The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
State of Service: NH
Qualifying Service: Patriotic Service
Birth: 13 Mar 1743/1744 Killingworth / / CT Death: aft 07 Aug 1820 Newport / Cheshire / NH
Qualifying Service Description:
Signed Association Test in Newport, NH 20 Jun 1776
Additional References:
"Document and Records Relating to the State of NH", Vol VIII, 1874, pg 282
Author: Edward Lary
Roswell Kelsey is recognized for his Patriot Service during the war for American independence. Along with two of his brothers, Absalom and Giles, he signed the Association Test in Newport, New Hampshire on 20 Jun 1776. From the book “A Genealogy of the Descendants of William Kelsey” by Claypool and Clizbee, we read that William Kelsey from England was the first of the name Kelsey in America. He arrived first in what is now Cambridge, MA in 1632; was one of the first proprietors of Hartford, CT in 1636; and then one of the first proprietors of Killingworth, CT in 1663. Roswell descends directly from William, his 2 nd great grandfather.
The Kelsey Genealogy tells us Roswell Kelsey, second son and second child of Benjamin Kelsey and Ruth Wilcox, was born in Killingworth, CT on 13 Mar 1733/34. He served in the French & Indian War in Captain Peleg Redfield’s Company in 1760, along with his brother Absalom. In about 1765 he relocated north to Newport, NH where his brothers Absalom and Giles, and several other Kelsey families, had already settled. Roswell married Hepzibah Bellows in Newport on 18 Jul 1771. She was born there in about 1755.
Roswell and Hepzibah raised twelve children, eight sons and four daughters, all born in Newport. Hepzibah Kelsey died in Newport on 20 Jul 1810; Roswell Kelsey died there after 20 Aug 1820. Both are buried in the Pine Street East Cemetery in Newport, NH.
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