Kaptain Kellie's Kolumn
By KATIE WALDROP Staff Writer

CAPTAIN EDWARD IRWIN KELLIE (1845 - 1928)

Captain Edward Irwin Kellie, born in Charleston, SC, March 17, 1845, soldier of the Confederacy, founder of the first Jasper County Fair, of the South Texas State Fair at Beaumont, of Jasper's first Chamber of Commerce, of the Beaumont 50,000 Club, of the Jefferson Davis Rifles (Jasper's first militia company) and The Jasper Newsboy.

E.I. Kellie was a New Orleans newsboy who came to Texas in 1859 at 16 years old to "punch cattle." Kellie's parents had died three years before to yellow fever. He landed in Galveston, but there were not any cows there so he asked the editor of the newspaper if he could be his "devil."

He got the job where he learned to stick type and other foundations that allowed him, later on, to run the Jasper Newsboy. He worked for the Sabine Times until 1860.

During Kellie's war years he experienced different situations. One was his famous 'ghost story' when returning from escorting a wounded comrade to his home in Cuthbert, GA, 150 miles below Atlanta.

On his way back alone Kellie feared that he would be arrested by the southern troops who occupied the towns he passed through. Yet he met a Texas lieutenant, whom he knew.

When they were a few miles below Atlanta they found lodging at a farm house, the host welcomed them.

There was a group of people there and Kellie didn't understand why, but the host gave them supper and place to sleep so he didn't think too much of it.

Kellie was assigned upstairs to sleep and he entered the room he believed to be his, but a man was already in the bed.

Kellie decided not to disturb him, figuring he might be a tired soldier as well, so he quietly undressed and crawled into bed with the man.

The man was in the middle of the bed, which didn't leave Kellie much room for himself, so he asked him to move over. He touched him. The man was dead.

Kellie felt fear clench him and at that moment a man and woman entered the room.

The woman screamed and the pair took off down the stairs. Obviously the gathering of people at the house was there for the dead man.

Kellie jumped up and ran to an adjoining room in the house. Within a few minutes he and the lieutenant saddled their horses and were on their way to Atlanta.

When Kellie told the story to the lieutenant they both rolled from his horse with laughter.

When Kellie returned home from the war, marching down Jasper's Main Street with the rest of his troop, a young widow noticed him. Sara Brown Norsworthy felt sorry for him, seeing that no one acknowledged him, and walked to Kellie and spoke a few kind words to him. He replied, "I'm going to marry you." And he did. They had one daughter and two sons.

When Norsworthy passed Kellie remarried to Martha Mattie Brown, Norsworthy's sister. Brown and Kellie had four daughters.

After fighting in the Civil War, he set up shop in Jasper with an old hand press used for pre-war papers, East Texas Clarion and East Texian.

Capt. Kellie made a vow when he started the Newsboy in July 1865, "We bend our knee to none but God."

When Kellie began the paper there were difficulties, just as any other business. But he made sure his paper was distributed. One time the paper was printed on wrapping paper because that was all he had to print on.

"His paper was one of the most fearless and widely quoted newspapers of the reconstruction period," Jasper Newsboy, Jan. 10, 1985.

"At one time, angered beyond control by Kellie's exposure of oppressions of the local carpet-bag officials, the captain was arrested, and lacking a jail, he was tied to a tree on the courthouse lawn. It was said that officials had planned to lash him severely, but later relented, and he was released."

When Kellie died in 1928 he had his daughter place his cherished Confederate flag in his casket.

Even when a Galveston historian pleaded with her to preserve the flag she did not give in. Kellie was buried with the flag next to his body.

"The Jasper Newsboy is the oldest continually published weekly newspaper in the state," said historical society sources. This month is the Newsboy's 142nd anniversary.