CYRUS M. KELLY, one of the
sterling old pioneers of Wood County, is engaged in general
farming on section 20, Freedom Township. In his early
years he experienced all the vicissitudes of pioneer life,
and distinctly remembers when Indians and wild game were
numerous. On one occasion his father stood in the cabin door
and shot two deer which had ventured near. He never
attended school a day until he was fourteen years of age,
there being no schools previous to that time in the township
where he lived. A subscription school was later
started, adn teh pupils received advantages of the most
meager description, but which were certainly better than
none.
The parents of our subject were Isaac and Eliza J. (Ennas)
Kelly, natives of Pennsylvania and Delaware,
respectively, and the former of Irish descent. They
had seven children: Alfred, Nancy L., Newton I.,
Cyrus M., Eliza, Caroline and Martha. In
1825 they emigrated by team from Wayne County, Ohio, to this
county, and the trip from Fremont to Perry Consumed four
days, as they were obliged to cut their way through the
woods. Mr. Kelly took up one hundred and sixty
acres on section 19, Perry Township, in the midst of a dense
forest. This land he had entered the previous fall,
and on it had put a log cabin 18x20 feet in dimensions.
He cleared about eighty acres of the land and sold out his
interest in the place in 1851, having taken the western
fever; and, believing that he could do better in some other
section, with his family and household effects he started
with three teams and proceeded on his travels through
Indiana, Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin. He was
disappointed in those state, and in 1852 returned to this
county and bought one hundred and sixty acres on section 20,
Freedom Township. On this homestead be died in 1877,
at the age of eighty-four years, and his remains were buried
in Milgrove Cemetery. He was one of the very first
settlers in Perry Township, and helped to organize the first
school in it; he also assisted in laying out the first road
in the township, prior to which time there were nothing but
Indian trails. He was obliged to go by ox-teams to
Fremont when he wished to have grain ground, and the journey
required from three to four days. He was a faithful
member of the Presbyterian Church, and was loved by all who
knew him.
Cyrus M. Kelly was born in Wayne County, Ohio,
Nov. 4, 1822, and grew to manhood in Perry Township, this
county, whither his parents had removed when he was only
three years of age. Prior to his father's death he
purchased the eighty acres which are still in his
possession, and on which he yet makes his abode. Most
of the improvements on the place stand as a result of his
industry and good management.
In 1847 Mr. Kelly married Eleanor Adams,
by whom he had four children, namely: Viola V., who
died in infancy; Eliza J., who died in 1878;
Assher C., of Dandridge; and John C., of
Michigan. Mrs. Kelly died in 1865, and in 1868
our subject married his present wife, whose maiden name was
Luceba A. Sanders She was born in Freedom
Township, Sept. 23, 1845, and by her marriage has become the
mother of one child, Annette E., who married
Freeman E. Long, and has three children, Ada L., Veo
and Orrin H.
July 11, 1861, Cyrus M. Kelly enlisted as a
Corporal in Company I, Second Heavy Artillery of Ohio, but
served throughout the war as a private, being discharged in
November, 1865. His first engagement was near
Strawberry Plains, after which he took part in the battle of
Bull's Gap, Ala., and other minor engagements. His
service extended into Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama, and
he was fortunate in never being wounded or taken prisoner.
Of late years he has been a member of the Grand Army of the
Republic. Religiously he adheres to the faith of his
fathers, and is an active member of the Presbyterian Church.
( Source: Portrait & Biological Record of City of Toledo &
Lucas & Wood Counties, Ohio - 1895) |
