William E. Shively, Son Of John Henry Shively And Mary Ann Withers, Who Lived In Northumberland County, Pennsylvania

William E. Shively

William Elmer (Ellmore) Shively was born on 23-April-1882 a son John Henry Shively and Mary Ann Withers. He was baptized on 15-January-1883 at Saint John's Lutheran Church, Lykens, Dauphin County, PA. He died on 5-May-1944 and time at death was Sunbury, Northumberland County, PA. Burial was in the Mt. Carmel Cemetery, Northumberland County, PA.  William E. Shively was married to Anna "Annie" Kreisher, daughter of George and Jennie Kreisher. 

The picture at the left of William E. Shively was included with the following article extracted from the Mount Carmel Item, Tuesday, October 23, 1923, Page 6, Columns 1-2:

Wm. Shively For Sheriff

William Shively, of Kulpmont, who captured the Democratic nomination for High Sheriff of Northumberland county in one of the most interesting campaigns ever waged, is a typical man of the common people, and his fellow workers and neighbors are doing everything in their power to make his election in November a certainty.

Born in Lykens 41 years ago, William Shively came to Mount Carmel with his parents when he was six years of age.  Eighteen years ago he lost an arm while working in the mines at Alaska.

Shortly after the accident that has sadly handicapped the young man, the Shively family moved to what is now the thriving borough of Kulmpmont, becoming the first settlers in that locality.  Fifteen years ago the father and head of the family, John Shively, was killed in the mines of the Scott colliery.

Although he attended the elementary schools here, Mr. Shively is a self-educated man.  All his life he has been a close student, and he has acquired a fund of useful information that fits him admirably for the duties of the high office he seeks.

Mr. Shively is now employed in the mins at the Scott colliery, and works side by side with able-bodied men, toiling to support his family. He has been a loyal member of the United Mine Workers for over twenty years.

We know that Mr. Shively is going to get a tremendous vote here, where we know him best, and if he is elected the county will have a splendid official.

The accident mentioned above was recorded in the Daily News, Mount Carmel, PA, Tuesday Evening, October 10, 1899, page 1, Column 5:

Boy's Awful Accident

William Shively, of Fifth and Vine streets, employed as a driver at the Alaska colliery, last evening had a narrow escape from losing his life.  He attempted to sprag a wagon when he slipped and fell alongside the tracks, his left arm falling beneath the wheels.  It was terribly crushed and he narrowly escaped bleeding to death.  Miners who were in that section of the mines at the time went to his assistance and bandaged the member.  He was removed to his home at eleven o'clock and Drs Williams and Millard amputated the arm at the shoulder. This afternoon he was resting easily.

The loss of his left arm did not seem to hamper William Shively as this article mentions he was a very capable baseball player.  Located in the Mount Carmel Item, Monday, September 17, 1923, Page 6, Column 5:

Shively Asks For Your Vote 

William Shively, Kulpmont, formerly of this city, is a strong candidate for the nomination of sheriff on the Democratic ticket.  He has conducted a clean campaign and has a large number of friends who are doing all in their power to bring him in a winner.

Mr. Shively was handicapped early in life by the loss of his left arm.  Twenty-four years ago while driving at Alaska colliery he fell under a car and was maimed for life.  Despite his affliction he looked on the bright side of life and continued active.

As a youth he was interested in sports and developed into a wonderful baseball player. He was a resident of west Second street, this city, when he first sprang into fame as a pitcher and despite the face that he had but one arm he was also a heavy hitter.

Mr. Shively's friends feel that he has proven himself to be the kind of a man that is entitled to the consideration of the voters for their support.  He is fully capable to perform the duties of the office he weeks to be nominated for.  He is held in high esteem by every person who knows him and if elected can be depended upon to do his duty.

In 1928 Sheriff William Shively changed his public duty positions when he became County Treasurer.   Transcribed from the Mount Carmel Item, Thursday, January 5, 1928, Page 1, Column 1:

County Begins Yr. With Nest Egg of $59,000

James Phillips, Retiring Treasurer, Turns Over Cash To Wm. Shively

Northumberland county is doing business at the old stand, corner of Second and Market street, Sunbury today with new hands on the purse strings.

William Shively, Kulpmont, former coal miner, who lost an arm in the hazardous occupation some years ago, stepped from the sheriff's to the treasurer's office next door, as James Phillips, who served four years as deputy treasurer stepped out.............

Treasurer Phillips and his wife, Mrs. Sadie Phillips, who has served four years, made an exceptional record in office.  The detailed work of the treasurer's office was handled in a most efficient manner.  Both Mr. and Mrs. Phillips are trained business executives of  wide experience.

Treasurer Shively goes into office with his wife as deputy treasurer and Howard Wadrop of Shamokin, a nephew of the treasurer, as clerk...........

William Shively maintained an interest in public service as shown in this article from the Mount Carmel Item, Tuesday, March 31, 1942, Page 9, Column 8:

William Shively For State Committeeman

William Shively, formerly of Mount Carmel, now of Sunbury, R.D. 3 has filed his petition as a candidate for State Committeeman from the Democratic ticket to represent Northumberland County.

"Bill" is a former Treasurer and Sheriff of Northumberland County so that he is well known all over the district.  In Mount Carmel he is particularly well known.

Shively is a Mount Carmel boy.  He spent a great part of his life here, the most active part of his life.  Possessed of but one arm "Bill" was one of the best baseball pitchers, fielders and hitters ever to play here.  In football he was a halfback and also played full back and did the kicking for his club.  He was also a wing shot of great ability.

Thomas Shively And Wife Catherine Seigle Who Lived In Ingham County, Michigan

Thomas Shively was born ca 1822 in Ohio and died 4-Mar-1904 in Ingham County, Michigan. (When researching this lineage the surname is spelled Shively, Shiveley and Shivley in the records). He was married to Catherine Seigle (Siegel) who was the daughter of Fredrick Seigle and first name unknown Sadler.  Catherine was born 1-Sep-1824 in Germany and died 24-Apr-1899 in Lansing, Ingham County, Michigan.  Thomas and Catherine Shively are buried in Mount Hope Cemetery, Lansing, Ingham County, Michigan.

Thomas and Catherine Shively are listed in the 1850 Union township District No. 48, Hancock County, Ohio census with sons Daniel age 5 and Levi age 1.  The family is recorded in the 1860 Meridian, Ingham County, Michigan census as Thomas Shiveley, age 38, wife Catharine age 35, son Daniel age 14, son Levi age 12, daughter Elizabeth age 9, daughter Sarah age 7, son John age 5, son George age 3 and daughter Alice age 4 months and John Wirts age 38.  The family is listed on the 1870 1st Ward of Lansing, Ingham County, Michigan census with additional children being daughter Alice age 9, son Andrew age 7 and daughter Frances age 5.  In 1880 Thomas and Catherine are still living in Lansing Ingham County, Michigan.

There is a report of a law suit recorded in the National Reporter System -State Series, The Northwestern Reporter , Volumn 136, June 7-August 12, 1912, St Paul, West Publishing Company, 1912:  "The case involved a claim presented by Joseph W. Stockwell against the estate of Mary E. Reid, deceased.  The claimant and deceased were formerly husband and wife, having been married on the 5th day of May, 1879.  The lived together until some time in the year 1900.  They were subsequently divorced on a bill of complaint filed by the wife on January 7, 1901, in the circuit court for Benzie County, in chancery.  At the time of the decree of divorce was granted, claimant had been arrested and was thereafter tried in the circuit court for the county of Genesee for the crime of conspiracy and sentenced to the state prison at Jackson on or about the 22nd day of January, 1903.  In the month of May, 1905, Mary E. Stockwell was remarried to a many by the name of Reid with whom she lived but a short time; she having been killed in the month of August of the same year leaving a last will and testament.  

The law suit involved the issue of an insurance policy from the Royal Arcanum Insurance Association.   The claimant offered testimony showing that Thomas Shivley, the father of deceased, was insured in the association above stated.  The date of the policy was September 2, 1881, and the amount was $3,000.  The original beneficiary was Catharine Shivley, the wife of the insured.  The beneficiary was changed November 28, 1886 to Andrew J. Shively, son; and again in August, 1891, to Catharine Shivley two-thirds, and Andrew Thomas Shivley, grandson, one-third.  It was changed again November 7, 1894, to Andrew T. Shivley, grandson, $1,000, Mary H. Stockwell, daughter, $2,000.  It was changed on March 27, 1895, to Mary E. Stockwell, daughter, $3,000.  That was the last change, and Mary E. Stockwell was the beneficiary at the time of the death of Thomas Shivley, which occurred March 4, 1904.     The report is full of good genealogy information.

From the Ingham County, Michigan death certificate for Catharine Seigle Shively it is listed she was the parent of 13 children, with 7 children living in 1899.  Additional information on nine of the thirteen children include:  1) Daniel born 27-Oct-1845 died 5-Apr-1874, buried in Mount Hope Cemetery.  The tombstone reads "s/o Thomas & Catherine Shiveley, loved one, "a loved one has gone from our circle, on earth we will meet him no more.  He has gone to his home in heaven, and all his afflictions are 'oer"  2)  Levi born 1848 died 1923 who married Carrie A last name unknown born 1848 died 1939 buried in Mount Hope Cemetery 3) Mary Elizabeth born 1851 died Aug-1905 married 1st Joseph W. Stockwell, 2nd Mr. Reid 4) Sarah E born ca. 1853   5) John W born 18-Mar-1855 died 10-Jul-1913 in Gilmore, Benzie County, Michigan   6) George N born 1857 died 1930  7)  Alice Martha born 23-Aug-1859, died 24-Jul-1939 in Flint, Genesee County, Michigan, married 12-Jun-1882 to John C Reichert  8) Andrew J born 1862 died 1891 and 9) Frances A born Jun-1866, died 1935, married 24-Dec-1885 to Thomas Henry Sedina. 

Samuel Edward Shively And Wives From Butler County, Ohio

Samuel Edward Shively was born on 9-August-1889 in Gallia County, Ohio.  He was the son of Richard Shively and Emma Lyon (per Samuel's third marriage recorded in Butler County, Ohio in 1930). Samuel has left a good deal of history in the newspapers and records of Butler County, Ohio.

Samuel was married several times. His first marriage was ca. 1906 to Fay Blizzard. On the 1910 Walnut Township, Fairfield County, Ohio census is the household of Samuel Shively age 21, first marriage, married 4 years, wife Fay age 23 and son Raymond age 2.  Faye Blizzard Shively married second to P. E. Moury and they are found on the 1920 Marion County, Ohio census with stepchildren Raymond Shively age 12 and Bernice Shively age 8.

Samuel Shively married a second time to Nellie M. Sturgeon on 26-June-1911. From The Hamilton Evening Journal, Hamilton, Ohio, Wednesday, September 11, 1929, Page 15, Column 3 is the following:     Riotous living and associations with other women were charged against Samuel E. Shively, Hamilton, by Nellie M. Shively.  She asked custody of four children.  They were married June 26, 1911.

When Nellie M. Shively filed for divorce in 1929 she had most likely had enough of Samuel Shively as the following 1924 newspaper article was extracted from The Hamilton Daily News, Wednesday, May 7, 1924, Page 15, Column 4:

Wife Thwarts Proposed Trip

Samuel Shively Sentenced For Non-Support After Charge of "Triangle"

Samuel Shively, 34, of 648 Maple avenue, today was sentenced to serve 60 days at the Dayton workhouse on a charge of non-support filed against him late Tuesday at police headquarters by his wife, Mrs. Nellie Shively, 36.

Shively was arrested by police at a local shop just as he was preparing to quit his job and leave town with another woman, the police say.

According to the complaint registered by his wife, Shively has been going with another woman for two weeks and during that time failed to contribute to the support of his wife and five children ranging in ages from 10 months to 12 years.  

Samuel didn't waste any time being unmarried as a record of his third marriage to Martha Chiles Sebalj (she was married prior to this marriage to John Sebalj) on 3-May-1930 is recorded in the Butler County, Ohio marriages.  Records indicate Martha and her first husband, John Sebalj, had some marital problems as recorded in The Hamilton Evening Journal, Tuesday, May 6, 1930, Page 16, Column 6:

"Stay Apart", Court Tells Couple

John Sebalj, 935 South Eleventh street, and his former wife, Mrs. Mary Shively, had a lively spat in municipal court Tuesday morning when each charged the other with disorderly conduct.

John and Martha were divorced 10 months ago.  The wife was given the children and a half interest in the South Eleventh street house and its contents.  John said Martha came to "his house" Monday and cut him in the face with a pair of scissors.  Martha showed black and blue marks on the arms, saying John put them there.

Martha was married last Saturday.  She said she will continue to go to "her house" until it is sold and the money divided.

Dismissing both charges, Municipal Court Judge Alphonse Pater ordered the couple to keep away from each other until the property is disposed of and proceeds distributed.

It appears things didn't go too well for Martha and Samuel Shively either because in The Hamilton Evening Journal, Wednesday, June 17, 1931, Page 15, Column 3-4:

Martha Shively Sues For Divorce

Martha Shively was compelled to support herself, children of her husband by another marriage, and his brother, her suit for a divorce from Samuel E. Shively, employe of a Hamilton shop, contends.  The petition, on file Tuesday in common pleas court, says they were wed May 3, 1930, and have no children.

Judge E. J. Kautz granted an order restraining Shively from molesting her and barring him from drawing his wages, after her plea that she has been "in fear of him at all times".

She has been afraid to go the their home to obtain her clothing, the petition says, following an alleged beating he administered May 16, last when he choked and struck her and tore her clothing.  She asks a share in crops growing on the farm of George Guenther.

The newspaper obituary for Samuel Shively was located in Journal-The Daily News, Monday, January 22, 1962, Page 4, Column 5:

Samuel Shively Called By Death

Samuel Edward Shively, 72, 1010 Stahlheber Rd., died in Fort Hamilton Hospital Sunday at 2 p.m., shortly after becoming ill at his home.  He was taken to the hospital by the Hamilton life squad.

Born in Mt. Sterling, Ohio, Aug. 9, 1889, Mr. Shively was a son of Richard and Esterline Black Shively.  He married Martha Sebald on May 3, 1930, in Hamilton.

Educated in the Mt. Sterling Schools, Mr. Shively also attended the University of Cincinnati.  He took employment at the Hooven, Owens, Rentschler Co., later Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton, and became an expert machinist, working there for 45 years.  He retired seven years ago.

Skilled Workman

He was an unusually helpful and highly regarded machinist, considered by his company as an expert in the building of diesel engines.  Fond of hunting, he was also an avid gardener, who loved working in his yard and garden in later years.  He was a devoted husband and father, and had many friends.

He leaves his wife, Mrs. Martha Shively; two daughters, Mrs. Fred Ruff, Old Oxford Rd., and Miss Vivian Shively, at home; two sons, Richard Shively, at home, and Ralph Shively, with the armed forces in Germany; three grandchildren, a sister, Mrs. Katherine Baker, Gallipolis; a brother, Elbert Shively, Uniontown; nieces and nephews, and many friends.  He was preceded in death by a son, Raymond Shively in1949; a brother, Stanley Shively and a sister, Mrs. Emma Anderson, both of Akron.

Funeral services will be held Wednesday at 2 p.m. in the Elmer A. Proeschel Funeral Home, 547 Main St., The Rev. E. Lee Niswander, pastor of the Westwood United Presbyterian Church, will officiate.  Burial will be in Greenwood Cemetery.

Friends may call Tuesday after 4 p.m. at the funeral home.

Charles W. Shively, Son Of John M. Shively, Who Lived In Clatsop County, Oregon

Charles W. Shively was born on 28-February-1839 and died 27-September-1910 in Clatsop County, Oregon.  He was the son of John M. Shively who was the subject of last week's Shively blog.  The following was extracted from The Morning Oregonian, Thursday, September 29, 1910, Page 7, Column 2:

Pioneer Of 1848 Dead

Charles W. Shively Was First Federal Officeholder In West

Acute indigestion, supplemented by an atack of heart failure, caused the death of Charles W. Shively, an Oregon pioneer, aged 70, Tuesday night at 11 o'clock at his home, 572 East Sixth street.  He was the son of the first man to hold Federal office west of the Rocky Mountains.

The pioneer is survived by his widow and six children, five daughters and a son. They are:  Mrs. John C. McCue, Miss Minnie Shively, Miss Eva Shively, of Portland; Mrs. Raymond Henkle, of San Jose, Cal.; Mrs. Harry Burgey, of Vancouver, Wash., and Charles W. Shively, Jr., of Portland.

Mr. Shively was born in Kentucky and with his parents came across the plains to Oregon in a prairie schooner, arriving here in 1848.  His father received from the Government a donation land claim which covered, along with the Taylor and Adair claims, the whole of the town site of Astoria, Or.   His father was postmaster at Astoria.

Mr. Shively for many years was purser on vessels plying between San Francisco and the Columbia river and was also a master pilot on the Columbia river.  He served several terms as school superintendent of Clatsop county and was also an Astoria Councilman.

The funeral will be held from the residence at 1:30 P.M. tomorrow.  Interment will be in Riverview Cemetery.

The newspaper obituary for the wife of Charles W. Shively was extracted from The Morning Oregonian, Tuesday, May 15, 1928, Page 6, Column1:

Mrs. A.M. Shively Dead

Oregon Pioneer Funeral To Be Held Tomorrow

Resident Of Oregon Since 1858 One Of First Students At St. Mary's Academy

Mrs. Anna Margretta Shively, Oregon pioneer, died Sunday at her residence, 720 East Grant street.  She was born in Paderborn, Germany, April 21, 1849.  Her parents brought her to the United States on a sailing vessel in 1857.  After living in New York a few weeks they moved to St. Louis, Mo., and in 1858 they came to Oregon by way of the Isthmus of Panama, arriving in Portland in August of that year.  Mrs. Shively had been a resident of Oregon practically ever since that date. She attended the public schools here, graduating from the old Central school, which was located on the present site of the Portland hotel.  She was a student of St. Mary's academy, enrolling on the day that institution was opened.

She was married to Charles H. Shively October 19, 1871.  His father, John M. Shively, located a donation claim at Astoria which is now the central part of the city, and he was the first postmaster west of the Rocky mountains in American territory. Mr. and Mrs. Shively lived in Astoria until 1901, when they moved to Portland.  He died in 1910.

Mrs. Shively is survived by five daughters, Mrs. John C. McCue, Mrs. Charles A. Meyer and Miss Minnie Shively of Portland, Mrs. H. H. Burgy of Vancouver, Wash., and Mrs. Raymond E. Henkle of Los Angeles; a son, Charles J. Shively of Beaverton, and a sister, Mrs. Mary Shafer of Portland.  Funeral services, in charge of Edward Holman & Sons, will be held tomorrow morning at 9:30 at St. Phillip's church, East Sixteenth street and Hickory avenue.  Interment will be in the family plot in Riverview cemetery.

Additional information was located in An Illustrated History Of The State Of Oregon, H. K. Hines, Author, Published by Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, IL 1893, Pages 838 and 839:

C. W. SHIVELY, Superintendent of Schools of Clatsop county, was born in St. Louis, Missouri, February 28, 1839, a son of John M. and Martha (Meade) Shively. The mother was  a relative of the brave General Meade, and her death occurred in 1841.  The father came to Oregon in 1843, where he was among the pioneer settlers.  In 1847 he brought the first United States mail to the coast, was the first Collector of Customs on the Pacific Mail Company in 1846, and was active in the boundary between the United States and British Columbia.  He located in Clatsop county in 1843, and, being a civil engineer, laid out the town of Astoria.  In 1849 he began mining in California, but later removed to the Fraser river.  He still resides in Astoria, and he and John Hobson are the only two men now in the city who were here in 1843.

Charles W. Shively, our subject, started with his father, at the age of eight years, to cross the plains from Missouri to Oregon, and at twelve years of age he gan life for himself.  With 5 cents in his pocket he left Astoria for Oregon City, working his passage on the steamer, and from the latter place he rode horseback and drove cattle to Jacksonville, where his father was mining.  There he waited on tables in a restaurant for a time, and next followed mining. While there, in 1852, Gustave Wilson, now United States Consul from Russia, worked for him in the mines for $5 a day.   Two years later Mr. Shively attended school for five years; then followed surveying; in 1858 was employed as whartinger for Captain Richard Hoyt, of Portland, also a purser on river steamers; in 1860 began the study of dentistry in San Francisco, which he continued for two years, and at the same time was special correspondent of the Alta Californian; and in 1862 again tried mining, in Idaho, but was unsuccessful.  He then returned to Astoria, and was the first in the United States Engineer Department at Fort Canby, was subsequently placed at the head of the Commissary Department, and assistant timekeeper; in 1864 was in the Engineer Department at Alcatraz island, a few miles north of San Francisco; the following year was wrecked on the bar at the mouth of the Columbia river, March 16, 1865, and seventeen lives were lost.  In 1866 Mr. Shively was made purser on the steamer Rescue; in 1867 was engaged as reporter for the city papers of San Francisco, and also as assistant pilot on the Vallejo and captain of the steamer Fresno, between Sacramento and Red Bluff; in 1868 was employed by Ben Holladay, as purser, freight clerk and Wells-Fargo's messenger, on the steamer Active, between Portland and Victoria, British Columbia; next was foreman on the Stockton & Copperpolis railroad for one year; in 1871 was bookkeeper for the Cosmopolitan Hotel at Portland; then removed to San Francisco; and in 1876 came to Astoria.  Since that time he has been connected with various enterprises, and for ten years was Clerk of the School Board, and also in the real estate business.  He was elected Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1889, and is now serving his fourth year.  He is the only heir to his father's large estate, and is now giving his entire attention to his land interests.

Mr. Shively was married October 18, 1869, to Miss Annie M. Dielschneider, a native of Prussia, and they have had the following children:  Katherine May, a teacher, of Portland; Wilhelmina E., who graduated in music in San Francisco; Martha S., Annie P., Eva, Charlie and David P. Thompson.  Socially our subject is a mamber of the Masonic order, and the Knights of Pythias; and religiously, is an adherent to the Baptist Church.  He is one of Astoria's most enterprising and public-spirited men, and a citizen universally respected.

John M. Shively From Kentucky To Missouri To Astoria, Clatsop County, Oregon

John M. Shively

Mention was made in communication this week about a Shively who lived in Astoria and was "run out of town".  The topic sounded too good to pass up and research was done to see if any information could be discovered on this subject.

The following newspaper article was extracted from The Oregonian, Friday, February 13, 1959, Page 17, Columns 1-6:

Now-Honored Astoria Postmaster Run Out Of Town In 1844

By Harold Hughes, Staff Writer, The Oregonian

John M. Shively, the man whom Oregonians and the vice president of the United States will honor in Centennial ceremonies Saturday at Astoria as the first postmaster west of the Rocky Mountains, was run out of town in 1844.

Shively, a surveyor who laid out the streets in Oregon City and later surveyed Astoria, got his pal, President James K. Polk, to appoint him postmaster in 1847. Shively wanted revenge and Polk wanted the post office as firm evidence of the United States' claim to the Oregon territory in the "54-40 or Fight" boundary dispute.

Shively crossed the plains in 1843, laid out Oregon City and moved on to Astoria, where he got himself a half of a donation land claim for his work in laying out Astoria.

Only there wasn't much of a town in Astoria then.  The fort had burned in 1818, and, in the words of Shively, the Hudson's Bay factor, Dr. John McLoughlin, had let the town become nothing "but a bald spot".

Although Shively had permission of the factor to lay out the town, Jesse Applegate, the famed wagon train leader, arrived in Astoria and presented Hudson's Bay letters which he attempted to palm off on Shively as deeds--at least this is the way Shively saw it in his later years.

"No powder was burned" between us, Shively reported, but "I pulled up Applegate's land stakes and threw them in the river".

An Indian was hired to chase a partner of Shively's out of town--and the partner fled. Shively stuck it out, even after another Indian who was a poor shot tried to kill him and missed.

Later, Shively and James Birnie, the Hudson's Bay officer, hired the Indian to do the shooting.

Shortly after the assassination try failed, a British man-of-war put in to Astoria and the captain threatened to have Shively put in irons and taken to Dr. McLoughlin's headquarters at Fort Vancouver.  The captain and Shively exchanged some lively conversation in which the surveyor was called "an impudent monkey".

Finally, the Hudson's Bay company succeeded in starving Shively out of Astoria. They refused to sell him any provisions.  Shively got in his canoe and paddled off up the Columbia River.

Months later he reached Washington, D.C., where he became the chief consultant with Congress on the boundary questioned raised in the "54-40 or Fight" affray with England. He got the ear of the President, who put through the post office measure, "without half of Congress knowing what they were voting on," Shively reported.

Shively came back to Astoria in triumph and set up in 1847 at what is now the corner of 15th and Exchange Streets in Astoria a post office in his residence.  It was the first post office west of the Rocky Mountains.

After the Polk administration, Shively lost his job to T. P. Powers, who promptly moved the post office to Upper Town, a rival section of Astoria, leaving Shively's Astoria barren of a post office.  But in 1861, Shively was again reappointed and he moved the post office back to his land claim.

Gold Rush Seen

While postmaster, Shively attempted to stimulate business (he insisted) by running off to California during the gold rush.  He swore in later years that he was not attracted by gold and would not have left "Uncle Sam" in the lurch.

Fortune Amassed

But gold rusher or not, Shively went to the gold fields and returned with a sack of gold with which he bought a $30,000 schooner engine in San Francisco.  His luck turned at this point, and while entering the mouth of the Rogue river, the ship he and his engine were aboard was wrecked and Shively "lost all".

Shively married a second time while hobnobbing back east with President Polk. When he died April 4, 1893, at the age of 89, in an Astoria hospital after several years of illness, the property he conveyed to a son was worth about $200,000.  It's probably worth 100 times that today because his claim lay right in the heart of the Astoria business area.

Astorians have long admired Shively because he stood off the British encroachments, but they have long since grown tired of his survey work.

Shively laid the town out with theoretical streets running straight up impossible bluffs and hills.  Early settlers actually built some of the streets this way, creating problems that the city was still trying to solve as late as five years ago when they completed a new survey of the city.

In Descendants of Henry and Mary Banta Shively by Lottie Compton McDowell, 1972, Page 12 is the following genealogy information:

John M. Shively, son of Henry and Mary Banta Shively, was born 2 April 1804 Shelby County, Kentucky.  Apparently, he spent some time in Orange County, Indiana, as old letters reveal he taught school in Stampers Creek Township before 1832.  He is found listed in the 1832 City Directory of Louisville, Kentucky, where he had a dry goods store, known as Shain and Shively, located on north side of Market Street and north of Fourth Street.

He married Martha Ann Johnson, daughter of William F. Johnson, 25 December 1836 (Marriage Book 2--page 157) Jefferson County, Kentucky.  William F. Johnson is listed in the 1832 City Directory of Louisville, as having a grocery store on the corner of Jefferson and Preston Streets.  Due to financial difficulties, the dry goods store failed. John M. moved to Saint Louis, Missouri, where Martha Ann died in November 1842, while giving birth to twin daughters.

In April of 1843, John M. Shively decided to go to Oregon.  He left his small son, Charles W., with his Aunt Sarah and made up a wagon train for the trek to Oregon, leaving Independence, Missouri the first of April 1843, and arriving in Oregon the 12th of October of that same year (Reference--"Personal account of his trip to Oregon" edited by Ralph E. Pinnick, 1971). ....."I made up a company of 120 wagons and 560 souls to go to Oregon."

On arriving in Oregon, he did survey work in Oregon City, where he met Dr. John McLoughlin, the Hudson's Bay Company chief, at Fort Vancouver, Washington. McLoughlin told him of Old Astoria and of the unclaimed land there.  Late in the autumn of 1843, he arrived in Astoria, then occupied by Hudon's Bay Company, with James Birnie in charge. He set about surveying lines for a donation land claim.  They ordered him to leave, but he refused to do so.  His claim extended from what is now 13th Street or the east side of the Bay.

While John M. Shively was in Washington City helping with negotiations for the purchase of the Oregon Territory, he met and married Susan Elliott, daughter of Judge Elliott, in 1847, and she returned to Astoria with him, along with his son, Charles W., who had been living with his Aunt Sarah.  John M. and Susan were divorced, but remarried 2 May 1859 in Astoria.  Susan died in 1883 and John M. died 4 April 1893 in Astoria.