Kerry Conley, President Conley Camera Co

Kerry Ellsworth Conley (1 September 1866 – 5 March 1924) was Minnesota businessman, civic leader, and politician. Together with his brother Fred, they founded the

Conley Camera Company Conley (from ''O′Conghaile'', Ó Conghalaigh) is a surname of Irish origin. It is a variant spelling of Connelly and Connolly. It is listed in the census of 1659 as coming from the city of Dublin. O'Connolly was a principal name of Monaghan. ...

in Spring Valley, Minnesota at 510 Main Street. The brothers were childhood friends with Richard Sears, and the company secured a contract to sell cameras through Sears, Roebuck, Inc. catalogs. To help fill the increased demand, as well as being able to advertised the cameras as "Made in Rochester" in an attempt to associate their cameras with

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

, they moved the business to

Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota, the city is the home and birthplace of the renowned Mayo Clinic. Acco ...

in 1904 and purchased a factory. The production soon expanded and they built a larger factory in 1910. The Conley brothers eventually sold their company to Sears. Kerry Conley served in a number of political offices, including the

Minnesota State House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. There are 134 members, twice as many as the Minnesota Senate. Floor sessions are held in the north wing of the State Capitol in Saint P ...

. He also owned The Hotel Arthur with Arthur C Gooding in Rochester, which was designed by his son Walter Conley. Kerry later owned a company which produced cut glass windows. Kerry died unexpectedly from a heart attack while playing volleyball at the local YMCA. About 1909, he built an

American Foursquare The American Foursquare or American Four Square is an American house style popular from the mid-1890s to the late 1930s. A reaction to the ornate and mass-produced elements of the Victorian architecture, Victorian and other Revival styles popul ...

style home designed to showcase many examples of ornate glass and woodwork, which stood until 2014. The former factory still stands at 14 Fourth Street SW in Rochester.

References

External links

Minnesota Legislative Reference Library entry: Conley, Kerry E.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conley, Kerry Ellsworth 1866 births 1924 deaths Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Politicians from Rochester, Minnesota Place of birth missing People from Spring Valley, Minnesota