John Connolly (1861-1945)

CONNOLLY

Posted By: Dorian Myhre (email)
Date: 8/20/2016 at 16:46:35

From Nevada Representative November 13, 1907

OBITUARY

DEATH OF JOHN CONNOLLY

John Connolly, one of the oldest and best known citizens of the eastern portion of this county, died suddenly at his home in the eastern edge of Nevada township at about nine o'clock, this morning. Mr. Connolly was past eighty years of age and had been feeling and manifesting some of the natural feebleness of age; but he had been in his usual fair health up to about half an hour before death. At that time he complained of a pain in his heart, and the members of his family gave him hot applications and other simple home remedies; but his condition was not recognized by those about him as serious, until he suddenly fell backward and died.

Mr. Connolly was a native of Ireland, where he was born about 1827; and whence he came to the United States when he was about twenty years of age. He first located in Virginia at the town of Fairmount, and there he was married and established his first home of his own; and there the family have relatives with whom they have visited back and forth in later years, a twin sister of Mrs. Connolly being here at the present time of visit. From Virginia he came with his young family to Story county in 1854 and located first in Iowa at Story City, where he lived for a couple of years; but in 1856 he came to Nevada and was employed in a saw-mill which in those early days was located about where the ford across West Indian is. And in 1858 he located on the farm in Nevada township where was definitely established the family homestead, and where he spent the remaining nearly half century of his life. There he and Mrs. Connolly reared their numerous and worthy family of children, of whom there are living five sons and six daughters. As the young people have grown up they have gone off for the most part and made homes of their own, but the homestead has always been a place to which they have returned upon frequent occasion, and Mr. and Mrs. Connolly have had there surroundings such as people of their years might wish to have.

Mr. Connolly was one of the early settlers of the county one of very earliest pioneers of the Irish settlement which has gathered and become numerous in the eastern part of the county. He has been generally known and highly esteemed as a man of influence and worth. He was a good citizen and most exemplary patriarch, and the news of his demise will be learned with much regret. Arrangements for the funeral have not been made at this writing. The members of the family are much scattered, and there will doubtless be afforded time for as many of them as possible to arrive. It is, however, understood that the place will be the Catholic church at Colo and the time Friday or Saturday.