there are many earlier patents such as R. Hammach in 1871. | CA Land Records 14 Mar 1874 | |
59 | • 1880 | Census pages are headed "Kelseyville Precinct Note that this is now listed as 'Supervisors Ditrict 3rd', rather than 'Big Valley Township', so a local government change has also happened. |
1880 Census |
60 | • 1880 | An 'Indian' Augustine, wife Jessie, and several children are listed under 'Lakeport' - which might be the 'Big Valley Mission' | 1880 Census |
61 | • 1882 | Area Designated Kelseyville | |
62 | Wrong: The Uncle Sam Post Office was renamed to Kelseyville, to reflect then-current usage. This has no direct effect on the name used by the Census, of local government or even residents. Since the town name had been evolving to 'Kelseyville' over 17 years the USPS was rather tardy. The name 'Town of Kelseyville' was used legally by the county in 1871. In this same timeframe the mountain had also reverted to 'Konocti' (with various spellings such as 'Co noke ti'), so nobody was using 'Uncle Sam'. |
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63 | • | ... Flocks of Kelseys omitted : they all came after the first uses of 'Kelseyville' in 1865/6 and are therefore unlikely candidates as a town-name honoree. | |
64 | • 1888 | The residents of 'District 5' voted to incorporate 'Kelseyville'. |