![]() ![]() The young boy was "practically mute" and could "speak only to utter brief exclamations." Roger later said in an interview: "I have not completely lost my speech as you will observe but it is a tedious process and I have practically abandoned it because I have forgotten how to pronounce some words and my active vocabulary of course has not increased." He referred to himself as a "deaf-mute" instead of using the term "dumb" to describe his lack of verbal speech. I became stone deaf." Roger was still able to feel sound vibrations and always enjoyed singing along to hymns in church. He said decades later that, "I wished to be happy again and play like other children and though I did not complain I was rebellious.For about a year, I suppose it was, I was just hard of hearing and though I was treated by specialists the treatment did not avail. He remembered, "the terror and horrible mental effect of supposing that I would never see again." Over the next year, he lost his hearing and ability to speak. He initially became blind but did recover his vision (he later lost vision in his left eye following a football injury). His grandfather, John O'Kelly, was for many years the proprietor of a large livery establishment in Raleigh and he is nearly related to negro people of pronounced thrift, intelligence, and character." Is this actually true? I have not found any evidence either way.Īt the age of nine, Roger became severely ill with scarlet fever (sound familiar?). In a 1927 article, it reported that, "O'Kelly's ancestors were highly intelligent and respected members of the negro race. With her second husband, she had a daughter, Gladys (1894). She had three other children after Roger with her first husband: William (1885), John, and Charles (1887). His mother married his stepfather, Charles Cardwell, in 1892. All of the following information I pieced together from census records. He was born to Joanna and Charles O'Kelly (both born enslaved in South Carolina). Roger Demosthenes (deh-MOSS-theh-neez, named for the Ancient Greek orator) O'Kelly was born in Raleigh, North Carolina on October 25, 1880. Luckily, they did cite a couple primary sources, so I got to spend time going through old newspapers and census records, which I actually find quite fun! The Wikipedia article is very short and poorly researched, and unfortunately I could not find many articles online that provided more information. Here's a sneak peek into my research process: I usually get a handle on the basics of the person's life story through Wikipedia, then go to Google for the detailed information and primary sources (meaning accounts written about them during their lifetime).
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