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Source: "Memoirs of Georgia", Historical and Biographical Sketches, by S Emmett Lucas Jr, published in 1896.

Judge Joe W. Kelley, residing at Buchanan, Haralson Co., Ga., is the son of William L. and Frances C. Kelley. He was born

 in Polk county, at Wilson Springs, Ga.,  July 16, 1856. His father was born in Tennessee, Oct. I5, 1833, and was brought to

Forsyth county, Ga., in his infancy, where he was reared until he was eighteen years old, and then moved to Polk county,

 Ga. His grandfather, William Kelley, was a native of South Carolina, but migrated to Forsyth county, Ga., where he lived

several years. While on his way to the west he died in Tennessee. The progenitor of the American branch of this family

was William Kelley, born in Ireland. The grandmother of judge Kelley was a Miss Millie Heath, of Scotch descent, and his

mother was Frances C., daughter of Joseph H. Hobbs and Peggie (Summerlin) Hobbs. She was born April 3, 1830, in

Cherokee (now Haralson) county, Ga., and was of Scotch-Irish ancestry. Judge Kelley's father was a gallant soldier of the

Ninth Georgia battalion of artillery and was in the battles of the western army to the burning of Atlanta. After the war he

 returned to Haralson county, to his wife and children, renting land to cultivate the first year. It is worth while telling as part
of the history of the times that when this soldier-father returned to his home, he and his eldest son, commonly called Buck,

 whose full name is Joseph William Andrew Jackson Kelley, made the crop, with only, the food which the grass fields

 furnished, the young lad holding the horse to graze, and also taking his part at the hoe. The second year the family

moved to forty-acre lot in the woods, which the thrifty mother had bought from her father during the war, and building a

 house and making a clearing, cultivated it for a living. Thus it appears that Judge Kelley was a worker from his youth.

Sometimes he hired out as a farm hand to help his father to keep out of debt and to pay for more land which the family

now owns, and he labored for his father until reaching manhood. He only had the advantage of about nine months’ schooling

 at the common country summer schools until he was twenty-one years of age. At the age of twenty-two he began teaching

school himself, which he continued for several years. In the meantime (Dec. 16, 1879) he married Miss Lydia J. Hitt,
daughter of Allen R. Hitt and Elizabeth (Le Grand) Hitt. His wife's mother was a daughter of Thomas Harrison, of South

Carolina, and was related to Gen. William L Harrison. For the first few years judge Kelley improved a farm and taught school

from three to eight months each year. After two years in school at Buchanan he again taught school, making himself

competent to discharge the duties of the position to which he was called in 1889. As a proof of esteem he was elected tax

collector of Haralson county, in 1889, and havin- given faithful services for two years, was re-elected in 1891, and on the

 expiration of his second term in 1893 the people of his county, who saw his worth, elected him to the highly important office

 of ordinary, in which position he is now serving acceptably to the people. As may be seen, judge Kelley is popular and

held in high esteem by his community. It is gratifying to know that a gentleman says of him that as ordinary of Haralson

 county he has done more good work than all of his predecessors for forty years.  He has interested himself very greatly in the improvement of his county without material increase of its taxes. The public roads have been very much improved through

his orders; the first iron bridge was built-two completed and another under construction, all spanning the Tallapoosa river,

furnishing accommodation in travel to large numbers of citizens. His administration has been a great benefit to his county.

 Judge and Mrs. Kelley have a family of six children: Winifred C., Louella F., Howell Tilden, Flora Lee, Murdock Cleveland,
Bertie Americus. Judge Kelley is a master Mason and Mrs. Kelley is a member of the Primitive Baptist church.

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