Samuel A. Connelly
On February 1, 1907, Samuel A. Connelly was confirmed in his previous appointment as postmaster at Upland and ahs served continuously at this writing nearly seven years, being now in his second term. His reappointment to the office came on February 6, 1911, and his present term expires in February, 1915. The Upland post office is a high-class office, and besides the postmaster the business is conducted by an assistant, who is Mrs. Connelly, one clerk and two rural carriers. The rural routes cover fifty-four miles of country highways surrounding Upland. The annual volume of business at the Upland office, amounts to about thirty-eight hundred dollars. Mr. Connelly's service has been highly satisfactory to all patrons of the office. He has used his energy and influence to extend the service in every possible manner and has been the incumbent during a period when more important changes have been inaugurated in the postal service than in any similar period of history. Owing to the cosmopolitan population at Upland, Mr. Connelly writes foreign money orders to nearly every European nation. Previous to his appointments as postmaster Mr. Connelly was for five years and a half a rural carrier, over route number twenty-six from the Upland Station, and thus his record in the government mail service has been continuous for twelve years. Samuel A. Connelly was born in Jefferson Township, of Grant county, January 26, 1862. He is one of the older of the family of children born to John W. and Rebecca J. (Clevenger) Connelly. John W. Connelly was born at Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1825, and died in Grant County in 1893. Grandfather Rev. John Connelly was a minister of the Methodist faith, from 1808 to the early twenties was elder presiding over a large district including portions of Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. Soon after leaving that work, he emigrated west and settled in Wayne County, Indiana, among the pioneers, where he lived to the venerable age of fourscore. John W. Connelly was a small child when the family settled in Wayne County, grew up there, was well educated for his time, and spent about thirty years of his life in the work of the school room. He came to Grant County in 1857, and is well remembered by many of the older residents who were his pupils. Along with teaching he combined the vocation of farming, and in 1871 bought in Monroe Township, a tract of land, which has since been known as the Connelly homestead. John W. Connelly married Rebecca Clevinger, of an old and prominent family of Virginia, and Wayne County, and she was born in 1834 and died in 1909. More detailed information concerning the earlier generations of this family will be found in the article concerning Harry T. Connelly on other pages of the history. John W. Connelly and wife had eight children, namely:
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John, who lives on the old farm in Grant County.
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Bell, who married Noah Johnson, and died in 1890, leaving three children, Alva, Elva and Bertha.
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Samuel, now postmaster of Upland.
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Mary, who die din infancy.
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Joseph who is an oil man in Oklahoma and is married and their children are Hugo and Homer.
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Flora who died at the age of twenty-two years.
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Harry T., who is a cashier of the Upland State Bank.
Samuel A. Connelly was reared and educated in Grant county, which has been his home through practically his entire life. After a few early experiences in different lines of work he engaged in the livery business, and finally was employed as one of the early rural mail carriers in Grant County, and has thus followed practically one line of public service for a dozen years. Mr. Connelly is a man of progressive spirit, and contributes liberally of his time and means to the advancement of everything that will improve local conditions. He is an active Republican.
Mr. Connelly was married in Grant County to Eva Horner, who was reared and educated in Jefferson Township, a daughter of Joseph C. and Anna (Pugh) Horner, both now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Connelly have two children,
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Dorie H., who graduated from the Upland High School in 1908, and is now serving as clerk under her father in the post office.
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Harry Legler, aged twenty-two, who was educated in the grammer and high schools of Upland and is now in the life insurance business in that village.
Mr. and Mrs. Connelly are both Methodists, and take an active part in fraternal affairs. Mr. Connelly belongs to the Arcana Lodge, No. 427, of the Masonic Order, while Mrs. Connelly belongs to the Eastern Star at Hartford City, and was a past official in the Rebecca Lodge, No. 342, at Upland. Mr. Connelly belongs to the Encampment degree of Odd fellowship in Upland, and is past chancellor commander of the Knights of Pythias Lodge, his wife being past chief of the Pythian Sisters, No. 311. Both of his sons are members of the Masons.
Centennial History of Grant County Indiana 1812-1912. The Lewis Publishing Co., 1914.