Today in Wheeling History: January 8–Michael Reilly, Irish-born merchant and one of Wheeling’s wealthiest nineteenth-century businessmen, dies at his Fourteenth and Byron residence (1892).
Michael Reilly was born in County Cavan, Ireland, in October 1808, the eldest son of Philip Reilly. He emigrated to the United States around age twelve, joining his family in Steubenville, Ohio, where his father worked as a merchant tailor before the household relocated to Wheeling in 1821. Growing up in the young river town, Reilly learned commerce early, first clerking in local businesses and then establishing himself as a merchant in his own right, gradually accumulating substantial capital and property. By mid‑century he was recognized as one of Wheeling’s most prominent businessmen, with interests that included participation in ventures such as the Franklin Insurance Company, reflecting the city’s expanding mercantile and financial economy.
Reilly was also known as a leading Catholic lay citizen, raising a large family and helping anchor Wheeling’s Irish immigrant community during a period of rapid industrialization and urban growth. In early 1892 he contracted “the grip” (influenza) and, weakened by age and “heavy build,” died at his home at the corner of Fourteenth and Byron Streets at about 6:55 a.m. on January 8, 1892. Newspapers remembered him as “a well known business man” and one of the city’s wealthiest citizens. He was buried in Mount Calvary Cemetery in Wheeling, where his grave remains a link to the city’s nineteenth‑century commercial elite.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/3zreyrjt), Ohio County WVGenWeb (https://tinyurl.com/2zwbmj4p), Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/24mmu837), Bizapedia (https://tinyurl.com/3xwujusj)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Find a Grave, Google Maps
Michael Reilly was born in County Cavan, Ireland, in October 1808, the eldest son of Philip Reilly. He emigrated to the United States around age twelve, joining his family in Steubenville, Ohio, where his father worked as a merchant tailor before the household relocated to Wheeling in 1821. Growing up in the young river town, Reilly learned commerce early, first clerking in local businesses and then establishing himself as a merchant in his own right, gradually accumulating substantial capital and property. By mid‑century he was recognized as one of Wheeling’s most prominent businessmen, with interests that included participation in ventures such as the Franklin Insurance Company, reflecting the city’s expanding mercantile and financial economy.
Reilly was also known as a leading Catholic lay citizen, raising a large family and helping anchor Wheeling’s Irish immigrant community during a period of rapid industrialization and urban growth. In early 1892 he contracted “the grip” (influenza) and, weakened by age and “heavy build,” died at his home at the corner of Fourteenth and Byron Streets at about 6:55 a.m. on January 8, 1892. Newspapers remembered him as “a well known business man” and one of the city’s wealthiest citizens. He was buried in Mount Calvary Cemetery in Wheeling, where his grave remains a link to the city’s nineteenth‑century commercial elite.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/3zreyrjt), Ohio County WVGenWeb (https://tinyurl.com/2zwbmj4p), Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/24mmu837), Bizapedia (https://tinyurl.com/3xwujusj)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Find a Grave, Google Maps
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