David Marsh Kelly (February 11, 1841disappeared January 21, 1916) was an American lawyer and

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician. He was the 29th

speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly The Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly is the presiding officer of the Wisconsin State Assembly, the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Article IV of the Constitution of Wisconsin, ratified in 1848, establishes the legislature and s ...

and also served in the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after t ...

, representing Brown County. He disappeared mysteriously in 1916 and was never heard from again.

Early years

Kelly was born on February 11, 1841, in

Hamilton, Massachusetts Hamilton is a town in the eastern central portion of Essex County in eastern Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 7,561. Currently the town has no manufacturing industry and no industrially-zoned land. Though ...

. After serving with the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, he moved to

Appleton, Wisconsin Appleton ( mez, Ahkōnemeh) is a city in Outagamie, Calumet, and Winnebago counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. One of the Fox Cities, it is situated on the Fox River, southwest of Green Bay and north of Milwaukee. Appleton is the c ...

, in 1867 before settling in

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The county seat of Brown County, it is at the head of Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It is above sea lev ...

, the following year.

Legislative career

After having been a member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

in 1877 and 1878, Kelly was Speaker of the Assembly in 1879. From 1880 to 1881, he represented the 2nd District in the Senate. He was a

Disappearance

Kelly returned to Massachusetts in 1884. In February 1916, he was reported to have disappeared, having last been seen on January 21 in his office in Boston, from which he was thought to be taking a train to his home in

Sharon, Massachusetts Sharon is a New England town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,575 at the 2020 census. Sharon is part of Greater Boston, about southwest of downtown Boston, and is connected to both Boston and Providence by ...

. He was not found despite an intensive search, including hired detectives, and in September of that year members of his Civil War regiment discussed his disappearance at their annual reunion. Linwood Cemetery in

Haverhill, Massachusetts Haverhill ( ) is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Haverhill is located 35 miles north of Boston on the New Hampshire border and about 17 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. The population was 67,787 at the 2020 United States Cen ...

, has a

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

memorial to Kelly.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, David 1841 births Year of death unknown 1910s missing person cases Missing person cases in Massachusetts People from Hamilton, Massachusetts Politicians from Appleton, Wisconsin Politicians from Green Bay, Wisconsin Speakers of the Wisconsin State Assembly Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Republican Party Wisconsin state senators

Early years

Legislative career

Disappearance

See also

References