Patrick Lalley

As printed in 1907

The rich farming land of Iowa has furnished the means whereby through a life cjf activity and usefulness Patrick Lally is now enabled to live retired in a beautiful home in Adair, while from his landed possessions, comprising seven hundred and twenty acres. he derives the income that now supplies him with all of the comforts and many of the luxuries of life. He is a native son of the Emerald isle, his birth having occurred in County Gal way, in March, 1849, and is one of the four survivors of a family of six children born of the marriage of Thomas and Honora A. (Riley) Lalley. the others being John and James, who still reside in County Galway, Ireland; and Bridget, the widow of Dennis Kane, and a resident of Adair, Iowa. Both the father and mother were likewise natives of Ireland, where their entire lives were passed, the father passing away there when he had reached the advanced age. of about eighty-three years, while the mother departed this life when about seventy years of age. The father was a carpenter by trade and it was under his direction that the son Patrick acquired a good practical knowledge of the builder's art.

At the early age of fourteen Patrick Lalley left his native county and went to England, where he engaged in carpentering in Chester for four months, subsequent to which time lie returned to his hotue in Ireland, but after a few months there spent once more made his way to England, this time locating in Sheffield, where during the greater part of the subsequent three years he followed his trade. In the spring of 1866, being then a youth of eighteen years, he decided to try his fortune in the new world, for he had heard of the advantages that were here afforded to young men of ambition, determination and enterprise. Accordingly he crossed the Atlantic to the United States and at once made his way to the state of Illinois, locating in Peoria, where he remained for four or five months, acquainting himself with the manners and customs of this land. Eventually he continued his journey westward, locating in Davenport, Iowa, where he resumed his work at the carpenter's trade, being thus engaged for a decade. Believing that the rich farming lands of Iowa offered splendid opportunities, Mr. Lalley then made his way in the spring of 1876 to Guthrie county, where for two years he operated leased land in Grant township, and with the money thus gained during this period he invested in a farm of his own, making purchase of the northeast quarter of section 35, Grant township, which he improved and on which he located. About four years subsequent to his first purchase he added to his original holdings, this time coming into possession of the Southeast quarter of section 26. Grant township, situated across the road from his home place. He later added additional tracts, one of eighty acres on section 26, a second eighty on section 21 and a third on section 23, while in 1900 he purchased a quarter section in Eureka township, Adair county, his landed possessions thus aggregating seven hundred and twenty acres of valuable farming land, all of which is cultivable. All that he today possesses has been acquired through his own diligence and perseverance for all that he possessed at the time of his arrival in the United.States was a knowledge of his trade and when he made his first purchase of land, which amounted to four hundred and sixty-dollars, he was obliged to borrow one hundred dollars, on which he had to pay ten per cent interest. He, however, possessed good business management and keen foresight, so that from a humble beginning he has worked his way upward until he is now numbered among the wealthy and substantial landowners of the state of Iowa. He was actively and successfully engaged in general agricultural pursuits until 1902, when he retired to Adair, where he purchased a beautiful residence, which he is now occupying and in which he enjoys all the comforts and conveniences of life.

On the 30th of September, 1878, Mr. Lalley was united in marriage to Miss Mary Kelly, who was born in County Galway, Ireland, in the same parish in which the birth of her husband occurred, but her marriage occurred in Davenport. She became a resident of the United States in 1875 and by her marriage became the mother of fifteen children, of whom three are deceased, all having died within eight days and only a week after the location of the family in Grant township. The surviving members of the family are: James, a resident farmer of Grant township, who is mentioned on another page of this work; John, a farmer of Adair county; Thomas, also following farming in Grant township and who is mentioned elsewhere in this volume; Michael, of Denver, Colorado; Timothy, who follows carpentering in Denver; Connor, who is attending Creighton University at Omaha, Nebraska; Catherine, the wife of James McDonald, a druggist of Adair; Anna, the wife of Daniel Fagan, of Adair; Mary, the wife of Christopher Bateman, of Denver; Nellie, who is engaged in teaching in the district schools and resides with her parents; Loretta, also at home; and Margaret, the wife of Thomas Farrell, a resident of Mead, Kansas.

Mr. Lalley gives his political support to the men and measures of the democratic party but is not radical in his views. He is a communicant of the Catholic church. His life should serve to inspire others of resolute spirit and determination, for the success which today crowns his efforts has been acquired through his own capable management and well directed labor, as he came to this country a young man, ignorant of the manners and customs of American people but in due time gained a position of prominence, being classed today among the substantial and retired citizens of his section of the state.

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.