William E. Connelley

Last updated
William Elsey Connelley
Born
Johnson County, Kentucky
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)school teacher, historian
Years active1872-1930
Known forvarious historical books on Kansas history

William Elsey Connelley (March 15, 1855 [1] -1930) was an American writer, historian and school teacher. He is best known for a series of books that document the history of Kansas, the Civil War, and the United States in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Contents

Biography

William E. Connelley was born in Johnson County, Kentucky. He was self-educated but he taught school in Johnson County between 1872 and 1880. He moved to Wyandotte County, Kansas, and lived in Bonner Springs, teaching until 1882. Connelley then moved on to other pursuits. He attended the Wyandotte County Normal Institute and received a teaching certificate. He worked for a time as a farmhand. [2]

Connelley served a term as deputy county clerk and in 1883 was elected county clerk and served two terms, leaving office in 1887. He held a variety of jobs after that. In 1899 he was given the power of attorney to act in behalf of the Wyandotte Indian Tribe, then in Indian Territory, modern-day Oklahoma. He was to represent the tribe in the sale of Huron Cemetery. The land was to become a public building and the graves were to be moved. Objections were raised and the deal fell through. [2]

In the 1890s Connelley became interested in a hobby of historical research and writing. This is where he excelled and he completed a number of books the rest of his life. Some of his most important books were The Provisional Government of Nebraska Territory (1899), Quantrill and the Border Wars (1909), Eastern Kentucky Papers (1910), Life of Preston Plumb (1913), a five volume History of Kansas (1917), a five volume History of Kentucky (1922) and Indian Myths (1928). [2]

Quantrill and the Border Wars has been used by historical researchers ever since and this book has been reprinted at least twice since Connelley's death. [3] [4] Connelley's books were full of details and included much material obtained in interviews with persons present at historical situations about which the author wrote. One criticism has been that at times Connelley failed to properly document where his material was obtained and sometimes this material could not be verified by later researchers.

Connelley's works became well known in the historical community and he became president of the Kansas State Historical Society in 1912 and its secretary in 1914. Connelley served as the Society's secretary the rest of his life. He continued his work and produced a number of maps of historical sites, that were also used by researchers years after his death. [2] [5]

Connelley served in other organizations. He was president of the Kansas Authors Club from Feb. 19, 1908, to Feb. 19, 1909, and he served in other officer capacities in that organization. [6] He was president of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association (renamed the Organization of American Historians in 1965) from 1921 to 1922. [7]

Legacy

Connelley left much material on various historical subjects. Most of his books and some of his research notes are located in the archives of the Kansas Historical Society in Topeka, Kansas. [8] Many of Connelley's papers are also held by the Kansas City Kansas Public Library's Special Collections, [9] Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri, [10] the University of Kansas Kenneth Spencer Research Library in Lawrence, KS, [11] and the University of Oklahoma library system in Norman, OK. [12]

Selected works

Authored

Edited

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References

  1. ↑ CONNELLEY, William Elsey, in Who's Who in America (1901-1902 edition); p. 234; via archive.org
  2. 1 2 3 4 William Elsey Connelley, at Wyandotte Nation; archived at archive.org, August 14, 2010; retrieved April 27, 2024
  3. ↑ Amazon website, at https://www.amazon.com/Quantrill-Border-William-Elsey-Connelley/dp/1163211222 .
  4. ↑ WorldCat website, at http://www.worldcat.org/title/quantrill-and-the-border-wars/oclc/580948 .
  5. ↑ The University of Kansas Libraries website, at http://etext.ku.edu/view?docId=ksrlead/ksrl.kc.connelleywilliamelsey.xml;route=ksrlead;brand=ksrlead;query= .
  6. ↑ Trm Creative Services website, at http://www.trmscreativeservices.com/kac/historyPady.html#bios .
  7. ↑ Organization of American Historians website, at http://www.oah.org/about/oah/past-officers/ .
  8. ↑ "William Elsey Connelley Papers, 1878-1931". Kansas Historical Society . Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  9. ↑ "William E. Connelley Collection". Kansas City Kansas Public Library . Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  10. ↑ "William E. Connelley Interviews". Truman State University. Archived from the original on January 24, 2024. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  11. ↑ "William Elsey Connelley Papers". University of Kansas Kenneth Spencer Research Library. Archived from the original on January 24, 2024. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  12. ↑ "William E. Connelley Collection". University of Oklahoma Libraries's Western History Collections. Archived from the original on January 24, 2024. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
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