Hines, H. K. "An Illustrated History of the State of Oregon." Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co. 1893. p. 257. A. B. CONLEY A prominent farmer and stock-raiser of Union county, Oregon, was born in Nashville, Tennessee, January 11, 1837, the seventh child of Archibald and Anna Conley, natives of Virginia. Mr. Conley was a tanner by trade, which occupation he followed all his life. When a young man he married Miss Anna Harper, a native of North Carolina, after which event he removed to Tennessee, lived there until 1840, then removed to Jefferson county, Illinois, where he followed his trade until his death, in 1876, at the age of eighty years. Mrs. Conley died in 1865, aged sixty-five years. They reared a family of ten children, all of whom but two are still living, pretty well scattered over the country, one being in Idaho, one in California, one in Kansas, the rest in Illinois, with the exception of our subject in Oregon. Our subject was married in Illinois to Miss Joisa Hopper, born in Jefferson county, Illinois, January 16, 1841. She was the daughter of Joshua Hopper, a native of Tennessee and Polly (smith) Hopper, of the same State. Mrs. Hopper died in 1843, when Mrs. Conley was but two years old, leaving four children. The father of Mrs. Conley died in 1861, at the age of fifty years, and now Mrs. Conley has but one sister and she lives in Illinois. Mr. Conley moved to Kansas in 1872, remained there two years, but his mind and attention were attracted by the West, and in 1874 he fitted up four wagons, equipped them with outfits for travel and started on the long and perilous journey to the coast. The trip was made in three months, they coming through almost alone, having as companions but one family. They experienced no ill fortune and arrived safe in Grande Ronde valley. Mr. Conley had enough money to purchase 640 acres of land, for which he paid $2.56 an acre. Since that time he has added to his farm until he now has in one body 8,000 acres, making in length along the road by his house a distance of seven and one half miles. All of this land he has fences and crossed fenced, divided into pastures and fields, with the old-fashioned rail fencing and has given employment to hundreds of men splitting rails and making fence. In 1892 4,000 acres were planted to wheat, oats and barley, he using 5,000 bushels of grain to seed the land. He farms all this land himself, giving employment to from fifteen to seventy-five men all the year round. He has houses on different portions of his land and endeavors to employ men with families. He has one blacksmith employed by the year. Mr. Conley raises on an average about 100,000 bushels of grain per year, keeps from 600 to 700 head of horses and cattle all the time and works from four to twenty-four head of horses in a team at time, has all his own reapers, binders and threshers. Mr. Conley and his sons have some very fine imported Clydesdale horses, one mare weighing over 1,800 pounds. The value of his land is about $30 per acre, all around. He has been very successful in life. When he married he had two horses and an old wagon, but he says that it seems as if everything he handles turns to money. Mr. Conley is a very unassuming man, takes the world easily, is never in a hurry, is genial and pleasant in his manners and is very benevolent; although not a church member, is always ready to help church work, contributing whenever calls are made upon him. The family of four children are as follows: Matilde Conley Miller, J. J., E. E., and F. The latter is yet with his father and has taken much of the management of the large farm into his own hands. The daughter is married, as are the two older sons. An interesting incident occurred at one time while his two son and wives were living with him, both sons became fathers within only an hour's difference in the ages of their heirs. The grandfather proposed to them that as they were so near to being twins that if he were permitted to name the babies he would give each of the sons 450 acres of land and divide the stock equally into three parts. The sons took up with the proposition and he named the two boys "Nip" and "Tuck." They then went out and drove in all the stock of about 800 head and commenced the division. The oldest son took the first choice, the second son the second son the second and the father the third. Mr. Conley never had a lawsuit in his life and if he ever had any difficulty he always settled it if he could and if they could not agree, called in neighbors to arbitrate. He was never in partnership with any one in his life; has always given his boys a good chance, permitting them to raise stock and trade it if they wished. The son, Frank, although only twenty-one years of age is worth $50,000 he has made himself. Mr. Conley is a Republican in politics, and has always endeavored to live a peaceable life, saying that he could not afford to have any enemies. ******************* Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in October 2005 by Diana Smith. Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.