None
1850 Western Division of Pickens District SC census
page 422a line 27 SHARPE John age 45 born NC School Master
page 422a line 28 SHARPE Catherine age 44 born SC
page 422a line 29 SHARPE Francis age 20 born SC Farmer
page 422a line 30 SHARPE Alexander W. age 21 born SC Farmer
page 422a line 31 SHARPE Ciscero age 18 born SC Farmer / school
page 422a line 32 SHARPE Catherine age 16 born SC attended school
page 422a line 33 SHARPE Van Buren age 14 born SC attended school
page 422a line 34 SHARPE Christopher C. age 13 born SC attended school
page 422a line 35 SHARPE Joseph M. age 12 born SC attended school
page 422a line 36 SHARPE Independence age 10 born SC attended school
page 422a line 37 SHARPE Celina age 9 born SC attended school
page 422a line 38 SHARPE Ovaline age 8 born SC attended school
page 422a line 39 SHARPE Louisa age 5 born SC attended school
page 422a line 40 SHARPE Winfield age 2 born SC
page 422a line 41 SHARPE Augustus age 22 born SC Farmer
1860 Pickens County SC census
page 40b line 10 SHARPE John age 55 born NC
page 40b line 11 SHARPE Catharine D. age 55 born SC
page 40b line 12 SHARPE Jos M. F. age 21 born SC
page 40b line 13 SHARPE Independence age 18 born SC
page 40b line 14 SHARPE Sarah S. age 17 born SC
page 40b line 15 SHARPE Barbary O. C. age15 born SC
page 40b line 16 SHARPE Mary L. age 14 born SC
page 40b line 17 SHARPE Winfield K. age 12 born SC
1870 Oconee County SC census
page 114a
27 189 209 Sharpe John 64 M W Farmer 200 300 No. Carolina . X
28 189 209 Sharpe Catharine 60 F W keeping house . . So. Carolina . .
29 189 209 Sharpe C. C. 26 F W At home . . So. Carolina . .
30 189 209 Kelly Anetta 14 F W At home . . So. Carolina . .
31 189 209 Kelly R. M. 12 M W At home . . So. Carolina . X X
32 189 209 Kelly T. M. 10 M W At home . . So. Carolina X X
33 189 209 Kelly W. B. 8 M W At home . . So. Carolina . .
34 189 209 Kelly J. E. S. 6 M W At home . . So. Carolina . .
1880 Oconee County SC census CENSUS YEAR: 1880 STATE: SC COUNTY: Oconee TOWNSHIP: Wagner Township
291C 3 120 31 . 286 293 Sharp John W M 74 . . . x . . Farmer . . . . . . . . . . SC SC ** .
291C 4 120 31 . 286 293 Sharp Catharine D. W F 74 . Wife . x . . Keeping House . . . . . . . . . . SC SC ** .
291C 5 120 31 . 286 293 Sharp Ovaline C. W F 31 . Daughter x . . . at home . . . . . . . . . . SC SC ** .
291C 6 120 31 . 286 293 Kelley Robert M. W M 22 . Grand Son x . . . Works on Farm . . . . . x . . . . SC SC ** .
291C 7 120 31 . 286 293 Kelley Thomas M. W M 20 . Grandson x . . . Works on Farm . . . . . . . . . . SC SC ** .
291C 8 120 31 . 286 293 Kelley Burgess W. W M 18 . Grandson x . . . Works on Farm . . . . . . . x . . SC SC ** .
291C 9 120 31 . 286 293 Kelley Edwin W M 16 . Grandson x . . . Works on Farm . . . . . . . . . . SC SC **
Occupation: farmer
Religion: Presbyterian
From The Sharps of The Carolinas And Georgia by Neill W. Macaulay, Jr.
John and Catherine White Sharp built their home on land obtained from her father. In his will Alexander White gave to his daughter Catherine Sharp, “that receipt that John Sharp gave for the land I let him have”. The house stood about two miles from Bethel Presbyterian Church towards Walhalla and about one mile from Picket Post. John became the leader in his community where his farm was a model of productivity. He was a skilled mechanic and would fashion his plows and other farm implements after his own ideas and in his own equipped shop. His ingenuity in designing improved farming implements was shared by his neighbors and many would come to him for advice. In later years he found that his inventions or improvements, none of which had been patented, had been patented by people who had no part in their designing but who exploited him by obtaining patents and thereby capitalized upon his ideas. In addition to his farming interests he was the community dentist, having made his instruments at his own forge from wrought iron. He had no formal training in this line but read all material available upon the subject and was considered goof for those days. In sparsely settled areas this was common as someone had to relieve suffering, or cause it.
Together, he and Catherine achieved success due to faith, strength of character and hard work. In the church he was equally diligent and the neighbors described him “as a powerful hard man”. Because of his personality, piety and prosperity he was admired and respected. Early in life he was elected an Elder in Bethel Presbyterian Church and was thereafter known in the area as Elder Sharp. He presided over the congregation much as he did over his own large family at home in stern fashion unknown today. For this he received the respect of all.
The Bible and the Blue Back Speller were the most prominent books in the household of Elder John Sharp, according to the Rev. Earl Cline, a great grand-son. Children and grand-children who lived with him were well versed in the teachings of the Bible and the Presbyterian Catechisms. Those who excelled in this knowledge were given books as prizes. The Blue Back Speller with its maxims was also studied and its rules of conduct along with the A, B, C’s were put into use in daily living. From those books the family learned to enjoy reading of other books and the quest for knowledge grew with an appreciation for education.
Catherine and John Sharp were the parents of fourteen children, thirteen of whom reached mature years. They also reared five grand-children, the children of Catherine Lovely Sharp and James J. Kelley. They both died only a few months apart. James J. Kelley gave his life in defense of Ft. Sumter dying of wounds in 1964, his wife dying December 6, 1864 leaving the five orphans, the youngest being about three months of age. Edwina Kelley Wilson has passed on the following reminiscences from her father, James Edwin Sharp Kelley, one of the grandchildren: “My father was only three months old when his grand-parents took him. When he began walking if either of them sat down, he immediately crawled up in their lap. Consequently, his pet name was “Little Lap Dog”. When he was about five years old, he and grandfather were out in a field near their house. The little boy spied an apple tree loaded with red apples across the way. Of course he wanted an apple, but the tree happened to be on a neighbor’s land. His grandfather sat down on the fence and took the little boy in his lap and explained to him in a wonderful kind way, but a very firm way, the meaning of honesty and why he could not pull a single apple from the tree. A wonderful lesson in honesty and one that Edwin Kelley never forgot and passed it on to his children.