Daniel E. Kelley (Rhode Island, February 1843 – Iowa, 1905) was a musician and entertainer, who after moving to

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

in 1872, wrote the music for "

Home on the Range "Home on the Range" ( Roud No. 3599) is an American folk song, sometimes called the "unofficial anthem" of the American West. Dr. Brewster M. Higley (also spelled Highley) of Smith County, Kansas, wrote the lyrics as the poem "My Western Hom ...

" (following lyrics by Brewster M. Higley), which became the state song. Kelley played violin with his brothers-in-law in the Harlan Brothers Band, but was primarily a carpenter by trade. He married Mary E. Harlan in Kansas and they had four children. He moved to

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

in 1889 and died of a stroke there in 1905. He was buried in Fairview Cemetery,

Waterloo, Iowa Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 67,314, making it the List of cities in Iowa, eighth-most populous city in the st ...

References

* * Daniel E. Kelley (1843–1905, 1905) Tombstone, Fairview Cemetery, Waterloo, Iowa. A recent plaque attached to the stone identifies him as the composer of "Home on the Range". * * 1843 births 1905 deaths 19th-century American composers 19th-century American male musicians American entertainers American male composers Musicians from Kansas {{US-musician-stub