The Tragic End of a Town Founder
A pioneer of Sedro-Woolley dies by heart failure in the wake of a family tragedy.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Information was received from Sedro yesterday of the sudden death of Norman R. Kelley, one of the founders of the town, of heart failure, at about 33 years of age. Mr. Kelley returned to Sedro from New York about Christmas. Only two days before his death, he received a telegram from New York announcing the death of his mother, and then began to drink heavily. Mr. Kelley was the son of Albert Kelley, a wealthy banker on Wall street, New York, and was educated as a mechanical engineer. He first came to the Sound in 1883, and was right-of-way agent on the second forty miles of the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern railroad. He afterwards engaged in the real estate business, and joined with several friends in founding the town of Sedro, where he still owned considerable property. He also interested himself in prospecting, and in the spring of 1889 made a trip into the Olympic mountains, being one of the first to penetrate that then unknown region. About two years ago he went to New York and remained there until his arrival on the Sound about Christmas. He was a young man of many fine qualities, and made many friends during his residence in this city, where he made his headquarters. At the request of Mr. Kelley's father, J. H. McDonald goes to Sedro today to take charge of the remains. He will bring them to this city, have them embalmed by Bonney & Stewart and send them to New York for interment.
“Only two days before his death he received a telegram from New York announcing the death of his mother, and then began to drink heavily.”
The story of a wealthy Easterner arriving in the Pacific Northwest to build towns and railroads before succumbing to personal demons is a recurring trope in the Gilded Age development of Washington. While the town of Sedro eventually merged into Sedro-Woolley, the cycle of rapid expansion and private loss remains a ghost in the region's development history.
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