The items within this series are not all complete Books. For example, the entry titled published in 1849 is simply an excerpt from the appendix about the Rev. James O’Kelly (1:2). Additionally, the document titled published in 1850 is written by Charles O’Kelly and only includes the editor’s preface; in which many families related to the O’Kelly’s are discussed (1:3). The only complete Book (a photocopy) in this series is titled by the Rev. James O’Kelly (1:1).

This rather large series contains primarily letters of Correspondence pertaining to a few topics. Mainly, it contains letters that discuss the O’Kelly Chapel, O’Kelly family cemetery, and James O’Kelly’s grave in regards to their current and future preservation and care (2:8-2:12). Specifically, there is a letter that documents the establishment of the O’Kelly Memorial Foundation which was set up to preserve and care for the O’Kelly cemetery and surrounding land (2:8). Moreover, there are letters within this series that mention descendants of James O’Kelly, as well as how land ownership was passed down within the O’Kelly family (2:1, 2:5, 2:8, 2:10, 2:13, 2:20).

There is only one letter in this series that was written by the Rev. James O’Kelly (reproduction of original). From the letter, dated 1787, we are unable to determine who he was writing it to. The original letter is housed in the Lovely Lane Museum in Baltimore, MD (2:2, 10:9).

Furthermore, there are quite a few letters that were written from both Durward T. Stokes (historian/professor) and William T. Scott (minister) to various individuals both in the United States and abroad requesting biographical information about the Rev. James O’Kelly for publications they were composing (2:20, 2:21). For example, Durward T. Stokes wrote to the Public Record Office of Ireland in 1971 in hopes of determining the birth place and date of James O’Kelly (2:21). In a reply from the University of Dublin, they were unable to absolutely determine this information about James O’Kelly (2:21).

Of particular interest to Elon University are a few letters that document the discussion about possibly moving the remains of Rev. James O’Kelly and his wife from the grave sites in Chatham County, NC (location of O’Kelly Chapel and family cemetery) to the O’Kelly Monument at Elon College (2:13). Unfortunately, there is no Correspondence that helps one determine the final outcome of this discussion.

This series contains a list of funds collected for the O’Kelly Cemetery Fund and it is one of the smallest in the collection (3:1). The lists include the names of individuals, churches, organizations, and/or business that contributed to the Fund and the amount of each contribution (3:1).

This series contains a variety of Legal Documents including deeds, marriage records, last will and testaments, etc… Of particular interest is a copy of the deed of manumission that freed James O’Kelly’s slave, Dianna in the year 1785 (4:1.1). Additionally, there are deeds to various properties in Virginia that were owned by descendants and/or relatives of Rev. James O’Kelly (4:2, 4:4-4:6). Moreover, there is a copy of the deed to the O’Kelly Chapel in Chatham County, NC (4:2).

In addition to deeds, this series contains several last will and testaments. For example, Elizabeth O’Kelly’s (wife of James O’Kelly) last will and testament is included (4:11). Also, the last will and testament of James O’Kelly can be found in this series (4:12). Other last will and testaments of James O’Kelly’s descendants and/or relatives are also represented (4:10, 4:13, 4:14).

This is another small series that only contains Lists. The majority of the Lists in this series include titles of books and other publications that were either written by or about James O’Kelly (5:1). Please search the Belk Library online catalog for current holdings of various titles, using James O’Kelly as a keyword. Additionally, there is a List that mentions prospective donors that may have contributed funds to the O’Kelly Cemetery Fund (5:2).

The Literary Productions series is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the collection. It contains a variety of formats including essays, reminiscences, manuscripts, research notes, play scripts, speeches, etc. The majority of the information included in this series discusses the biographical history of James O’Kelly, his descendants, and/or relatives, as well as his role in the formation of the Christian Church in the South in the 1790’s.

The essays and reminiscences in this series offer a wealth of biographical information about Rev. James O’Kelly and his family (6:5, 6:5.1, 6:9-6:13, 6:15). For additional biographical information on the Rev. James O’Kelly, please refer to the series/folder listings in the previous sentence, as well as the Biographical section of this finding aid (above).

In addition to biographical information about James O’Kelly, this series also provides rich information about his role in the formation of the Christian Church in the South (6:7-6:10, 6:12, 6:13, 6:15). This series also has lists that contain brief biographies of the ministers and laymen who were co-laborers and followers of Rev. James O’Kelly, when he broke away from the Methodist faith to form the Christian denomination in 1792 (6:13, 6:15). Furthermore, there are quite a few documents that outline O’Kelly’s faith, beliefs, theology, doctrines, and his statement on baptism (6:12, 6:13, 6:15).

Of particular interest to the Elon community are documents that discuss the history and formation of the O’Kelly monument on Elon’s campus (6:14, 6:20). Specifically, there is a speech included in this series that was delivered by the Rev. Dr. J.O. Atkinson on October 16, 1929 during the dedication of the O’Kelly monument on Elon’s campus (6:20). Not only does Dr. J.O. Atkinson discuss the significance of the O’Kelly monument, but he also highlights the importance of James O’Kelly and the Christian Church (6:20). In addition to this speech, there is a copy of the play script which was written by Becky Boone for an Elon theatre production titled, (6:17-6:19). This play was performed on Elon’s campus in 1976 (6:17-6:19, 10:7).

This small series contains only one Map of Granville County, NC (7:1). The immediate connection of this specific location to the rest of the collection is unknown.

This series is small and only contains meeting Minutes from the General Meeting of the Christian Church in October of 1836 and the meeting Minutes of the trustees of the O’Kelly Memorial Foundation (8:1, 8:2). The O’Kelly Memorial Foundation was formed in order to help care for and preserve the O’Kelly family cemetery in Chatham County, NC (5:2, 8:2).

This series contains Photographs, most of which are black and white, and a few that are negatives. The Photographs that are represented in this series include images of the O’Kelly Chapel and the Piney Grove Church highway historical markers, O’Kelly Chapel, the O’Kelly Chapel historic plaque, James O’Kelly’s grave, and photos of the prints and drawings of James O’Kelly (9:1-9:7). The two negatives in this series are reprints of the prints and drawings of James O’Kelly (9:8). The artists who drew images of the Rev. James O’Kelly were Lila Newman and Ernest Brown (9:6, 9:8). These drawings are the only known visual representations of Rev. James O’Kelly.

The Printed Material series is by far the largest in the collection, containing a variety of types of material and information. Primarily, most of the information in this series pertains to the biography of James O’Kelly and family, the O’Kelly Chapel, and the O’Kelly monument at Elon University. Specifically, there is a useful and well documented family tree of the O’Kelly family that was created in 1932 (10:3). Additionally, there is a brief write up about the O’Kelly sons and their descendants (10:2).

Of particular interest to Elon is a short article that was printed in the outlining the theatre production about James O’Kelly, which took place on campus in 1976 (10:7). Also, some of the newspaper clippings and programs in this series offer information about the O’Kelly monument on Elon’s campus (10:15, 10:16, 10:24).

The newspaper clippings in this series encompass the following topics: the O’Kelly Chapel, establishment of the Christian Church, article by John O’Kelly, biography of James O’Kelly, the O’Kelly monument, James O’Kelly’s grave, the O’Kelly family cemetery, and the O’Kelly Bible (10:12-10:23). Furthermore, the programs section of this series include programs relating to the O’Kelly monument, James O’Kelly’s grave and family cemetery, the O’Kelly Chapel, a theatre production/play script from Elon dated 1976, and the highway historical marker and historical plaque for the O’Kelly Chapel (10:24-10:32).

This is another small series that contains Prints and Drawings of the O’Kelly Chapel, the O’Kelly family cemetery, and of James O’Kelly (11:1-11:3). The Drawing of the O’Kelly chapel is a measured representation of the Chapel, parking area, and surrounding property (11:1). The Drawing of the O’Kelly family cemetery was surveyed and plotted by E.C. Smith in 1949, and also contains a detailed representation of the cemetery, James O’Kelly’s grave, and surrounding properties (11:2). The visual representation of James O’Kelly can be found in two different Drawings—one by Lila E. Newman and the other by Ernest Brown (11:3). The copies in this folder of the series are photocopies of the originals (11:3).

This is another small series that contains one Scrapbook compiled by R.W. York in 1876. The materials that Mr. York collected in his Scrapbook pertaining directly to the Rev. James O’Kelly, offer some additional biographical information (12:1).