BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDIA AND PORTRAIT GALLERY - KELLY, WILLIAM D., pioneer iron master, farmer and banker, Ironton, was born in Lawrence county, Ohio, January 13, 1815. His father, Joseph Kelly, a native of Virginia emigrated to Ohio some twenty years previously and became an extensive landholder in Lawrence county, and also an extensive grazier and farmer. He was one of the first to embark in the iron business, and in 1822 became one of the company operating the Etna Furnace, the third furnace built in Lawrence county. He died in 1839, at the age of fifty-four. Our subject's educational facilities were exceedingly meagre, being limited to a nine months' attendance upon the district school of that day. The school-house was a cabin made of hewn logs, puncheon floor and greased paper windows. Until the age of twenty-one, he assisted his father in the work of the farm. He began for himself by buying a farm in his vicinity and continued adding thereto until he became owner of nearly twelve hundred acres of land, including the site of the greater portion of the present thriving city of Ironton. For about ten years he devoted himself exclusively to farming, and in this occupation was remarkably successful. His first venture in the iron business was in May, 1842, when he leased his father's interest in the Etna Furnace, and conducted the same with much success for about four years. In 1851, he leased the Lagrange Furnace and for four years managed it with profit. Previous to 1849 he became the principal owner of the extensive land now owned by the Ohio Iron and Coal Company, and the Ironton railroad at this point. He was also identified with the company in the enterprises of the Iron Railroad and Coal Company, and had original stock in these enterprises, and has been a director in the company from the first. Following the expiration of his lease at the Lagrange Furnace he opened a banking institution in Ironton, called the Exchange Bank. In connection therewirth he resumed farming and in both occupations he is still actively engaged. In 1857, his farm was awarded by the State board of agriculture the prize offered for the best improved farm in the State. In 1862, in connection with I. C. Dovel and George Irwin, he leased the Centre Furnace for five years, and at the expiration of his lease, purchased the furnace. In 1865, he leased and conducted the Hecla Furnace for four years with much success. In 1869, he built the Grant Furnace, in the ownership and management of which he has continued up to the present time. Politically, Mr. Kelly is a republican, but until the Van Buren campaign was identified with the democratic party. He mingled little in political contests, preferring to devote himself to business interests. In agricultural affairs he had taken a live interest, and has been for many years president of the agricultural society of Lawrence county. Under his management this society has been very prosperous and is to-day one of the best conducted agricultural societies in Ohio. He united in his youth with the Baptist church of Ironton, and still retains his membership with this denomination. On September 18th, 1838, he married Sarah Austin, of Lawrence county, Ohio, and has had six children, two sons living, Lindsey and Ironton A. Kelly. No man has been more prominently identified with the iron industry of Lawrence county than W. D. Kelly, and not only in developing the mineral resources of this section, but in the general growth and advancement of Ironton, he stands foremost. He is in the highest sense a self-made man. The large tract of land belonging to him from his father's estate was fraudulently kept from his possession, so that his success is due to his own efforts. Mr. Kelly has shown great shrewdness in his choice of business. Nothing which he has ever undertaken has been abandoned because it proved a failure, and he is to-day actively engaged in the successful prosecution of all enterprises, originated by himself. During his long business life, all departments have been under his exclusive control, and with the exception of his own sons, he has admitted no one to partnership. Prompt in all business engagements, honest and upright in all transactions, public-spirited as a citizen, he is rightly held in high esteem by his fellow citizens. Lindsey Kelly, the oldest son, was born in Lawrence county, Ohio, May 16th, 1841. He received his education in the public schools of Ironton, and upon reaching his majority became manager of Centre Furnace. In 1871 he removed to Ironton and has since been general manager of his father's iron works. In the fall of 1877 he was elected on the republican ticket to represent the eighth senatorial district, composed of the counties of Gallia, Meigs, Lawrence and Vinton, in the Ohio senate, and in 1879 was honored by a reelection to the same position. His services in that body have been characterized by a faithful discharge of duty which was ably rendered. He is a gentleman of dignified yet pleasing address, endowed with enterprise and ambition, and is one of the leading business men of Ironton. On October 8th, 1879, he married Nannie, daughter of Commodore Honshell, of the White Collar Packet Line of Cincinnati. Ironton A. Kelly was born April 8th, 1859, the evening previous to the laying out of the city of Ironton. He graduated at the Ironton high school when eighteen years of age, and soon thereafter became clerk in his father's employ, was made partner with his father in 1869, and has so continued to the present time. Since 1868 he has been financial secretary of the firm with his office at the bank in Ironton. He has been a member of the city council for four years past, and is now serving his third year as chairman of the finance committee. Upon the death of J. C. Dovel, in December, 1879, he was appointed to fill his place as treasurer of his township, and in the spring of 1880, was elected to the same position. May 11th, 1872, he married Mary Frances, daughter of the late W. W. Kirker, of Ironton and has two sons. With a quiet dignity of manner Mr. Kelly combines the elements of an agreeable, courteous gentleman, and is one of the most popular citizens of the community.

I.R. April 16, 1891 - The Sick - W. D. Kelly was seriously sick this week and on Monday afternoon the chances of recovery were against him, but he rallied, taking a turn for the better and is now sitting up, a serious attack of pneumonia had been warded off. I.R. Oct. 8, 1891 - WILLIAM D. KELLY. - PASSED TO THE OTHER SHORE. - AN ACCOUNT OF HIS LIFE AND DEATH. - Another of the old iron men has departed! William D. Kelly died at his home in Ironton last Friday afternoon the 2nd day of October, at 1 o'clock. He had been ill for several months. Last Winter, he had the grippe, which ran into pneumonia, sorely affecting his lungs. He would have frequent spells of suffocation and in one of these he died. He was out riding the day before his death. That night he had a severe spell and it came near killing him then, but in the morning he insisted on getting up and riding out, declaring the fresh air would revive him. He sat up on the side of his bed, put on his pantaloons, and attempted to stand but found he was too weak, so his son Ironton persuaded him to lie down which he did. It was the first time he had given up and did then, only when physical infirmity was too great. In four hours afterward, he died, sinking peacefully as if in sleep.

About the first of the century, Luke Kelly moved from Russell county, Va., to Ohio. He bought 500 acres of land at what is now known as Union landing. This tract he divided up among his five sons, Reuben, Joshua, Charles, Joseph and John Kelly, into tracts of 100 acres each running down the river in the order named. Rev. J. M. Kelly was a son of Joshua; the late General Kelly was a son of Charles; Samuel was a son of Reuben; Whitfield was a son of John, and William D., the subject of this sketch, was a son of Joseph. He was born on the farm, next below the well-known Gen. Kelly farm, January 13, 1815.

When William was about five years old, his father moved to where little Etna furnace now stands. It was then a wilderness, but Joseph Kelly was a great stock man and he went there to raise cattle. He bought a large tract of land. The hewed log house which he erected, is still standing. Afterward, Joseph Kelly sold to James Rodgers and others the tract of land, on which Etna was built in 1832, Mr. Kelly, (W. D.'s father) going into the company.

About 1835, W. D. Kelly, then being twenty years old, struck out for himself. His father sold him about 160 acres in the neighborhood of where the Kelly cemetery now is, and there William went, into the midst of the forest, built himself a log cabin, and went to housekeeping all by himself. He was a young man of energy and grit. He turned his attention to anything honorable to make money. He raised livestock, made maple sugar, felled the forests and sold the cordwood to the steamboats. In this way he accumulated quite a little sum of money.

On the 18th of September, 1838, Mr. Kelly married Miss Sarah Austin, who lived on the second farm below where he was born; and immediately moved down to his wife's land, where he built a two story frame house, which was quite a palace in those days. But he still kept his farming and wood-yard interests up here, where he came regularly, attended his stock, his farm and his wood, and then went home for Sunday. Rev. J. M. Kelly says he often heard W. D.'s horse clattering up the road before daylight and down long after night. Thus he pushed every enterprise, industriously.

One day while riding from his home to his farm, when near the old brick house, close to Goldcamp's mill, he saw a little crowd, and in the midst, John S. George, crying the sale of the old Judge John Davidson place. Mr. Kelly came up, bid the two-thirds, and took in the property. Peter Lionbarger, who owned the farm next above, and who lived in a log house, where B. F. Ellsbury's residence now is, stepped up to Mr. Kelly, and said you had better buy mine too. A price was immediately agreed upon and Mr. Kelly became the owner of most of the land where Ironton now stands. Then he bought Isaac Davidson's farm next above, which fronted his own possessions, back toward what is now known as Kelly's hill. This was about 1847.

Soon after the purchase of the Davidson farm, about 1848, Mr. Kelly moved to the brick house, near the Goldcamp mill, and here is where he resided when John Campbell, Dr. Briggs and others came to see him about the formation of the Ohio Iron and Coal Co. and the founding of a new town. Mr. Kelly entered heartily into the project and was commissioned to buy Neff's, Coopenhaver's, Fort's, and other contiguous strips of land for the new town site. He also sold to the new company the farms he had bought of Mr. Lionbarger and the John Davidson estate, that extended from about what is now Jefferson street to Storms creek. He did not, however, dispose of his original farm or the tract purchased from Isaac Davidson. Upon a portion of the latter tract, in 1850, he built his residence, and all that part in front to the river, he laid out into lots, and which is known as W. D. Kelly's addition to Ironton. The back portion he reserved as a farm, for he loved farming and was very successful at it. Even after his success as a furnaceman, he was a seller of farm products, and often have we seen in the early morning, with his wagon filled with peaches, sweet potatoes, honey, etc., backed up against the market benches and himself attending to the sales. In 1857, the Ohio State Board of Agriculture awarded him the first premium for having the best improved farm in the state. His greenhouses were famous and his peach orchards, were known far and wide. In the raising of vegetables, he was always successful, and whatever came from Kelly's gardens was sure to be good. He kept up his farm, though with not much vigor latterly, until 1870, when he sold 70 acres, which was nearly all the level land, to the Kelly Building Association, which had it surveyed into town lots, and much of this is now covered by residences.

Mr. Kelly began his career as an iron man in 1844, when he became a member of the firm of Dempsey, Rodgers & Co., proprietors of Etna furnace. He held an interest there for three years. When the Iron Railroad and Ohio Iron and Coal Co. were organized in 1849, he became a member of both, and was nearly all his life a director of both. In 1851 he leased Lagrange furnace, and ran it for three years, making considerable money in the venture. In 1862, he leased Center furnace and operated it for five years, and in 1865, in company with A. McCullough and Isaac Dovel leased Hecla furnace, which they ran for four years. In both of these enterprises, Mr. Kelly made money. In 1862 he purchased Center furnace, and in 1869, he builded Grant furnace in Ironton. These two furnaces he and his two sons, Lindsey and Ironton, under the firm name of W. D. Kelly & Sons, operated for some years.

While much of Mr. Kelly's success in the iron business may be assigned to his discretion in entering the industry at the right time, much, also, may be attributed to his tireless energy and his close attention to details.

In 1880 with his sons, Lindsey and Ironton, he conceived the idea of building the Kelly Nail & Iron Works in this city, which industry is today one of the most prominent and successful in the city.

In 1855, he organized the Exchange Bank, which has been in operation ever since.

Thus, Mr. Kelly has been in the world, a positive force. He has cleared the forest, founded towns, builded furnaces and factories, conducted large business affairs, employed laborers by the hundred, to the joy and welfare of humanity. He was faithful to his trusts. He was honest in business. You could rely on his word. He was a plain, direct man who attended to his own business in his own way, but who has left upon the community the impress of a useful, honorable life. v The funeral took place at the residence last Sunday afternoon. There was a large gathering of people. The funeral services were conducted by Rev. E. E. Moran, and the venerable J. M. Kelly, cousin of the deceased, who preached the discourse. A quartette choir composed of Mrs. Retting, Miss Ricker and Messrs. Bird and Humes, sang two beautiful hymns. Rev. J. M. Kelly's sermon was largely devoted to a biographical sketch of the deceased, giving in an interesting manner the facts which we have above related. The reverend gentleman founded his scripture remarks on 1st Cor:7th Chap., 29th verse, the thought relating to the brevity of life; and upon this idea he preached a very entertaining and impressive sermon. A long line of people then took their last view of the features of W. D. Kelly. The coffin was a cloth covered casket, the only ornament being a beautiful floral design. The body was taken to the Kelly cemetery, and was followed by a long cortege. At the grave, was a simple ceremony, and the form was laid to rest by the side of a beloved daughter, Mary, who had died many years ago. The white shaft in the beautiful lot, that has stood there for nearly forty years, inscribed with the name of W. D. Kelly and silently hinting of the sad day that was to come, may now complete its inscription, and it may do this in commemoration of many virtures and a useful and, honorable life. Notes for Sarah Austin:
I.R. Thursday, September 27, 1888 - GOLDEN WEDDING - MR. AND MRS. W. D. KELLY CELEBRATE THEIR 5OTH ANNIVERSARY - As we go to press, the residence of Mr. and Mrs. W. D. Kelly is the scene of enjoyable festivities - the 50th anniversary of their wedding. For fifty years, they have gone together through the sunshine and shadows of life, and now their many friends join them in congratulations on having seen the fiftieth 26th of September since they were married.

The invitations that summoned the guests to this golden wedding, were printed in old style, but in gold tint, and are very quaint and interesting, the production of venerable couple's daughter-in-law, Mrs. Lindsey Kelly. The invitation read thus:

Mr. and Mrs. Kelly were married in a log house near the present residence of George Dovel in Hamilton township. The marriage ceremony was performed by Rev. John Kelly, an uncle of the bridegroom. The following are the persons now living who were present at the wedding: Thomas W. Means, Chas. K. Austin, A. J. Trumbo, Dr. Trumbo, Jesse Davisson and wife, A. D. Kelly and Mrs. H. B. Richey. A few days after the wedding, Mr. Kelly built a small frame house, on the river bank not far below Union landing, where he lived until in August 1848, when he came up to where Ironton now stands to bid on the John Davidson farm, that was then offered for sale. He bid in the farm, which comprised 300 acres lying above the mouth of Storms Creek, and running up to about where the Courthouse now stands. He paid $17 per acre for it. Peter Lionbarger attended the sale, and right after Mr. Kelly bid in the Davidson farm, took him aside and said: "Now, you have offered me $20 an acre for my place sever times; if you offer it again I will accept." Mr. Kelly didn't do so just then, but did shortly after. Lionbarger's farm was a tract of 200 acres just above the Davidson farm which he had just bought. Mr. Lionbarger's farm house stood about the middle of the Neal-Ellsberry lot. A few days after buying Lionbarger's place, Mr. Kelly bought Isaac Davidson's farm, where his present home now is.

The old brick house near the Goldcamp flour mill was the farm house of John Davidson, and went with the first purchase, and into that Mr. Kelly moved in August, 1848. it was his intention by all these purchases, to have one splendid plantation, but about that time Dr. Briggs, John Campbell and others came to him with the Ohio Iron & Coal Co. project, and the Ironton scheme, and he sold the John Davidson and Lionbarger tracts to them at just double what he gave, and took stock in the Ohio Iron & Coal Co., and thus became one of the founders of Ironton.

The first sale of lots took place in June, 1849, and in 1850 Mr. Kelly built the brick residence where his golden wedding is celebrated today, and in the same year moved into it. Attached to the homestead were a hundred or more acres of land which he farmed until the war.

The guests who go to Mr. and Mrs. Kelly's house today will enjoy a most hospitable reception, and will sit down to an old time feast in honor of an old time wedding, and will heartily congratulate the good and venerable couple on the 50th return of the happiest of days.

Children: