What were some of the specific offenses of Andy Kelsey, Ben Kelsey and Sam Kelsey?

Andy Kelsey: And they were terribly cruel. Andy Kelsey tied an indian boy to a wild horse, with his feet roped together under the horse's belly. Then he made the horse run away, and the boy was dragged to death. The Indian women never forgave that.

Ben Kelsey: ... had a man arrested and sentenced to 100 lashes for looking askance at his wife. "After this punishment, on the same day, we are informed, Kelsey sought the wretched offender and laid him dead at his feet, shooting him in the presence of several gentleman, who remonstrated with him on the barbarity of the deed."

Sam Kelsey: Some twenty roving hot-headed democratic young men, shouldered their rifles, and with the Kelseys departed for Napa Valley, where, on the farm of a Mr. Fowler, they found a number of Indians who had hired themselves to Mr. Fowler for the summer. With heroic bravery and more whisky, they leveled their rifles, and soon stretched fifteen unarmed, peaceable Indians dead at their feet, burnt their huts, and departed for Santa Rosa to repeat their deeds of daring.


The offenses of the Kelseys, and the repercussions, are described in many of our supporting documents, particularly our Short and Long Histories.

Will the name change bring healing to the Tribes of Lake County?

Flaman C. McCloud Jr Chairman of Big Valley: The town of Kelseyville bears the name of Andrew Kelsey, a figure associated with the suffering endured by the Pomo people during the 1800s. This name serves as a painful reminder of a time when our ancestors faced unimaginable hardships. By voting YES to change the name, we can begin a healing process that unites our communities. It's a step towards fostering an environment of love, forgiveness, and growth for both current and future generations, showing that Lake County is a place where we honor and respect the history and the people who have shaped it.

Moke Simon Lake County Supervisor and Chairman of Twin Pines: Would the name change help start with the healing? ... [If] This name change happens. .. It will start the healing, whether you believe it or not, for the indigenous people in this community. It's a pure, pure yes to that question ... So yes, this name change would start the process and it's going to be a long one, but it's a .. .it would absolutely start that healing that needs to happen for the Indigenous 7 nations in this county.

The beautiful and thriving town of Kelseyville, sitting at the base of Mt. Konocti, is currently named after a brutal man.

Andy Kelsey — with his brothers and his partner Charles Stone — enslaved, starved, abused, raped, tortured and murdered the Pomos living under their control. In 1849, the Pomo held a tribal court and decided to execute Kelsey and Stone.

In revenge for their deaths, brothers Ben and Sam Kelsey and their posse stormed Napa and Sonoma Counties indiscriminately killing Pomos. They were followed in 1850 by the cavalry, with orders to "exterminate, if possible, the tribe", which they almost did, at Bloody Island. The Pomos have not forgotten the Kelseys or the repercussions which continue to affect them. 

The commemoration in the town name of these brutal men is offensive to all the local tribes and to many residents throughout the County.

The offensiveness of the name has been discussed in the press since at least 1985, and in 2006 Clayton Duncan of Robinson Rancheria succeeded in his campaign "I am not your mascot" to change the schools team name. He also started to campaign for a change in the town name: almost equal numbers of Lake County residents signed online petitions for and against a name change.

In 2020 a Kelseyville resident decided to reactivate the idea. Citizens For Healing therefore formed as an intentionally NON-organized group. C4H started to investigate the possibility of a name change.

During our first year (2020-2021) we held monthly organizational meetings in Kelseyville's Pioneer park, at which we were advised by a Tribal Cultural Director, and by two Tribal Historical Preservation Officers (THIPOs -- who each held the position for multiple tribes.)

As an example of our early involvement with Natives, KQED reported on the 2021 Bloody Island Healing Ceremony and on C4H's hopes to change the name.

C4H's minutes for March 2021 indicate that both Ron Montez and Robert Geary were present when the name "Konocti" was proposed. We eventually adopted the name "Konocti" as a gesture to acknowledge the wrongs done to the original inhabitants of Lake County. THIPO Robert Geary discusses the name Konocti in a January 2021 KPFZ interview: KPFZ Robert Geary.

We created a web page (initially c4h.club) and an open mailing list, c4h@groups.io. We encouraged opponents to join the list, as long as they engaged us respectfully.

In September 2021 one of the advisory Tribal Officers Ron Montez Sr reported: "I have contacted each tribe in Lake County for their approval to change the name of the town Kelseyville to the name of Konocti and the 7 tribes are unanimously in favor of the name change to Konocti."

At that stage we were informed by the Registrar of Voters that a name change would require a county-wide ballot. It was only at this stage that we adopted the proposed name "Konocti". We prepared a public information campaign, and held a series of public meetings around the lake. The initial meeting was featured on the front page of the Press Democrat and of the Lakeport Record Bee. Prominent opponents were interviewed in those articles.

The Kelseyville Business Association immediately held an advisory poll of its members, many of whom abstained, and the results were "close". The KBA immediately formed a "Save The Name" subcommittee with the sole purpose of opposing a name change.

Many of our round-the-county meetings were attended by opponents to the change. We solicited suggestions for other names, but were told adamantly that it would be "Kelseyville for Ever".

Two of our meetings were held in Tribal Halls — Habematolel and Elem — at which many Natives spoke in support of the change. Several speakers said this was the first time they'd been "invited to the table". “It’s still an open wound that’s not been healed. We are a hurting people. We've wanted to change the name way before [anyone non-Native] thought of it,” 

In November 2022 — following a tip-off by a local , retired attorney — the Registrar of Voters informed us that the US Board on Geographic Names (BGN) has jurisdiction over the names of "unincorporated populated places", and that they will, on a case-by-case basis, change a name which is "offensive ... to a racial group".

We announced the change of venue from County Ballot to BGN Application on our web page in January 2023. This was not a "back door secret effort" to bypass local opinion, as some have suggested. (Letter by Peter Windrem) This was not done in secret: we posted our drafts for discussion as early as March 2023: Wayback Machine

Since the new name-change effort would now be done in writing, we spent almost a year preparing our application to the BGN, which we submitted in October 2023.

This coincided with the supervisor's primary election for District 5 (Kelseyville), in which renaming was a major issue - inlcuding the knowledge that it was BGN matter.

In June 2024 the Lake County Visioning Forum delivered its final report to the Board of Supervisors. The report identified the history of the county and the name of Kelseyville as factors, but - regarding the issue as outside of their brief - made no recommendations. Supervisor Green proposed establishing a Limited Time, Limited Purpose Committee to review the name change, but that received no support.

In July 2024 the BoS decided to hold an advisory ballot measure : "Shall the Board of Supervisors recommend approval of the proposal to change the name of the town of Kelseyville to Konocti". C4H believes the measure was deeply flawed in concept, timing, demographics and in detail. We prepared ballot arguments, but yielded that right to Mr Flaman McCloud, chairman of the Big Valley Ranchera. We decided to remain as an "issue advocacy" organization, and thus did not campaign on Measure U. The results were about 30% For and 70% Against. The demographics are highly skewed to Whites: fewer than 3% of voters are Native American. On December 10, 2024 the BoS decided 3-2 to recommend the change, and submitted a letter to the BGN.

In Feb 2025 the BoS considered sending a report to CACGN and BGN outlining the difficulties they had encountered in the process, but decided not to do so. In addition they instructed County staff to spend no more time on the name change. At that meeting the chairman of "Save Kelseyville" stated that they would not suggest any alternative new name.

C4H has continued to hold informational meetings on the renaming issue, including a "2nd annual Earthday Picnic" in Kelseyville.

Note: We distinguish between "Natives" (Indigenous peoples) and "Settlers" (everyone else) and generally mean Lake County, unless otherwise specified. By "Tribes" (capitalized) I mean the Federally recognized Tribes of Lake County. By "tribes" (un-capitalized) I refer to the original villages and peoples of Lake County.

The close involvement of C4H supporters with Lake County Natives (enrolled and un-enrolled) goes back decades.

For example, in 1995 Dallas Cook was a founder of KPFZ 88.1 FM, which established two radio shows with Native presenters -- Clayton Duncan, and James & Gail Brown Eagle.

Over the past twenty five years most of us have attended the Bloody Island sunrise healing ceremonies on a regular basis - led by Clayton Duncan and his brother Doug. These have almost always been followed - and in recent years proceeded - by social gatherings.

Some of our (present) members who are long-time Lake residents supported Clayton Duncan's campaign in 2006 to rename the high school mascot from "Indians" to "Knights". (Record Bee) Clayton also attempted to rename the town of Kelseyville, in 2009 (Record Bee) and in 2018. (Record Bee) For the latter, he was informed by the registrar of voters that it would be by county ballot. Incidentally, the new name "Konocti" was suggested at that time. An independent online petition suggesting a name based on Mount Konocti was launched in 2020. (KZYX)

In 2020 Lorna Sides and Dallas Cook started to talk about re-activating the name change process, with a slightly different tack. The old Settler name of Kelseyville would be changed by Settlers. In addition to Clayton Duncan, one of our early supporters and advisors was the late Thomas Leon Brown, then cultural director of Elem. He suggested the name "Citizens for Healing".

Incidentally, the concept of "healing" is not a new one. The governor of California established the Office of Truth and Healing. At the KVUSD "land acknowledgement" meeting the word healing was used fifteen times. When the ballot measure was passed, Moke Simon said "This name change happens, it will start the healing, whether you believe it or not, for the indigenous people in this community. It's a pure, pure yes to that question."

Starting in early 2021 we were advised by two Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (THPO's), Mr Robert Geary of Elem advised us on tribal names, and that different tribes have different names for the same place. He stressed the importance of getting permission both from the "donor" of the name, and those of the area receiving the name. (KPFZ)

Mr Montez of Big Valley participated in that meeting, and assisted us over several months. He is a member of the National Association of THPO's which states, with particular attention to renaming: "Typically, the best person to talk to when you reach out to a tribal nation is their tribal historic national preservation officer. These officers are in charge of information about cultural ties to certain places."

Mr Montez said that all THPO's of the Lake County Tribes met regularly, and that he would ask them to consult with their tribal authorities as to whether the proposed renaming was welcome:

According to the Press Democrat : "Ron Montez, an elder with the Big Valley Band of Pomo .. was instrumental in securing support to change the name of Kelseyville from all seven tribes around the Clear Lake."

Soon after that meeting we were invited to set up an information table at the community breakfast at the Robinson Rancheria dance grounds, after the 2021 Sunrise Ceremony. We received broad support, and no opposition. Incidentally, KQED reported on that year's ceremony, referenced our activities, and quoted Kevin Engle, one of our members.(KQED)

In this process we came to believe that the name "Kelseyville" is disrespectful to Natives, and that an attempt to change it would be welcomed by them. We therefore planned a round-the-lake educational program, which we anticipated would lead to a ballot measure.

Before we launched the campaign, Mr Montez emailed us in his official capacity:

Note that the chairman of Big Valley Rancheria during the early years of our activity was the late Phil Gomez.

Our campaign kickoff at Big Valley Hall in April 2022 was attended by many Natives and Settlers. It was front-page news in the Press Democrat and Record Bee. We had only just adopted the proposed name Konocti.

The next several meetings, including Kelseyville, Lakeport and Lucerne were attended by supporters, opponents and those who came to find out about us. Many attendees signed an informal petition of support (submitted to the BGN). We had NO suggestions of a name other than "Konocti".

After our kick-of meeting, the next meeting with significant Tribal involvement was in Upper Lake, hosted by the Habematolel. This was set up by Mr Montez. Participants included at least two Natives who are now Chairmen or Vice-chairman of their tribal councils. In particular, the chairman of Robinson instructed his vice-chair, Supervisor EJ Crandell to attend.

Our collective notes indicate that nobody spoke against the proposal to change the name, nor the proposed name "Konocti".

The next meeting was held at Elem, presumably with senior tribal approval (I missed it, so have no notes).

We were then informed, at the Nov '22 meeting in Clearlake that the BGN has responsibility. Peter Windrem emphasized in a statement that this was not a "backdoor effort".LakeCoNews He officially informed county staff, who notified us. By the time we contacted the BGN our opposition had already filed an objection.

We announced this on our web page in Dec 2022: "This will be a business meeting, to discuss how to proceed now that the renaming would be done by the National Geographic Naming Committee, not by a Lake County Ballot." C4H Dec 2022

In one of our very first email communication with the BGN we ask:

We asked our tribal advisor to comment on some parts of our application. We filed our application with the BGN in Oct, 2023 -- over a year after we were informed of BGN's jurisdiction.

By the time our proposal was accepted and published in the BGN case file (January,2024) three Lake County Tribes had already sent letters of support:
Letter of Support from Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake (in which they specifically thanked us.)
CA_KONOCTI_HABEMATOLEL.PDF

Subsequently all Lake County Tribes and all National Tribes have submitted formal approvals to the BGN (NCA Resolution - adopted)

After the BoS decided to hold an advisory ballot, we met with Chairman McCloud of Big Valley. He subsequently requested that the Tribes write the argument for the change, which we welcomed. We also cooperated with him on items that should be in his rebuttal to the opponents - who, incidentally, filed no rebuttal to his argument.

With the possible exception of Supervisor Crandell —who eventually voted to support our proposal—no Native has publicly opposed the renaming, in meetings such as ours, KVUSD and BoS, in person or by email.


Support for the change was clearly expressed by (then) Supervisor and Tribal Chairman Moke Simon: Would the name change help start with the healing? ...   [If] This name change happens. .. It will start the healing, whether you believe it or not, for the indigenous people in this community. It's a pure, pure yes to that question ... So yes, this name change would start the process and it's going to be a long one, but it's a .. .it would absolutely start that healing that needs to happen for the Indigenous 7 nations in this county. 

This analysis is based in part on the BGN's "Q&A" of October, 2024, and our original rebuttal of Save Kelseyville's arguments to the BGN

As noted in the Q&A, the BGN's authority extends to Federal use only, and specifically excludes the USPS, The US Census, and even local usage.

A separate application has to be made to the USPS to change the name of the Post Office ("last line") for the ZIP code.

There are three alternatives:

1. The USPS can accept the new name, in this case, "Konocti".
2. The USPS can keep the old name "Kelseyville"
3. The USPS can remove the old name, but use a different new name such as "Big Valley"

According the USPS representatives on the BGN, the old and new names would most likely both be held simultaneously as "overlays": Both will be acceptable as a mailing address. An official of the California USPS confirmed that "No change of Address is Required".

The USPS gave guidance concerning another Zip code where an "Overlay" was implemented. No change of address is required. USPS Guide Some institutions may automatically update their databases and send bills to the new address,

A few businesses (with DMV or Alcohol licensees) may have to submit a simple change-of-address form. Passport holders do NOT need to file a change of address. Registered non-citizens (such as Green Card holders) should probably submit a change of address.

A subsidiary question is then: do both addresses (Konocti and Kelseyville) serve as a "physical street address."

The answer is less definite, but probably "yes".

To the best of our knowledge, No deed, rental, will or other document needs to be changed. The Lake County Assessor routinely handles parcels at "Clear Lake Beach" (now Lucerne). The Assessor is the ultimate arbiter of physical street addresses.

An internet source says: If you receive postal mail at your home, your residential address is a physical address and a mailing address.(https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/what-is-the-difference-between-a-physical-address-and-a-mailing-address)

Shipping Companies (UPS etc) mostly use the USPS database, and will accept either.

Mapping Companies (eg Google Maps) will probably switch to the official name, but queries to the old name will be automatically redirected. For example, "Sq*** Valley CA" is now shown as "Yokuts Valley CA".

No business or organization is required to change its name.

If they do change, they can continue their company registrations as "Kelseyville Diner", and just file a Fictitious Business Name of "Konocti Diner". No contracts of any kind need to be changed.

The most expensive single items are probably signage on buildings and vehicles. There are only about 6 state-maintained signs on Highway 29, and even fewer county signs. Aside from the school district there are only a handful of large, expensive signs.

There is no need to repaint vehicles bearing the Kelseyville name. Perhaps one could apply a sticker "Now Konocti". And on new vehicles, for a few years, a small "Previously Kelseyville" would not be offensive.

Many businesses in Kelseyville already use "Konocti" in their name.

The opposition claims that "The expenses for updating property titles, estate plans, business licenses, rental agreements, and other legal documents would be substantial.". But despite having a lawyer as a signatory for Measure U, and the full backing of the Kelseyville Business Association, they have quoted no legal basis for their claims, and no case studies of the costs to various types of local businesses.

A local minister, Clovice Lewis, has specifically addressed the emotional pain to ALL parties in his talk "What's In a Name". The emotional pain to Pomo of keeping the name was the subject of our meeting in Upper Lake. Some opponents of the change were there.

There are of course numerous Native names for the Big Valley area.

In his appeal for the Mexican land grant, Salvador Vallejo called the ranchero "Lup Yomi" ("Rock Village") and Kelsey Creek "Rio Lup Yomi", though it is not clear if that name was used contemporaneously.

American Pioneers and settlers called the area The Lake, Mister Kelsey's, Kelsey's House, Kelsey Creek and The Town of Kelsey. In legal documents it was usually Kelsey Creek Township or Kelsey. The post office was created as "Uncle Sam" in 1858. That was not used as the town name, although it did appear on maps.

Most historians agree that "Kelseyville" was named after Andrew Kelsey.

But "Save The Name" now claim that the town is not named after the evil Andy, but some later, presumably honorable, town founder. In a letter to the Record Bee, Save Kelseyville secretary Marilyn Holdenried says "The name Kelseyville is a name that was assigned to us in 1882 by the US Post Office.".

"Kelsey Creek" (the stream) appears in government records as early as 1863.

Extensive research shows that the name "Kelseyville" was first used in 1865, when there were only two families of Kelseys or Kelsays in the area: William Kelsay and "The Widow Kelsey". William Kelsay lobbied for naming the emerging town after his distant cousin.

Holdenried also says that "In 1882, this area of Kelseyville was not a legal district". But the "Town of Kelseyville" was established as an assesors district by a Lake County judge, on May 6, 1871.

The specific attribution of the town name to Andy Kelsey first appears in 1873. By that time the name "Kelseyville" was in almost universal local use.

In census records of 1860 the whole of the Lake (then in Napa county) was called "Clear Lake Township": In 1870 it was "Kelsey Creek Township" and by 1800 it was "Kelseyville".

Thus the change of the name of the Post Office from Uncle Sam to Kelseyville, was not the first stamp of official approval, but the belated recognition that local and official usage had changed.

A detailed rebuttal of the "Save Kelseyville" claims is in separate documents, https://citizensforhealing.org/stnk-knames.php and in Rerbuttal of Marilyn Holdenried letter to the Record Bee.

In Jan 2025 Lake County supervisor Helen Owens suggested that Kelsey Creek was named after an early trapper in Lake County, George Kelsey -- in the 1830's (even before Vallejo).

I found two candidates concerning "George", "Kelsey", "Trapper" and"Lake County":

• There was a George Kelsey, apparently the deceased husband of the "Widow Kelsey" Permelia, but he died in Missouri, in 1859 - before the Kelseys came to California.
  
  
• Another candidate is George Francis Wyman, who married America Kelsey, Andy Kelsey's sister: "When George first met America, he was a fur trapper. It was the next day after her father had died of smallpox [near Sutter's Fort]. He and his friend, Joseph Buzzell, had camped near the cabin where the Kelseys lived. They had ventured into California's interior, after hearing of the vast trapping opportunities, from Jedediah Smith." None of them are reported as having come to Lake County.

Yet another possibility is that Supervisor Owens' comments refer to a different Kelsey Creek. There IS a Kelsey Creek in Josephine County, Oregon (where America went to live with her blinded mother, Susan Cozzart), and another in Siskiyou County, CA. But the association with George Wyman and "Kelsey Creek" is muddy.

A related question is whether there were many trappers in Lake County. Palmer (p47) speculates that the Russians may have reached Clear Lake: Palmer (p46) identifies a group of hunters who built a cabin in Lake County ... But this is after Vallejo came to Lake County in about 1840:
In "Mountains and Pioneers of Lake County" Henry Mauldin Notes: Biographies of Greenwood do not mention such an excursion, as he was more active in the Sierras (though he lived in Lake County at the end of his life).

Of Young, Mauldin says (Lake County in the Beginning - probably also in the Mauldin files) and continues: In short: trapping in at least the main basin of Clear Lake was poor, there was no George Kelsey, and there were not enough trappers in the area to attribute the creek name of Kelsey Creek to the hypothetical George.

Of course, the Natives Americans in the area called Kelsey Creek "Hitch bidame", and Vallejo called it Rio de LupYomi.