Jesse was an American railroad developer and three-term mayor of Dubuque.
Background
Jesse Farley was born on April 2, 1813, in Nashville, Tennessee, United States; the son of John Farley and Jane (Hammond) Farley.
In 1817 Jesse moved with his parents to Saint Louis. In April 1827, when he was only 14 years of age, Farley relocated on his own to Galena, Illinois, to begin mining.
Career
In 1829 Jesse began a private smelting business with his brother-in-law. He traveled to Dubuque for the first time in the spring, of 1833. That fall he moved to Dubuque permanently and opened a wholesale dry-goods store, Farley, Norris and Co., got involved in city politics and became an avid promoter of railways and steam travel in Dubuque.
All who knew Jesse considered Farley an enterprising man. A town booster, Farley was a principal owner and investor in Key City Planing Mills and the Key City Steam Bakery. By the time he closed his dry-goods store in 1858, he was one of the 10 wealthiest citizens of Dubuque County.
Farley’s business interests remained wide-ranging. He helped organize the Dubuque Insurance Company and the Central Improvement Company. In 1850 he established a line of steamboats between Saint Paul and Saint Louis, marking Dubuque as the most important city on the Mississippi between those cities. As president of the Dubuque and St. Paul steamer line, Farley eventually consolidated the first steamer line in Dubuque-the Galena, Dunleith, and Minnesota Packet Line-with his own line to create the Galena, Dubuque, Dunleith, and Minnesota Packet Company, usually called the Minnesota Packet Company.
While Jesse was very successful in steam travel, Farley’s greatest passion was the railroad. Farley helped organize the Dubuque and Pacific Railroad and eventually became its first president. He lost much of his property and wealth in the Panic of 1857 and sought to recover it through Farley, Loetscher, and Co., a sash and door manufacturing company in Dubuque. Continuing his affiliation with railroads, he was appointed reorganization manager of the Saint Paul and Pacific Railway when it entered receivership, in 1873.
Farley left the railway industry after a crushing financial and political defeat in a U.S. Supreme Court case against the Great Northern Railroad, in the 1890s. Until the time of his death on May 8, 1894, Farley remained the largest stockholder and president of Farley, Loetscher, and Co. Serving on the city council and three terms as mayor, Farley was considered one of the foremost citizens of Dubuque.
Achievements
Religion
Farley was a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Dubuque, and he served for many years on the church’s board of trustees. Throughout his life, he fought for temperance.
Politics
Upon the creation of the Republican Party, Farley became an active member.
Connections
In 1833 Farley was married to Mary P. Johnson, the daughter of his first partner in Dubuque. In 1844 she died, leaving four children. In 1845, he wed Mary L. Johnson, a niece of his first wife, and they had three children.
Father:
John Farley
Mother:
Jane (Hammond) Farley
Spouse:
Mary L. Johnson
ex-spouse:
Mary P. Johnson
Sister:
Cecilia A (Farley) Chapman
Son:
Charles William Farley
Son:
John P. Farley
Son:
George W. Farley
Daughter:
Francis A. Farley
Son:
Harry G. Farley
Son:
Jesse Kelso Farley Sr.
Daughter:
Warren Clay Farley
Daughter:
Anna Bell Farley
Son:
Willie Rogers Farley
Son:
Ward Farley
Son:
Fred H. Farley
References
The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa
Iowa has been blessed with citizens of strong character who have made invaluable contributions to the state and to the nation. In the 1930s alone, such towering figures as John L. Lewis, Henry A. Wallace, and Herbert Hoover hugely influenced the nation’s affairs.