Rev. Henry W. Conley
REV. HENRY W. CONLEY, dentist, Bucyrus ; is a son of Levers Conley, and was born Oct. 12, 1835, in Liberty Township, this county. He was reared on a farm, and followed farming until his 19th year, having taught two terms, also, in the district school, in the meantime. He entered Mt. Union College in the fall of 1859, and also attended Otterbein University. Altogether, he taught some eleven terms of the district school. Uniting with the M. E. Church in 1859, he was soon afterward licensed to exhort. He removed to Decatur, Ill., in 1863, and commenced the study of dentistry. After spending some two years there, he came to Plymouth, Ohio, and entered upon the practice of that profession, continuing eighteen months. He was licensed to preach, and admitted to the Northern Ohio Conference in 1867, and commenced his ministerial labors at Woodbury, Ohio, and Newcomerstown. In 1870, he was transferred to the Kansas Conference, and was stationed at Oswego for two years. Here he did valuable service in the vineyard, building up a church worth $4,000 and increasing the membership from 35 to 300, having made 250 conversions during the period of his ministrations. Lawrence, Kan., became his home for the year following, and. by the advice of his physician he went South, and was stationed at Coffeeville, the southern terminus of the Galveston Railroad. This town had then been in existence some six months, and had a population of l,200. Mr. Conley preached the first Methodist sermon ever delivered in the place. He remained there two years, and built up a strong healthy church organization, his labors being blessed abundantly. He was transferred to the Northern Ohio Conference in 1874, and had charge of the church at Belleville, Ohio. During his two years pastorate here, he had 140 conversions to the church. He next went to his old home, at Sulphur Springs, remaining two years, where he was appointed to his first charge (that of Woodbury). His wife's health failing, he sustained a supernumerary relation to the church, and removed to Bucyrus in April, 1880. Here he opened an office of dentistry at No. 14 Quinby Block, where he is prepared to do all kinds of mechanical and operative dentistry. Mr. Conley was married to Annie E. White, of Liberty Township, Nov. 6, 1866. They had three children: Donzellie, Minturn and Harrison, which last named died at Sulphur Springs, aged 4 years and 4 months. The subject of this sketch has been a devoted worker in the cause of redemption, and his labors have been blessed with eminent success.
From History of Crawford County and Ohio, Baskin & Battey, Historical Publishers, Chicago, 1881