James F. Lalley

As printed in 1907

JAMES FRANCIS LALLEY.

That Guthrie county offers excellent opportunities to the agriculturist is indicated by the fact that although James Francis Lalley made an extended trip through the west, going as far as the Pacific coast, he found no country which to him was more attractive than his native state, and he is here successfully engaged in carrying on general agricultural pursuits on one hundred and sixty acres of land, situated on section 35, Grant township, thereon he resides, this property belonging to his father, while he also leases an eighty-acre tract located on section 23, Grant township, likewise belonging to his father.

Mr. Lalley possesses many of the sterling characteristics of his Irish ancestry, he being the eldest son of the twelve surviving members of a family of fifteen children born unto Patrick and Mary (Kelly) Lalley, both of whom claim County Galway, Ireland, as the place of their nativity. Extended mention of Patrick Lalley is made on another page of this work. James F. Lalley was born on the old homestead farm in Grant township. Guthrie county, October 19, 1879. and was there reared to farm life, assisting his father in the work of plowing, planting and harvesting in their respective seasons, while during the winter months he pursued his studies in the public schools of Grant township, this knowledge being supplemented by a course in Augustana Business College, at Rock Island, Illinois, from which institution he was graduated in April, 1900. Soon after his graduation he made an extended trip to the west, going he made an extended trip to the west, going as far as the Pacific coast, the object of his trip being to study the possibilities which might there be enjoyed. After a year, however, he returned to Guthrie county, and on. the 4th of June, 1902, was married to Miss Leonora Kelleher, of Audubon township, Audubon county, Iowa, and a daughter of John Kelleher, who was a prominent farmer of that county, but is now deceased.

Following their marriage the young couple located upon a farm belonging to his father, this being situated on the northeast quarter of section 35, Grant township, and comprising one hundred and sixty acres, and he also operates another tract of eighty acres lying on section 23, Grant township; thus it will be seen that he is carrying on farming on quite an extensive scale, operating in all two hundred and forty acres. In addition to raising the cereals best adapted to soil and climate he is also engaged in the breeding of polled Angus cattle, and this branch of his business is proving a profitable source of income to him. In all his work he is practical and progressive and finds a valuable assistant in his estimable wife, who capable manager the household affairs. Mr. Lalley follows in the political footsteps of his father, giving stalwart support to the democratic party, while at the present time he is serving as trustee of Grant township. He and his wife are communicants of the Catholic church and his fraternal relations are with the Independent Order of Foresters and the Knights of Columbus.

Mr. Lalley has spent his entire life in Guthrie county and is therefore well known to our readers. Although numbered among the younger members of agricultural life in this section of the state, he has already attained a position of prominence and is justly classed among the prosperous young farmers of Grant township.

As printed in Past and present of Guthrie County, Iowa : together with biographical sketches of many of its prominent and leading citizens and illustrious dead (1907). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.