Who was Reuben Ely?

To the Editor,

     Reuben Ely, Sr., builder of the Jones County rock bridge being evaluated for reuse, was Pennsylvania “Dutch,” meaning Deutsche or German. Born in 1824, he was the grandson of 18^th century immigrants of the Brethren faith (similar to Amish) who farmed near Reading in Berks County. After Reuben’s father died early, Reuben’s mother Sarah Gabi Ely married Andrew Shover, a weaver. The couple reared their growing family on the 124-acre farm Reuben inherited.

     In 1844, about three years after he married Ester Dreibelbis, a physician’s daughter, they joined a group of neighbors and members of his wife’s family who moved west; that is, to the Middle West. After four years in Illinois, the Elys, Shovers, and Dreibelbises continued to Iowa, settling in Jones County in 1851. Reuben lodged his family in a four-room log house in Monticello. They remained close to his mother, Sarah Shover, who would later raise her granddaughter, Esther Nagel.

     During the Civil War, Reuben contracted to serve in the place of Edward Tarleton, a wealthy shirker. Thanks to his enrollment records, we know in 1864, when Reuben was 40, he was 5’7” tall, had blue/gray eyes and black hair. He crossed the South in Sherman’s Army as a private in the 11^th Regiment, Iowa Infantry, Company 1. He participated in heavy battles in Georgia and minor conflicts in South Carolina. His service earned the privilege of marching through Washington, D.C. in President Lincoln’s grand review of Union troops at the war’s end. His son David and son-in-law James Skelly also served.

     In Jones County, when Reuben had trouble supporting Esther and their 12 children, he left them for Kansas where he started a farm. It must have been a hard choice for him to leave because his little girl always remembered how he kept slowing his wagon to look back at her. After the family joined him and the Kansas chance failed, he took them with him to Colorado, where he tried his luck at Pike’s Peak gold mining. Disappointed again, in 1878 the Elys returned to Monticello where he won the contract to build the bridge and, having trained his four sons in masonry, he picked Reuben, Jr., who worked with him on it for two years. According to descendant genealogist Lori Metzel, a newspaper article recorded the opinion of experts impressed with the bridge. They were puzzled that this man with Pennsylvania roots understood how to build the bridge with a structure and balance that demonstrated a distinctly European approach.

     Reuben and Esther lived out their lives in Monticello in a house and on property given to them by her father’s estate. They are buried in Oakwood Cemetery.

     Note: Because so many descendants of Reuben and Esther Ely stayed in Jones County, the bridge has many friends. Of these, I am most grateful to the late Hub Bader for information. The Nagel family lived with my great Uncle Frank Shover (Reuben Ely, Sr.’s nephew) on one of the Shover family farms in Monticello. John Shover, Reuben Ely Sr.’s brother, named one of his many sons “Reuben Shover” in honor of his older brother. Lori Mentzel moves extensively in her career; she is dedicated to Reuben Ely genealogy, which she shared with me years ago. In my own family, Reuben, Sr.’s nephews Chris Shover (wife Laura) and Justin Shover (and his wife Lindsay) live in Monticello, where they are rearing their children.

Dr. Michelle Shover

Chico, Calif.