OLD FRIENDS TO ASSIST AT A PIONEER'S FUNERAL
The Anaconda Standard, Anaconda, 1914-06-23, p.7
Summary
Funeral notice for John Kelly, "proprietor of the Mullins house in Centerville for the past few years". The funeral was to be held "this morning at 9 o'clock" (Tuesday 23 June 1914), with the services in his home at the corner of Mullins and Main streets, Centerville, and the pallbearers "selected from his old friends in Centerville and Walkerville". He "was among the pioneers of the big camp, coming to the city in 1876", and "was engaged in mining in Butte for many years, but had been otherwise engaged in his declining years". The notice names no relative and gives no age, church or burial place. He is James J. Murphy's father-in-law, John Kelly, the father of Agnes Kelly: 95 (estimate). The Anaconda Standard of the day before ("VICTIM OF PNEUMONIA.", 22 June 1914) is plainly the same man (the name, the Mullins house in Centerville, in Montana since 1876, the funeral Tuesday at 9) and lists a widow and five children: "Mrs. Joseph Murphy, Mamie, Amelia and Irene Kelly, and the son, Walter". The family tree gives John Kelly and Mary Chatham the same children: Agnes, the wife of James Joseph Murphy; Mary "Mamie"; Imelda "Amelia"; Irene; and Walter (a sixth, Martin, died in 1907). Mary Kelly's obituary of 1940 names Mrs. James J. Murphy, Miss Mary Kelly, Mrs. Fred Hauser (Irene, by the tree) and Walter Kelly. The tree dates his death 21 June 1914 at Butte, citing the Montana death records, and attaches this clip to him. Against: "Joseph" for James J., and "aged 65" on 22 June against the tree's birth in June 1854. This reverses an older note on the 1908 wedding report that took the Kellys of the Mullins house for a different family.
In its time
Narrative
The funeral of John Kelly, for some years proprietor of the Mullins house in Centerville, is to be held at 9 o'clock from his home at the corner of Mullins and Main streets, with pallbearers drawn from his old friends in Centerville and Walkerville. Kelly came to Butte in 1876 and mined there for many years, taking up other work in his later years.
- “John Kelly was among the pioneers of the big camp, coming to the city in 1876.”
- “The pallbearers will be selected from his old friends in Centerville and Walkerville.”
AI-generated (claude-opus-5). Verify against the transcription before quoting.
People
- John /Kelly/(as printed: John Kelly)role: deceased · family confidence: 95 certain
Father of Agnes Kelly, so James J. Murphy's father-in-law: the 1908 wedding reports name the bride's parents as Mr. and Mrs. John Kelly, 412 West Daly street, Walkerville (settled by the user, 3 Oct 2026). 95 is the identity call above, an estimate: this notice names no relative, so the link runs through the notice of 22 June and the family tree.
Places
- Butte, Montana (primary)
- Centerville (district of Butte) (primary)
- Walkerville, Montana (secondary)
Themes
Story threads
Tags
Source type
obituary
Related sources
- 1914-06-22 — The Anaconda Standard, p.7 — VICTIM OF PNEUMONIA.
- 1908-10-24 — The Butte Miner, p.14 — Wedding Bells.
- 1908-10-25 — The Anaconda Standard, p.26 — MURPHY-KELLY NUPTIALS.
- 1940-05-30 — The Montana Standard, p.5 — MRS. MARY KELLY, EX-WALKERVILLE RESIDENT, TAKEN
- 2026-05-27 — Luke Murphy family tree (Ancestry.com)
Transcription
Dotted underlines mark key terms on first mention — hover or tab to one for a reference note. The wording is the source’s own.
Open questions
- His Montana death record (21 Jun 1914, cited by the tree) and a burial record are not filed. Either would settle the identification and the age (65 in print; June 1854 in the tree).
- The tree also cites a second funeral notice of 23 Jun 1914 and a card of thanks from Mrs. John Kelly of 28 Jun 1914; neither is filed.
- The filing of the 22 June 1914 notice still holds John Kelly and his children under mentioned only, and the 1908 Anaconda Standard wedding report calls the Mullins house Kellys a different family; both need relinking.