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Incorporation of the town of Ely

Early Big Grove Township Pioneers

Memories of Elizabeth (Hall) Graham about early Shueyville

The Bohemians in Johnson County, 1911, by Bohumil Simek (Shimek), .pdf file. [We who are descendants of the early Czechs from Johnson and Linn Counties in Iowa should be extremely grateful for Professor Simek's tenacity in rooting out the Bohemian names from various old records, some of which would be virtually lost due to misspellings, alterations and the passage of time, if not for him.]

Ely, Shueyville &Western College - Iowa State Gazetteer 1884-1885

Rural Bohemian Bands of Southern Linn and Northern Johnson Counties,1910-1960, by Peter A. Drahozal, with permission (.pdf document)

Residence of Henry Upmier, Sec. 5, Big Grove Township, Johnson County, IA. The Upmier farm is located a few miles south of Ely. (A.T. Andreas Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Iowa, 1875.)

An early photograph from the Upmier farm.