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William Scully (Irish-American landlord)

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William Scully (1821–1906) was an Irish-American landlord who inherited lands in Ireland then moved to the United States in 1850. He bought large amounts of land in the Corn Belt, and leased it to tenants in . He became a target of farmer grievances. His descendants still control major properties. .

Scully worked with new railroads which had land grants. They needed farmers on their lands. Scully was attractive because he bought large quantities of land and promptly set up farms for tenants to rent. In 1851 he added more than twenty-one thousand acres to his Illinois holdings, which became the basis for his tremendous wealth. By the time of his death in 1906 he owned 225,000 acres in Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri. He worked with 1,200 tenants who paid him cash rent for one year at a time; most were saving up to buy land from someone who would sell it. His reputation was as a strict, legalistic and harsh landlord, creating resentments. He demanded tenants keep up with the latest technical innovations. His descendants continue to own the properties.

Scully was a Catholic and his family was involved in bitter disputes in West Tipperary, Ireland His father was murdered in one of them.

Notes

  1. Homer E. Socolofsky, "William Scully's Irish and American Lands 1843-1976." Western Historical Quarterly 9.2 (1978): 149-161.
  2. Socolofsky, Landlord William Scully (2021) ch 1.

Further reading

  • Hurt, R. Douglas. "The Agricultural and Rural History of Kansas. Review Essay." Kansas History 27 (Autumn 2004): 194–217. online
  • Socolofsky, Homer E. Landlord William Scully (University Press of Kansas, 2021), a major scholarly biography. online
  • Socolofsky, Homer E. "William Scully: Ireland and America, 1840-1900." Agricultural History 48.1 (1974): 155-175. online
  • Socolofsky, Homer E. "William Scully's Irish and American Lands 1843-1976." Western Historical Quarterly 9.2 (1978): 149-161. online



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