Margaret (Dewan) Shelley (1836-1909)

DEWAN, SHELLEY, SWISHER

Posted By: Dorian Myhre (email)
Date: 12/3/2016 at 21:43:42

From Nevada Representative September 10, 1909 (front page)

Death of Kate Shelley's Mother

Mrs. Margaret Shelley, mother of Kate Shelley, the Iowa heroine, died at the family home on mile east of Moingona, last Sunday evening. Kate Shelley, s every one hereabout knows, periled her life in 1881 by crawling on a stormy night across the Northwestern railway bridge at Moingona to carry the word that a switch engine and it crew had gone down through an open bridge into Honey Creek--a bridge that the express train in the Northwestern would soon be due to cross.

Mrs. Shelley was one of the substantial Irish pioneers of Boone county, having come to that vicinity during the civil war times. Her husband was killed in the service of the Northwestern. She had four children, Mrs. Benton Swisher of Perry, Miss Kate Shelley and Miss Mame Shelly at home; and John Shelly, an employee of the Northwestern company. All of her children were at her bedside. The Northwestern Railway Company gave the Shelly family the use of a special train from the home to Boone, in which city the funeral and burial occurred. The pall bearers were all old time pioneers. Mrs. Shelly was Kate's especial care, and the mother died in the home which she had kept from the early day, and which appreciation of Kate's heroism by the public had redeemed from mortgage and saved to her. Kate is now station agent at Moingona.