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Elias Disney (February 6, 1859 – September 13, 1941) was the father of Walt Disney
Walt Disney

Walter Elias Disney was a multiple Academy Award-winning American film producer, film director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur and philanthropist....
.

s was born in the rural village of Bluevale, Ontario
Morris-Turnberry, Ontario

The Municipality of Morris-Turnberry is a municipality in Huron County, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the north portion of Huron County, near the Bruce County border, southeast of Wingham, Ontario....
, Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
, to Irish
Irish Canadian

Irish Canadians are immigrants and descendants of immigrants who origninated in Ireland. The 2006 census by Statcan, Canada's Official Statistical office revealed that the Irish people were the 4th largest ethnic group with 4,354,155 Canadians with full or partial Irish descent or 14% of the nation's total population....
-born immigrants Kepple Disney and Mary Richardson. He became a farmer and a businessman with little success. Elias moved to California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
 with his father in 1878 in hopes of finding gold
Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and atomic number 79. It is a highly sought-after precious metal, having been used as money, as a store of value, in jewelry, in sculpture, and for ornamentation since the beginning of recorded history....
. Instead, Kepple was convinced by an agent of the Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad

The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
 to buy 200 acres (800,000 mē) of land near Ellis
Ellis, Kansas

Ellis is a city in Ellis County, Kansas, Kansas, United States. The population was 1,873 at the 2000 United States Census....
, Kansas
Kansas

The State of Kansas is a Midwestern U.S. state in the Central United States of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the United States "Heartland"....
.






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Elias Disney (February 6, 1859 – September 13, 1941) was the father of Walt Disney
Walt Disney

Walter Elias Disney was a multiple Academy Award-winning American film producer, film director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur and philanthropist....
.

Biography

Elias was born in the rural village of Bluevale, Ontario
Morris-Turnberry, Ontario

The Municipality of Morris-Turnberry is a municipality in Huron County, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the north portion of Huron County, near the Bruce County border, southeast of Wingham, Ontario....
, Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
, to Irish
Irish Canadian

Irish Canadians are immigrants and descendants of immigrants who origninated in Ireland. The 2006 census by Statcan, Canada's Official Statistical office revealed that the Irish people were the 4th largest ethnic group with 4,354,155 Canadians with full or partial Irish descent or 14% of the nation's total population....
-born immigrants Kepple Disney and Mary Richardson. He became a farmer and a businessman with little success. Elias moved to California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
 with his father in 1878 in hopes of finding gold
Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and atomic number 79. It is a highly sought-after precious metal, having been used as money, as a store of value, in jewelry, in sculpture, and for ornamentation since the beginning of recorded history....
. Instead, Kepple was convinced by an agent of the Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad

The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
 to buy 200 acres (800,000 mē) of land near Ellis
Ellis, Kansas

Ellis is a city in Ellis County, Kansas, Kansas, United States. The population was 1,873 at the 2000 United States Census....
, Kansas
Kansas

The State of Kansas is a Midwestern U.S. state in the Central United States of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the United States "Heartland"....
. Elias was an ardent socialist and a supporter of Eugene Debs

Elias's Work

Elias worked on his father's new farm until 1884, when he left to find another job. He was hired in a railroad machine shop (one of his co-workers was Walter Chrysler
Walter Chrysler

Walter Percy Chrysler was an American machinist, rail transport man, automotive industry Senior management, and founder of the Chrysler....
), then he joined the railroad crew building the Union Pacific line through Colorado
Colorado

The State of Colorado is a U.S. state located in the Mountain States of the United States of America. Colorado may also be considered to be a part of the Western United States and Southwestern United States regions of the United States....
. After the railroad contract was over, he became a professional fiddle
Fiddle

The term fiddle refers to a violin; it is a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including European classical music....
 player in Denver
Denver, Colorado

Denver is the Capital and the Colorado municipalities of the state of Colorado, in the United States. Denver is a consolidated city-county located in the South Platte River on the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains....
. Again he was unsuccessful, and he returned to his father's farm. He also worked for a short time as a mailman in Kissimmee
Kissimmee

Kissimmee is the name of several things in the U.S. state of Florida:*Kissimmee, Florida *Kissimmee River*Lake Kissimmee...
, Florida, close to the eventual site of Walt Disney World.

Family

He married Flora Call
Flora Call Disney

Flora Call Disney was the mother of Walt Disney and his brother Roy O. Disney....
 on January 1, 1888, in Kismet, Florida, and lived for a short time in adjoining Acron
Acron, Florida

Acron was a town in eastern Lake County, Florida established during the late 19th century, near Sorrento, Florida. It is best known as the town where Flora Call Disney and Elias Disney, the parents of Walt Disney, lived for a short time after they were married in nearby Kismet on New Year's Day, 1888....
, Florida
Florida

Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
. She was the daughter of his father's neighbors. Elias and Flora had five children:
  • Herbert Arthur Disney, born on December 8, 1888-January 29, 1961.
  • Raymond Arnold Disney, born on December 30, 1890-1989.
  • Roy Oliver Disney
    Roy O. Disney

    Roy Oliver Disney was, with his younger brother Walt Disney, co-founder of what is now The Walt Disney Company. Roy served as the company's chief executive officer ? though title name was not given until 1968 ? president , and chairman ....
    , born on June 24, 1893-December 20, 1971.
  • Walter "Walt" Elias Disney
    Walt Disney

    Walter Elias Disney was a multiple Academy Award-winning American film producer, film director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur and philanthropist....
    , born on December 5, 1901-December 15, 1966.
  • Ruth Flora Disney born on December 6, 1903-April 7, 1995.


After Marriage

Soon after the marriage, the couple moved to Chicago, Illinois
Illinois

The State of Illinois is a U.S. state of the United States, the 21st to be admitted to the United States. Illinois is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern United States state and the fifth most populous state in the nation....
, where Elias met and befriended Walter Parr
Walter Parr

Rev. Walter Robinson Parr was an English-born preacher and author.The son of Alexander and Matilda Parr, Walter Parr was born in Liverpool, England, and graduated from the Beloit Academy in 1891, from Beloit College in 1895 and from the Chicago Theological Seminary in 1898....
, St. Paul Congregational Church's preacher. Elias named his fourth son after both himself and his close friend.

According to some sources, Elias worried about the rising criminality of the city. In 1906 he moved with his family to a farm near Marceline
Marceline, Missouri

Marceline is a city in Chariton County, Missouri and Linn County, Missouri Counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. The population was 2,558 at the United States Census, 2000....
, Missouri
Missouri

Missouri is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska....
. The family sold the farm in 1909 and lived in a rented house until 1911, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson County, Missouri, Clay County, Missouri, Cass County, Missouri, and Platte County, Missouri counties....
.

Construction Work

Elias Disney was a construction worker for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition
World's Columbian Exposition

The World's Columbian Exposition , a World's Fair, was held in Chicago in 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World....
 in Chicago, an event which author Erik Larson cites as a likely source of inspiration for his son Walt and the Disney kingdom he would eventually create.

External links