Col. William B. Kelly, the fourth son of Samuel, and grandson of Darby, was born in Exeter in 1769. He came to New Hampshire with his father when he was six years old. He had 11 children, of whom six were sons. He was the first postmaster of New Hampton. The mails were distributed from his house before 1800. He was a member of the state Legislature, and one of the two founders of the New Hampton Academy, which was first opened in 1822. It is written of him that “he inherited the military spirit of his ancestors, and transmitted it to his posterity,” as will be seen by the prominent part taken by some of them in the Civil War. His children became widely separated, their descendants now dwelling in almost every state in the Union. Maj.-Gen. Benjamin F. Kelly, son of Col. William S. Kelly, and great-grandson of Darby Kelly, was born in New Hampton in 1807. When a young man he moved to West Virginia, and was residing there when the first gun was fired on Sumter. It is claimed for him that he raised the first Union regiment and won the first Union victory south of Mason and Dixon’s line. He was commissioned colonel of his regiment on May 25, 1861. His first service was under General McClellan, in West Virginia, and under his direction Colonel Kelly assumed command of all the troops then in that part of the state. He won his first victory at Grafton, where he defeated a Confederate force under command of Colonel Porterfield. On this occasion, in addition to his own regiment, he had command of the Sixteenth Ohio and the Ninth Indiana regiments. The enemy was completely routed and large quantities of arms and ammunition fell into Colonel Kelly’s hands. Kelly was badly wounded. At first it was supposed mortally. For his conduct here he was congratulated by Generals Morris and McClellan. Both complimented him for his brilliant and efficient service. McClellan recommended him for promotion to the rank of brigadier-general. The request was complied with. He was also complimented for his valor and skill at Romney in October, 1861, by President Lincoln, General Scott, and Gen. E. D. Townsend, the assistant adjutant-general of the United States army. Thus were honors showered unlimited on the head of the grandson of the modest colonial Crown Point soldier, Darby Kelly, who was with Sir William Johnson at Fort William Henry a little more than a century before.