| Notes |
- Obit:
JOS. BELSLY DEAD OF SHORT ILLNESS AT AGE OF 75 YEARS, DESCENDANT OF PIONEER FAMILY PASSED AWAY THURSDAY MORNING AT 9:30
Joseph Belsly, 75, descendant of one of the earliest pioneer families settling in the territory now embodied in Woodford County, died Thursday morning, at his residence in the east side of Metamora. He had been ill about eleven days suffering from an ailment which came upon him rather suddenly and he gradually declined until he died.
Deceased was a son of Christian and Mary Shertz Belsly, who settled in the county west of Metamora more than 100 years ago and established the farm now occupied by Maurice Belsly and family.
Mr. Belsly was born at Deer Creek, where he spent his younger years and was married on Dec. 28, 1883 to Miss Ida Foster. The couple celebrated their 50th anniversary in 1938 and had planned on celebrating their 55th anniversary the coming December.
Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Belsly, Harvey R., Maurice A., Lloyd, deceased, and Miss Verna Belsly. The living children all reside in Metamora and vicinity.
Besides these and grandchildren, he is survived by two sisters, Mrs. ____ Chapman, of Des Moines, IA, and Mrs. L.N. Phillips of Henry, Ill and one brother, John R. Belsly of Washington, who are the last of the family of nine children.
Mr. an Mrs. Belsly made their home on the Joe Belsly homestead in Worth township for many years and after spending a few years in Colorado took on their residence in Metamora.
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From Illinois State Death Index:
Name: BELSLY JOSEPH Sex/Race: N/S Age: UNK Cert.#: 0000116 Death Date: 1937-10-07 County: WOODFORD City: Date Filed: - -
N/S means not stated
Joseph was the first grandson and reportedly the favorite of his grandfather “red Joe.” “Red Joe” willed his farmstead to Joseph. Joseph was first named Ben but Grandma Barbara gave his mother Mary a dollar and said, “Papa said you should name the baby Joe.” So for a dollar his name was changed. Joseph was a successful farmer. As his grandfather had done, he also acquired additional land which he gave his children. His marriage to Ida Foster produced four children Sons Harvey, Maurice and Lloyd were all farmers. Area Belsly said Harvey had a saw mill which he ran without assistance from others. He could cultivate corn all day with a single cultivator pulled by a mule—he felt that tractor cultivators put too much dirt around the plants. He and his wife Maud lived to celebrate their seventy-second wedding anniversary. After retiring, Maurice and his wife Maggie loved to fish. They had three ponds on their farm which were stocked with catfish. Joseph and Ida had one daughter, Verna. Both she and Lloyd suffered from tuberculosis. Lloyd passed away from the disease but Verna survived it. Verna is the chief Belsly historian in the United States. It was she who discovered our relatives in France and started the correspondence with them. At eighty-three years, she still works at the Et Cetera Shop in Eureka one day a week, makes quilts and does fancywork. She is a tall lady in height and stature and reflects the proud tradition of the Belsly family. [1]
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1861 - 1937 (75 years)
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