My Genealogy Hound

MICHAEL DRISCOLL is one of the rising young men of Sherman township. He was born in Canada, November 13, 1854, and is the son of John and Anna (McCullough) Driscoll, both of whom were natives of Ireland. The former was born in County Cork, was a tanner by occupation, and died at the age of sixty years; the latter was born in County Armaugh, and died aged forty-five years.

Both parents came to Canada when quite young and were married there. There were seven children born to them. They were active and efficient members of the Catholic church.

Michael Driscoll, our subject, resided in Canada until eighteen years of age, attending school and receiving a somewhat liberal education and serving an apprenticeship in a carriage manufactory. In 1872 he came to the United States, locating at Albion, N. Y., and engaging employment in the carriage shops of that place. He continued working there for three years and then went to Rochester, where he worked at the same business for about eighteen months. He afterward worked at his trade in Batavia, Leroy, Clarkson Corners and Dunkirk. He emigrated West in the spring of 1878, and entered a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres in section 8, township 5, range 15, on which he still resides. At the time of his coming there were comparatively few settlers in that section of the county, although it was rapidly settled up that same year. There were plenty of antelope in the country when he came, but they soon disappeared with the appearance of the settlers. He constructed a sod house, 16 by 20 feet, in which he lived alone for four years. He broke out fifty acres of land the first year and raised a fair crop of broom corn. He earned considerable money during the first few years at his trade and used to draw work from fifteen to twenty miles south of his claim. The second year, he raised a fine crop of wheat, but the third year proved a total failure on account of extreme drought, and was quite a set-back to him. He had to do all his marketing at Kearney, a distance of thirty miles, for the first few years. In 1884, he built his present neat frame dwelling, and he has his farm otherwise well improved. He was married July 5, 1882, to Mary Collins, daughter of Lewis B. and Christena (McVay) Collins, who are both old settlers of Kearney county. The former, a farmer by occupation, was born in Washington county, Ind., June 13, 1818, and the latter in Fayette county, Ohio, August 21, 1833. Her paternal grandfather, John Collins, a farmer, was born in Bath county, Va., in 1791. Her paternal grandmother, Christena (Soleday) Collins, was a native of Kentucky, born in 1792. Her great-grandfather, John Collins, was born and lived and died in Virginia.

The union of Mr. and Mrs. Driscoll, resulted in the birth of four children, as follows— Arthur, born May 18, 1883; Agnes, born October 30, 1884; Emma, born September 17, 1888; John, born February 27, 1890.

Politcally, Mr. Driscoll is a democrat, and is well versed in the history of his party as well as other current topics of the day.