Maurice Keliher Biography


	This biography appears on pages 14-17 in "History of Dakota 
	Territory" by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. V (1915) and was 
	scanned, OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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				MAURICE KELIHER. 

	The spirit of enterprise, faith in the future and self-reliance 
that we have come to think of as belonging first of all to the west and 
that have been in such a large measure responsible for the almost 
unparalleled development of the country west of the Mississippi in the 
last half century have been the chief characteristics of Maurice 
Keliher, who is now one of the largest stockmen of the country but who 
came west when a young man with no capital save his industry and 
ability. He arrived in the Black Hills in the early days of that 
section and, seeing something of the possibilities of the region, 
remained and prospered in spite of the difficulties and discouragements 
that arose. 

	He was born in Bangor, Maine, July 20, 1849, and is a son of 
Michael and Ellen (O'Connor) Keliher, the former a native of County 
Kerry, Ireland, and the latter also born on the Emerald Isle. In 
childhood they emigrated to America with their respective parents and 
both families settled in Maine, where the father and mother of our 
subject grew up and were married. In the early '50s the family removed 
to Illinois and located upon a farm near Woodstock, McHenry county. 
There were four sons and three daughters, the subject of this review 
being the oldest son. 

	Maurice Keliher attended the district schools and thus acquired a 
knowledge of the fundamental branches of learning, later supplementing 
the education thus gained by study in the high school of Woodstock. At 
the age of seventeen years he became a blacksmith's apprentice but in 
1867 concluded to try his fortune in the west and went to Colorado, 
where he engaged in freighting, continuing in that occupation for 
several years in Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho and Montana In 1873 he made 
his way to the Black Hills district and was engaged in freighting from 
the railroad to the Black Hills, Fort Robinson and various places. In 
1879 he arrived in Pennington county and entered the cattle business. 
He prospered in that from the beginning and soon became one of the 
largest ranchers in that section of the state. Some years ago, which 
most of the men engaged in raising cattle gave up in despair because it 
seemed that conditions were so changed that the business was no longer 
profitable, Mr. Keliher continued therein, believing that the time was 
coming when the demand for cattle would exceed the supply and when 
increased prices would make the business even more lucrative than at 
first. His judgment has been more than vindicated and for many years he 
has been one of the cattle kings of the west. His friends will tell you 
that he is a millionaire, but he himself merely says modestly that he 
has made a good living. His confidence in the stock business has only 
been equaled by his faith in the value of South Dakota lands and he 
holds title to many thousands of acres, his home ranch alone comprising 
about nine thousand acres. 

	Mr. Keliher was united in marriage on the 25th of November, 1878, 
to Miss Eleanor Walsh, a daughter of Thomas and Eleanor (Walsh) Walsh. 
Mr. and Mrs. Keliher have five children: John Francis; Maurice, Jr.; 
Eleanor, the wife of Grover Bedford, of Omaha, Nebraska; Marguerite, 
the wife of Phillip Randall, of Rapid City; and Marion, who married 
John Crowley, of Cheyenne, Wyoming. There are alaso three 
grandchildren. Mr. and Mrs. Keliher are communicants of the Roman 
Catholic church and she takes a most active and helpful interest in the 
charitable activities of the church. 

	Mr. Keliher is a republican and firm in his advocacy of the 
principles of that party. Fraternally he is a member of the Masonic 
blue lodge and chapter. He has profited by the opportunities offered by 
South Dakota and has in turn contributed largely to the welfare of the 
state, especially along the line of stock-raising, and the success that 
has rewarded his faith in the west is fully merited. He is one of the 
honored pioneers of the Black Hills country, and the respect and 
goodwill accorded him by his fellow citizens prove that he has been 
successful in life in more ways than in the accumulation of wealth.