I'll Never Earn an Honest Living

By Kris DayVincent

 

Lawrence Kelly, also known as Smuggler Kelly “King of the Smugglers” was my mother’s father’s mother’s father—my great-great grandpa. He smuggled opium and Chinese people from Victoria and Vancouver to the mainland of the U.S. He never made apologies for his line of work. He had fought as a Confederate soldier in the Civil War and after the war vowed “I’ll never earn an honest living under the Stars and Stripes!”
He smuggled from 1865 until he retired in 1911 and was known for his skill at the helm of a sailboat. Acquainted with most of the jails in Washington State, he was also known for the many times he was caught.
A year ago we ran an article on him featuring a photo which was purported to be of him. This photo was mislabeled, it was probably of the other Smuggler Kelly—“Pig Iron” or Jim Kelly. These two men were continually confused with each other and as criminals they most likely capitalized on this confusion.
Lawrence Kelly was probably born in Ireland though some of his prison intake papers say “New York.” Possibly he lied about his beginnings because he was afraid his criminal ways would lead to deportation. He married Lizzie Cootes in 1878 and the family lived on Sinclair Island near Anacortes. She was from the Musqueam band of native people who live at the mouth of the Fraser River. Her father was C.J. Cootes, Sheriff of Whatcom County in the late 1860’s and early 1870’s.
Lawrence and Lizzie Kelly had a tumultuous relationship, not helped by Lawrence’s frequent visits to various jails. When the final break-up occurred, Lizzie and her children moved to Anacortes and then on to the Tulalip reservation. Lizzie later married Thomas Biggerstaff and died in Marietta on the Lummi reservation in 1926. Lawrence was supposed to have moved to Louisiana to an old Confederate soldier’s home in 1912 but no record of him has ever been found.