The year was 1901.

Written by Marilyn Dobson, daughter of Orville and Ann Kelly.

The year was 1901. The man was Marion Silas Kelly. The story is one of courage, perseverance and fortitude. To the U.S. government, he was merely #2466 of 167,007 "hopefuls," but to his family, he was "the chosen."


Luck, perhaps, that he AND his brothers were among the 6,500 given the opportunity to start from scratch, to leave behind the familiar and embrace the unknown in exchange for an opportunity to live a dream . . . to disregard fear of failure in order to receive the promise of prosperity and hope for a better life.


Such was the heart of this gritty 27 year-old who embarked from Weatherby, Missouri with only his brother and 75 hard-earned dollars between them. His resourceful spirit enabled him to meet every hardship, oppose every foe and endure every disappointment for a chance to call the windswept prairie his home.

Some might call it luck, perhaps, but his descendants, those of us whose veins carry his blood - we prefer to call it destiny.