Born in 1859 to William and Eliza Kelley, Emma Shirley “Daisy” Kelley was always described as a “lady,” polite, generous, and intelligent. She was also adventurous and determined. When the Mendocino Fire of 1870 broke out, Daisy was 11. She reportedly rushed into a burning hotel to wake sleeping guests.
When retelling this story years later, she reported that this event frightened her parents and added that she had many other adventures that her parents knew nothing of. Some of Daisy’s diaries are in the Kelley House archive and are now being transcribed. Maybe some of these stories will be rediscovered.
As a teenager, Daisy attended a girls school in Benicia. She began a courtship with Alexander MaCallum, a bookkeeper. Her parents weren’t convinced that it was a good match and pushed Daisy to travel before committing to marriage. She went to Europe with her aunt and returned home determined to marry Alexander.
By their wedding in 1879, her father had warmed to the idea. William took on Alexander as a co-partner in his business and gifted the young couple a major wedding gift: a new home built across the street from the Kelley residence. The Mendocino Beacon noted the impressive house, writing that it had “Hot and cold water in three different places (count ‘em!), and there is a bathroom with a sprinkler overhead.”
The couple briefly lived in San Francisco, where they survived the 1906 earthquake. They had two children, Donald and Jean, before Alexander’s death in 1908. Daisy returned to Mendocino with her children and became a leading figure in the community.
She opened her home for sewing classes for girls and managed the Kelley family’s real estate holdings. She acted as president of the Mendocino Study Club from 1915-1916 and was instrumental in establishing the Mendocino Community Library. Daisy opened one of her family’s buildings, Kellieowen Hall, for the club’s first library and donated her personal book collection to the cause. She held salons at her home, inviting artists and intellectuals to join her, and regularly donated to charitable causes.
Daisy continued to travel throughout her life. She was present at the opening of King Tut’s tomb in Egypt in 1923. She watched a gold jeweled encrusted chariot be removed from the tomb and laid a hand on it before guards quickly surrounded the artifact. In 1940, Daisy attended the Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco. She died in 1953.
Kelley House Museum curator Averee McNear writes a weekly column on Mendocino County history for Mendocino Voice. To learn more, visit kelleyhousemuseum.org.