Mrs. Delia (Mealy) Owens Biography


	This biography appears on pages 1563-1564 in "History of South 
	Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. II (1904) and was scanned, 
	OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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	MRS. DELIA (MEALY) OWENS was born in Ireland and came to United 
States when she was a young girl in company with an aunt. After a 
residence of a few years in Brooklyn, New York, she came west to Denver, 
Colorado, and there made her home with a cousin until her marriage, on 
May 16, 1869, to Michael Owens, also a native of Ireland who came to 
this country in his childhood. They were married at Cheyenne, Wyoming, 
but lived at Denver until the spring of 1877. While yet a boy Mr. Owens 
was a mail carrier on the overland route, and after his marriage he 
engaged in the stock industry. In the spring of 1877 he disposed of his 
interests in Colorado and moved to the Black Hills, stopping for a short 
time at Deadwood and settling later at Central City, where he remained 
about a year prospecting and mining. In 1878 they moved to Sturgis where 
he conducted a profitable livery business for more than two years, and 
in 1881 they came to Elk creek and located the ranch on which Mrs. Owens 
now lives, which is twenty-five miles from Rapid City. The land was 
unsurveyed at the time, and after remaining on it long enough to make 
the necessary improvements they returned to Sturgis, and early in 1882 
Mr. Owens was taken ill, and on February 15th he died, his remains being 
buried in the Catholic cemetery at Rapid City. In June of that year Mrs. 
Owens moved back to the ranch with her children, and here she has since 
made her home. She has four children, Margaretta, Thomas, Frances and 
Mamie (Mrs. Duhamel.) When they moved to the ranch after the death of 
the father Thomas was but eight years old, and the mother and oldest 
daughter managed the farming operations. Mrs. Owens bought a small herd 
of cattle to start with and hired men to do her work while she 
superintended the business. The place soon showed the vigor and capacity 
of her management, rising steadily in improvement and value, and her 
cattle kept increasing in numbers and improving in quality. In the 
course of time she replaced her first rude dwelling with a comfortable 
and commodious residence, and in all other respects made her place more 
homelike and attractive. When her son Thomas reached a proper age he 
took charge of the property for her, and since then he has remained at 
home working with her and for their common welfare. The family all 
belong to the Catholic church and are prominent among its members.