Joseph A. McElhaney and Maude Keely

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Husband Joseph A. McElhaney ¹

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            AKA: Joseph Albion McElhiney 1 2 3
           Born: 16 Oct 1885 - Franklin, Venango Co, PA 1
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         Father: Joseph M. McElhaney (1846-1918) 1
         Mother: Mary Elizabeth McCandless (      -      ) 2

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       Marriage: 1916 - Franklin, Venango Co, PA 1

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Wife Maude Keely ¹

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Children

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1 F Elizabeth McElhaney ¹

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           Born: 1917 1
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         Spouse: Howard Deckey (      -      ) 1

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General Notes: Husband - Joseph A. McElhaney

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He was educated in the Franklin public schools and after finishing high school, took over the operation of a 185-acre farm located three miles north of Franklin. The greater part of his time and effort have been devoted to the development of his farm, where he long specialized in fruit growing. In later years he also erected extensive greenhouses and established a successful busi­ness in flowers, ornamental shrubs and landscaping. This business grew rapidly and became the largest of its kind in the Franklin area. With the progress of his career, Mr. McElhaney found many opportunities to promote the agricultural interests of county and state, a field in which his leadership was long acknowl­edged. In 1911, with Caleb Suttin, of Franklin, he founded the Venango County Farm and Fruit Growers Association, of which he was president and in which he is the moving spirit. Subsequently, he was appointed a member of the Pennsylvania State Board of Agriculture, an indication of his position in the State's agricultural life. At the time this appointment also made him automatically a director of Pennsylvania State Col­lege.
During these years Mr. McElhaney was also active in the more general sphere of public service. In 1907, when he was only twenty-two years old, he was elected super­visor of the township and member of the county board, an office which he held for sixteen successive years, retiring in 1923. In 1927 he returned to public office with his elec­tion as county commissioner of Venango County and served in that capacity until 1935. He played an important part in Franklin civic affairs and was asso­ciated with many leading local institutions. He was secretary of the local Grange, member of the National Grange and a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Fraternal Order of Eagles and the Loyal Order of Moose. He was secretary of Frank­lin Airport, Inc., a member of the Chamber of Commerce and the Franklin Club, in addition to his connection with the Venango County Fruit Growers Association, which he served as president. In religious faith he was a Presbyterian.

1 Joseph Riesenman, Jr., History of Northwestern Pennsylvania, Vol. III (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Co., Inc., 1943), Pg 351.

2 Charles A. Babcock, Venango County, Pennsylvania, Her Pioneers and People (Chicago, IL: J. H. Beers & Co., 1919), Pg 1004.

3 Joseph A. Ferree, The McCandless and Related Families, Pioneers of Butler County, Pennsylvania (Natrona Heights, PA: Self-Published, 1977), Pg 61.