Biographical Sketch of Lewis Kelly, Jefferson County, Missouri >From "History of Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, Crawford and Gasconade Counties", Biographical Appendix, Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1888. ********************************************************************** Lewis Kelly, deceased, late in the employ of the Iron Mountain Railroad at De Soto, was born in the State of Pennsylvania in the year 1840. His father, John Kelly, now of Peoria, Ill., immigrated to Illinois when Lewis was a small boy. The latter was reared in Peoria, and received a common school education. At the breaking out of the late war his pat- riotism and love of country was manifested in his speedy resolve to assist in subduing the rebellion. He therefore enlisted in the Seven- teenth Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and served faithfully for three years, participating in all the battles of his regiment from Port Gibson to the capture of Vicksburg. His first railroad service was in the employ of the Chicago & North Western Railroad Company as fireman. In 1869 he located in De Soto and entered the employ of the Iron Mount- ain Railroad, where he continued the remainder of his life. He filled the position of engineer for over twenty years, and so faithfully did he perform every known duty that he endeared himself, not only to his employers, but to all with whom he was associated. August 12, 1867, he married Miss Mary Byers, a native of York County, Penn., and a daughter of John Byers, deceased. In the spring of 1887, Mr. Kelly's engine ran off of a bridge into a river carrying him with it, but two cars piled in upon the engine, pushing it out of the water so Mr. Kelly's head was above water; he was in reach of the limbs of a tree, which he seized and pulled himself up, and was thus rescued. The cold contracted at this time seemed to affect his heart, and was the primary cause of his death, which occurred January 3, 1888. Mr. Kelly was a prominent mem- ber of the A. O. U. W., and was one of the oldest and most highly re- spected members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers of De Soto. ==================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Joe Miller Penny Harrell ====================================================================