D.A. McElligott is the owner of a valuable tract of two hundred acres located on section 10, Adams township, his place being known as Donny Brook Farm. He comes of Irish parentage but is a native of Delaware county, born October 14, 1878, a son of James and Ellen (Behan) McElligott, who were natives of Ireland, the father born in County Clare and the mother in Waterford county. In 1855 the father emigrated to America and after spending three years in Chicago, continued his journey to Delaware county, the year of his arrival here being 1858. It was in this county that he wedded Miss Ellen Behan, who makes her home in Ryan, having survived him since August 4, 1904. After coming to Delaware county the father engaged in farming but in his younger days was a sailor and as a member of the British navy fought in the Crimean war and won distinction. James McElligott was married twice. His first union was with Miss Kate Sinnett, a native of Chicago, Illinois, and by this marriage there is one son, John. By his marriage to Ellen Behan, he had five sons and two daughters, namely: Patrick F., William T., who is a stock dealer of Ryan; James, who makes his home in Dubuque, Iowa; D.A. of this review; Timothy J., pastor of Sacred Heart church at Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Kate, the wife of Nicholas Weiler, a resident of Ryan; and Mary, who resides with her mother in Ryan.
D.A. McElligott pursued his early education in the district schools of the neighborhood and supplemented this by a course of study in St. Joseph's college in Dubuque. About nine years ago he began farming on his own account and is today the possessor of two hundred acres, lying three miles west of Ryan, on section 10, Adams township. A portion of his land is given over to general farming, but he devotes considerable to pasturage, for he is extensively engaged in raising Red Polled cattle and high grade horses.
Mr. McElligott was united in marriage to Miss Ella Lyness, a daughter of James and Catherine Lyness, both natives of Ireland, who emigrated to the United States in the early '50s, locating in Grant county, Wisconsin. They spent two decades in that state and then came to Delaware county, where the father is still living. The mother was called to the home beyond, January 27, 1913. Mr. and Mrs. McElligott have two daughters and one son, Mary Mildred, Timothy C., and Catherine. Mr. McElligott is a successful farmer and stock-raiser and is regarded as a man of exemplary life by the people of Delaware county, who are proud to claim him as a fellow citizen