John Francis Kelley

John Francis Kelley

Birth: 1/25/1890, Berea, OH

Address: 2101 Freeman Ave., Cleveland, OH

Demographics: age 28 at draft registration; single; Caucasian; occupation Sampler at Corrigan- Mckinney Steel Company (established 1890, located at 3100 E. 45th St., Cleveland, OH and acquired by Republic Steel in 1935); natural born citizen

Draft Date/Enlistment Date/Rank: 6/5/1917; 6/4/1918; Private

Service Number: 1945392

Deployment: 6/4/1918 from New York aboard SS Orissa  

Action: Private Ypres-Lys; Somme Offensive; Co H 331 Inf to Aug 19/18; Co K 117 Inf to death; 83rd Division; AEF June 4/18 to death

Death: October 7, 1918 at age 28; Killed in Action

Burial: 10/10/1918 buried in Aisne, France; 6/9/1919 remains disinterred and reburied either elsewhere in Aisne, France or at Flanders Field, Belgium (unclear on WWI burial card); remains disinterred 12/22/1920 for shipment home to U.S. from Calais, France to Hoboken, NJ aboard SS Cambrai; remains received Hoboken 4/3/1921 and shipped to Cleveland on 4/14/1921 with arrival 4/15/1921 at Union Station under the care of Mrs. Mary Kelley; final resting place Calvary Cemetery, 10000 Miles Ave., Cleveland, OH

Next of Kin: Mrs. Mary Kelley, mother, 2101 Freeman Ave., Cleveland, OH 

Additional Information: There were several people in Cleveland with the common name of John Francis Kelley around the time of World War I. The John Francis Kelley profiled here was selected because his age was close to that of other WWI draftees. He claimed exemption on his draft registration for his "dependent mother." Father died when John was 12 years old. Father was Dennis Kelley (1850-1902), born Ireland; Mother was Mary Agnes Flaherty Kelley (1853-1923), born Ireland. There were at least 5 siblings, including Joseph and Frank, and 3 sisters.