HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID
RG0934.AM: William Arthur Danley, 1860-1927
Papers: 1856-1975, n.d.
Chadron, Dawes County, Nebraska: Dairyman, business owner
Size: 0.25 cu.ft.; 1 box
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Born in 1860 in Danvers, Illinois, William Arthur Danley attended school at Princeton, Illinois. He moved to Niobrara, Nebraska with his parents, Samuel and Mary Danley, and his sister, Margaret, in 1879. Danley worked on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad doing grading work until he purchased a dairy in Chadron in 1884. William worked for three years delivering milk in Chadron. In 1888 Danley married Jennie Hollenbeck, daughter of John Hollenbeck. Over the next ten years, Danley held several jobs including working at Willis Hardware store and Lamberts bakery. After saving enough money, Danley was able to buy Lamberts bakery.
Danley served as postmaster of Chadron two different times starting in 1898. In 1907 he sold the bakery to Elmer Byerly. He bought the book and stationary business formerly owned by T.E. Phillips, and remained in that business until his death. Besides his business activities, Danley was also active in the community. He served six years on the city council and several years on the Y.M.C.A. Board. He was also a member of the Board of Deacons of the First Congregational Church.
William and Jennie Danley had three children. Two daughters died in infancy in a house fire. Their son Neal was born in 1897 and died in 1978. Neal served with Company F, 109th Engineers during World War I. After the war he returned to Chadron where he worked as a traveling salesman. He married twice but had no children. William’s sister, Margaret, married John Stetter. They had three children, Leta, Ruth and Margaret Carley.
William Danley died in an apartment fire in 1927. He and his wife are buried at Greenwood Cemetery.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
This collection contains the journals, papers, genealogies and family histories of the William Danley and John Stetter families. The primary documents include three generations of journals: the 1856 journal of William’s father, Samuel Danley, the 1888 journal of William Danley, and the 1918 journal of Neal Danley, William’s son. Also included are various letters and personal items. There are a number of family trees and genealogical summaries for both the William Danley family, and the John Stetter family (William’s brother-in-law by marriage to his sister, Margaret). Various historical narratives and family history summaries are also included in the collection.
Note: The photo component for the collection [RG0934.PH] contains images of the Danley and Stetter families as well as images of the bakery, music store, and the town of Chadron. Related materials in the collections include the papers of Leta Stetter Hollingworth [RG0805] and her husband, Harry Levi Hollingworth [RG3604].
INVENTORY
Box 1
Folder
- Samuel Danley, diary, 1856
- William A. Danley, diary, 1888-1889
- William A. Danley, autograph book, 1883-1884
- William A. Danley, biographical information
- William A. Danley, business cards and stock certificate
- Neal Danley, diary, letter, etc., 1918-1947
- Danley Family, letters, 1880, n.d.
- Danley Family, biographical and genealogical information
- Stetter and Blair Family information
- Leta Stetter Hollingworth, clippings, 1975
- Margaret Stetter Chase manuscript by Margaret Lillian Chase Tatroe, 1960s
- Miscellaneous clippings
Subject headings:
Blair Family
Chadron (Nebraska) — History
Chase, Margaret (Stetter), 1890-1969
Danley Family
Danley, Neal F., 1897-1978
Danley, Samuel Thomas, 1833-1898
Danley, William Arthur, 1860-1927
Dawes County (Nebraska) — History
Hollingworth, Leta (Stetter), 1886-1939
Stetter Family
Revised TMM/ew 11-21-2007
