Kellar's of Strasburg, Virginia - 1760's
Michael Kellar, Sr. was probably born in Augusta Co., Virginia about 1760 and his wife Catharine "Jenny" Monroe, the daughter of Thomas and Catharine Hore Monroe, was born in Westmoreland Co., Virginia. Both he and Catharine died in the state of Virginia, their exact location unknown. Michael Kellar, Sr. is listed as a Patriot in the American Revolution (membership # 585507 in the DAR Society, although some people question that this is our Michael Kellar). Michael and Catharine had nine children. Some of these children settled in Strasburg, which is located in the Shenandoah Valley.
It is believed that the Kellar family originated from Switzerland. The name Kellar changes back and forth from the spelling Kellar or Keller. It also changes between family members or on documents of the same time period.
Lloyd Kellar and Leanna Florida Tilton's children were the only Kellar's that didn't know about the Swiss connection. They were under the assumption that the Kellar name was Scottish. This probably occurred because the Kellar's lived in the Scotch-Irish communities in Virginia and in Ohio. I believe the legend began with Lloyd Kellar's mother, Elizabeth "Betsey" Phipps. Her mother was from Ireland and was the family member with the Scotch-Irish ties.
Michael Kellar, Sr had several children, my line is their son, Michael Kellar, Jr. When Michael Jr. grew up he married Nancy Dyer. After the birth of their first son they left the Shenandoah Valley and moved to Noble County, Ohio. This was most likely done to escape the French Indian Wars. Together they had nine children and their eldest son, Henry Kellar is our direct line.
Henry Kellar grew up in Ohio and married Elizabeth Phipps. They had seven children, the second born, Lloyd Kellar, is our direct line.
Lloyd married Leanna Tilton and they had nine children, of those nine, most moved out west to Oregon and Washington. Arthur and Lettie stayed in the mid-west, and two died at birth. Leanna Tilton comes from a long line that can be traced to Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard and then even further back to the 1500's in England.
The Kellar's were known for their living off the land and raising hounds. Second cousin Earl Kellar of Scappoose, Oregon, told of the time Lloyd sold a dog somewhere in the southern states and then he took the train back to Wisconsin. That darn dog traveled for several days, crossing many states until he reached home in Viroqua, Wisconsin.
I recommend that you read the book, Michael Kellar and Catharine Monroe of Fairfax County, Virginia 1760-2002, written by Susan Kellar Ratcliffe and published in 2002, by the Gateway Press Inc. in Baltimore, Maryland. There are stories by distant relatives that are an interesting read. One of our distant relatives, John Francis Keller (ar) was a guard for President Lincoln, and several Kellar's served on both sides of the Civil War.
