Description:
This biography of William Scully presents a full picture of the investment and land-management activities of one of the most important figures in American agricultural history. An Irishman who first came to the United States in 1850, Scully eventually built up holdings amounting to almost a quarter million acres of the richest prairie and farm lands in Illinois, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri. The vast land empire, which was worked by some fifteen hundred tenant farmers, earned for Scully the reputation of being America's greatest landlord--this despite the fact that he remained an alien until the last decade of his life. Although Scully's activities often provoked violent criticism, his fortune grew to more than fifteen million dollars before his death in 1906.
Brief description: Homer E. Socolofsky (1922-2005) was professor emeritus of history at Kansas State University and a leading authority on Kansas history. His many publications include Arthur Capper: Publisher, Politician, Philanthropist and Kansas Governors.
Review Quotes:
"This is a significant work that contributes very importantly to our knowledge of the agricultural history of the Midwest."--Harry N. Scheiber, University of California, San Diego
"No one else has done for Scully or for any other of America's great landlords what Socolofsky has accomplished. This is an admirable study."--Paul W. Gates, Cornell University