Branch 9 - Roll Shirley and wife Grace

Roll Shirley born 1886 d. Sept 17, 1960 (emphysema), m. Grace Duncan Dec 2, 1918, born Sept 21, 1889 Whiting, Kansas

Roll Shirley attended the country school, spent some time at Kansas State University before going to Emmet, Idaho where he was with his uncle Birden Hodges for several months. Upon returning home he joined his father in the operation of the family farm. Included in the many acres that they took care of were several pastures. Many days after working all day in the filed, Roll would load tanks of water on the wagon, hitch up the horses and haul water to the cattle in the pastures when the wind had failed to turn the windmills. Farming in those days was more different that it is today with all the mechanical equipment available.

Grace Duncan was the daughter of George and Hattie Duncan. Hattie, her mother, died when Grace was twelve. She moved to Topeka where she lived and worked in the Collins boarding House. Later she worked worked in the Fair Store. About this time she was stricken with rheumatism and was hospitalized several months and nearly died. This illness left her with a stiff knee. She then moved to the home of her sister and brother in law, Kate and Sam Barnes, about 1909, to recuperate. She worked for the Victor Dinnen Family and during this time she met Roll Shirley and after a courtship of eight years, they married. They lived on the Garfield Shirley farm at Thompsonville until the end of 1920 when they moved into the new little four-room house built on the Lafe Shirley farm. About 1940 Roll's mother, Plutina, moved to Grantville to live with Nora. Then Roll and Grace Shirley moved into the home place. At this time Irene Shirley and Ralph Nail were married and moved into the little house. Ralph helped Roll with faming. After Roll's death in 1860 she continued to live in the home place. She suffered a stroke in 1969 which left her paralyzed on the right side. With therapy she regained the use of her right hand to the extent she could write and feed herself. She never left the house after. She had an heart attack and died November 21, 1872.

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