Charles Kelly

Member of D Battery, Royal Artillery, and arrived in Auckland in 1858, moving to Wanganui two years later to reside.
BURIAL:- Heads Road Old Catholic Cemetery, Wanganui, Wanganui District, Manawatu-Wanganui, New Zealand
Epitaph:- Pray For the Souls of, CHARLES KELLY, Aged 56 Years, ELLEN KELLY Aged 14 Years, MARY JANE " " 25 ", WILLIAM " " 11 ", ROBERT " " 11 Days, ANN KELLY Aged 86 Years.

NOTE: Some online trees refer to the 1881 England Census [4 Groby Road, Audenshaw, Lancashire, England] - not possible as the family arrived in New Zealand in 1858 - plus the census lists all the wrong children.

A DEAD BODY FOUND IN THE RIVER. At an early hour this morning one of Mr Jensen's boys, while swimming his dog in the river, on the bank, i 1 a line with his of the water. Calling to a man named Wood, father's door saw a pair of boots sticking out he said " look here, here's a man's legs sticking out of the water." Mr Wood made all hasle to see what was the matter, and on reaching the spot found as the lad had said, a man's legs standing out of the water. He lo&t no time in getting down the embankment, and pulling out the body which was lecognieed at once as that of Charles Kelly, a well-known resident in thi3 town. Mr Wood says that the body was then quite stiff, so stiff that by taking hold of one foot the body could easily be turned over. tJy the appearance of the boots it waa evident that, although the water was not over them when the body was found, they had been covered. The body was conveyed to the Ship Hotel, and Dr Connolly sent for. On arrival Dr Connolly pronounced it as his opinion that the body had not been very long in the water, and that it was hardly cold. However, nothing could be done to restore life, with any hope of success. Deceased arrived by train last night at ten o'clock from the country, and was seen on the platform by several persons, who state that he was then quite sober. On leaving the station he proceeded to the Ship Hotel. Mr Jensen says that he had there only one glass of beer, and then he left. Jie went out by the front door, and Mr Jensen believes went in the direction of the Railway Station. It is thought that he was then going to see the steamer go out, but as far as we can learn he was not seen on the wharf when the Huia left last night. How he could have arrived at the spot he was found is a mystery at present. The probability is that he went through the railway fence and, the night being rather dark, strayed over to the bank, where he has taken the fatal step, and been unable to recover himself. Mr Kelly was an old Artilleryman, having arrived here many years back with the Imperial foices. With many others of his calling he accepted the opportunity of settling in the colony, aud has made Wanganui his home ever since the departure of the troops. He has been in that interval occupied in many capacities, and at one time he, in conjunction with Mrs Kelly, had charge of the Wanga"ui Hospital. Deceased was a prominent member of the Roman Catholic congregation of this town, and was also intimately connected with the Hibernian Lodge. He leaves a wife and a grown up family of one son and three daughters (married) to mourn their loss. ' Since the above was in type, we have seen the body of the deceased, and have visited the spot where it was found. There are several marks ef violence on the face, there being two especially deep cuts, one just in the centre of the forehead, and the other close under the left temple. There is also a large contusion under the left ear, and it is said that there is a large cut near the right temple, but from the position in which the body was laid out this was not visible. T c causes of these marks are rather difficult at present to ascertain, and the police are busy maHng all possible investigation into the matter. It was noticed this morning that clots of blood were visible on the steps at the end of the wharf, nearest where the body was found. Whether these blood marks have anything to do with the matter is not of course know. It is surmised by some that the deceased may have had occasion to go to the river to wash himself and then have stumbled into the river. These wounds, however, could hardly have been received in that way, and there is a great deal of mystery yet attaching to the matter. We learn that deceased was in the I Battery of Artillery, 4th Brigade. He had been through the Crimea, and had a medal. He was present at the fall of Sebastopol. Source: Wanganui Herald (22 April 1885, p. 2).

MR C. KELLY'S BODY FOUND IN THE RIVER. THE INQUEST. Yesterday morning, about half~past seven o'clock, a littio boy, son of Mr J. H. Jensen, of the Ship Hotel, while playing by the river Bide opposite his father's house, noticed what he supposed to be the body of a man lying in tho river against the embankment. The little fellow at once told a man named Wood, who was passing at the time, nnd the latter proceeded to the spot and found the body of Mr Charles Kelly lying with his head in the water face downwards, his body lying against the embankment. Notice having been given to the police, the body was removed to the ohip Hotel. A post mortem examination having been performed by Dr Connolly, An inquest was held at 3 o'clock yesterday afternoon before Mr Borlase, coroner, and a jury of 14, Mr J. Brown being chosen foreman. The jury having viewed the body the following evidence was taken : — John Cooper deposed that he saw the deceased on the railway platform on the previous night when tho 10 o'clock train came in. Called him by namo. Deceased replied and witness saw no more of him. Deceased replied coherently. Witness saw no signs of drink about him, but only saw him for a moment. Did not uotice whioh way he went. — J. H. Jensen, hotelkeeper, deposed that he knew the deceased very well. He arrived by the 10 o'clock train the previous night, and came into the bar of the botel and had a gluss of beer. Witness had one with him. Deceased was sober, clean, and tidy. He did not appear as if he had been drinking. Eeraarked to him how well he looked. Deceased st'iyod a few minutes, and then said he was going homo. He left in the direction of his borne. He did not go in tho direotion in "whioh his body was found ; he did not live in that direotion ; he had only one glass of beer. Witness helped to carry the body from the river ; it was found about half- way between the hotel and the cattle wharf. —By the foreman : It might be ten minutes past 10 when deceased called ; he said ho come from Marton ; he did not seem depressed ; be was quite jolly ; was cleanly dressed ; there was nothing peculiar in his manner. The girl was iu the bar at the time. — George Wood deposed that he knew the deceased Charles Kelly. Was passing the Ship Hotel that morning, when Mr Jensen's boy called his attention to an object in the river, and said he thought it was a man. Witness went over to the river, and found i deceased. The head was downwards, and the body was on the wall ; the head was not on the bottom ; the body was lying at right augles with tho wall. Witness pulled the body out at once ; it presented no sign of life. Witness then informed the police. The wounds ou the head were there when witness rescued the body. It was lying face downwards ; the whole of the body had been in the water, but the tido was going down. The wall was formed of jagged atones ; did not soe any marks or tr ces about the spot ; whoa the body was pulled out blood began to flow from the wounds on the head. — By a juror : When witness found the body the foot were not above high water mark ; they were about 18ia above the witter. The whole of the body had been submerged ; deceased appeared to have had a grip of the stones. The bodv was heavy to pull out ; the body was cold and stiff. — One of the jurymen remarked that it was strange that no one had seen the body between 10 o'clock the previous night and the time at which it was found. — Another juryman observed that he had been at Mr Kelly's house on the previous night at 10.30 o'clock, and Mrs Kelly was not then aware that her husband was in town. — Dr Connolly deposed to having mado a p>ost mortem examination of the body of deceased. Saw it that morning, about 8 o'clock. The face was thon covered with blood ; there were outs on the right temple, and one by the ear ; the hand was also cut, and there was a nasty wound on the knee. Oould not find any evidence as to , whether deceased wns drowned or was dead when he got in the river, consequently he made a post mortem. He found uotliing definite as to the cause of death. None of the wounds would have caused death, and docsasc-d did not show signs of having been drowned. The lungs and heart were healthy, but. the heai'D was distended witb blood, as would be the case in a man who had died suddenly, as by suffocation. Fouud no fracture of the skull at all. The deepest of the wounds over tho eye merely laid the skull bare, nnd did not fracture it. The brain was healthy, and did not show any evidence of having received a severe blow, there being no blood es-travasated. The blow deceased had evidently received must hive stunned him. Witness's opinion was that the blow stuuned deceased, and he, being urn ble to breath in the water, died. He had evidently not struggled sufficiently to produce any indication of drowning. Had he fallen into the water he would have recovered from the blow. Oould not say that death was caused by drowning. Witness hud been over the place where the body was found ; a fall on the stones would huvn stunned him, and the wo.inds were sixh as would be caused by a fall on the i stones in the breastwork. There were no wounds that could not be accounted I for in that way. Witness was of I opinion that deceased was drowned through having been first stunned. When examining the body some of the blood which came from the nose was found to be mixed with air, as if deceased had breathed through it two or three timea, but he did not appear to havo struggled much. — By the Jury: The wounds were all clean cuts, with the exception of the one over the left eye. On closer examination it 3pDeared to have been caused by a fall. The woundß did not appear to have been caused by blows. Believed that if deceased had fallen where he could not have been suffocated he would have recovered from the blow, bnt falling in the water in a comatose condition he became suffocated. He could not have floated down there from another part, The gall bladder was perfeot. — By Sergeant Bissett : All the wounds could have been caused by a fall on the stones at tho place where he was found; tha wounds were caused before death. — Constable Gray deposed that from information received he went to the breastwork and saw the body of the deceased ; assisted to bring it to the place where it now lay. Searched the body and found somo tobacco, a pipe, and a small sum of money on him. — ■ The barman of the Customhouse Hotel deposed that he wna in the bar all the previous evening ; the deceased was not in the house during that time ; he oould not very well have been in the house without witness knowing it. — Dr Connolly, recalled, said deceased had taken some beer ; the stomach was pretty fall of food, whioh all smelt of beer, but he could not say whether he had taken much beer ; it had evidently been taken some time before death ; did not think he had takeu auy spirits. — The jury having considered the evidence, returned the followiug verdict : — " The jury ia of opinion tbat the deceased, Charles Kelly, was suffooated in the Wanganui River on the 21st April instant, having fallen into the water while stunned from a fall against the Btone breastwork." Source: Wanganui Chronicle (23 April 1885, p. 2).