|
From
the book "History of Johnson County Kansas" written in 1915. William J. Kelly, b1854 son of Alexander & Jane (Robinson) Kelly... Johnson County Kansas William J. Kelly, a well known and prosperous farmer of Olathe township, has been a resident of Johnson county since he was five years old. He was born in Boone county, Illinois, in 1854, and is a son of Alexander and Jane (Robinson) Kelly, natives of County Armah, Ireland. Both parents came to America when young and settled in Boone county, Illinois, where they were married. They were the parents of thirteen children, six of whom were born in Illinois, and seven in Johnson county, Kansas. The Kelly family came to Kansas in 1859 and the father, Alexander Kelly, worked at his trade, that of a stone mason, in OIathe for a time and, in 1860, moved onto a rented farm. A short time afterward he and his brother, William, bought a claim of 160 acres where his daughter, Mrs. Belie Shields, now resides. Alexander Kelly was one of the prominent pioneers of Johnson county and was always interested in the advancement and development of his adopted State. He was public-spirited and always took a prominent part in any movement for the upbuilding of Johnson county. He was one of the organizers and a charter member of the Grange and did a great deal to promote the development of that organization. He died December 31, 1903. William J. Kelly, whose name introduces this review, was reared and educated in Johnson county and has followed farming all his life and is one of the successful farmers and stock raisers of the county. Mr. Kelly was married in 1891 to Miss Hattie Millikan, a daughter of Branson Millikan, a native of Indiana and a pioneer of Johnson county. Mr. and Mrs. Kelly have two children, Edith, born January 11, I892, a student in the Kansas State Agricultural College, at Manhattan, and Mildred, born October 24, 1896. Mr. Kelly is a member of Lone Elm Grange and was initiated in 1883, and is a Republican, which was the political creed of his father. |
|
W.
H. Kelly, a leading business man of Edgerton, and a prominent factor in Johnson county,
is a member of one of the representative pioneer families of this section of the
State. His parents, William E. and Catherine Kelly, were natives of Ireland. They
were married at Middletown, Ohio, in March, 1857, and about that time came west,
locating at Elmwood, Ill. They remained there until 1870 when the family came to
Kansas and located on a farm in Gardner township. The father was a successful farmer
and at the time of his death owned 325 acres of land. In 1898, the parents left the
farm, which is still owned by members of the family, and removed to Olathe, where
the mother died in 1909, and about four months later the father passed away. William
E. Kelly and his wife were the parents of the following children: William H., the
subject of this sketch; Mrs. W. D. Hendrix; John D.; Thomas T.; Martin J.; Rev. Bernard
S.; Mrs. Ella Geer; Sister Marion; Joseph A.; Mrs. J. A. Marshall; Frank X.; Charles
M.; Edward E.; Mrs. William Sherr and one who died in infancy. Edward E. and Mrs.
Sherr are also deceased. W. H. Kelly was born in Peoria county, Illinois, April 25,
1858, and in February, 1870, came to Johnson county with his parents. He remained
on the home farm and received a good common school education, and then took a commercial
course in Spaulding's Business Gollege at Kansas City, Mo. In 1882 he entered the
employ of the Johnson County Co-operative Association, where he remained until 1884,
when he came to Edgerton in the employ of the G. U. Shaw Lumber Company, and remained
with that concern until 1888. At that time Mr. Kelly and W. H. Short purchased the
Phoenix Milling Company's mill at Edgerton, and that business was operated under
the firm name of Kelly & Short until the death of Mr. Short in 1890, when M.
J. Kelley [sic], a brother of W. H., purchased the W. H. Short interest in the business
and it was conducted by Kelly Brothers until January, 1907, when the plant was destroyed
by fire. M. J. Kelly then retired from the business, and W. H. rebuilt, and now the
business is conducted by him and his son, Ira. They are extensive buyers and shippers
of grain, field seeds and feed of all kinds, and in addition to their well equipped
elevator, they operate a corn mill and manufacture corn meal, corn chop, graham and
whole wheat flour, and also do custom feed grinding. They also operate what is known
among grain men as a shelling and cleaning house. This is especially equipped for
cleaning grain and shelling corn in "Transit." The plan is for shippers
to have their wheat and corn cleaned here, before shipping it to market and they
have a very extensive business of that character. During the season of 1914 they
cleaned about 100,000 bushels of grain which was in transit to the market. Mr. Kelly
was married to Miss Mary Hendrix, who died at Olathe in 1885. In 1887 he was married
to Miss Margaret I. O'Connell and the following children were born to this union:
Ira J., who was educated in the public schools and St. Mary's College, and is now
associated with his father in business. Maurine, a graduate of St. Mary's Academy
in the class of 1914 and Mary W., a senior at that institution. His oldest daughter,
Catherine, died in 1900, aged eight years; his youngest daughter, Mildred, died in
1902, aged one year, and their mother, also the mother of Ira, Maurine and Mary,
passed away in 1901. In 1907, Mr. Kelly was married to Miss Anna M. Shea, of Kansas
City, Mo. Mr. Kelly is a Republican and takes an active part in local politics and
in 1910 was the nominee of his party for county treasurer for Johnson county. |
..Back
to Home page................
Back
to "Special Listings" page
KELLY-CLAN Genealogy Home Page
Heraldic Hall / Irish
Book Store / Abernethy Handmade Frames
Beautiful "QUILTING" by Jeri / 1901
County Maps of Ireland
Contact Us-E-MAIL...
Copyright © 1998-2008 The KELLY-CLAN of County Armagh..
Village Clare Country Store - All Rights Reserved..