Sedgwick County KSGenWeb

Portrait And Biographical Album of Sedgwick County, Kan.

Chapman Brothers 1888

Pages 396 - 399

ROSWELL J. RILEY, one of the active, prominent and most enterprising citizens of Payne Township, is at present engaged in farming on section 21. His parents, Nathan P. and Bethany (Jackson) Riley, were natives of Connecticut and Ohio respectively. The father of our subject was born Nov. 10, 1810, and was a carpenter by occupation. He followed his trade in Piqua, Ohio, and in many other towns in that State, and from there removed to Wisconsin, and was employed both at Beloit and Oshkosh. In 1844 he removed with his family to Illinois, settling in Logan County on a farm, where he remained for two years. At the expiration of that time he went to Beloit, Wis., and engaged his energies at his old trade. There he remained six years, and we next find him at Salina, Ohio, at which place in the fall of 1852 he had the misfortune to lose his life companion, who was born Dec. 4, 1810. Shortly after this he returned to Piqua, where he spent two more years. Beloit, Wis., again claimed him as its resident, but in a few years he returned to Illinois, where he has since remained, making his home in Logan and Menard Counties with his children. He was the recipient of a common-school education in his youth, and although religiously inclined was not a member of any church, while his wife was an adherent to the doctrines of the Baptist denomination. They were the parents of ten children: Roswell J., the subject of our narrative; Mary; Sarah P. and Asher, deceased; Asher (2d), Phoebe, Parker, and a twin child, the latter deceased; James W. deceased; and Jesse V. James W. was accidentally scalded to death at the age of two years, by drinking a cup of boiling hot water which was upon the table; Asher is a disciple of the "art preservative" in St. Louis; Jesse V. is a farmer in Missouri; Mary, Mrs. Jefferson Johnson, resides on a farm in Illinois; and Phoebe, Mrs. Isaac Brown, is the wife of a farmer of Logan County, Ill.

        The subject of our sketch first saw the light of day at his father's house in Shelby County, Ohio, Oct. 12, 1832. He was reared beneath the parental roof-tree, and received a limited education in the common schools, but has largely added to it by very careful and extensive reading and protracted thought. He was united in marriage, May 1, 1855, with Miss Catherine Shafer, the daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth Shafer. Of this union there were born two children-Harvey H. and Josiah J. On the 1st of June, 1861, Mr. Riley was bereft of his life companion, who passed to her rest beyond the dark river. Being still a young man in the very prime of life, he felt that it was not right for man to dwell alone, so upon the 16th of March, 1865, he led to the marriage altar Mrs. Laura A. Goodwin, who was born in Wilkinson County, Miss.

        Mrs. Riley is the daughter of David and Drusilla (McGraw) Boland, both of whom were natives of the State of Mississippi, the father born Jan. 22, 1810, and the mother Dec. 31, 1813. Mr. Boland was a farmer by occupation, and was the parent of three children-Laura A., Amanda and Cornelia. Laura A., the wife of Mr. Riley, was first married Feb. 5, 1855, to George Bonney, and to them was born one child, George, who is now a resident of the State of New York. Mr. Bonney died Nov. 7, 1856, and Nov. 28, 1858, his widow was united in marriage with Allen T. Goodwin. By this union there were three children born: Atlanta, deceased; Cornelia, a resident of Topeka, Kan.; and John, deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Riley became the parents of two children-Mary, now deceased, and David D.

        During the dark days of war which overshadowed our country early in the "sixties," when our land was rife with sounds of civil conflict, and patriotic blood leaped warmly from the heart, Mr. Riley became seized with a longing to march forward in defense of the old flag. On the 9th of September, 1861, he enlisted in Company C, 55th Illinois Infantry, and with that gallant regiment marched forward to the gory front of battle. During the bloody days of Shiloh the regiment suffered severely, and out of 666 men who proudly advanced in the morning, but 300 answered the roll-call at the close of the conflict. By the side of our subject twenty-two men fell, and he helped place them in their final resting-place in "the hallowed spot where valor proudly sleeps," upon the historic battle-field. In the sieges of Corinth and Vicksburg, and the battles of Jackson and Atlanta, Mr. Riley bore a gallant part, and was present in most of the engagements where the flag of the 55th Illinois was displayed. He was wounded at the battle of Vicksburg so severely that he was incapacitated for duty for over two months. He was mustered out and discharged from the service Oct. 30, 1864, and returned to his home.

        Mr. Riley came to Kansas in 1878, and after five years spent in Topeka, and one year in Butler County, settled in 1884 in Sedgwick County. He is now the owner of 110 acres of as fine land as the county can boast, all of which he has brought under cultivation. His improvements are of a most excellent character, and the neatness and thrift of the proprietor are manifested by the general appearance of the place. But a short time ago in digging a well on the farm, he found at the depth of fifty feet from the surface a fine specimen of copper ore which was almost pure. Valuable specimens of mica were also taken from the same excavation, and there is every indication that underlying his property are some very valuable mineral deposits.

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