John Kelly was born on 25 August 1813 and died on 10 April 1872. From a family of 15 children, he left England on 24 January 1839 on the Lady Bute and arrived in Adelaide on 18 June 1839. His eldest child, Mary Kelly, married Alexander Malcolm on 20 October 1840. Alexander Malcolm was born on 25 November 1818 at  Stirling in Scotland. Their son, William Malcolm was born on 31 July 1841. William Malcolm became a miller at Gawler, South Australia.

John's letter, to his family in Glasgow, describes South Australian conditions and mentions the needs of intending settlers eg furniture, lamps, tools, carts, clothing, building materials, and extra provisions for the voyage.

This is an example of a 'crossed letter' that has one set of writing over the other at right angles. This was quite common during the 19th century as a way to save on postage charges and to save paper.

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