He worked as a preacher and teacher in Columbia, Tennessee and was a frequent participant in national Baptist Conventions.
Kelly saw the advantage of an education, and in secret gave candies to students who came to the house in exchange for a speller, a child's English textbook, and lessons.
On May 19, 1842, he was licensed to preach[2] from the Mission Baptist Church at Columbia,[1] and on October 1 of that year he was ordained by Rev.
While in England, it was recommended to him that he purchase not only his family's freedom, but also his own, so that he would not be captured under the Fugitive Slave Act.
[1] Free, Kelly moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he was a prominent leader in the local church and the national American Baptist Conventions.
[8] In 1845 along with Thomas T. Allen he became leader of the newly founded Second Baptist Church of New Bedford, Massachusetts which was dedicated in January of that year.
Allen served as the head pastor for three years, followed by William Jackson and then Cummings Bray.
That year, he preached at the American Convention of Colored Baptists in Boston[10] and served as its president.
[12] On May 10, 1864, he founded the Shiloh Baptist Church in Newport, Rhode Island in a house at 73 Levin Street owned by Esther Brinley.
[6] After about six years in the South, Kelly faced a dispute in the church over the use of alcohol, and in 1873 he returned to New England.