Kelley, Oliver Hudson, b. (January 7 or January 20, 1826) in Boston, Mass.; came to Minnesota in 1849, settling on a farm near Itasca, Sherburne county; was founder and secretary of the Patrons of Husbandry (Grangers); removed to Washington, D. C., in 1870, where he has since engaged in government service. (Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society, Volume XIV, Minnesota Biographies 1655-1912, Compiled by Warren Upham and Rose Barteau Dunlap, Published by the Society, St. Paul, Minnesota, June 1912, Page 394)
The idea of a national agricultural order originated with Mr. Oliver H. Kelley, a native of Boston, who moved to Minnesota in 1849, settling on a farm near Itasca, Sherburne county. He spent the winter of 1864 in Washington, receiving a clerkship in the department of agriculture by the friendly aid of Senator Ramsey of Minnesota. (Railroad Legislation in Minnesota, 1849 to 1875, Rasmus S. Saby, The Volkszeitung Company, Saint Paul, Minnesota, May 1912, Page 73)
Oliver Hudson Kelley died January 20, 1913, in Washington, D. C.