David C. Ely and Mary Ella Nash Family

D. C. Ely was born in Roaring Creek, Columbia Co, Pennsylvania. His father was also named David. His mother was Sarah Brobst (d 2 Mar 1871), daughter of Christian Brobst . Sarah later married Peter Kline. The Brobsts, Elys, and Klines all lived in and around Marysville, Marion County, Iowa. As a young man D. C. taught school there. Later he owned a dry goods store. He also served from 1861-1863 in Co. E, 6th Regiment of the 6th Iowa Infantry.

D. C. had two brothers (Hiram and John) and a sister Hannah. Hiram (d. 25 April 1870) married Sarah Shingler. John was one of the men who did the original survey of Marysville. Hannah married George Kruck, who was the Marion County Clerk for a time in the 1870s. Some of these family members are buried in the old part of the Marysville Cemetery.

D. C.'s first wife was Sarah A. Weaver who died in 1866. She was the mother of Eugene Ernest Ely (pictured above) who was born in 1864 and died in 1907 in California. Mary Nash was from Marshall County, Iowa. She and D. C. had six children: Charles, Hiram, Frederick, George, Sarah (known as Sadie), and Mary (known as Mamie).

The two wives share a tombstone in the Marysville Cemetery. It's inscribed with the word BARAMA, which can be defined as "highly esteemed." D. C. died in Morrow Co, Oregon on the 29 July 1911.

D. C. and Mary (Nash) Ely are Berniece Thornton's great-grandparents.

Mary Nash Ely Photo Mary E. Nash Ely, the second wife of D. C. Ely, and Berniece's great-grandmother. Her family lived in Marshalltown, Marshall County, IA, where this photograph was taken.
Mary died on 2 September 1886. She is buried next to D. C.'s first wife, Sarah Weaver Ely, who died on 18 July 1866. The two women share a tombstone in the older part of the Marysville cemetery. The stone is inscribed with the word BARAMA, which is loosely defined as "in highest esteem."
D. C. Ely Photo David C. Ely (12 Aug 1834 - 29 Jul 1911) was born in Roaring Creek, Columbia County, PA. His mother was Sarah Brobst Kline (Kline being the surname of her second husband). The Brobsts, Elys, and Klines all lived in Marysville, Marion County, IA, where D. C. owned a dry goods store. In his youth he was a school teacher there, and for a short time he was editor of the Marysville Minor. He is Berniece's great-grandfather
D.C.'s siblings were Hiram B., John B., and Hannah. John B. Ely was one of the "chain carriers" of the original survey of Marysville.
D. C. Ely Photo
Click to see a larger version of the photo.
Children of David Christian Ely (D. C.)

The group picture was taken in Arlington, Oregon in 1903. to send to the family of George Kruck in Knoxville, IA in sympathy at the time of George's death. George Kruck, who was the Marion County Clerk from 1872-1874?, was married to Hannah Ely, sister of D. C. and Hiram Ely. George Kruck was County Clerk for Marion Co. IA from 1872-1874?
Except for the names with followed by an asterisk [*], all of the individuals in the picture were born in Marysville, IA or at the nearby Fairview Farm of their cousin, Mr. Brobst.
L - R: Back Row: Hiram O. Ely, holding Franklin Ely*, Charles Ely, Emma* wife of Charles, George Nash Ely, Mary Ely, and Frederick Ely.
L-R: Front Row: Minnie* wife of Hiram O. , Martha* wife of Eugene, Eugene E. Ely [1864-1907 CA; son of D. C.'s first marriage], Myrtle* wife of Frederick Ely. (Sarah Ely not pictured). Children: Miriam and Edith, children of Eugene E. Ely.

Contributed by Berniece Thornton; reformatted by Al Hibbard 5 Oct 2013