ORLANDO JOLLIFFE Representative of the 59th District and a Successful Farmer AN ARTICLE EXTRACTED FROM THE PEABODY NEWS 1901 Contributed by Charmaine Keith (charmain@southwind.net) 13 October 1998 --------------------------------------------------------------------- KSGENWEB INTERNET GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY COPYRIGHT NOTICE: In keeping with the KSGenWeb policy of providing free information on the Internet, this data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages cannot be reproduced in any format for profit or other gain. Copying of the files within by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged. Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires the written approval of the file's author. --------------------------------------------------------------------- PEABODY NEWS 1901 In describing Mr. Jolliffe's farm and giving his political history we are tackling a pretty big job; not that his political record has been varied and full of changes, but because it would take about a week of observation to see the imbibe a comprehensive idea of the full extent of his farm and operations. First, we will say that Orlando Jolliffe is 42 years old. He was elected last fall as representative to the state legislature to represent the 20,000 people of the 59th district. He has a hard fight made on him by the combined hordes of populists and democrats, who felt that the defeat of Mr. Jolliffe would be a great feather in their cap; but his unimpeachable record and splendid personal qualities pulled him through with flying colors and he finished the race with over 700 majority. This was Mr. Jolliffe's first political battle. Prior to this he had taken an active part in politics, but beyond some township positions thrust upon him, had never held office. He is, and always was, a staunch republican, of liberal views, but uncompromising when he feels that principles are at stake. Withal, he is a strong temperance advocate and a man of high moral standard whose word is as good as a bank note. As a farmer Mr. Jolliffe has been most successful. Twenty-two years ago he landed at Florence, coming from Wisconsin, with $5.00 in his pocket. His first effort to make an honest dollar and an honest name for himself in Marion county was herding cattle on shares on the ground now composing his vast farm. In this he prospered and soon earned quite a nice little herd of his own. He bought 160 acres of raw prairie land and turned his attention to every opportunity that presented itself of laying by him store for the future. He hauled stone, herded cattle on shares, bough cattle, and more land and put in many hours a day of hard work and close attention to details. As a result he now owns 1,600 acres of fine land, 199 of it in plow land and the remainder in fine pasture land on which graze 300 to 400 fine Hereford cattle, hundreds of hogs and a nice bunch of horses. Mr. Jolliffe takes great pride, as indeed he well may, in his herd of "white faces." Nearly every animal on his place is a white face and they are marked as regularly as though all were photographed from the same plate. The cattle know his voice, and it is a pretty sight to see them come running up to meet him when he goes out in the pasture and calls "Sw-oik" in that strong tenor voice that can be heard a mile. Mr. Jolliffe's land lies in a solid body 2 1/2 miles long by a mile wide, all under fence. He has 33 miles of fence on his place. The house shown in accompanying picture stands within a hundred yards of the center of his farm. It is not a magnificent, showy house like some, but it is solid, substantial and commodious. There is a hospitable, home-like air that prevails the entire place that makes the visitor feel that he is welcome. The picture shown herewith could not do justice to the immense building embraced by the home farm. For instance, the barn, partly shown on the right, has a floorage of about 8,000 square feet. It will hold 200 tons of hay and shelter at the same time 200 head of cattle; when we say shelter we mean afford feeding room. The are 52,000 shingles on the roof and it is forty feet high. The icehouse is hidden, and the immense cattle and feeding yards are out of sight behind the long building in the center. Mr. Jolliffe buys and feeds from 150 to 200 head of cattle per year, and has a reputation of producing some of the best beef cattle of any feeder in Marion County. He buys principally calves and pastures them until large enough to put on the market and then stall fattens them. All of his cattle are dehorned at once, which he claims makes them easier to raise. The fact that he matures 96 per cent of the calves born on his farm is pretty good proof that he knows how to handle cattle and the kind to buy. He also raises a great many hogs, which he pastures on alfalfa. He says he can raise pork for 2 cents a pound by this means including the fattening for market. Mr. Jolliffe's farm lies five miles east and one mile south of Peabody in Summit Township, and he may be found any day when the legislature is not in session, hard at work in the field. His success and official position have not swelled his head, and he makes a hand in the farm work, allowing no one to do more than he does. His estimable wife is also of the useful variety and is in truth a help-meet. They have no children of their own, but have adopted a brother's child, which they are raising as their own. She is a sweet little thing and will no doubt be a ray of sunshine to comfort them in their declining days when life's sun sinks toward the western horizon. --------------------------------------------------------------------- KSGENWEB INTERNET GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY COPYRIGHT NOTICE: In keeping with the KSGenWeb policy of providing free information on the Internet, this data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages cannot be reproduced in any format for profit or other gain. Copying of the files within by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged. Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires the written approval of the file's author. ---------------------------------------------------------------------