This is an undated photograph of Jehu and Martha (Potter) Milleson. The boy in this photo is not identified. Jehu and Phebe were the parents of Eliza Ellen Milleson, who married Elisha Galey in 1884. The Milleson family is very prevalent throughout much of northern Missouri and southern Iowa.

Not sure who this unhappy-looking lady is, but she's in the Galey photo collection. This may well be a later photograph of Martha (Potter) Milleson, mother of Eliza (Milleson) Galey and grandmother to James Thomas Galey. We'll continue to search for an information that me lead to a firm identity for this photograph.

Elisha Galey (1863-1958) was born in Branchville, Indiana, the fourth child of Simon and Elizabeth Galey. The family moved to northwest Missouri in the 1870s and settled in the rolling hills and fertile farmlands of the Nodaway River valley. Elisha dropped out of school to help his mother and four sisters make ends met. He married Eliza Ellen Milleson on May 15, 1884 in Skidmore, Missouri. Among others jobs, Elisha was employed by the Burlington Railroad, but he also worked for the county -- helping to build bridges and maintain roads. Elisha and Eliza had had 11 children, eight of whom lived to adulthood. It was probably between 1907 and 1914 that they moved to Montana, where they lived in the Fort Maginnis area near the Judith Mountains. After about 10 more years, they pushed on to the Pacific northwest. Elisha died in Canby,Oregon in 1958.

Eliza Ellen Milleson (1867-1953) was born in Taberville, Missouri to Jehu and Phebe (Potter) Milleson. The sixth child in a family of seven, she was raised in Missouri and married Elisha Galey in 1884. Their children included Joseph Simon, Liddy Evaline, James Thomas, Isaac Elmer, Clara Jane, Leslie Albert, Franklin Lee, Mary Elizabeth, Ethel Laverne, Blanche Cora, and Oma Louise. The family eventually moved to Montana -- and then on to Washington and Oregon. She passed away in 1953 in Canby, Oregon. She is buried in the Belle Passe Cemetery in Woodburn, Oregon.

This is believed to be one of the daughters of Elisha and Eliza Galey.

This is believed to be Elizabeth Sprinkle Galey (1821-1912) -- the daughter of Joseph and Millie Sprinkle. She was born in Perry County in Indiana and married Simon Galey in 1851. Although there is no record to confirm it, we believe she died in Missouri.

Albert Leslie Galey (1898-1991) was born in Skidmore, Missouri to Elisha and Eliza Galey. Whatever the reason, he was the only family member to remain in the Missouri River valley region. He married Mary Luella Nauman in 1946; while they had no children, their farming and grocery businesses kept them active for many years -- both in Missouri and southern Iowa. In later years, Les and Mary moved to a retirement home in Columbia, Missouri, where they lived for the rest of their lives. Les died in 1991.

Mary Luella Nauman (1908- ) was born in Oberlin, Kansas to Hiram and Bessie (Ream) Nauman. While we know little about Mary's early years, we were fortunate enough to meet her when we finally tracked down Les Galey, whom she had married in 1946. And what a delightful person she was! It was the 1980s before we came to know Mary, but we enjoyed corresponding with her for many years until she passed away.

James Thomas Galey was born in 1890 near Skidmore, Missouri, the son of Elisha and Eliza (Milleson) Galey. When the family moved from Missouri to Montana prior to World War I, "Tom" likely went along -- but he didn't stay. He eventually found his way to Dawes County, Nebraska, where he met Eva Cunningham. They married in 1933. Tom farmed east of Chadron and then just east of Whitney. He and Eva had six children. For many years, most everyone assumed that Tom was 58 years old when he died in 1958. In fact, while his tombstone in Whitney indicates he was born in 1900, legal documents say otherwise -- revealing that he was actually born in 1890.

Eva Bernice Cunningham was the oldest of nine children born to Rayburn and Margaret Cunningham. Eva was born in Perry, Iowa in 1909. The family soon re-located to Giltner, Nebraska, but moved to Dawes County about 10 years later. Eva graduated from Whitney High School in 1927, and is depicted here in her graduation photograph. After attending the Chadron Normal College for a time, she began teaching back at Whitney. It was during this period that she secretly married James Thomas Galey in Rushville, Nebraska. Marriage for female teachers was generally not acceptable to local school boards! That was in 1933. Tom and Eva Galey had six children: Tom, Bob, Bernard (Bud), Gary, Margaret and Karen. The family operated a dairy farm east of Chadron for many years, but moved to Whitney in about 1954. Eva was a homemaker, but after her husband Tom died in 1958, she returned to school and then began teaching again. She was also a caregiver for her mother and sister Elma. Eva Galey passed away in 2002.