Darrin & Andrea Lythgoe's
Genealogy Pages

Notes on the Carlisles and Kewleys

By Darrin Lythgoe

When you're LDS, having an ancestor who survived the cross country trek with the Martin or Willie handcart companies is a lot like having someone on the Mayflower. Having an ancestor who helped with the rescue of these companies is equally thrilling. That said, who could imagine a better story than that of John Carlisle and Margaret Kewley?

John G. Carlisle and Margaret Kewley Carlisle. Click on each photo to see a larger image.

The drama and inspiration in the story are easy to recognize. What hasn't been easy is piecing together their genealogy. Several family researchers have done extensive work in this area, and a great deal has been uncovered. Some points, however, are still unclear (see the available information on John G. Carlisle and Margaret A. Kewley).

The main questions deal with the Carlisle family's origin, but another concerns what they did in the two decades following their marriage.

John Carlisle's father was also named John Carlisle, and his mother was Mary Shannon. We know they were married in 1821 in Yorkshire, England, but beyond that, pretty much everything is up in the air.

First of all, we don't know when or where John's father or mother were born. Some have speculated that they were from the London area, citing oral family traditions. Others say that perhaps he was from farther north, perhaps Cumberland. There is a John Carlisle christened in Cumberland in 1760 that would fit the time frame.

A complication in this matter is that Mary Shannon has also been called Mary Smith. Did she have a previous marriage to a Mr. Smith? Some claim to have found children from such a union. Where is Mary from?

We also know that the father of John's father was also named John Carlisle. There are so many people with this name, however, that it is virtually impossible to nail anything down based on that fact alone.

At some point in the 1870s, the Carlisle family left Utah and moved to Nebraska. Why? It is most likely the case that the family became disenchanted with the LDS church and joined the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. the RLDS Church had a branch in Nebraska City, Nebraska, where the Carlisles stayed.

Evidence to support this is as follows: 1) The Carlisles' young son John is on record as joining the RLDS church in Salt Lake City; 2) A small portrait of Joseph Smith III, the first president of the RLDS Church, was found later among the family possessions in a nice gold frame and case; and 3) Elder James Little, an LDS missionary to Nebraska, wrote an account of finding the Carlisle family in Nebraska City and of baptizing several of the children. Shortly after those events, the family moved back to Utah.

As was mentioned above, several researchers have contributed to the knowledge we have about this family. Some have been kind enough to share their notes with me. Here are some of those:

• The James Little account (edited)
• Rough notes on John E. Carlisle
• Kewleys in Ohio
• Letter from John E. Carlisle to his mother
• The Carlisles in Nebraska City, Nebraska, 1869-1876, by Howard Carlisle

If you have any information to contribute toward any of these topics, please contact me.